Endorsement for The National Endowment for the Brents

My friend Brent Puls had some serious f'ing medical problems. Luckily he came through and is doing much better, but now he's got some serious f'ing medical bills to take care of. He's also pretty lucky that he has some pretty spectacular (and talented) friends that decided to put together a digital album to help offset some of those bills.

Who are these spectacular, talented friends, you ask? Well, Rachael Yamagata, Joe Pug, Pat Sansone, Tom Schraeder and JC Brooks are just a few. And Brent's a pretty talented guy himself. A couple of groups that he's been a part of appear on the album, too. There's even some previously unreleased stuff in there, and it's a steal for just $10!

BUY NOW!

Okay, now this is getting ridiculous...

First it was Wilco inspired sandwiches, now... Wilco (The Beer)? Lagunitas Brewing Company has a new brew they're calling "Wilco Tango Foxtrot," but apparently the name has nothing to do with the band. Suuuuuure. Read all about it over at Pitchfork.

Jay Bennett's Death Saddens Fans

Former Wilco member Jay Bennett passed away unexpectedly over the weekend, reportedly in his sleep, at his home in Urbana, IL.  As the outpouring of sadness from fans shows, Bennett was an incredible musician that touched many people with his work.  

My only (sort of) interaction with Bennett was through his comments on a review I wrote of his last album, Whatever Happened I Apologize, where he basically (deservedly) ripped me a new one.  This was the first article that I ever wrote where someone criticized me, much less the artist I was writing about!  While I wrote what I believed and qualified my statements, I always felt bad about that article.  

Unfortunately, Bennett may be most remembered (as is evidenced in my opening line) as that guy who used to be in Wilco and was famously (or infamously) kicked out of the band in the documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.  I am (obviously) the last person to write a bio about the man, so I'm not going to simply list news headlines here.*  But, judging by the outpouring of grief, there is a lot more to know about him and his career.  

Today I listen to WHIA with a heavy heart.  

*I'll leave that for updates on Transmission.

Year End List(s)

Okay, so I didn't get my year-end list in before the end of the year, but since it is a "year-in-review" it shouldn't be evaluated until the year is actually over, right? Anyway... To be honest, I didn't read one year-end list (except Tankboy's, which I really just scanned) and I assume that not many people will read mine, but it's an opportunity for me to look back at the year and appreciate the albums that still hold my attention months later, and that played the soundtrack for significant times in my life.

For Transmission's year-end feature, each writer picked their favorite album and favorite local live show of 2008, so I included my picks here, but it was near impossible to pick just one to represent the whole year, so I've listed my top five for both.


Auf Wiedersehen 2008!




Mich's Favorite Albums of 2008:


The Black Keys - Attack & Release

Attack & Release was produced by Danger Mouse and I'm beginning to think anything he touches turns to gold. I listened to no other album for about a month this spring; at work, at home, on my iPod, on the bus... It has a down home feeling you could just wrap yourself in; raw 70s style rock that makes me feel like it really is sometime in the 70s and there are no cell phones, no email, no google chat--nothing to pull you out of the feeling that you're totally stoned and totally lost in the music. It's almost surprising how much emotion goes into some of those songs, especially "Lies" and "Things Ain't Like They Used To Be." And that's just the slower psychedelic tunes! Then there are the grittier tracks like "Strange Times" and "I Got Mine" (which contains one of my favorite rock lyrics ever: "when I roll, I roll deep"-- is there any other way?) that shine with Dan Auerbach's guitar riffs and gritty vocals. I love the new poppier songs and dance bands of 2008, but sometimes I wish there was a little more stripped down rock and roll (seriously, you can't get much more stripped down than simply drums and guitar...)



Rounding out the top 5:

Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
Party in a box.

Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Another party in a box.

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Just beautiful.

Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords
Just hilarious.








Mich's Favorite Live Shows of 2008:



Girl Talk @ Congress Theater
11/8/08

(Photo by Tankboy)
I was lucky enough to see Gregg Gillis twice this year, first at Lolla and just last month at Congress. I reviewed the Congress show for Transmission, so you already know how much I loved it, but here I'll tell you why it was the best of the year. You know those party pictures you see where everyone looks like they're having the time of their lives, but you know that it couldn't have been that fun the whole time? Or that one part where that one song played and the energy just blew up? Well, Girl Talk was like that one part, but stretched out for 3 straight hours. I was part of a music video once that was set at a party and everyone told me, "it looks like you're having so much fun!" In reality we were getting sprayed down with water and dancing for three seconds at a time--not even long enough to finish a musical phrase! Girl Talk live is basically the party that that music video would be if it were real.


Battles @ Double Door
8/2/08

Last year, I started to look forward to the Lollapalooza after-shows more than seeing the artists at the fest. Prime example: Battles. I'd been digging their last album, Mirrored, nonstop since stumbling on the end of their set at Pitchfork appearance in 2007. Compare seeing them in the middle of the day on a side stage to being front and center for Tyonadi's keyboards. I danced my face off.


Spiritualized @ Metro
9/8/08

I saw Spiritualized at the Pitchfork Music Festival in July, but it was daylight and I was, well, not sober. So I wasn't sure that the show was actually as amazing as I thought it was. The Metro show was on a Monday, after a weekend of partying, and it was raining; needless to say we were exhausted, but we went anyway. We were stone sober and guess what--it was every bit as incredible and moving as I thought it was.


Wilco @ The Riviera
2/16/08

This was the Saturday night show of Wilco's five-night residency where they played their entire catalog over the duration. It took me some time to fall in love with Wilco, at first I thought "Alt-country" was too country for me. When I finally tested the waters, I jumped into their most recent release, Sky Blue Sky. This night though, I fell in love with their entire back catalog (I was especially struck by the encompassing sound of "Via Chicago" in that room). I went on to spend a significant amount of time with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Summerteeth.


Andrew Bird @ The Hideout
12/15/08

I've already blogged about how much I loved this show, and the opportunity to see him play such a small venue.




Mich's Favorite Songs:
Songs I loved or for one reason or another was crazy about in 2008
(I'm sure I'll add to this as I think of more...)

Hey Champ - Cold Dust Girl
Z-Trip - Party For Change
Peter Bjorn & John - Inland Empire
of Montreal - For Our Elegant Caste
Justice - D.A.N.C.E.
The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes
Miley Cyrus - See You Again
Rachael Yamagata - Accident
Lettuce - Blast Off

Spencer Tweedy might be the coolest 13-year-old ever.

You may had already heard that Jeff Tweedy's 13-year-old son is a a rockin' drummer when his band, The Blisters, played the kids stage at Lollapalooza two years ago, but what you may not know is that Spencer Tweedy is a proficient writer, blogger, and has his own software website/company. That's right, I said he's 13.

On his blog, he talks about all of the above, among other pre-teen musings like his Bar-Mitzvah and how he spent his birthday--with Neil Young, Pegi Young, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Jack McBrayer, Fred Armisen, and his family--oh, and filling in for Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche at Madison Square Garden. Yup, just your typical American kid...

There is more to Glenn Kotche than Wilco

Glenn Kotche is the drummer for a little Chicago rock band you might have heard of called Wilco. What you may not know, is that Wilco is just one of Kotche's many projects.

Kotche joined Wilco in 2001, right before the band went rogue (sound-wise and label-wise) with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Its no surprise that Wilco took an innovative turn at that time, when you consider Kotche's background and other projects. He was in the experimental rock trio Loose Fur with Jeff Tweedy and Jim O'Rourke when Tweedy asked him to join Wilco. Currently, he makes up half of the jazz experimental duo On Fillmore with Darin Gray. He also recently collaborated with fellow local Andrew Bird for one of Bird's upcoming albums. And on top of all this, right now he is busy recording a new album with Wilco.

As if that wasn't enough to keep your plate full, Kotche has a burgeoning solo career of his own. In 2006 he released his third solo album, Moblie (Nonesuch Records). His creative exploration of rhythm and the space between is nothing you would expect and incredibly intriguing. It's also diverse, from the ambient title track "Mobile Parts 1 & 2" to the intense jam beats on "Projections of (what) Might."

Tonight "indie classical meets indie rock" when he appears with classical group eighth blackbird at Harris Theater. They will perform works from Mobile, and Kotche himself will perform a solo set. What can you expect? Lots of unorthodox percussion instruments and a departure from rhythm you're used to hearing.

Wilco @ Wrigley

Wilco sings take me out to the ball game @ Wrigley and Jeff Tweedy talks Lolla and St. Louis roots.





from Pitchfork

Lollafukingpalooza

You can put –palooza on the end of just about any word and instantly incite ridiculousness. Pre-parties, After-parties, after-concerts - the party really just didn’t stop for 3 straight days (4 for some of us). My how you’ve grown. Is it possible that it’s grown too big? 75 thousand people each day? Sold out every day? That’s a lot of people descending on a relatively small area of Grant Park for 3 days straight. Friday we waited in line for 45 minutes to trade in our tickets for wristbands. The anticipation was killing me, and it was hot as hell. Saturday, organizers closed the crosswalk at Congress, so festival goers were forced to enter on the north or south side and walk back around to get to the entrance at Buckingham Fountain. I know I spent a lot of the time complaining that it’s too crowded, it’s not about the music anymore, there’s too many people, oh I’m not coming next year, I’m only going to the after shows. But that’s because I am a music snob, and I’ll admit it. But understand Lollapalooza has become about the experience as a whole, including the music.

It is also a weekend to plan your outfit accordingly, a weekend to express yourself through your clothes, especially with what is written on your t-shirt. I saw a larger man wearing a t-shirt that said “I’m too fat to be a hipster.” Made me laugh. Wish I had taken his picture. I also saw the all important “I listen to bands that don’t even exist yet” t-shirt. Hipsters, Hippies, Yuppies, White Trash, Lolla has turned into the festival for everyone.

And then there were the Rage Against the Machine fans… all I can say is I’m glad they were all wearing Rage t-shirts so I could identify them and stay the hell out of their way. I swear, everyone I saw in one of those t-shirts was being a total asshole. I really wanted to see RATM, sort of fulfilling a teenage dream, but after seeing how their fans acted all weekend, I decided I wasn’t going anywhere near that stage because things were going to get violent, and I’m not much for getting crushed to death at a concert (but what a way to go!). I did hear they had to stop the concert several times to tell everyone to calm down and take ten steps back. Crews were pulling people out from the front because they were getting crushed from the crowd surging forward.

Instead I went over to Wilco for Saturday’s headliner, which for my music taste now, is a band I love so much more than RATM. They were incredible. Mixing the new and the old, playing the best of their enormous catalog. A lot of people say they don't get Wilco. It did take me a couple years to get into their somewhat experimental, sometimes noise sound, but once you're there, it's a great place to be. They sounded great, but maybe that was because I was dancing 3 feet away from a large speaker. Tweedy kept talking about how much sewing they had been doing in their off time, all decked out in their new multicolored suits that looked patched and bedazzled.

On Friday Jeff Tweedy also did an acoustic solo at the kid's stage, where he played down in front of the stage, in the crowd with the kids. He asked the kids if they had ever heard of the band Wilco, and if they knew any Wilco songs they would like him to play. He was so cute, their first couple suggestions he refused – too sad for a kids show, too adult for a kids show. “Parents – you need to tell your kids some of these Wilco songs deal with adult themes.” But then he played Heavy Metal Drummer, so cute, so upbeat (changing a couple of words, bringing it kid friendly). A happy little set with Wilco’s sweetest sounding songs.

Also on Friday, The Black Keys. Can I get some bass drum? These guys rock so hard. I hear Patrick Carney puts a cinder block in front of his bass drum to keep it from falling over. He hits the drums so fucking hard! I heard somewhere that rock drummers are equally conditioned physically to professional athletes... They were both soaked sweaty at the end, singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach looked like a wet rat. For only two guys, they put a hell of a lot of energy into a show. One question though - Why weren’t there more people with their hands in the air?

The Ting Tings set was a bright start to my Saturday morning. Katie White is the cutest rocking girl I’ve ever seen with her fluffy blonde hair, bright green and red outfit and her cute little British accent. Does anyone remember Jem and the Holograms? I would love to have a little Katie doll if I were a little girl. She danced and bounced all over the stage, rocking out their songs like That’s Not My Name. They’re another duo that makes it hard to believe that just two people can produce that much energy on stage. They ended the set with their hands in the air - waiting, waiting - and then Jules started wailing on this huge bass drum on the other side of the stage (I had wondered why that drum was just sitting over there!) Oh, I almost forgot the cowbell.

The afternoon crowd at MGMT surprised the hell out of me. Have they really grown that popular? I mean, I think they're great, I just didn’t think they had caught on that much. Their set kicked a lot more ass than I expected it to. I’ve seen them a few times at smaller venues, and I agreed with warnings from other writers that their live show isn’t as energetic as you would expect it to be. So, they proved me wrong. They started off slower and moved into more dancy songs like Electric Feel, Time to Pretend and ended with Kids.

I was getting a little worried at the beginning of Jamie Lidell’s set. I had talked his live show up so much since seeing him at Pitchfork last year. Last year he was solo, this year he is touring with a band, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. They played about 4 songs of new stuff full band, and while the music was good, and Jamie was entertaining, it felt a little like a lounge act. But then, the band left the stage one by one, actually walking out into the crowd back towards the festival entrance, leaving Jamie solo on stage. Here. We. Go. He walked over to his keyboard/computer becoming the man behind the umbrella and the show really got going. He started beat boxing, looping, singing and beat boxing and singing over his own vocal loops. It was fantastic. He can make some incredible sounds with his voice, and turning it into music is something special. The band came back for the last few songs, and the endless finale, which was like something out of The Blues Brothers.

Battles = Math rock? Whatever, these guys just rock. John Stainer, former drummer for the band Helmet, has made his high hat cymbal his symbol. He just beats the crap out of his drum set. Is this the year for heavy percussion or what? The set hit its climax in the middle when they played Atlas. Incredible. A little disclaimer… I may be a little biased since I saw them at their Double Door after show that night. Right up front, couldn’t get much closer to Tyondai without being on stage myself. Danced my face off.



So this is where all the really fucked up people are… I popped into Perry’s, which was his incarnation for an outdoor nightclub during the day, for DJ AM’s set. I stayed for about 5 minutes when I was already getting hit on by some Australian dude and decided I’d had enough clubbing.



Sunday was a fairly tame day for me, I spent most of the day on our sheet laid out on a hill by the bar (drinking beer of course). I did get up for Girl Talk though, and I’m glad I did. It was packed. Tens of people dancing on stage, toilet paper guns, a guy crowd surfing in an inflatable raft, a guy dressed as Spiderman, somebody in a gorilla costume climbing a tree… Insanity. Dance-party-insanity.

I closed out the evening, and the fest with headliner Nine Inch Nails. I felt transported back in time to my high school days locked up in my room blaring The Downward Spiral. It was amazing. So much anger, but so much passion. I love it. I left the set before it was over, so I didn’t see the end, but I had to get to a party at the Hard Rock… And we all know how that ended up…(put -palooza on the end of that one.)

All the other bands from the fest I either didn’t see, didn’t care enough to write about or didn’t dislike enough to write about either. All in all, another great Lollapalooza. I didn’t buy any t-shirts this year, but I did get a tattoo, so I guess that will have to do as my souvenir for 2008.