hip-hop, live

Shoddy cellphone pics of Cadence Weapon

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Cadence Weapon and Born Ruffians threw the equivalent of an intimate house party Monday night at Rhythm Room. And I was there to document it – with the inferior camera on my BlackBerry Pearl.

Hats seemed to be the theme: Cadence rocked a straw hat from New Mexico and his DJ, Weez-l, was sporting a coonskin cap. (Toto, we’re not in Edmonton any more.)

Born Ruffians were fantastic, from what I saw. Cadence and I spent part of their set discussing the NBA – specifically the Suns’ chances with Shaquille O’Neal (he thinks they’ll be OK, by the way).

  • Cadence Weapon | Real Estate

hip-hop

Living Legends: She Wants Me

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gathering.jpg

In the almost three years I’ve been keeping this blog, I’m not sure I’ve seen a better batch of live offerings in the metro Phoenix area in one night than what’s going on Monday.

You’ve got Nada Surf and Sea Wolf at the Clubhouse in Tempe. Then there’s Born Ruffians and Cadence Weapon at Rhythm Room. The Lisps are at the Trunk Space. And don’t forget the entire Living Legends crew at the Brickhouse (via Universatile Music).

I’m sticking to my plan of going to see Born Ruffians/Cadence Weapon, though on any other night you’d find me at Nada Surf/Sea Wolf or Living Legends. I saw the full Legends crew at the Paid Dues Festival last year, and I was surprised to see they are touring again considering Murs’ major-label debut, Murs for President, is due for release this year.

But, as Analog Giant pointed out, the Legends have a new seven-song EP to support, The Gathering, due out April 8 (or available on the spring tour).

They’ve made available a track for download, She Wants Me. “Met her on MySpace, led her to my place.”

  • Living Legends | She Wants Me
general

Fleet Foxes: Sun Giant EP

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fleetfoxes.jpg

At the risk of breaking my leg to jump on the bandwagon of the emerging buzz, you can go ahead and mark me down as a fan of Seattle’s Fleet Foxes.

Their show on March 2 at Modified was enough to convince me to buy the Sun Giant EP and about five plays of that in 24 hours was enough to convince me to sign my fan-club card.

The tipping point probably came when singer Robin Pecknold opted to sit at the front of the stage, sans microphone, to sing Oliver James, a gorgeous tune that will be on their full-length Ragged Wood, due out in the summer on Sub Pop. His voice has surprising power and undeniable warmth.

So this must be the part where the inevitable Crosby, Stills & Nash comparisons go. And I guess there’s something to it. There’s definitely a certain, well, ’70s spirit to the sound – but they’re not hippies, damn it. But, you know, I didn’t really grow up listening to my dad’s Crosby, Stills & Nash records (Cat Stevens and Willie Nelson is more like it), so it seems irresponsible of me to make the comparison. (Hey, I just believe whatever Pitchfork tells me.)

I do know this: Fleet Foxes are further proof of the power of the beard.

  • Fleet Foxes | Mykonos
covers, general

The New Division (who?) covers the National

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I’ll just go ahead and put this out there: I have no idea who the New Division is. I know, via MySpace, that it’s “an indie rock/new wave band from Riverside, CA founded in 2005 by John Glenn Kunkel.” Also, the band takes its name from two of its main influences (New Order and Joy Division … get it?).

I can get past the gimmicky nature of the name. What’s stopping me is that this indie rock/new wave band from Riverside, CA founded in 2005 by John Glenn Kunkel has covered my favorite song from my favorite album of 2007, the National’s Boxer.

Truth is, it’s not a bad cover. Not at all. And I have to admire a band that is doing its part to spread the greatness of the National. The singer, perhaps this John Glenn Kunkel fellow, introduces the song by saying, “It’s a really, really good song. You should really start to listen to it more often. It’s quite amazing.” I’ll agree with that.

Then, in the back of my mind, I hear a little voice (probably my alter ego that wears skinny jeans) say, “Who does this band think it is, covering such a great song?” But, you know, of course it’s not going to be as good as the original. And, of course, the covering band probably knows that. So what I’m trying to say in this debate with myself is that, yes, I’m OK with this cover. It’s a sign of respect for a band that deserves tons of it.

general, video

Silversun Pickups: Little Lover’s So Polite video

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Only in the fleeting and fickle world of blogs and indie-rock fans can you debut a video and expect comments like this: “but yeah stop making videos a (sic) record something new.”

So bossy.

I’d say Silversun Pickups probably deserve some time off after a pretty successful past couple years, which included the release of their full-length debut Carnavas and seemingly non-stop touring.

But they went and made a video anyway, the third from the album. Joaquin Phoenix directed this video for Little Lover’s So Polite.

Swing away, Merrill, swing away.

general, live

Wilco live sampler from All Songs Considered

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You should be subscribing to NPR’s All Songs Considered live concerts podcast, which offers downloads of full concerts NPR Webcasts from the 9:30 Club in D.C.

Wilco recently was recorded, and you can stream the entire show here. NPR didn’t get permission to offer the full show as a downloadable podcast, but the group’s management allowed for three songs to be used. The episode poppped into my subscription queue today. The songs: Side With the Seeds, A Shot in the Arm and Impossible Germany.

I pulled out A Shot in the Arm – just a classic, wouldn’t you say? – but get the rest by subscribing to the podcast.

  • Wilco | A Shot in the Arm (live at the 9:30 Club, 2/27/08)

Related:
Wilco: Hate It Here (on SNL).
Favorite albums of 2007.

hip-hop, video

Cadence Weapon on MTV Live

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Props to Fifteen Minutes to Live, who posted these videos of Cadence Weapon interview/performances on MTV Live.

I picked up Cadence Weapon’s new record, Afterparty Babies, last week and am thoroughly enjoying it. Be sure to watch one of the more uncomfortable interviews I’ve seen: “Let me talk to you about how amazing you are.” Eeeeeeek. And when CW announces his tour with Buck 65: “That’s wicked, man.” Silly white people.

In Search of the Youth Crew

House Music

Real Estate

general, video

The Helio Sequence: Keep Your Eyes Ahead video

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I woke up today with Can’t Say No, a track off the new Helio Sequence record, stuck in my head.

That means I listened to the record on the way to work. It also means I scoped out the new video for the title track, Keep Your Eyes Ahead. (You may remember them performing this on Jimmy Kimmel.)

This video is directed by Whitey McConnaughy.

Reminder: The Helio Sequence and Grand Archives at Rhythm Room on March 18.