Op het schijfje zullen zowel covers als songs uit Dulli's persoonlijke archief te vinden zijn. Tijdens de twee shows waar dit plaatje werd opgenomen, werd Dulli bijgestaan door schoon volk als Petra Haden en Shawn Smith (Brad).

'Live At The Triple Door' zal vanaf 28 oktober digitaal beschikbaar zijn via Dulli's eigen platenlabel Infernal Records.

Full Track Listing For Live At Triple Door:

The Killer
Candy Cane Crawl
Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair
Tell Everyone
That’s Just How That Bird Sings
Isn’t It A Pity/Atlantis
King Only
Bonnie Brae
Tonight
Down The Line
Front Street

Wat was dit toch een mooie tijd:

Las voces de Olson y Louris son aún mejores cuando suenan juntas y mientras van cayendo los temas, y comprobamos que aquello es real, empiezo a fantasear con poder presenciar otra actuación de estos Jayhawks pero en un club. Una gran banda suena bien en cualquier parte -y por supuesto, el sonido de los Jayhawks en Azkena fue tremendo: mira la toma de Real Light, cortesía de EnekoGarcía en youtube- pero esta música está hecha para una sala de conciertos.

El repertorio está formado integramente por canciones de Hollywood Town Hall y Tomorrow the Green Grass, sus dos mejores trabajos y los dos últimos con Mark Olson. Aunque nadie le hubiese hecho ascos a un Tailspin o un Smile, ninguno lo esperamos tampoco: de hecho, se rumoreaba con que tocarían Tomorrow the Green Grass enterito y algo de Hollywood. No fue del todo así, pero casi. Y además sonó un tema nuevo que aún no conocía, que me comentan que pertenece al reciente disco grabado por Olson y Louris. En fin, entre mis favoritas, esos temas más grandes que la vida, sonó Settled down like rain, pero en cambio eché en falta Crowded in the wings. El setlist fue más o menos así, según postearon en el foro de la banda:

1. Wichita
2. I´d Run Away
3. Over My Shoulder
4. Real Light
5. Two Angels
6. Take Me With You
7. Martin´s Song
8. Waiting For The Sun
9. Clouds
10. Two Hearts
11. Settle Down Like Rain
12. Sister Cry
13. See Him On The Street
14. Nothing Left To Borrow
15. Pray For Me
16. Leave no gold
17. Blue
18. Bad Time
19. Miss Williams´Guitar

Durante el concierto de Duff McKagan, que precedía al de Gutter Twins, ya me di cuenta que iba escaso de memoria (de la tarjeta de la cámara), así que antes del show de los Jayhawks tuve que repasarme las grabaciones de la cámara para hacer espacio, no fuese que en pleno show de los Jayhawks se me cortase la toma de Blue. A partir de la mitad del concierto aproximadamente (con Waiting for the sun o Settled) empezé a filmar todos los inicios de canción, por si de repente caía alguna de mis favoritas; a las pocas notas, al reconocer el tema en cuestión, decidía si seguir grabando o borrar. Lo jodido es que con un repertorio así y sabiendo de la exclusividad de la noche, la decisión de parar la cámara es dura, y por un momento estuve a punto de cortar Settled down like rain... aunque nada más empezar Mark y Gary con aquella melodía me olvidé por completo de semejante tontería.

Avanza el concierto y sigue sin llegar Ten Little Kids, tema que muchos vamos reclamando pues -como comentaba en el anterior post- desde que Olson se largó del grupo no han vuelto a tocar. Pero pienso que llegará al final y voy disfrutando según van sonando los temas. La mirada, lógicamente, se me va de un lado al centro y del centro a un lado, de Louris a Olson y viceversa. Y tengo la sensación que Louris no está del todo implicado; tal vez sean los ecos de lo que poco antes del concierto, mientras esperamos en las primeras filas, me comenta JF. León: que los ha entrevistado y que todos tienen ganas de continuar adelante con la reunión, salvo Gary Louris que no está muy convencido.

De repente, desde la organización le indican a Louris que deben ir acabando. ¡Pero qué es esto! ¿Acaso tenemos prisa? ¿No estamos presenciando un evento único?. Sucedería igual con Los Lobos poco después. Esto (y la mierda de comida en el recinto) son lo único reprochable a la organización. Louris se lo indica al resto del grupo, y se lanzan con un tema que a nadie le suena [según puedes leer en el comentario que ha dejado mi amigo Jony, el tema es Leave no gold, una cara B de la época Hollywood Town Hall]. Y después, enseguida, esa maravilla que es Blue, y otro de los temas esperados, Miss Williams' Guitar.

¡Y eso es todo! ¡Se despiden! Se descuelgan las guitarras y se van. ¡No hay bis! ¡Nos quedamos sin Ten Little Kids!. Me dejan tocado. Y de eso hace 6 dias.

Y ya sin la emoción del momento, y tras escuchar los discos del grupo durante toda esta semana, me decido a escribir este post, mientras sigo pensando que lo que podría haber sido un concierto perfecto, no lo fue. El grandísimo escenario, las prisas de la organización, la distancia de Louris, Ten Little Kids, el protagonismo que ha perdido Tim O'Regan (lógico, por otra parte). Si tuviese que puntuarlo, 9 sobre 10. Lo cual no es poco, pero esperaba un 11 sobre 10.

Ok, I said I was going to write this weeks ago but I've been fairly occupied with...well, life.  Luckily I have a gap in my busy schedule so I can get part 2 of this 3-part miniseries underway.

We woke up early Saturday morning, knowing we had to catch the 10:40 train if we wanted to get downtown in time to mingle a bit before the shows started.  We didn't have a whole lot of time because The Ting Tings were coming on at 12:45...quite the early start.  The train was about 20 minutes late but no big deal, we had given ourselves plenty of time in case of a delay.  We hop on the train and head to Union Station, excited about the promising day ahead.

 When we unboarded the train, the first thing that I noticed was that it wasn't hot.  At all.  Seeing as how I despise hot, muggy weather, I was stoked.  I checked my watch.  11:30.  Nice.  We had over an hour to walk the lovely mile to Grant Park.  I didn't find out about the inner city trains until we were actually leaving, but it was irrelevant because we were loving the daily trek through the city.  We decide that it would be a good opportunity to grab a bite to eat, so we stop by a small sandwich shop (don't recall the name but they are on every other corner in Chicago) and grab some subs then hit the 7-11 on the way and grab a Red Bull for some energy, though it wouldn't really be needed.  We finally reach the gates where we got to skip through the lines and walk right in since we were smart and had gotten 3-day passes.  Sweet.

We had studied the schedule quite closely ahead of time and realized that Saturday, for our particular tastes, was going to be nuts.  It's pretty easy to plan a run of festival stages on paper, but once you get there and acutally live it, it's hard to keep said schedule.  We make our way to the North (AT&T) Stage to catch The Ting Tings.  At this point I had not listened to them a whole lot but Lauren was really into them so I had heard them a decent amount.  I thought they were catchy before we saw them but I wasn't ready for what transpired next.  I liked them...and I mean REALLY liked them.  Their live show was incredible and none of their sound was lost, even on a main festival stage.  One of my favorite performances of the weekend, quite honestly.  We grooved our asses off while standing on our vinyl picnic table covers (wonderful insight...much better than a blanket that will get dirty.  We just left it at the end of the weekend.).  If you've heard their debut album then you know how well they capture the pop essence without making it cheesy.  Shit was rad.

The Ting Tings Setlist:

We Walk
Great DJ
Fruit Machine
Keep Your Head
Be The One
That's Not My Name
We Started Nothing
Shut Up & Let Me Go

We had realized when planning out the day that there were a lot of acts that we wanted to kind of catch on that side of the park.  Luckily for us the two stages were in the same field, so there was little walking required to get where we were trying to go.  I had heard one of Dr. Dog's records from a friend of mine and thought they were pretty good, so we decided to hang out and check them out from a distance.  We pulled up a nicely shaded patch of grass with a fence to lean against and made sure we got a good view of the MySpace Stage.  This wasn't Bonnaroo, so it was nice to not have to worry about sitting in piss (hippies are notorious for pissing on fences at festivals).  We were probably about 100 yards away, but it was loud so hearing was not an issue...it was loud and crystal clear.  They didn't have my undivided attention but they were quite good...great music to sit with the group and chill out to.  They played for an hour and then The Gutter Twins took the main stage.

Dr. Dog Setlist:

The Way The Lazy Do
The Girl
The World May Never Know
The Old Days
The Ark
From
My Old Ways
Easy Beat
Oh No
The Rabbit, The Bat, and The Reindeer
Ain't It Strange
Livin' A Dream
The Beach
My Friend

When I was a younger lad in the 90's, I was a fan of The Afghan Whigs and Screaming Trees.  The thought had never crossed my mind that Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan might actually start a band together.  I had heard a bit about the group, but nothing specific (i.e. whether it was good).  We stayed in our lovely little spot in the grass and listened from afar.  It was about as good as I expected, nothing great but if I ran across it on the radio I wouldn't change it.  They didn't move much on stage though.  I'm pretty sure they were disinterested in the gig or the crowd...maybe both.

The Gutter Twins Setlist:

The Station
God's Children
Live With Me
Bonnie Brae
Idle Hands
Seven Stories Underground
Bete Noir
Down The Line (Jose Gonzalez cover)
Each To Each
Number Nine

It was now 3:30.  Time for one of the most targeted acts of the weekend for the group...MGMT.  We had all been wearing their newest record, Oracular Spectacular, out since around January and were stoked to see them.  I had heard mixed reviews on their shows...some thought they were amazing while others thought they were incredibly dull and needed more time to develop their live act.  One thing is for sure: they are NOT lacking in popularity.  Other than the headliners, this was easily the most crowded show of the weekend.  I have no idea how many folks showed up for this, but I'm guessing at least half the festival attendees had shown up to this performance.  Andrew VanWyngarden (half of the songwriting duo in the band and lead vocalist/guitar) even commented twice on the size of the crowd, once saying "Wow, there are a lot of people here..." and later, "Thanks guys, we're Radiohead!"  People were lined up from the stage all the way back to the fence.  There was no room to do anything other than dance, so dance we did...and a lot.  They played all ten songs off of the record, and regardless of how polished they were, the show was an absolute blast.  Easily one of the best shows of the entire festival for me and my friends.  They opened with "Of Moons, Birds and Monsters", a song we had been wearing out on the drive up.  They played everything else in between and closed with "Kids", which had nearly every person in attendance jumping up and down in unison.  Can't wait to see these guys again.  Once they were done Lauren and I split from Grayson and Rachell and started our half-mile journey to catch the second half of Explosions in the Sky.

 MGMT Setlist:

Of Moons, Birds and Monsters
Weekend Wars
The Youth
Future Reflections
4th Dimensional Transition
Pieces of What
Electric Feel
Time To Pretend
The Handshake
Kids

We hit up the bathroom on the way to the North (Bud Light) Stage, which was quite a bitch to get to because of the sheer density of the crowd leaving the MGMT set.  Once we actually get to the port-o-lets, they are somewhat crowded but not too bad...about a 10-15 minute wait in line if I remember correctly.  Somehow we still get to EITS halfway through their set which leaves us 30 minutes of post-rock listening pleasure.  I hear "Your Hand In Mine" in the distance, start acting like a fucking fool and quicken the pace.  We finally reach the stage where they are performing and decide to take a seat a little farther back than originally intended, due to the size of the crowd and the fact that we were pretty fucking hungry and didn't want to fight the crowd to get to sustenance when the set was over.  One thing about EITS: if you haven't listened to much of them their songs can bleed together.  Most post-rock bands tend to turn the volume up to 11 and they were no exception...even from a nice distance back they were still really, really loud.  They proceeded to rip through "Have You Passed Through This Night", "Memorial", and "The Only Moment We Were Alone".  It was brilliant.  At the end of the last song they all fell down on their asses from rocking so hard.  Pretty intense I must say.  Sucks that we missed "The Catastrophe and the Cure", but MGMT was priority, so we weren't leaving early for anything.  Oh well.

Explosions in the Sky Setlist:

Catastrophe and the Cure
The Birth and Death of the Day
Your Hand In Mine
Have You Passed Through This Night
Memorial
The Only Moment We Were Alone

We grabbed some food (I got the infamous chicken on a stick and Lauren got some chinese...good eatin'), sat down and took a load off for a few before Broken Social Scene came on.  We were missing Okkervil River to eat, but we were completely fine with it.  We polished off as much of the grub as we could and headed back to the area we had just left.  BSS took the stage at 6:30 with about 83 people on stage.  They opened up with "Pacific Theme", one of my favorites in their catalog.  They proceeded to play through some of their best tunes ("Cause = Time", "7/4 (Shoreline)", "Love Is New") which made for a great festival set.  No "KC Accidental" or Feist though.  Can't have everything my way I guess...

 Broken Social Scene Setlist:

Pacific Theme 
Cause=Time 
Farewell To The Pressure Kids 
Hit The Wall 
7/4 (Shoreline)
Fire Eye'd Boy 
Love Is New 
Frightening Lives 
Major Label Debut (fast) 
It's All Gonna Break

We knew when this show was over we'd make the most grueling decision of the entire weekend.  This was the only time when we had no idea what we'd choose to see.  Rage Against the Machine, one of my favorite bands from back in the day, or Wilco, one of the best touring bands on the planet?  After some discussion, which had actually been going on for several months, we decided to see RATM.  On our way back over to the AT&T Stage we ran across some old friends from Mississippi in the hammock area.  We chit-chatted with them for a bit, snapped a photo or two, and made our way back to the same place we were in just a few hours earlier for what would easily be the most chaotic set of the festival.

We got to the stage right on time, and in our infinite wisdom, decided to stay out of the crowd where there would undoubtedly be a moshpit of epic proportions.  They took the stage and instantly chaos ensued.  It was a really good performance by the band.  They opened with "Testify" which instantly threw the crowd into a frenzy.  Next was "Bulls On Parade" and at this point the entire place was losing their minds.  Only 2 songs into the set and they have to stop the show to settle the crowd down.  This happened two other times, each time resulting in Zack de la Rocha pleading to the crowd to take care of each other and to "back up 10 steps".  They ripped through tons of crowd favorites, but by 9:15 or so had played every song we were interested in hearing ("Bombtrack", "Know Your Enemy", "Bullet In the Head", "Calm Like a Bomb") so we decided to go ahead and cut out to catch the 10:40 train.  On the way we caught Wilco playing "Jesus, Etc." and "I Can't Stand It".  Hmm...there was no wrong choice there, only 2 right ones.  I would have liked to have caught "Freedom" though, now that I think about it.

Rage Against the Machine Setlist:

Testify 
Bulls On Parade 
People Of The Sun 
Bombtrack 
Know Your Enemy 
Bullet In The Head 
Born Of A Broken Man 
Ashes In The Fall 
Calm Like A Bomb 
Sleep Now In The Fire 
Wake Up 
The Internationale 
Freedom 
Killing In The Name

Great day spent listening to tons of great bands with some great people.  Can't ask for much more than that.  We did make our train by the way.  Got back to the room and enjoyed the rest of the night resting before embarking on our Sunday adventures.

Part 3 coming up soon.  To be continued...

The Gutter Twins. What a band. Last night I once again had the pleasure of watching these gentlemen do what they do best. As they didn't play Manchester (boooooo!), I went to the Liverpool gig with my sister.

As usual, I positioned myself mid-right during the support act (crazy singing chick Carina Round) and then when people rushed to the bar/loos, I made my beeline to the front. By the time the Twins came on, I was on the second row with a great view. Mwa ha ha haa! My front-of-gig plan never fails.

If you've ever seen Mark Lanegan or Greg Dulli live, you'll know that Mark clings on to his mic stand for dear life, while Greg is much more active and wiggles himself around to an adoring crowd. I've honestly never met a casual fan of either Dulli or Lanegan, it's always devotion and adoration. Perhaps they are not that well-known in the mainstream, but they have a lot of fans nonetheless.

They might not be your conventionally attractive Brad Pitts or George Clooneys, but I've never gone in for that anyway. Don't get me wrong, the music always comes first for me. The fact that they're both incredibly sexy is just a bonus. And their sex appeal has probably doubled for me based on my admiration of them musically.

Lanegan is just so brooding and mysterious...and that voice; when he opens his mouth and sings, it sends shivers down your spine. It's both soothing and unnerving, and is one of the richest, deepest voices you'll ever hear. Dulli has just got it, and I think he knows he has. His hair and nose do it for me, but that's another story.

The Gutter Twins' sound is dark and bluesy and rocky and beautiful in a sort of twisted way. You can see their admiration for each other on stage, I like that a lot.

I've met both of them at various points after gigs, Mark a few times and Greg just once. Mark is quiet, polite and a gentleman. Greg is friendly and maybe a little flirty. They were both very obliging with autographs and photos.

It makes me so genuinely happy to watch them live, they're just one of those special few bands whose music really does it for me. Devotion always has a price though, and I must have lost several pints of fluid via my overwhelming sweatiness in that venue. I had to go and beg the bar at the train station (which was just closing) for some tap water as I was so damn dehydrated. Then I sat on a train for an hour. My poor ears, after an evening of aural delights, now suffering through various out-of-tune Scouse football chants.

All worth it though, of course ;-)

[Go here and you'll never look back]

The current issue of MOJO Magazine is devoted to the 20th anniversary of Sub Pop records. It does not just mention the anniversary, it tells the story of the history of the label and its influence on music. Of course, it is impossible to talk about Sub Pop without talking about Nirvana, so the magazine also dedicates the cover and a feature story about Sub Pop's most famous band.

For the Sup Pop interview, they got together "grunge royalty" if ever there was such a thing. They brought in former Nirvana drummer Chad Channing, Mudhoney and Green River frontman Mark Arm, and TAD frontman Tad Doyle. They also brought together the founders of Sub Pop Records Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt. The article talks about the very humble beginnings where they would ship orders from the Musak Corporation where Pavitt worked part time until 1988. It is a true DIY label and pretty soon the Major labels could not avoid it.

The article really starts with the culmination of Sub Pop's efforts: Lamefest in 1989. The Lamefest show sold out the iconic Moore Theater in Seattle headlined by all local bands, a feat that was thought to be out of the question. This showed Pavitt and Poneman that they were on to something. Bands like Green River, TAD, Mudhoney, Nirvana, and Mother Love Bone really helped define the Seattle Sound as well as Sub Pop itself.

Sub Pop has had its ups and downs over the last 20 years, but with bands like Iron and Wine, Flight of the Conchords, Mudhoney, and The Gutter Twins they are as strong as ever. The magazine also comes with a free CD titled "The Sub Pop 300." It has some of the same tracks as the Sub Pop issue "The Grunge Years" but there are some great tracks including: "Change Has Come" by the Screaming Trees, "Shove" by L7, and "Retarded" by the Afghan Whigs. There are also tracks by other Sub Pop artists like Pissed Jeans, Red Red Meat, and Flight of the Conchords.

Todd

Deftones and Maynard James Keenan - Passenger [White Pony]

Considering the rather ostentatious airs Maynard holds for his own music in Tool and, to a lesser extent, A Perfect Circle, it's quite surprising when you consider how involved he was in the early roots of the horribly coined genre tag of nu-metal. Duets with Rage Against the Machine and this notable performance on Deftones' masterpiece album, White Pony, which took all that young adult angst and used it as a foundation for a deeper, more soul searching sound.

Whilst White Pony brought with it a load of media attention and singles which Chino and co probably still live off the royalties of today, the standout track for me is 'Passenger', a song which had Maynard covering vocals with that familiar angry croon of his whilst the rest of the 'tones worked on a moody landscape in the background, bursting out with ferocious guitars as the chorus reached its climax.

I'm not too sure what it is about this track that I love so much. The chorus just acts as a total catharsis with the vocals sounding angered but always retaining a subtle undercurrent of delicacy. It retains a sense of epicness that is usually reserved for the likes of Mars Volta or other such bands that spend precious time building to a climax, but here the combination of Deftones and Maynard bring that peak in a digestible form.

Dillinger Escape Plan and Mike Patton - Irony Is a Dead Scene

It would be pretty easy to fill this whole list out with Mike Patton related collaborations. The guy seems to do his best to appear on anything of any kind in some shape or another. Hell, he even put forward his unique talents towards the voice of GladOS from Portal.

But I've chosen the the EP he did with Dillinger Escape Plan as a notable favourite. I've never really been able to get into Calculating Infinity as much as Dillinger's later work, but I think this EP really combines the aggressive nature of old school Dillinger Escape Plan with their more song driven sound that was brought in by Miss Machine.

Whether it was Patton who gave the band fresh ideas of where to take their music, you can't deny the genius of tracks such as 'Pig Latin' which opens with a tantalisingly picked guitar line and then just explodes into Patton's best strangled chicken impression. Oh, and it's got a crackingly grotesque cover of Aphex Twin's 'Come to Daddy' which makes this more than worth picking up.

MP3: The Dillinger Escape Plan & Mike Patton - Pig Latin

ISIS and Aerogramme - In the Fishtank 14

The 'In The Fishtank' series is a project devised by Netherlands independent music distributor Konkurrent which invites high profile bands to get together in a studio over a period of few days and see what they come up with. Other experiments have seen artists such as Tortoise and Sonic Youth in the studio, but one of the most ambitious recordings was the joining together of ISIS and Aereogramme, two bands with notable followings.

The results are tremendous, with opener 'Low Tide' proving a desolate grower as sound upon sound is layered over one another with a delicate craftsmanship, and middle track 'Delial' evoking the heavier nature of ISIS' influence on the EP. What is most surprising about this recording is the way the two bands, both really quite different, managed to find a common ground together that sustained a perfect balance of heavy rock and patient prog posturing, the latter of which I swear influenced ISIS on their last release 'In The Absence of Truth'.

MP3: Isis & Aereogramme - Low Tide

Yourcodenameis:milo & Martin Grech - We Hope You Are What You Think You Are [Print Is Dead vol.1]

Although YCI:M actually put out a whole collaboration album of their own, which is where you can find this track, Print Is Dead proved a mixed bag for me. But one track I completely admired from the first listen has to be 'We Hope You Are What You Think You Are', a raw slab of angry rock that bubbles with intense anger and scorn.

The intro to this track alone is worth the entry fee, with a slick bass line that moves up and down, before guitars come slamming in and the joyous screaming begins. "I will never come down when told to" is the opening line, and it oozes the kind of rebellious persona that this kind of music is all about as it reaches an unbearable crescendo that has solo artist Martin Grech and the others screaming "there is no God in this town", giving their all to a groin-kicking conclusion.

Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli (The Gutter Twins) - Saturnalia

The project known as 'The Gutter Twins' has been a long time in the making, with Dulli (of Afgan Whigs fame) and Lanegan (of having one of the heartiest growls since pirate days fame) being good friends for quite a long time. It's no surprise then that when the musical offering from this couple finally presented itself in last year's 'Saturnalia' it was a soulful embodiment of their respective talents and personalities.

Despite its rather poppy format, with shorter tracks, the album is a dingy example of how to make depressing music uplifting as possible. Lanegan shows his incredible ability to alter that powerful bark that most will be familiar from with his work for Queens of the Stone Age to a husky whisper that sends a shiver down the spine, and Dulli adds a haunting guitar sound that only exacerbates this feeling. In doing a bit of research for this post I found a fantastic quote that pretty much sums up the experience within this album. Music critic Liz Raftery said it's "an audial descent into the dark emotions that often lurk beneath the surface." Spot on.

MP3: The Gutter Twins - The Stations

Het is stil op mijn blog, muisstil. Ik kan u beloven: het wordt nog veel stiller. Momenteel ben ik bezig om edwardkobus.eu om te zetten naar een blog. Niet alleen een blog, ook een portfolio... 

Op het moment loop ik stage in de Amsterdam bij bright. Deze stage inspireert mij om het maximale uit code te halen. Tevens slokt die stage een hoop van mijn tijd op, bloggen heeft derhalve op het moment niet de hoogste prioriteit... Op het moment ben ik de mogelijkheden aan het verkennen zelf een blogsysteem op te zetten. In de eerste instantie voor mij daarom geen drupal maar kurkdroge php en mysql!

Wellicht binnenkort een betaversie. Voor nu een muzikale tip:

The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia

Gewoon lekkere duistere ijzersterke rock!

"Idle Hands"...es ist das zweite Video, und es is richtig geil!

Click HERE...! (DailyMotion)

Idea via Boing Boing

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=A0S57H2O

It's definitely a very grown-up record, which may not be very surprising, considering that both Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan are veterans in the music business. Greg Dulli's past includes The Afghan Whigs and most recently The Twilight Singers. Mark Lanegan has, aside, from his time in Screaming Trees, worked with Queens Of The Stone Age, Soulsavers and Isobel Campbell (of Belle & Sebastian) as well as having a substantial solo career.

It's not exactly a very cheerful record; more one of those where you have a lot of references to God, sin and absolution, blues and rock. There is bitter desperation mixed with sweet and rather fragile hope both in the music and the lyrics, perfectly interpreted by the smoke-laced, whiskey-drenched voice of Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli's pained harmonies. Their own description as "the satanic Everly Brothers" is probably as apt a description as any far lengthier that I could come up with. At least assuming that Lucifer is an inhabitant of New Orleans, but hey, I'm willing to go with that.

I was lucky enough to catch them live a while back, and if you have the same chance you should most definitely jump at it. The set started a bit slowly, partly I think because the audience was new to the songs, and partly because, well, they're not exactly a party band, are they? Mark walked in and grabbed the mic and then he retained the absolute same stance through out the entire set. Not only that, he scowled rather aggressively and since I was right in his line of glare, I have to admit that I felt slightly... well, inhibited. OK, so I'll be honest. I think Mark Lanegan is most likely the single scariest person in the whole world, and when he threw a couple of dark scowls in my direction I almost peed my pants. Luckily, I had Greg between us. I figured that if he was gonna eat someone, Greg is more of a meal than I am. Far juicier too, I bet.

Anyway, as I remember it, they more or less played the entire album right though, starting with The Stations and God's Children, and followed by All Misery/Flowers. But it wasn't until they hit Idle Hands that the audience started to perk up and really feel it. I guess it helped that Greg very sweetly but rather confusingly spoke to us in what I think was Spanish. I didn't get what he said, but appreciated it all the same. Greg was generally as animated as Mark was immobile and even made us clap and sing along.

After about an hour, they walked off stage, but returned for about an half hour of encores, including the massively dark Hit The City and Metaphetamine Blues from Mark's Bubblegum-album, as well as a mash-up of Amazing Grace/King Only that gave me goose-pimples all over.

All in all, it was a tremendous show, and my one complaint would be the t-shirts. They were clearly not sized for girls, and as I don't need yet another nightie, I didn't get one. Apart from that, it was pretty perfect. Oh, and before I forget, Greg had beautiful shoes. Kudos! Unfortunately my pics came out really shitty so instead here's the video for All Misery/Flowers:
T

So it is with the Gutter Twins, aka Greg Dulli (ex Afghan Whigs and currently the Twilight Singers) and Mark Lanegan (Screaming trees, Queens of the Stone Age.) Given their love of dirty, sexy rock which is lying in the gutter but looking, well, at the gutter it seems strange it took them so long to get together. Lanegan had been involved in a strangely wonderful collaboration with usually-annoying Scots poppet Isobel Campbell. If Dulli and Lanegan are fish and chips, Lanegan and Campbell were chocolate pretzels - shouldn't work but did.

It's sexy, daring rock n'roll, aboslutely soaked in darkness and with two of the best voices in modern rock complementing each other over layers of crunching guitars. They hit the UK for dates this month. Well worth checking out if you can.

Perhaps this is the way the world ends.

What a brilliant pairing. The Gutter Twins indeed (clever riff on the Glitter Twins, I might add) - Mark Lanegan, he of the whiskey voice and associations with a million bands, and Greg Dulli, the arch-grunge soul man, writer of tales of man's evil and romantic despondency. What do two black souls like that get together to talk about? Well, God of course.

This album is steeped in gospel of the other side. They've assembled a studio crew of great import, the folks who've helped out Dulli in The Twilight Singers such as Mathias Schneeberger (who provides a lot of luscious guitar and Harmonium here) and Lanegan's associates from Queens of the Stone Age like Troy Van Leeuwen, plus guest spots by Joseph Arthur and Martina Topley-Bird. It surrounds the whole project with an aura of lively darkness. Dulli and Lanegan complement each other well, both their voices and the styles they work in. Saturnalia weaves together the burnt-down R&B of Dulli's previous work with the menacing tent-revival sound of Lanegan's solo work. Lanegan's distinctive baritone contrasts beautifully with Dulli's smooth delivery, and when on "The Body" they add Martina Topley-Bird, it gives me shivers.

The subject matter is religious, and there is a definite sense of apocalypse in the making here. This is the skies going black, the gathering storm. It's the Cormac McCarthy old west God, in black robes and full of violent potential. It has a magnificent sweep, the vast blasted bleakness of the wide open plain.

90% => ****1/2
---currently # 2 on my best of 2008---
See also: This hilarious interview at The Onion AV Club and the wicked lounge-act video for "All Misery/Flowers"

Düster-intensiver Rock, der aus der Spannung, die zwischen beider Musiker Stimmen und ihrer jeweiligen Art des Songwritings herrscht, ein Maximum an Identifikation und Intensität herausholt. Der rockende Blues beider Musiker zehrt in den meisten ihrer Projekte zu einem nicht geringen Maß aus der Erinnerung an die ursprüngliche, schwarze Sklavenidentität, aus der nahezu alle aktuelle Musik des Popjahrhunderts entspringt. Dies transportieren sie dann auf eine fast spirituelle Weise zum Hörer.

So schaffen zwei kongeniale Arbeiter des Rock ein außergewöhnliches, bewegendes Album. Ein Werk, das aus allen Poren nach (harter körperlicher) Arbeit klingt, nach dem Wohlbefinden, das einen durchströmt, wenn man nach einem harten Tag (und fand dieser im klimatisierten Designstudio statt) die Tür zur Bar (nicht Kneipe) der Wahl aufstößt und an seinem Stammplatz schon das Glas zurecht gerückt wird. Des Weiteren transportieren Dulli und Lanegan auf unbeschreiblich effektive Art und Weise den Kulturpessimismus einer Generation, die von ihren Helden – die beiden Musiker nicht zuletzt selbst – enttäuscht wurde und deren Befreiungserlebnis – das Ende des kalten Kriegs – so schnell in neue Krisen umschlug, dass ein freudiges Lachen im Hals stecken blieb. Musik, die Leser der Comics von Peter Bagge zwanzig Jahre nach ihrem Erscheinen fragen lässt: Wo sind diese zwei Jahrzehnte geblieben? Im Kern ist „Saturnalia“ damit ein ausschließlich amerikanisches Album, das jedoch durch die Amerikanisierung der Welt allgemein verständlich wird.

So präsentieren die Gutter Twins nicht zuletzt eine bösartig als gefühlsduselig, rückwärtsgewandt zu bezeichnende Musik. Eine Musik voller Energie, angestauter Gewalt, der nur ganz selten erlaubt wird, sich Bahn zu brechen („Circle the Fringes“). Der Aufbau von Tatendrang, die Suggestion von Handlungsbedarf, deren Befriedigung ausbleibt, zeichnet „Saturnalia“ aus.

Daran tragen das vielschichtige Songwriting der beiden Künstler sowie seine Umsetzung einen maßgeblichen Anteil. Nicht zuletzt jedoch erzeugt das Wechselspiel der beiden unverwechselbaren blues-(, whiskey-, zigaretten-, koks-) getränkten Rockgesangsstimmen von Dulli und Lanegan die Atmosphäre des Albums. Eine Alternative-Supergroup bilden die beiden eh, ein zeitloses Alternative-Meisterwerk haben sie mit „Saturnalia“ zudem geschaffen.

The Gutter Twins - Idle Hands
[audio http://aolradio.podcast.aol.com/aolmusic/mp3s/the-gutter-twins-idle-hands.mp3]

Manu Chao - Politik Kills (feat. LKJ, Remix by Dennis Bovell)
[audio http://www.politikills.com/public/politkills_remix_free.mp3]

Akron/Family - Phenomena
[audio http://spin.com/audio/download/27698/af-phenomena.mp3]

French Kicks - Abandon
[audio http://www.girlieaction.com/frenchkicks/frenchkicks.mp3]

The Wombats - Kill The Director
[audio http://www.brightantenna.com/TheWombats_KillTheDirector.mp3]

Speck Mountain - Stockholm
[audio http://www.burntbrownsounds.com/stockholm.mp3]

Nina Simone - Revolution
[audio http://downloads.betterpropaganda.com/music/Nina_Simone-Revolution_128.mp3]

Så stod han där till slut. I mörkret på scenen. Klamrade sig fast vid mikrofonstativet som en livlina, och ut strömmade en röst ur avgrunden: Oh mama, ain't no time to fall to pieces. He has arrived, he has arrived, there by the grace of God go I...

Gutter Twins inleder kvällen i Köpenhamn med "the Stations" från plattan "Saturnalia". Att uppleva Mark Lanegan som artist är ett tveeggat svärd. Killen har en sångröst som träffar som en slägga i magen - och detta menar jag som något positivt - det är en röst med en sådan kraft och tyngd att man golvas direkt! Varifrån kommer den? Hur kan en sån stor röst rymmas i en enda skruttig manskropp?

För skruttig är han ju, grabben. Och det är där paradoxen kommer in. Jag njuter så av hans sång. Men att se honom, så uppenbart skadskjuten och förstörd, skär in i märgen.

Mark Lanegan tittar inte på publiken. Inte en enda gång på drygt den en timme och fyrtiofem minuter långa konserten. Han blundar. Han står alldeles stilla när han sjunger. Vid ett par tillfällen vrider han sig snett åt sidan och tar en klunk vatten. Hans högerarm verkar inte riktigt lyda honom. Under några sekunder då och då skakar hans kropp i ryckningar. Så passerar ögonblicket och är förbi. Mark lägger upp höger arm runt stativet, klamrar sig fast och sjunger vidare.

Sjunger gör även Greg Dulli och med den äran. Mannen som jag tyckt alltmer antar formen av en banktjänsteman i kostym och gamla breda elvisbrillor visar sig live vara en kille som håller igång hela bandet. Det är han som driver alltsammans framåt. Han svettas och sliter inför köpenhamnspubliken, som sin vana trogen inte går i taket direkt, naaaaahj, men som under kvällens lopp visar allt större välvilja. 

Trummisen fyller år och jobbar som en galärslav hela konserten. "Värsta Keith Moon-fasonerna" tycker mitt sällskap förtjust. Jag håller med. Men det är ändå den där stillastående blundande Mark Lanegan som får de längsta och mest högljudda applåderna. Det är bara så. Vi är där för att se honom. Krasst uttryckt, vi är där för att se honom innan han dör. Han vet säkert om det. Han tittar inte åt oss. Han står med slutna ögon. Efter fem extranummer går han av scenen utan ett ord, utan en blick. Som om vi inte fanns där alls...

Ikväll på Debaser i Stockholm. För er som kan...

I realise that it's been a while since my last post and in that time Velvet Revolver have announced that they are parting company with Scott Weiland.  This comes just shortly on the heels of Weiland's announcement in Glasgow on March 20th that "this is the last tour" and former band, Stone Temple Pilots, announcing that they were reforming for a tour in the summer.

Slash had stated that "This band is all about its fans and its music and Scott Weiland isn't 100% committed to either.  Among other things, his increasingly erratic on-stage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on."

Regardless, it seems that a 3rd Velvet Revolver album is on the cards, while Weiland will no doubt focus on the Stone Temple Pilots reunion.

... I also realise that I've again been late with the monthly bootleg. I had loaned much of my collection to a friend and it's taken me a while to look out a worthy show.

... I've also been re-arranging my proper CD collection so that 'Saturnalia', 'The Bees Made Honey In The Lions Skull', 'Ultra-Payloaded', 'Our Shadows Will Remain' and 'Dig, Lazarus Dig!!!' finally find their place among the many others.

Saturnalia, for those who are missing out, is one of the finest albums I've heard in a number of years. I've been a fan of Lanegan for some time (since I first heard Screaming Trees) and I also loved The Afghan Whigs (Twilight Singers are pretty good, but The Whigs were special), so to say this collaboration is a little special would be understatement.  The first 3 tracks (The Stations, God's Children and All Misery/Flowers) make their intentions very clear: there's no dwelling on past glories and although often echoing the best work of each frontman (God's Children sounding like Black Love era Whigs, All Misery/Flowers creeps in like one of Lanegan's Bubblegum-era tracks, while Bete Noir is reminiscent of the best of Screaming Trees), the approach is fresh, with both are on particularly inspired form.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' latest (Dig, Lazarus Dig!!!) may not be as instantly appealing as it's predecessor (2004's amazing double Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus), but after a few listens it has managed to tunnel its way into my brain.  The title track is particularly catchy and was for a while my wake up call in the morning.  Night of the Lotus Eaters, We Call Upon the Author and Jesus of the Moon are highlights.

I'll say no more about Earth's latest, as I've already commented on it in a previous post. However, if you haven't already checked out the MP3 of Omens & Portents I: The Driver (courtesy of record label Southern Lord), I recommend that you do so now.  The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull' is an incredibly powerful album, tinged with desert rock and uplifting southern gothic (doesn't that stir some intrigue?).

The other two albums are older, but are well deserving of a mention here. Perry Farrell's first Satellite Party record didn't get the reaction it deserved from me first time around, but I'll have to review my top 10 of 2007.  I've been listening to it a fair bit these last few weeks and it's a brilliant album ... a natural progression from Jane's Addiction's Strays.

'Our Shadows Will Remain' is another that has grown on me over time. There's no denying Joseph Arthur's talent, however I'd initially found it to be a little too ... overwhelming.  Or underwhelmingly overwhelming?  Regardless, it has since grown on me ... the sign of a great album.  Even Tho is my current favourite, with Can't Exist being a close second. 

Anyhoo, hope you are all doing well and enjoy these videos.

They started off heavy singing "The Stations." I, as well as others in my section, seemed to be really into it. They continued with "All God's Children" and "All Misery/Flowers." One of the few songs that were song that were not on the album was "Live With Me,” which appeared on the Twilight Singers Stitch in Time EP. They also played a breathtaking version of the “St. James Infirmary” blues made famous by many including jazz pioneer Louis Armstrong and more recently, Isobel Campbell. The slow, brooding nature of the Gutter Twins’ vision fit that song really well.

Highlights of the night, for me, included "Seven Stories Underground" and "Bete Noire." Dulli seemed to be frustrated with the audience when he asked for participation and got a very timid response from the hipster LA scene, at one point asking, "You guys still out there?" I was sitting almost directly in front of Jeff Klein playing keyboards. What a joy to watch. Some songs playing keys, some guitar, some playing his recorded loops from the laptop, all while smoking a cigarette. He really is an underrated and under appreciated musical talent. After Dulli introduced the band, Lanegan uttered the only non-singing words he uttered all night - "This is Greg Dulli."

Dulli closed the set with an amazing version of "Front Street" that blew me away. The band went offstage, to what seemed to me, great applause. The band went backstage. The applause lasted a few minutes, it seemed, and all of a sudden, the lights came on and the roadies started dismantling. I did not want to believe it, but then the curtain came down. There would be no encore tonight. There is a difference between going to a Mark Lanegan concert and a Greg Dulli concert. Dulli wanted the crowd to clap, and move and show emotions, and the crowd reacted like they were at a Lanegan concert, quietly listening to incredible songs. Still, even with no encore, it was a great show, packed out at the legendary Palace Theatre, now the Avalon venue.

Todd

]]> http://musicafter40.wordpress.com/?p=12 Thu, 10 Apr 2008 02:34:42 +0000 Deb http://musicafter40.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/afghan-whigs-gutter-twins/ I don't look for favorite artists or bands expecting it to be a long-term investment. I hear something that I like or read an article, check out a single. Sometimes the sophomore album is a let-down and that's kinda it. You can't get too attached one or even two albums in.

Back in 1993, I was lucky enough to be up late watching 120 Minutes and Matt Pinfield introduced a video for the song "Debonair". About 30 seconds in I was hooked. The sound was different than the usual lo-fi indie rock that was going on at the time. This was the Afghan Whigs. 

My friend Alan who went to Ohio State then filled me in on the details and gave me a special gift. The Afghan Whigs' first Sub Pop release Up In It (on limited edition orange vinyl, no less). Thanks, Alan...wherever in the world you are...

Then, since I was still doing music marketing for BMG in 1993, I attend the CMJ convention. One of the panels was entitled "Life After Nirvana" and it was about breaking bands after Nevermind. There's a guy on the panel from Elektra and he plays the video for "Debonair" and talks about this band that he's promoting - The Afghan Whigs. Needless to say, two releases later, they are no longer on Elektra, one album is released on Columbia and then they break up. There's probably a major label horror story in there somewhere. 

Just before the break up, Twilight As Played By The Twilight Singers is released. It seems like a collective of interesting artists more than a band. But, it's obvious that just like the Afghan Whigs, Greg Dulli is the mastermind and songwriter driving this project, and I'm still hooked. The next Twilight Singers album, Blackberry Belle features a different band, but it's more focused. The songs are dark, soulful and just great rock tunes - all at the same time. It's an album that I go to at least once a month, a real masterpiece in my musical world. 

Powder Burns has one of my favorite songs of all-time: "Candy Cane Crawl". Ani DiFranco even does backing vocals - can't get much better than that...

This year I had the pleasure of seeing two performances by the Gutter Twins - Greg Dulli with Mark Lanegan. Once again, Dulli has got a new project and album, Saturnalia. The mood is even darker, but the groove is still strong. I always thought that Lanegan's solo albums dragged a bit, not really my taste. But, the combination totally works. 

All my highs, lows, frustration, desire, success, disappointment, of the past fifteen years have had the perfect soundtrack... and I'm sure there's more to come...

Super interesting night.

Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands - Cody's Dream.

For those that do not know about Mark Pickerel, he was the original drummer for seminal alternative band. The Screaming Trees. He has also worked along such alternative luminaries such as: Kurt Cobain, Mike Johnson, Ben Shepherd, Jack Endido, Krist Novoselic, Steve Fisk and final Screaming Trees drummer, Barret Martin. Steve Fiskis also the producer of the Praying Hands debut album, Snakes in the Radio as well as Cody's Dream.

This is the follow up to the Praying Hands' debut album, Snake in the Radio. This album is along the sames lines as Snake in the Radio, but where Snake in the Radio could be considered Alt. Blues of sorts, Cody's Dream is full-blown Alt Country. It loosely follows the same path of telling a story throughout the album, but it is much looser. Mark also talks more about religion then he did with his previous effort. He seems to back away from religion in some songs, but is drawn back to it again in others. The same thread of "works for some, not for me, though" seems to be a persistant theme. Very much like his fellow maverick Mark Lanegan does time and time again. (Maybe a concidence, but they did play together in the Screaming trees from 85-91).

The album starts off hard and fast with the title track and gets you prepared for the journey that Pickerel and His Praying Hands is about to take you on. Mark's soft brooding vocals are like that of a soft spoken gentleman that has an aura of trust and experience. Some songs are faster than others, but the album flows really well. There is a lot of great music on this record.

Mark shows his comedic side with the song "Leaving with the Swamptones" as he tours from church to church throughout the country looking for pretty girls. "First stop is gonna be Charlotte. I'll just bet she's hot". As Brian Chidester (Editor in Cheif of Dumb Angel Magazine) so aptly put it, " 'Last Leaves' is a song the Neil Young wishes he wrote". Religion and relationships are very thematic throughout the record and that can relate to everyone in any faction of life. We have all experienced one or the other, if not both, but we can't put words to it. Luckily, we have people like Pickerel to do it for us. I highly recommend this album to anyone who likes good music and a good time.

Todd

Cody's Dream and Snake in the Radio are available at BloodshotRecords.com