Before the show I spoke a bit with this guy who was waiting in line (shouldn't have; people ruin everything :D) and he told me she and Jen Cloher had broken up, which I didn't know and it's none of my goddamn beeswax... and yet I cried my eyes out during "Need A Little Time". TMI, I know.




You lucky bastard. Hopefully I'll get the chance to see him eventually. Have you watched Apocalypse: A Bill Callahan Tour Film?

I was able to pick up the Record Store Day Black Friday 2016 LP with DVD, but I've never watched it. I will probably, as is my habit, leading up to the show, go back into the entire catalog of Smog, (Smog), and B. Callahan in anticipation. Have you received the Tweedy Warmer release yet?

Oh, dude, what are you doing with your life. It's absolutely beautiful and not just a collection of performances (which, considering it's Bill Callahan we're talking, would have been fabulous enough anyway).


Not yet; the package is still reaching critical mass (long story). But your question reminds me of something I've been meaning to post here and haven't because my life is a fucking wreck. Though my body gets tired / My mind does it no favors at all / And there's so little time / To do something / Something, anything more... Where were we? Oh, right - this is part of an e-mail I received from Wilco HQ on May 12:


GREAT. I just checked again and WARMER was in the "RSD Exclusive" category, not "RSD First", as it should have been listed. So now it turns out I didn't need to spend a degenerate amount of dough that didn't even go to Jeff! Well, at least this means it will show up on Bandcamp in high resolution, I guess...

Saw Xiu Xiu the other night. Pretty great performance, 2 new band members. Stewart is a better guitarist than I remember

I am really hoping to catch one of her shows. I imagine they are really great.

Saw the Toadies last night, for like the 12th time or so. While not the most mind-blowing shit out there, they are always just a really, really solid rock 'n' roll show. I have always enjoyed seeing them. And I don't care how old they or their audience get, Quitter will always be a face-melter, and I Burn will always mezmerize me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgK_PBkoltk

Calvin Johnson.
Playing solo, in the French-American Institute courtyard in Rennes.
Sure doesn't need a mike. That was cool, there were not that many people, it was 3 pm, it didn't feel like a concert and there were crêpes (local pancakes).


Courtney Barnett.
It really kicked off midway through the set - she could have been exhausted. Things got good once they played a new song. The bass player had great moments too and, Courtney seems to enjoy playing the guitar more and more. She didn't start as a band leader, I know.

That was in La Rochelle.


Aldous Harding the next day.
I've hardly seen anyone with such presence and so many great voices. Short set, but worth it.

Just to prove I don't know anything:

1.- Today I got the Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest files from Bandcamp and the credits (a full-artwork/lyrics/etc. pdf is included) read, "hanly banks callahan: backing vocals on lonesome valley". Guy married the director of the Bill Callahan Tour Film I've been babbling about and I had zero idea. Here's a cool interview with Hanly from 2013:

In Search Of Bill Callahan: Hanly Banks tells us how she made a film about one of music’s shyest stars

2.- Also below my radar: his own Live At Third Man Records vinyl came out seven months ago and I JUST found out. Why don't you people tell me anything? God-damn!

Funny, just within the last hour, I've also learned from reading a review of the album that he is married to the director of his tour film, which, and please don't be too disparaging in reply, I still haven't watched since you last mentioned it. Like a vintage wine, I suppose, I'm saving it for an occasion, perhaps the eve of his performance on July 13. Life is ridiculous right now, and I can't find a suitable moment to soak it in. I have been able to stream the new album, however, and I'm waiting for my copy to arrive. I got the Third Man live album, having heard about it from Pitchfork or some such site. Thanks for the interview link, good read. I agree with her: one need not film a person eating Indian Food for dinner.

Saw Courtney Barnett this past Tuesday, as an opening band, but as the band that I had really paid to see. She, they, were awesome.

Didn't mean to be disparaging before; just being folksy. :) My own life is currently a major wreck, I'm being evicted, my shit's fucked up.

Does the school band I saw perform at assembly twenty minutes ago count? IDK, I'm going to say that they do.

They performed one song, and it was a cover. Compared to some of the other bands I've heard at school assemblies, they were pretty good. The bass guitarist and one of the singers were quite impressive, the other singer was less so, the guitarist was probably fine but his tone didn't fit the song, and the drummer was...well, a drummer.

I now have the urge to get good enough to play at a future assembly, and use it to vent my frustration at the school and the people in it.

Soap & Skin inside Ferrara’s castle.
Absolutely stunning.

Mac De Marco in Lyon, in the old Roman theatre on the Fourvière hillside.


A picture here of the scenary

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuits_de_Fourvi%C3%A8re


It's been a joyous moment, that ended in a battle between band and audience. The weapons were cushions, thrown onstage and thrown back to the pit by all people onstage (De Marco and band members plus the opening acts who had enjoyed the show at a table lit by candlelight in a corner).
Music is not mentioned here, I liked it too. It really felt like holidays

when you were still a child.

"Built To Spill" - It was sad. Basically just Doug and friends now. I guess it always sort of has been that, but I really miss the core 5-piece. These other bandmates essentially played their parts okay I guess, it was just very flat and lifeless. And the little subtleties that really made the 5-piece so tight and complimentary to each other are completely non-existent.

Mac Sabbath melted my mind last night like a nice warm slice of American cheese.

Okilly Dokilly were on the bill, but their van broke down and they could not make it. I was actually pretty excited to finally see them. They were the main reason I went. Bummer.

Also got turned on to a new band Playboy Manbaby. A fun little mix of punk with a side of lounge act. Hard to explain, but very entertaining.

Just a good fun-times show all around.

Edit: Looking at the tour, Okilly Dokilly are playing Springfield, MO soon. I don't really consider them a band worth travelling for (only 4 hours though)... But, the idea of seeing Okilly Dokilly in "Springfield" does make me sort of giddy...

Opened for the Amsterdam based Turkish psych group Altin Gün last night. Amazing turnout, total feel good show of the summer. They were wonderful people and absolutely a band I loved opening for, since following them would be a fool's errand. The place was totally packed which was amazing since there was zero promotion and zero press response. Just a fantastic evening. if you are in the path of their American tour, they do classic Turkish psychedelia exactly right. Do yourself a favor and see them.

The Last Gig You Went To And What Was It Like Thread
 

Does anyone mind answering some "newbie" questions? A while back I had a fairly cheap surround sound system. Woofer, and 4 speakers. It worked ok, and I loved periodically when watching a movie and it would sound like a sound was coming from behind you. But it eventually stopped working.

1 I see all this talk about speaker bars. What good are they? They cant give you surround sound, right?

If someone answers there will be follow-up newbie questions

MichaelSkary cold hard sucka.

My wife and close friend accompanied me to see the Pink Dots last night. Orbit Service (opening act), didn’t start until a few minutes after 10pm. Randall’s ability to perform down on the stage floor makes my back hurt. This performance contained more lyrics than the past......he truly creates beautiful sound clusters!

Earlier this week, one of our daughters added my wife and I to her Spotify family account. I downloaded the new album and gave it a listen while at work Thursday night as Savage informed me to expect lots of the new material.

They opened with, Maid To Measure, and this Dick Dale surf guitar sound really resonated with me.



01. Maid To Measure
02. Happy Birthday Mr. President
03. Itchycoo Shark
04. Junkyard
05. Red Flag
06. Real World
07. Disturbance
08. Just A Lifetime
09. Neon Calculators
10. Andromeda Suite
11. The Photographer

12. Hellsville

 

The surprise treat of the night was hearing, Andromeda Suite. This Chemical Playschool 8 & 9 classic is buried after 17 minutes of electric noodling of Disc 1 before you get to the substance of what we were treated to last night.

 

My friend questioned if 10 years from now when it’s the Dots 50th Anniversary tour, would we as 60 year olds be in attendance......sure hope so!

For the first time last night, I finally got to see Houston’s Ak’Chamel, The Giver Of Illness. They were the first of three local bands opening for Wolf Eyes.

They donned witch doctor type outfits, one wearing a animal pelt (rabbit?) as a mask, the other a tribal mask that was a cross between jungle growth and horns.

The drummer with bone shakers in hand walked in a circle in front of the stage as if purifying the sacred sawdust ring.



During the performance, the drummer would hit the floor with his bone shakers, chanting and growling at the audience......yours truly growled back!



If you enjoy the melodic side of Sun City Girls, I believe you will enjoy Ak,Chamel. I got to visit with the guys after the show, they have a new vinyl release due out in May 2020

Wolf Eyes first release was 1998, the same year I got married. SYG has 17 Wolf Eyes threads and NINE of the threads were started in 2006, so I’m guessing SYG was my proper introduction to Wolf Eyes???

(sad to know SYG is now a place most new post fail to receive 9 responses)

John & Nate were all over the venue and open for discussion if you so engaged. As I was looking over the merch table, some young guy had Olson’s ear explaining how he had 50ish Wolf Eye releases and John kept responding, “yep, yep, yep”......like 12 yeps just while I was standing there.



The show opened with Nate Young twisting and manipulating knobs, creating crunchy sounding thuds as John mostly blew a whistle, woodblock and eventually, his saxophone.



They were mostly subdued in their playing, even when creating a massive walls of noise. This current tour focuses on them as a duo based around electronics-synths-tapes-reeds and voice......no stabbed in the face guitar. They played for 50 minutes ending a few minutes shy of 1am.

The merch table was sparse. I picked up a puzzle CD in a zip-lock bag, both tour tapes (plus extra copy of each for trading) and a autographed/numbered zine.



I saw several people come in just before Wolf Eyes started. I overheard someone ask how was Dinosaur Jr? Also in Houston last night was the Travis Scott Astroworld extravaganza at NRG Stadium......Marilyn Manson performed: