Showing posts with label "TOUR". Show all posts
Showing posts with label "TOUR". Show all posts
11/20/09
A.A. Bondy Story
I was assigned a story about A.A. Bondy. This entailed talking to a real live music publicist who told me my admittedly long email address "wasn't making it easy for anyone." I'm lucky in the sense that Bondy isn't Red Wanting Blue or any of the more typical OSU bar bands the Lantern seems to cover. On the other hand, why I am writing public relations material for someone I really couldn't care less about? The whole practice of writing stories based on press releases and publicity contacts seems like a rather evil collusion for news organizations, even for the quasi legitimate stories of an "Arts Reporter." Bondy used to be in a pretty trite grunge "alt" band in the 90's called Verbena - here is the video for their big play into the mainstream.
I normally love (<3) nineties alternative music. But Verbena strikes me as hack work. Much the same can be said for Bondy's newer direction, that Dylan pose punk rockers often strike as they turn 30. There are some songs on his new album that I felt were good-ish... but it seems, like Pitchfork basically says, a soulless recapitulation of a genre's motifs. When that genre is punk, okay maybe, when it is "roots, blues, country influenced, Americana, singer-songwriter folk," no. Definitely not. I haven't retired to the land of NPR and concerts for the DNC quite yet.
I do manage to mention Merge Records and Thomas Function as well as make an allusion to This Bike is a Pipe Bomb.
After "the jump" is the story I turned in.
And the Lantern version.
I normally love (<3) nineties alternative music. But Verbena strikes me as hack work. Much the same can be said for Bondy's newer direction, that Dylan pose punk rockers often strike as they turn 30. There are some songs on his new album that I felt were good-ish... but it seems, like Pitchfork basically says, a soulless recapitulation of a genre's motifs. When that genre is punk, okay maybe, when it is "roots, blues, country influenced, Americana, singer-songwriter folk," no. Definitely not. I haven't retired to the land of NPR and concerts for the DNC quite yet.
I do manage to mention Merge Records and Thomas Function as well as make an allusion to This Bike is a Pipe Bomb.
After "the jump" is the story I turned in.
And the Lantern version.
8/20/09
CANDLEPIN
Whilst on tour in Portland, Maine I finally was able to cross off one of my life goals: play candlepin. It's a distinctly New England dialect of bowling with a small ball that fits in your palm, straight up and down candlestickesque pins, and 3 rolls for each frame. I think my affinity for it was originally tied up in my usual taste for local variants, strange traditions - etc, but after playing a game I left with much more substanial reasons for liking it.
1. Erractic indeterminacy. The ball is so tiny that it often veers even when thrown straight. Couple this with the fact that gutter balls are often violently spit out back into the lane and that fallen pins stay in the field of play ("roadblocks") and you have a recipe for unpredicatable play.
2. Abysmal futility. You would think with an extra throw each frame that Candlepin would be a breeze compared to our 10 pin, while actually it is considerably more difficult. Strikes and spares are rare events. In competition between "professionals" scores of 130 are common. The best game ever, according to the dude that worked at the bowling alley, was 245. No one, ever, has had a perfect game (300). It's an unreachable zenith, one which the dude that worked at the bowling alley said would never be surmounted.
3. Luddite central. It might have just been the alley we went to but you had to keep score yourself as well as hit the button to rerack the pins after each roll. And tons of really old New Englanders are into it as evidenced by the background crowds in these videos. And people in New England have the best accents in America. RIP DON GILLIS
1. Erractic indeterminacy. The ball is so tiny that it often veers even when thrown straight. Couple this with the fact that gutter balls are often violently spit out back into the lane and that fallen pins stay in the field of play ("roadblocks") and you have a recipe for unpredicatable play.
2. Abysmal futility. You would think with an extra throw each frame that Candlepin would be a breeze compared to our 10 pin, while actually it is considerably more difficult. Strikes and spares are rare events. In competition between "professionals" scores of 130 are common. The best game ever, according to the dude that worked at the bowling alley, was 245. No one, ever, has had a perfect game (300). It's an unreachable zenith, one which the dude that worked at the bowling alley said would never be surmounted.
3. Luddite central. It might have just been the alley we went to but you had to keep score yourself as well as hit the button to rerack the pins after each roll. And tons of really old New Englanders are into it as evidenced by the background crowds in these videos. And people in New England have the best accents in America. RIP DON GILLIS
7/26/09
TURIN'
The band I'm in, Amelia, is going on tour with baby Ryan and baby Austin's band, Delay (I think someone else is in it too?). This is important because I finally get to go to both Maine (where I will live someday, collecting lighthouses - wearing heavy sweaters with shorts) AND Brooklyn. Also I will eat a hot dog in Allston + Candace will be present. In Akron we will visit my boyhood home at the Akron Aeros' stade. Here are the dates:
August 6th - New Brunswick, NJ 7pm @ Meat Town USA
August 7th – Allston , MA 8pm @ House Show
August 8th – Brookyn, NY 8pm @ The Fort 1414 Lincoln Place W/ Landlord, Bad Blood, Witches
August 9th – Worcester, MA 8pm @ 11 Forbes St.
August 10th – Portland, ME 8pm @ 176 Coyle street w/ Dylan Bredeau
August 11th – NH @ TBA
August 12th – Syracuse, NY 8pm @ Castle Rockmore, 113 West Borden Ave. W/No Connection
August 13th – TBA
August 14th – Akron, OH @ TBA
August 15th, – SOUTHWEST FOLK FEST! http://www.myspace.com/southwestfolkfest 2 day fest! Aug. 14th and 15th, $7 each show @ Church of Rock 4300 Howard Ave.,
August 16th - Chicago, Il @ The Fun House w/ Arkansas? (Their last show EVER.)
August 18th - Columbus, Ohio @ The Monster House w/ The Winslows, State Lottery
August 19th - Columbus, Ohio @ Bernie's Distillery (dreams do come true) w/ The Winslows, Tin Armour, New Creases, Papermoons
September 4th - Columbus, Ohio @ Monster House w/ Cars Can Be Blue, Lemming, Lovely Eggs
THIS IS OUR ROADIE:
This is what we looked like playing Berea Fest:
AUSSI:
Mark Bouchet's "Watershed" at the Venice Biennale. Genius.
August 6th - New Brunswick, NJ 7pm @ Meat Town USA
August 7th – Allston , MA 8pm @ House Show
August 8th – Brookyn, NY 8pm @ The Fort 1414 Lincoln Place W/ Landlord, Bad Blood, Witches
August 9th – Worcester, MA 8pm @ 11 Forbes St.
August 10th – Portland, ME 8pm @ 176 Coyle street w/ Dylan Bredeau
August 11th – NH @ TBA
August 12th – Syracuse, NY 8pm @ Castle Rockmore, 113 West Borden Ave. W/No Connection
August 13th – TBA
August 14th – Akron, OH @ TBA
August 15th, – SOUTHWEST FOLK FEST! http://www.myspace.com/southwestfolkfest 2 day fest! Aug. 14th and 15th, $7 each show @ Church of Rock 4300 Howard Ave.,
August 16th - Chicago, Il @ The Fun House w/ Arkansas? (Their last show EVER.)
August 18th - Columbus, Ohio @ The Monster House w/ The Winslows, State Lottery
August 19th - Columbus, Ohio @ Bernie's Distillery (dreams do come true) w/ The Winslows, Tin Armour, New Creases, Papermoons
September 4th - Columbus, Ohio @ Monster House w/ Cars Can Be Blue, Lemming, Lovely Eggs
THIS IS OUR ROADIE:
This is what we looked like playing Berea Fest:
AUSSI:
Mark Bouchet's "Watershed" at the Venice Biennale. Genius.
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