Dearth of Posts

Yeah, I've been lighting this thing up in 2008, huh? I apologize. Real life fucked Vitamin J right up the old poop chute for much of this year. Things did turn around for me sometime around Labor Day and they got even better a few weeks after that.

I hate to be all vague and whatnot, but some heavy shit is going down and Death May Be Your Santa Claus just isn't the proper venue.

Happy holidays.

Brought to You by the Letter "B"

Local H, the greatest fucking live band in the world and don't you ever goddam forget it, played in Covington, Ky. on Nov. 28. As they are the greatest fucking live band in the world, they rocked. Oh, how they rocked.

What makes this an even more special event was the fact that they were OPENING for another band (Electric Six, whom I kind of like, but still).

Therefore, Local H only played for about 45 minutes, give or take. Seeing as how this is the only time I saw them in 2008, I'll take what I can get.

Setlist:

Jesus Christ, Did You See the SIZE of That Sperm Whale?

Bag of Hammers

Blur

BMW Man

White Belt Boys

Hands on the Bible

Buffalo Trace

Toxic

Bound for the Floor

Back in the Day

About two songs in, Scott Lucas announced, "This show is brought to you by the letter 'B.'" I was like, "Whatever, dude." But then, as I was dutifully jotting down the setlist, I noticed that, save for the first tune, each song did in fact feature the letter "B" in its title. Hunh. Even "Toxic," which is a cover of a Britney Spears song. Oh, how clever! Why, the drummer's name is Brian St. Clair and Lucas was even sporting a Beatles t-shirt.

Except where did set-opener "...Sperm Whale" fit in the mix?

When I Am King You Will Be First Against the Wall

Saw Radiohead in Indianapolis Sunday night. They were pretty goddammed fantastic. Although the show was at Deer Cree.. oops, I mean, Verizon Wireless Music Center, which is your standard American outdoor concert venue, which means you have to get there six hours before showtime and stake your turf (either that, or pay the extra $25 for actual seats). Being adults, we got there about an hour before opening act Grizzly Bear took the stage (they're good, but nobody came to see them) and we were about as far back as you could get, but the sound was awesome and Radiohead's light show provided plenty of visual interest.

Amusingly enough, the last time I saw Radiohead was at Deer Creek when they opened for R.E.M. on their Monster tour. That was in September of 1995. Time flies.

I was going to call this post "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box," but there was enough elbow room, all things considerd [sic].

Highlights: "Everything In Its Right Place," "Pyramid Song," "Bangers and Mash," "Karma Police" and "Street Spirit." Also, they played every song from In Rainbows, their latest album, which I think is pretty cool. There are many bands who play two or three token tracks from their latest effort and then play what amounts to the same set they always play.

Setlist:
15 Step
Bodysnatchers
There There
All I Need
Pyramid Song
Nude
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
The Gloaming
Climbing Up the Walls
Faust Arp
Videotape
Morning Bell
Idioteque
Reckoner
Everything In Its Right Place
Just
How to Disappear Completely
- - - - -
You and Whose Army?
Bangers and Mash
Exit Music (For a Film)
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Karma Police
- - - - -
House of Cards
National Anthem
Street Spirit (Fade Out)

I Can Easily Pass for 37

The big four oh. Forty years old. Hello, middle age.

Sigh.

Captain Bligh

Saw Filter last night. A surprising number of my friends think Filter sucks, lumping them in with other also-rans from the '90s altrock boom (e.g., Lit, Seven Mary Three, Better Than Ezra), but for whatever reason, I love the band. Check out their second album, Title of Record.

And they were pretty good, but like it or not, Filter's commercial heyday is long gone, and playing in a two-thirds empty Coyote's was undoubtedly a humbling experience for Filter frontman Richard Patrick. The fact that the crowd was pretty lame didn't help. You could see the energy level onstage decrease with each passing tune. In fact, after playing "Hey Man, Nice Shot," Patrick blithely told us, "We usually walk offstage and let you guys clap for a few minutes, but we won't fuck around with that tonight (paraphrased)." In other words, "Let's get this over with as quickly as possible."

Set list:

Welcome to the Fold

American Cliche

Soldiers of Misfortune

Dose

The Take

Where Do We Go from Here?

(Can't You) Trip Like I Do

It's Gonna Kill Me

Jurassitol

Hey Man, Nice Shot

Take a Picture

Skinny

Blog? What blog?

Updates have been nonexistant, I know. Time constraints and personal issues. I plan on describing some things, like getting hit by a car while riding my bike, my Altima getting totalled last October, my new job, my stupid band, the lawsuit I nearly got involved with at my old job, stuff about Groop Dogdrill... Lots of potential topics. Please feel free to make suggestions, what the hell. I do this for myself, but mostly for the practice and to vent.