So my knee fucked me over yet again. My dear friends from Columbus called me last minute and said they were coming up to see the Dismemberment Plan at the Metro. To be quite honest, I never really know the band prior to the show but it's hard to turn down Erin and Justin time as I don't get to see them often.
The Forms were the first act, they were terrible. Even if I was drinking and standing on a good leg I could not have found this enjoyable. Why is it that when people are playing electronic music they get so excited? Guy was hitting his buttons like he was pounding out a John Bonham drum solo. You're hitting a button asshole!!!! Ugh. Yeah, they were terrible.
Maritime was the middle band and were quite good. They were all in red "#Solidarity WI t-shirts, as they are from Milwaukee and are in approval of the Unions. I suggest giving them a listen, enjoyable.
Then the Dismemberment came on and were brilliant. I hope they continue to tour or at least show up at some festivals. I really enjoyed the songs, not sure how to describe them. Is it indie rock? Is it pop? Is it emo? A massive mix of coolness? I don't know, you decide.
I think they were awesome and I say fuck you knee because my leg just couldn't hold up for the whole show. If they come back there is no question that I'll see them again. Thanks again to Justin Hemminger of Speed Governor out of Columbus Ohio. Check them out if they are in your town.
off to dinner. Restaurant week in Chicago is awesome. Bone marrow buttered steak is in my immediate future.
It's been a tough winter........Broken knee, recovery, infection, recovery and now some rehab still to go.
But tomorrow morning I go back to work, permanently this time. Life on the couch is not cool but at the same time it beats working. Of course I haven't been drinking in awhile due to the blood thinners but that changes in less than a month. Would have been one thing if I could have sat at the bar and got smashed every day but that was unable to happen.
Music things I've seen since being broken.....
1) 12.30.2010 - The Hold Steady at Lincoln Hall. I walked into the bar for dinner early to guarantee a seat. When we get there I see Craig, Tad and the boys at the bar but they were eating dinner so I didn't bother them while they eat. Plus, what am I gonna say, "I really like you're band, you guys are super cool!" Of course not. In retrospect I should have because my fiancee Nikole managed to get the band to dedicate "Sweet Part of the City" to me. Something along the lines of "We got an email from this guy's fiancee Nikole. He's been sick for a pretty long time and this is his first night out in awhile, so this one is for Pete." Coolest thing ever. Thanks to Nik and the Hold Steady.
2) 1.1.2011 - The Black Keys at the Aragon Ballroom. They are so fucking good. I can't believe it took them this long to hit some pay dirt. Listen to them, see them live if you can, worth every nickel. One thing to note here, the handicap seating is great at the ballroom. Put you in a private turret and you have an awesome view. The sound is even better up there...
3) 1.7.2011 - Weezer at the Aragon Ballroom. The played the entire Blue Album, amazing. The first half of the show threw me off though. If you have ever seen Weezer in the past (I mean like late '90s or early 2000s) then you know that, as a band, they play their songs, very little interaction with the crowd and they, in essence, do their job. This show starts with Rivers running all over the fucking stage like he's performing in the mode of of teenage pop star. Climbing into the balcony, it was weird. Then, intermission. Then anger started due to a performance by the local "School of Rock" kids doing Weezer songs. Fuck you "School of Rock" because I want to see Weezer, not kids playing Weezer, get the fuck off the stage. Then there was 20 minutes of painful slide show. Then the Blue Album and all was good again.
4) 1.8.2011 - Weezer at the Aragon Ballroom. The played the Pinkerton album all the way through. Amazing. See above notations of how the rest of the show went.
5) 1.17.2011 - Buddy Guy at Buddy Guy's Legends. For those unfamiliar with the tradition, Buddy plays his place Thursday through Sunday for the month of January. Me and Funk Doctor Spock and our ladies have made a mini-tradition of going for our respective birthdays. Buddy is so fucking good that it's almost frightening. That 74 year old man brings it with the best of them and may be the best guitar player alive. Listen to him, his new record "Living Proof" is proof that the blues ain't dead.
6) 2.11.2011 - Robert Johnson Centennial Concert at Chicago Symphony Hall. I had a little trepidation going into this one because it was fronted by Big Head Todd and the Monsters. I'm not a fan of theirs, it's not that their talent lacks they just don't do much for me. The biggest seller was I've never been to Symphony Hall (sound was so fucking amazing, every note rang clear, I'm still amazed how good it was) and that it was an all Robert Johnson show. They had two real special guest in 95 year old David "Honeyboy" Edwards and Hubert Sumlin. Honeybee looked and sounded really fucking old, if he sees 96 I'll be shocked. Could still play the guitar pretty damn good, maybe shouldn't sing anymore. Sumlin was the guitar player for Howlin' Wolf in the old days, not sure how old he is, late 70s maybe, he can still play and sing. Plus he has an oxygen tank that a roadie carries on and off the stage for him, that's a sign you made it. Good night, and thanks to my buddy Neil, it was a fine date night.
Talk soon, more shows on the horizon. Couple of quick notes. I have read that preliminary headliners for Lollapalooza are Muse, Eminem and the Foo Fighters. Love Muse, will likely watch whatever the opposition is for the other two bands. Just listened to the new Social Distortion record, sounds like old Social D records, so pretty good. New Strokes single is awesome and you can download it here http://www.thestrokes.com/home, I'm digging it. Sounds like them with a hint of polish.
Yeah, I guess I'm a little late with this one, but it has been a minute since I have posted anything. I've been slacking, no doubt. It's October, the heat in the air is gone, the short shorts have turned into long pants, and it's going to be a long time until we can sit at the beach drinking brews and enjoying a warm Summer breeze. Now it's time for the winter ales and we'll see the summer brews in a few months. I'm going to miss it, but Talib Kweli and DJ Hi- Tek made a video that should warm you up just a bit. The long, hot summer is gone, but let's reminisce on it for a second.
I'm not going to do a big write up with this one... Mainly because I'm about to leave work and start my holiday weekend. However, you know who the hell The Legendary Roots Crew is. You know who the hell John Legend is. If you don't, chances are you have been living in an Afghan cave with your boy Bin Laden for the last decade or so. Maybe you just don't appreciate good music... Then again, that makes me ask you why are you on this blog? I put this out here for music lovers. People who want to be exposed to the good shit. I troll the internets all day to find things for folks to appreciate. This right here, I appreciate. It's 11+ minutes of awesome. I learned that I couldn't write left handed when I destroyed my elbow 5 years ago. I could have wrote with my toes and you wouldn't have known the difference. So, this is John Legend singing and The Roots going the fuck off with the instruments. I don't know exactly what Black Thought is doing in this video. My guess is sitting around and looking cool. He can do that. I respect his gangster. He's an icon. Also, if you didn't know, The Roots and John Legend are coming out with an album together, and if this is any indication of how good it is going to be, Donnie Halfcourt is going to be one happy camper.
Enjoy the performance. Give me a shout in the comments and let me know what you thought about it.
It's Labor day weekend, bitches. Get drunk, have a blast, be safe. I'll see you sometime around Tuesday, or whenever my hangover decides to subside. Cheers.
I told you it was going to happen! Cee-Lo Green dropped an alternate video for his new song "Fuck You." As I'm sure you already know, the song is a huge swipe at a gold digging ex, and this particular version shows Cee-Lo dealing with said "heartbreaker" throughout his life, all based in a 50's styled diner. Sort of reminds me of the diner where Biff hung out in "Back to the Future," but that's showing my age a little bit. Hey, I'm still officially in my 20's, even if it is only for the next month and a half. I'm holding on to that shit. If I could rock a suit like Cee-Lo is wearing in this joint and not look like a super-hero monk or something, I totally would. That joint comes down to his knees. I wonder how many buttons are on that thing? My guess is about 38. Whatever the situation, this video is great. Check Cee-Lo out as a kid saying, "Fuck you" as he's walking by the counter. I always get a kick out of cursing children, and this little dude said it with such conviction! Enough talking, more watching. Enjoy!
BTW, I've got a feeling that this new album is going to be nothing short of epic. It might surprise some of you. I'd even venture to say that it might be award worthy. Let's wait and see. It will be here very soon.
Update:
Oh, and as a bonus, I found this interview with Cee-lo about this song. Check it out.
*Ed. note - Here's a guest post from my good friend Alex. He's a professional writer, so he's going to make my writing sound like horrible pointless drivel... But, I digress. Enjoy! - Halfcourt*
I’m sitting on my porch overlooking the courtyard in the apartment building on Emery. There’s a tree that is ready to topple over, and it’s hot as hell. I’m braving another Kansas summer night, the kind that produces a heavy sweat that engulfs your body and mind.
It’s another night of reflection, wondering how I could ever leave the hulking buildings, rusty bridges and swarm of humanity of Chicago for the plains of Kansas.
It’s another night of sighs, of questioning myself and pondering what I’ve gotten into.
In the background, there are dueling guitars.
“Impossible Germany/Unlikely Japan/Wherever you go, wherever you land”
As Wilco’s “Impossible Germany” leaks from my apartment, everything stops. For five minutes and 58 seconds, my worries subside.
It’s not because it’s a happy song. I really don’t think it is. It’s a song that just touches on moving from being single and scared to having someone to share your life and troubles with. It’s not a sappy ode to love. It’s two verses of pretty straightforward sentiment.
Of course, the song ends the same way it starts. Whether that’s musical metaphor or convenience, I’ll never know.
But that’s not why this song is brilliant.
It’s the precise guitarwork that follows. The dueling couplets and background riffs that make me close my eyes, tap my foot, shake my head and smile every time I hear the song. There’s passion in every note. Each note brings you through a relationship, starting slow and eventually ending in the up and down riff that ends on a high note (see what I did there?).
When Tweedy, Nels and Sansone play, you imagine them back to back, shaking their guitars like an 80s heavy metal band. Up and down the fretboard they go, deftly flicking off note after note. They capture a sense of freedom that embodies rock and roll, something I never felt in my self-imposed exile.
But for a few short minutes, everything that bothered me would disappear.
In May 2008, Wilco played in downtown Lawrence, Kan., the first outdoor show to take place in that area of town. I was so excited to go.
When they played “Impossible Germany,” again, it was like a heavy weight was lifted and I moved like a hippie at Woodstock.
The cheap Miller Lites probably helped.
They also played “Via Chicago,” which became a favorite of mine in the months leading up to my departure. Near the end of the song – which uses Chicago not as a final destination as it was for me, but as a point in a journey – Tweedy sings some nonsense:
“And crawling is screw faster lash I blow it with kisses I rest my head on a pillowy star And a cracked-door moon That says I haven't gone too far”
But when they play it live, he says “gone to faaaaaaaaaar,” his voice trailing off into another solo.
It’s just one of many Wilco songs that bring me back to a time and a place. “Via Chicago” takes me to Chicago – but also reminds of what I went through to get back here (mainly a tortuous graduate school program that taught me little except that academia is full of shit).
“Say You Miss Me” reminds me of winter commutes on the ‘L’, pining over a girl.
When I hear “Pieholden Suite,” I’m taken back to first kisses and the possibility of new love.
“Red-eyed and Blue” has whistling in it, and that’s just awesome. You’ve got to appreciate a song with whistling.
Somehow, somewhere along the line Wilco decided to play an important and defining role in my life. It’s more mature than the songs of my youth (the Offspring really were never good, and Travis has never evolved). But Wilco did evolve. And I guess, now that I’m 30, I have too.
While that’s still a bit of a scary thought, at least I know there’s always going to be a song that makes me forget my troubles.
