Mayyors + cartoon = killer. Video by Jay Howell
Juan Maclean for president!
Hi everybody. Long time, no see. Sorry about that..
I've got a backlog of rad stuff to post, but first things first, Juan Maclean hit Vancouver Tuesday night and absolutely killed it. I've seen dude rock a few solo sets and he was solid, mostly spinning early 90s house and techno classics, but it always left me wondering how amazing a full-band live performance would be. Last night I found out – it was killer.
The crowd was fairly sparse but very receptive, so the vibe was a good one. Aside from some juggling and adjusting of parts, it was cool to hear how close the live versions of the songs sounded to the recorded ones. Juan's band's drums/synth/theremin/pseudo-303 configuration faithfully recreated the sounds of all the songs.. not really a surprise since after a while it dawned on me that they functioned as a live band from the beginning and weren't just adapting their songs to a band situation.
After running through earlier singles "You Can't Have It Both Ways" and "Give Me Every Little Thing", a couple from Less Than Human, and a few new ones, I knew the final song would be a loooooong one when they announced 30-some minutes into the set that it was their last. As my Facebook status (ha!) alludes to, they ended with a massive 20 minute version of Happy House, with multiple breaks and extended acid action. Every time I thought they were done they brought it back again and the twists, turns and breaks kept things hype right until the end.
For me, 'live band' performances of hip-hop and dance music usually sacrifice the funkiness of the dance element and the energy of the band element and you get the worst of both worlds: a lethargic, incoherent mess that sounds like stiff studio musicians jamming on songs you thought you knew; snooze-ville. Not so here – everything hit just right and perfectly captured the essence of the songs, making it seem so easy and obvious. Hopefully they'll utilize the band more often for touring because it's a completely different and unique show.
ESPO, Spongebob and Guantánamo
ESPO's new Coney Island Sideshow in the NYT.
In interrupting a day at the beach with scenes of the United States government’s rougher practices, Mr. Powers is being deliberately provocative. “What’s more obscene,” he asks, “the official position that waterboarding is not torture, or our official position that it’s a thrill ride?”
new Bottomless Pit!
I love pre-orders, especially when they're so far in advance that you forget all about them until one day a package appears in your mailbox, like a gift from the past. Today the new Bottomless Pit 12" showed up under my door, something that had only crossed my mind a few times since I ordered it months ago. Last year's Hammer Of The Gods Lp stayed on my turntable through winter and well into spring, and I've already flipped the four song Congress 12" a good dozen times today, A/B/A/B, repeat. It's a perfect extension of Hammer Of The Gods, musically, thematically, like a lost fourth side. Their songs draw you in and closer examination is rewarded as the songs and stories unfold.
Bottomless Pit "Red Pen" (from The Congress EP, 2008)
Vancouver, summer 2008 = 2 killer
Too much ill shit going on here lately. I just learned that Sorcerers & Bison are playing the Biltmore next Friday (the 15th) and Ladyhawk & My!Gay!Husband! are at the Sweatshop the next day (Saturday the 16th). All this in addition to the Mutators 12" release show at the ER this Friday (the 8th) with Shearing Pinx, Brooklyn's Zs & V.Vecker, and the Chromatics / Twin Crystals show (now) at the Biltmore Saturday (the 9th). Fuck yeah.
Song Of The Day 003
Lately I've been feeling a lot of trashy, primitive, blown out, lo-fi stuff on one hand, and a lot of Krautrock (still.. always..) on the other. San Francisco psych-rockers Wooden Shjips are a natural fit, bringing the fuzz along with zoned out repetition and minimal grooves.
This track is from their recent Volume 1 collection on Holy Mountain, originally from a 2006 10" EP (right now I prefer the older material to last year's self-titled album). A lot of their songs hover around 4-5 minutes in length, maybe due to the restraints of releasing 7" EPs, but this one sees them stretching out a bit and it works beautifully. It's one of many songs I had to axe from my already bloated muxtape..
Wooden Shjips "Shrinking Moon For You" (from Volume 1, 2008)
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