Corndogorama Video: Dan Deacon

Dan Deacon breaks down the barriers between the artist and the audience more than anybody. He sets up his equipment in front of the stage allowing people to circle around him. His shows also employ fun, kindergarten sorts of games the audience plays. In this video you'll watch one such game go on while he performs:

Corndogorama 2008 Friday (Day 2)

After late starts from the Ohmpark crew all around, we raced through thick Atlanta traffic to make it in time to catch Twin Tigers. It was an intense drive across the city that included me lighting my hair on fire with a malfunctioning cigarette lighter, but we were jamming the new Sorry No Ferrari CD I picked up at their show Wednesday night, and it was the perfect soundtrack for the journey. We arrived just in time and I really loved Twin Tigers. They sort of reminded me of Deerhunter a bit. Very nice shoegazey stuff with everyone trading off vocals. Very much a highlight of the day for me.







After a slight break, it was time for Graboids, who I was very excited about seeing live because I really enjoyed their album from last year. Unfortunately their set did not live up to my expectations. Their post-rock power trio set seemed very lacking in power. It sounded nice and all, but the minimalistic, low-key, and simplistic approach just seemed too boring to me. The two long songs they did ambled around too long with rather unfulfilling build-ups. I've just seen too many really good bands like this lately enjoy such an underwhelming set.





I caught a little bit of Spy For Hire, and while they sounded very tight, they have this aura of poppiness I just can't enjoy, so I skipped most of it to take in the Corndog atmosphere. The Corndogs were delicious, and there were plenty of other grub around in the complex. I only came for the pre-party night last year because I was at Pitchfork fest, but it seems like the festival grounds were much more extensive than I remember with a huge and ridiculously over-professional outdoor stage around the back of the building. I caught a little bit of some white-boy rap outfit called Dropbombz, and it just seemed weird all of the serious camera work being done for a crowd of like 15 people.

I went back inside to catch Antic Clay. His set was better than when I caught him earlier this year, especially the new song they closed with, but I still find myself wanting to hear his more downbeat, darker, slower stuff and live he and his band stick to rocking hard.



We took a smoke break back in the Danger Van and came back to catch a minute or so of Magnapop and I remembered I don't like Magnapop. We then went back outside to hang and I won a WRAS shirt playing dice. Bellcurve came on stage outside so we went to see that, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Josh called it "Electro-Reggae", which was right on the mark. They had subliminal messages in their video feed with the cliche themes you would expect from such a style, but other than that it was pretty cool. I had to leave before their set ended to go to The Masquerade.





Since I'm no fan of guys playing lame dance beats and dancing in their underwear, I skipped out for a while to see a band I really have a crush on, Islands. The timing working out perfectly as I pretty much left Corndog exactly long enough for their serious set. I saw them twice at SXSW earlier this year, but both sets were very short, so it was cool to see them go through so much material this time. The main set was heavy in Arm's Way songs with a encore exclusively made up of songs from Return To The Sea, and ending the night as I had expected with the truly epic masterpiece, "Swans". This time Nick T wasn't wearing any paint on his face, but he did break out some big white tinted shades at some point, and he had a couple of bottom halves of mannequins he was dressing, undressing, and dancing with. Overall it was a damn great show from a top-tier band.







I got back to Lenny's with plenty of time to spare for Dan Deacon. He rocked the entire place with a typically amazing show. Lots of crowd interaction, and he played some new jams from his forthcoming album and they sounded great. The dude is just the best when it comes to a live dance party.















Overall the day was fun as hell and I've got to stop blogging right now so I can get to Lenny's in time for Thy Mighty Contract.

Friday Free-Style

Bonnaroo's "Big Announcement" this week was that Widespread Panic is replacing The Allman Brothers and doing their 43rd headlining spot at the 'roo. They also added Les Claypool, Charli 2na, Super Drag, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Adele, Grand Ole Party, and The Postelles. Other than WSP, those are some decent additions, but I'm way more excited about the acts they added to the Cafe/nightclub, including Dead Confederate, Colour Revolt, De Novo Dahl, Phonograph, Bear In Heaven, Howlin Rain, and Royal Bangs, all of which are acts that I am interested in checking out. I'll be doing a piece on all the lesser know 'roo acts very soon.

Pecanne Log had the extened trailer to We Fun up, so check it:



Pitchfork Fest added Spoon, The Dodos, and Les Savy Fav. That is turning out to rather sweet line-up.

You can download a reversed version of the new Gnarls Barkley album for free here.

The RIAA spent $2.8 million dollars lobbying the government in 2007. Honestly, I would have expected that to be much higher.

The Clermont Lounge is up for sale.

Nick Thorburn of Islands talks some smack about Vampire Weekend.

Indian Jewelry has a new album coming out called Free Gold! and will be at Eyedrum on May 18th. I can't wait to catch them again.

Atlanta's Sean Costello died this week.

Outkast says the new new album will be out in 2009.

There is a Tori Amos comic book coming soon.

RZA just launched Wuchess.com.

Hella's Zach Hill has a solo album coming out featuring a ton of really cool guest musicians such as Marnie Stern, No Age, Les Calypool, and Marco Benevento.

Laura Veirs will be at The Earl on May 18th.

Earfarm points out that livepumpkins.net is really great for Smashing Pumpkins live shows.

The Fiery Furnaces are featuring String Cheese Incident's keyboardist on some of their tour dates this week.

Bill Cosby is going to drop a hip-hop album.

Some vids to take you through the weekend:

New Dan Deacon:



Animal Collective:

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE , BROTHER SPORT
by GrrrndZero

Wu-Tang:



Yeasayer:

Langerado 2008 Preview

Langerado just released the schedule today and it looks pretty good. Here is my personalized schedule so far. If you are still on the fence whether to go to this one, I'm gonna go through some of the smaller acts that I'm really excited about. The first band on the "Swamp Stage" is right here from Altanta, Dead Confederate. I believe they are going to be one of the ATL bands that get big nationally by the end of this year (they were handpicked to open for R.E.M. at SXSW), because their new EP is really awesome. Jam this track and pick up this EP:

Dead Confederate : The Rat




Vampire Weekend is another band that is on the super-hype lately in blogland. While I enjoy their new album, I think it is one of those "good but not great". They are just a little too gimmicky and lacking a tad bit in substance. Regardless of that, though, I'm very excited to see them live because I think they will be pretty cool to see. Check them out:

Vampire Weekend : Walcott




An album I really enjoyed from last year is !!!'s Myth Takes. They are organic dance rock that sort of sound like a an indie-rock version of STS9 or those sorts of bands with lyrics/vocals. I've been wanting to catch them live for so long because I've heard how much fun their shows are. If 311 isn't quite your bag, or you've seen them like 10 times like me, this band is really worth checking out:

!!! (chk chk chk) : Break In Case Of Anything




So, one of the biggest draws to Langerado for me is Built To Spill. They are one of my all time favourite bands. Since I have like a million BTS live shows, this seems like a good time to share one. Behold 1999-05-09 (Early Show):

1. Made Up Dreams
2. Center of The Universe
3. Kicked it In The Sun
4. Reasons
5. I Would Hurt A Fly
6. Twin Falls/Some (instrumetal)
7. You Were Right
8. One Thing
9. Terrible/Perfect
10. Car
11. Big Dipper

Blitzen Trapper was a band that was full of blog buzz last year. A little bit country, a little rock 'n' roll, a little bit weird:

Blitzen Trapper : Devil's A-Go-Go




The Benevento-Russo Duo is one of my favourite jambands. The keyboard/drums power duo that backed up Trey and Mike of Phish are not only a great live show, but they are one of the few hippy bands who know how to make a great album too. Check them:

The Benevento-Russo Duo : Play Pause Stop




Pelican is a post-metal band that I really got into last year. You were probably thinking that Bonnaroo was the only hippy fest this year to bring in some metal, but you were wrong:

Pelican : City of Echoes




Dan Deacon is another big draw to Langerado for me because he is so awesome. He was just here in the ATL last month, so you should check out our review and jam him:

Dan Deacon : Wham City


Minus The Bear is another artist that had an album in out Top 50 album list from last year. They do music that sounds very radio-friendly and accessible, but has some serious musical depth:

Minus The Bear : Burying Luck




Finally, a band that I was totally obsessed with last year was Of Montreal. I caught them plenty of times last year, but they are so good live I can't wait to see them again. If you go to Langerado, be sure to catch this:






So, now go get tickets to Langerado and we'll party down!

Langerado Website

Live Review: Dan Deacon, Ultimate Reality, Toy Party Attack (1/7/08) Eyedrum

Last Monday night we went to the non-profit art gallery Eyedrum. After a long wait for the doors to open, we went inside and got ready for the show. The first act of the night was a guy dressed like he was from the great depression and sporting an antique looking guitar and a banjo (I think). He sang with what I would describe as an extreme satirical version of Tom Waits voice, but this guy was completely serious. He did two songs and then some woman who was with him took over playing some other weird stringed instrument and did some songs. After that Toy Party Attack took over:





Toy Party Attack was a duo made up of Bean from Lenny's and a dude who works at Criminal Records. They employed a wide array of musical toys and gadgets. If I could imagine some kids taking these devices and being the most skillfully annoying they could possibly be with them, that is how I would describe TPA. I dug it. Also, one of the guys would run into the crowd and grab people and push people around and was probably on the cusp of getting his ass beat.

After that fiasco, it was time for Ultimate Reality, which is a film by Jimmy Joe Roche that splices together Arnold Schwarzenegger movies in a really trippy way with Dan Deacon scoring the music. As they show the movie on a projector, two drummers sit in front of the screen and play to the music:





Here's a taste of what the video was like:



I thought it was really awesome and hilarious and if I still did psychedelics, It would be the perfect thing to watch on those. After that it was time for Dan Deacon to perform. Dan's performance heavily relies on including the crowd as he set up his table of gear in front of the stage and allowed the crowd to gather around him. Here's his setup:



He also did lots of silly crowd interacting like this:



The performance was really fun and I can't wait to catch him again at Langerado:

"Snake Mistakes":

What Up in The ATL?

Another year of shows begin! This Friday night i highly suggest going to Lenny's and checking out Graboids and Sleep Therapy.

The Graboids : Infinite Delay : Tremolo


Monday night I'm going to this:



Dan Deacon : Spiderman Of The Rings : Okie Dokie


Wednesday night there is a great show right here in my neighborhood:

I CAN FLY HOUSE: fag static,benard,sorry no ferrari,worn in red all ages 9pm/Donation

Next Friday night Club Awesome and Envie are at The Earl:



Next Saturday night is all about Yo La Tengo!

Yo La Tengo : I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass : Pass The Hatchet, I think I'm Goodkind


Also, there is another Whirlyball 7"/concert where if you buy the record at Criminal Records, it is your ticket to see the bands on it play at this interesting OTP venue:



Other great January Shows:

1/18/08 Yeasayer, MGMT at The Earl
1/19/08 The Jupiter Watts, Luigi at The Earl
1/21/08 Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow at The Loft
1/24/08 Feeding Fingers, Tenth To The Moon, Lid Emba at The Drunken Unicorn
1/24/08 Chopper, Fag Static at The Drunken Unicorn
1/26/08 The Selmanaires, Anna Kramer at The Earl (Dual CD release show)
1/29/08 Ween at The Tabernacle
1/30/08 High On Fire, A Life Once Lost at the Earl
1/30/08 Super Furry Animals, The Fiery Furnaces, Holy Fuck at The Variety Playhouse

What up In The ATL?

It's Atlanta Superstar Week!

Wednesday night we got a big show for you. We've got two of Atlanta's biggest music icons, Preston Craig and Kenny Crucial (Mack Messiah), performing live. Plus some great up-and-coming bands like Morning State, The Pendletons, and Delta Co. On top of all that, it's to raise money for Atlanta's Refugee Community. Be there:



And that's not all kiddies. The Atlanta superstars are all over the place this week with a very exciting line-up Friday night at the Variety Playhouse. This town's greatest hipster bands, Black Lips, Deerhunter, Snowden, and The Selmanaires will all be on one stage together:



If for some weird reason you aren't into that show, GWAR will be at The Masquerade Friday night. Saturday night Atlanta superstar week continues with Anna Kramer opening for Southern Culture On The Skids at the Earl. Next Monday night you can choose between a Shannon Hoon-less Blind Melon at the Masquerade or seeing The Sword at the Earl.

Cool Winter shows that you needs to knows:

12/13/07 The Orphins, The Liverhearts at the Earl
12/31/07 (NYE) The Black Lips at The Drunken Unicorn
1/4/08 Graboids at Lenny's
1/7/08 Dan Deacon at Eyedrum
1/21/08 DJ Shadow + Cut Chemist at The Loft
1/24/07 Chopper (members from ex-Blame Game, Deerhunter), Fag Static at the Drunken Unicorn
1/26/08 The Machine at Variey Playhouse
1/30/08 High On Fire at The Earl
3/1/08 Beach House at The Earl
3/20/08 Acid Mothers Temple at The Earl

Yeah, those look like some killer shows!

Road Trippin'

I spent my Thanksgiving holiday down in St. George Island, Florida and decided for my drive down I would catch up on my 2007 releases and listen to nothing but albums I haven't listened to. The first album I popped in was Aceyalone's new Lightning Strikes. i had really enjoyed some of his older stuff, but on my first listen of this one, i thought is very under par. Hip-hop is a style I truly love, but it is so hard for me to find stuff that i really dig these days. I'm guessing I just don't have the right exposure to the good stuff, but there has been very little this year that has floored me and that makes me sad.

Next up was the new M83 album, Digital Shades (Vol. 1). I thought it was pretty good, but I don't think it comes anywhere close to Before The Dawn Heals Us. The biggest difference i think between the two is this album seems less aggressive and engaging, but rather hangs around in their more ambient, trancey texture stuff, which is still great. I think this would be an excellent come down album after a really crazy night of drugs.

M83 : My Own Strange Path


The next jam was Polytechnic's debut album Down Til Dawn. This band sounds to me like a mix between early Rolling Stones and The Sea And Cake. It was a pretty solid listen all the way through but not an album that is going to blow your mind.

Polytechnic : Running Out Of Ideas


I had been hearing some noise about 65daysofstatic and finally checked out their new album, The Destruction Of Small Ideas. Upon my first listen, I was really into it and enjoyed it thoroughly. The band does post-rock suped up with strong classical technique and much more range than I've come to expect from this genre. This will probably end up being one of the better post-rock albums of this year.

65daysofstatic : Wax Futures


Next up was Dan Deacon's Spiderman Of The Rings, which had been on my list to listen to for way too long. His experimental electronic stuff is suberb and I highly recommend checking him out if you haven't. I'll be blasting this album non-stop for a while and am excited to see him in Atlanta early next year.

Dan Deacon : Wham City


As I cruised through some back roads between Valdosta and Tallahassee I put in the new God Is An Astonaut, Far From Refuge. Unfortunately I missed this post-rock three piece at Echo Project, but everyone who went to see them said they were really good, so I've been diving into them lately. The album is a solid release for the genre that I enjoyed immensely, but it doesn't really bring anything new to the table.

God Is An Astronaut : Grace Descending


Finally, I finished the journey off with what was probably the most enjoyable listen of the trip, current Wilco guitarist/badass Nels Cline's Draw Breath. If you were a little disappointed with the lack of adventurousness on Sky Blue Sky, this experimental jazz album is right up your alley featuring his instrumental trio called the Nels Cline Singers.

Nels Cline Singers : Caved-in Heart Blues

Humpnight Randomnimity

Three interesting shows this week i didn't mention earlier are:







I can't decide which Saturday night show to hit up after Joanna Newsom, so I'll probably coin flip or something. With the Thursday night show, I guess I'm going to offer the dissenting opinion relative to all the other blogs in town that I would recommend going to Smashing Pumpkins and Explosions in The Sky over the free Star Bar thing. I know Black Kids are somewhat local and blowing up thanks to the 'fork, but I've listened to that EP a few times and it just doesn't stand out to me that much. It's not bad or anything, but it sounds like a dancier ripoff of the whole Swan Lake spectrum of indie-rock and its just not exciting me that much relative to all the other stuff I've been listening to lately. Also, I caught Judi Chicago last month, and as much as I hate ripping on locals, I have to call it like it is, and I think they just pretty much suck. Just because you perform crappy music in your underwear doesn't make up for the crappy music you are performing. I mean, the show is free so it's probably worth going if you don't have the cash for the other show, but I just wanted to get my opinion out there.

Now I'll cool off the haterade and give you a nice PJ Harvey vid:



Back to the haterade, Band of Horses are doing 3 New Years shows at the Earl and tickets go on sale Friday. BOH, or "Fisher Price, My First My Morning Jacket" as I like to call them, are another band that I think receive a little too much praise relative to what every other band on Earth is doing right now. Cease To Begin isn't a bad album or anything, but it's not a great one either.

Someone who is worthy of the hype is coming to Eyedrum in January:



The onslaught of My Bloody Valentine reunion rumors continue.

Want to see what Dethklok look and sound like live? Here you go:



Here's a The Octopus Project vid:



In case you had forgotten how awesome Marnie Stern is or you are a new ohmpark reader, here's a vid:



Between The Buried And Me are an awesome metal band that i've recently been jamming alot:



In case you don't know, Radiohead did some crazy webcast stuff last week. I've got a huge-ass article planned as i haven't really talked about the new album much and i'm still listening to it like crazy. Until i get a chance to go on an In Rainbows lovefest, here's my favourite song from it done live on the webcast:

Videos Of The Day: Dan Deacon

"Crystal Cat":



On NBC:



At Pitchfork Fest: