Well boys and girls, it's that magical time of year again. That time in the dead of winter when people start opening their hearts and their wallets, when kids get down on their knees and beg their parents to give them what they want, when parents start freaking out about what exactly it is their kids want... Yes, it's the time when bands announce their spring tours.
This weekend is a great time to buy tickets (Quick! Fall Out Boy tickets have been on sale for over 5 hours!!!!), so I've decided to try to give you the best possible list of acts coming to the DC area over the next 4 months (sorry, rest of the world, I can't do everything...)
Now, coaches always say it's important to stay in shape during the off-season, so I think everyone should take their advice and practice their best moves at the Millionaires concert at Rock n Roll Hotel on Thursday, February 5th. My newest favorite pop act Cash Cash will be opening for the girls, along with I Set My Friends on Fire and Watchout! There's Ghosts. I think this show might actually be considered a comedy performance rather than music; those Millionaires girls are always laughable. And with a name like the Just Got Paid, Let's Get's Laid Tour, you KNOW it's gonna be a party.
[I will spend the night listening to my Cash Cash CD and crying my eyes out because my parents won't let me out on school nights (plus it's called the Just Got Paid, Let's Get's Laid Tour), so if you attend, please try your hardest to meet the guys from Cash Cash and tell them Meredith thinks they're the coolest kids ever and would like to ask for all of their hands in marriage; they can play rock-paper-scissors or whatever to decide who gets her.]
And for those of us who need a winter pick-me-up that's not on a weeknight, Ludo will be at Rock n Roll Hotel on Friday, February 20th. I've never actually bothered to listen to any of their music, but I've heard good things about their set when they toured with Relient K last year.
Another Friday night option is Ben Folds, performing at George Washington University on Friday the 13th of February (a good alternative for those of us who don't think we can stomach Valentine's Day weekend's gooey rom-coms/crazy gory Friday-the-13th slasher flicks). I'm having trouble finding specific ticket info - the show isn't listed on his official site - but I saw it on Eventful...
Ben will also be playing at Ram's Head Live! in Baltimore on the 12th, if there are any hardcore piano rock fans who want to see him twice.
All you hipsters had better mark your calendars for The Ting Tings' show at the 9:30 Club on Friday, March 20th. Or maybe you hipsters will sneer about how you already caught them there in July when they were, like, still cool in an unknown kinda way.
But my friend and I will still be in attendance, hoping to squash the stereotype that no one dances at cool DC indie shows. Because kids who are too cool to dance aren't cool at all.
The real hipsters might be holding out for Cut Copy, coming to the 9:30 Club just 3 days after the Ting Tings (that's Monday, March 23rd, for you non-math whizzes). Matt and Kim will be performing that night as well. Never heard of them before, but their name brings to mind a certain NBC Thursday night sitcom...
After all these indie shows, I'd advise you to take a dip in the mainstream, just to make sure you can remember what Top 40 sounds like. And where better to find mainstream Top 40 pop than at a Britney Spears or Pussycat Dolls concert? You Britney fans are in luck because The Circus Starring Britney Spears 2009 North American Tour is hitting the Verizon Center on Tuesday, March 24th. [I guess the Pussycat Dolls are just a sideshow act?] iLike sent me an email saying tix are still available! (I was tempted to reply with a little WTF??!)
If Britney tix are a bit out of your price range, you could always see new Top 40 dance darling Lady Gaga at 9:30 Club on Thursday, April 2nd. No, wait, actually, you couldn't. Her show's already sold out.
Similarly, if you're going to see Katy Perry at the 9:30 Club on Friday, April 10th, you probably already knew she was coming. Hopefully you did, since all the tickets for that show sold out about 5 seconds after they went on sale. Or at least in the same weekend. 5 seconds, 48 hours, same diff for us soft-core Katy fans.
For those of you hoping for a bit more of a rock show (just a bit), I've said it before and I'll say it again: Craig Owens of Chiodos, Ace Enders, The Color Fred, and VersaEmerge will be at Ottobar in Baltimore on Thursday, April 9th. It's not quite as hot as the Katy tickets, but it's been pretty buzzed-about.
I've also already mentioned NeverShoutNever!'s two upcoming shows, one in West Springfield, VA, the other in Towson. I'd check it out in my previous posts if I were you. [Then I'd wonder if I just used "my" correctly since I said I'd do it if I were you, and they're not your posts...]
I think this Dream Concert Schedule is getting nightmare-ishly long, so I'll close it (for now) with what may be the hottest concert here: the Believers Never Die Part Deux tour, featuring Fall Out Boy, Cobra Starship, Metro Station, and Hey Monday! It'll be taking the Merriweather Post Pavilion by storm on Saturday, April 25th. Since I'm not too fond of FOB, I'm cringing at the $36 ticket price (no cheap-o lawn seats? really?) but it may be worth it to see my fave Gossip Girl fan, Gabe Saporta... or I could just sit in the parking lot hoping he makes good on his kick-it-in-the-parking lot promises in his blog.
Oh, and if you're one of those kids who isn't allowed to go to concerts, don't despair too much... The Jonas Brothers 3D movie (coming at ya February 27th) will give you way better seats than I had when I was on the lawn for their show at the Nissan Pavilion last year :)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Watch this! "Womanzier" cover by All-American Rejects (& some by other ppl too)
Hey kids, it is absolutely mandatory that you stop everything you're doing and watch The All-American Rejects perform a cover of Britney's "Womanizer" RIGHT NOW.
This video's been around for about a month, but I just now got around to watching it and wish I'd looked ti up the second I read Entertainment Weekly's review of it (A-? stingy little critics...)
I also suggest you watch in full screen and turn the sound way up. You need to get the full miniature accordion experience.
I wasn't too thrilled with AAR's new album (excluding "Gives You Hell" and "Mona Lisa (When the World Comes Down)," which are brilliant), but I put them back on my list of favorite bands the second I heard Tyson Ritter sing "maybe I could be your girl." And the random verse from "Happy Together"? LOVE!!!!
P.S. For those of you looking for some serious music, the aforementioned Entertainment Weekly article also led me to Ladyhawke's amazing cover of "Womanizer." She makes that song more beautiful and haunting than any Britney song should ever be...
Lily Allen's cover is also quite nice. A very refreshing deviation from Britney's version... I'm not sure if I'd recommend listening to these three in a row, though. I survived it, but then, I like to listen to Ashley Tisdale's songs from HSM3 on repeat...
P.P.S. After those three great covers, Sliimy's cover songs awful. It's not that bad intrinsically, and the video is quite cute, but I'm suffering from Britney cover overload. Headaaaache....
This video's been around for about a month, but I just now got around to watching it and wish I'd looked ti up the second I read Entertainment Weekly's review of it (A-? stingy little critics...)
I also suggest you watch in full screen and turn the sound way up. You need to get the full miniature accordion experience.
I wasn't too thrilled with AAR's new album (excluding "Gives You Hell" and "Mona Lisa (When the World Comes Down)," which are brilliant), but I put them back on my list of favorite bands the second I heard Tyson Ritter sing "maybe I could be your girl." And the random verse from "Happy Together"? LOVE!!!!
P.S. For those of you looking for some serious music, the aforementioned Entertainment Weekly article also led me to Ladyhawke's amazing cover of "Womanizer." She makes that song more beautiful and haunting than any Britney song should ever be...
Lily Allen's cover is also quite nice. A very refreshing deviation from Britney's version... I'm not sure if I'd recommend listening to these three in a row, though. I survived it, but then, I like to listen to Ashley Tisdale's songs from HSM3 on repeat...
P.P.S. After those three great covers, Sliimy's cover songs awful. It's not that bad intrinsically, and the video is quite cute, but I'm suffering from Britney cover overload. Headaaaache....
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Album Review: Skye Sweetnam - Sound Soldier
So, as I was digging back into the archives of music review school assignments, I unearthed a review of Skye Sweetnam's album Sound Soldier that I wrote for my journalism class last year. Since the album hasn't changed at all over the past 8 months (much like Skye's sadly stagnant career) and Skye is still widely unknown outside her native Canada and widely underappreciated in it, I thought I'd republish the review here.
Besides, Eric Shansby gave it a 100% and called it "very mature music writing" ^^
“I am music warrior,” writes Skye Sweetnam in the liner notes for her album Sound Soldier, “defending noise in the fight against silence!” Regardless of how that battle is going, Sweetnam’s sophomore album is winning the war against pop music’s unimaginative song topics and cookie-cutter production.
The untrained eye may look at nineteen year-old Sweetnam’s pink hair and pinker lipstick and see another collection of pop fluff. But Sweetnam launches a surprise attack on such unsuspecting critics, creating a pop album that’s innovative, well-produced, and draws from a variety of musical inspirations.
Sweetnam isn’t fighting alone; The Matrix, the production team behind several hits by Avril Lavigne and Hilary Duff, backs Sweetnam up on nine of the album’s 12 tracks. She is also joined by Tim Armstrong of the ska-punk band Rancid, who produced, co-wrote, and sang on two tracks.
Aside from her imaginary battles with the evil forces of silence, Sweetnam has spent the past three years fighting an uncooperative record label. Her debut album Noise from the Basement enjoyed moderate success, mostly in her native Canada and Japan. For her sophomore album, Sweetnam wrote over 60 songs with several producers. When Sweetnam was finally satisfied with the album and ready to release it, her label, EMI, was undergoing serious changes and pushed the album’s release date back three times. In the end, the album was only released in Canada and later in Japan with little promotion in either country.
It’s a shame Sound Soldier wasn’t marketed better because the album draws from an impressive variety of musical inspirations and has something for everyone. Just look at tracks 3-6 on Sound Soldier: the rap-infused pop song “Boyhunter,” the ska/surf rock hybrid “Ghosts,” the traditional pop-rocker “My Favorite Tune,” and the romantic ballad “Scary Love.”
Not only is each of the album’s tracks stylistically unique; Sweetnam’s songs also deal with some unusual topics. Boys are a major talking point, as best demonstrated by the fast-paced, hormone-infused “Make-out Song,” but there are also songs about growing up, taking chances, and... cartoon violence? “I like to live like I’m in a cartoon,” Sweetnam professes on one track. “I beatcha, beatcha brains out/That’s how I flirt.”
Sweetnam’s take on love in “Cartoon” demonstrates one thing that sets Sweetnam apart from her popstar peers: her imagination and sense of fun. Sweetnam does not want to be perceived as a “normal girl” or even your average sex symbol. On the album’s final track, “Babydoll Gone Wrong,” Sweetnam describes how she sees herself: “Sugar and a razor blade/Acid pink lemonade.” In normal terms, that translates to girly and coy on the outside, dark and formidable within. Sweetnam essentially meets both these criteria on Sound Soldier, a pop album that is danceable and sexy while remaining clever, original, and able to pack a punch. The work of a true music warrior.
You can purchase Sound Soldier and other Skye merch here.
Besides, Eric Shansby gave it a 100% and called it "very mature music writing" ^^
“I am music warrior,” writes Skye Sweetnam in the liner notes for her album Sound Soldier, “defending noise in the fight against silence!” Regardless of how that battle is going, Sweetnam’s sophomore album is winning the war against pop music’s unimaginative song topics and cookie-cutter production.
The untrained eye may look at nineteen year-old Sweetnam’s pink hair and pinker lipstick and see another collection of pop fluff. But Sweetnam launches a surprise attack on such unsuspecting critics, creating a pop album that’s innovative, well-produced, and draws from a variety of musical inspirations.
Sweetnam isn’t fighting alone; The Matrix, the production team behind several hits by Avril Lavigne and Hilary Duff, backs Sweetnam up on nine of the album’s 12 tracks. She is also joined by Tim Armstrong of the ska-punk band Rancid, who produced, co-wrote, and sang on two tracks.
Aside from her imaginary battles with the evil forces of silence, Sweetnam has spent the past three years fighting an uncooperative record label. Her debut album Noise from the Basement enjoyed moderate success, mostly in her native Canada and Japan. For her sophomore album, Sweetnam wrote over 60 songs with several producers. When Sweetnam was finally satisfied with the album and ready to release it, her label, EMI, was undergoing serious changes and pushed the album’s release date back three times. In the end, the album was only released in Canada and later in Japan with little promotion in either country.
It’s a shame Sound Soldier wasn’t marketed better because the album draws from an impressive variety of musical inspirations and has something for everyone. Just look at tracks 3-6 on Sound Soldier: the rap-infused pop song “Boyhunter,” the ska/surf rock hybrid “Ghosts,” the traditional pop-rocker “My Favorite Tune,” and the romantic ballad “Scary Love.”
Not only is each of the album’s tracks stylistically unique; Sweetnam’s songs also deal with some unusual topics. Boys are a major talking point, as best demonstrated by the fast-paced, hormone-infused “Make-out Song,” but there are also songs about growing up, taking chances, and... cartoon violence? “I like to live like I’m in a cartoon,” Sweetnam professes on one track. “I beatcha, beatcha brains out/That’s how I flirt.”
Sweetnam’s take on love in “Cartoon” demonstrates one thing that sets Sweetnam apart from her popstar peers: her imagination and sense of fun. Sweetnam does not want to be perceived as a “normal girl” or even your average sex symbol. On the album’s final track, “Babydoll Gone Wrong,” Sweetnam describes how she sees herself: “Sugar and a razor blade/Acid pink lemonade.” In normal terms, that translates to girly and coy on the outside, dark and formidable within. Sweetnam essentially meets both these criteria on Sound Soldier, a pop album that is danceable and sexy while remaining clever, original, and able to pack a punch. The work of a true music warrior.
You can purchase Sound Soldier and other Skye merch here.
DsCene & Heard: Hellogoodbye, Ace Enders, NeverShoutNever!, & PlayRadioPlay! at Sonar
Okay, be honest: is the DsCene & Heard title the lamest thing ever? It sounded so much cooler in my head...
Anyways, a few months ago, I saw Hellogoodbye, Ace Enders, NeverShoutNever!, and PlayRadioPlay! at Sonar, this little club in Baltimore, and wrote a review of it for my guitar class. Reviewing it was really fun, so rather than just writing a crappy little list of who performed & how they sounded, I tried to make the review good. And I wanted my review to be read by more people than just my guitar teacher, so I thought I'd post it here [more people than just my guitar teacher will read this, right?]
On November 7, 2008, I saw Hellogoodbye, Ace Enders, NeverShoutNever, and PlayRadioPlay perform live at Sonar in Baltimore. The show had a diverse group of performers and was overall the most enjoyable live performance I have ever seen.
NeverShoutNever, alias Christopher Ingle, performed first. Ingle’s acoustic pop songs were very pleasant to listen to and told heartwarming stories of love, insecurity, and growing up in a small town. Ingle sang and played tambourine accompanied by a man on acoustic guitar. NeverShoutNever was a huge crowd pleaser. Ingle said we were “the best crowd ever” which may have been true, considering that he is a newcomer to the music scene and already caused hoards of girls in the crowd to scream “I love you!” at the end of each song. The audio quality was not world-class, but Ingle demonstrated an impressive vocal range and the set overall was, like its lovable performer, absolutely adorable.
The next act, PlayRadioPlay, bore a freakishly similar name to NeverShoutNever but had virtually nothing else in common. PlayRadioPlay, alias Dan Hunter, performed electropop music that was as different from NeverShoutNever’s sunny acoustic pop as day and night. Like Ingle before him and Hellogoodbye after him, Hunter seemed like a bit of a geek; unlike the other acts, he seemed cold and emotionally distant from the crowd. He thrashed around with a variety of good-looking guitars, apparently oblivious to how silly he looked. His singing was virtually inaudible, even though he bent over the microphone like some sort of monster poised to devour the mic and the audience after it. Hunter was accompanied by a drummer and keyboardist, neither of whom ever addressed the crowd; Hunter barely said a word to the audience either. His audio quality was extremely poor, and all of his songs suffered from a lack of a discernible melody. Most of the crowd clearly disliked the set; my favorite part of it was watching people move away to the bar and merchandise tables so I could take their spots closer to the stage. It was evident that even among this group of geeky pop bands, Hunter was an outcast. The show would have flowed better without him.
The concert regained its momentum with the next act, Ace Enders and a Million Different People. Enders’ rock music was the most mainstream music of the night, but it just as well-received as Ingle’s and Hellogoodbye’s more eclectic tunes. Enders sang and played guitar on some songs, accompanied by a bassist, guitarist, and drummer. The four were very popular with the crowd, many of whom appeared to be personal friends of Enders and his bassist. Enders played faster, louder versions of the songs on his EP “The Secret Wars”. Their songs were fun and catchy, prompting jumping, moshing, and even some uncoordinated attempts at break dancing and crowd surfing in the audience. Bassist Sergio Anello got into it as well, jumping around, making funny faces for the crowd, and trying to climb up the wall. Enders’ set was probably the most fun live performance I have ever seen.
It seems necessary to mention that Sonar is a very small club, and the crowd was very tightly packed. The heat by this point in the show verged on unbearable, causing Enders and Anello to sweat visibly. One girl in the audience even fainted from the heat. The bar offered free glasses of ice water, but few audience members dared venture away from their spots near the stage. Although it was easy to forget the heat and smell during the sets, the waiting periods between sets were awful.
Nearly three hours after the show began, Hellogoodbye performed. Lead singer Forrest Kline was sick, so his vocals were fairly awful, but that only added to the fun, unique feeling of the show. Kline had to sing one song entirely in falsetto, which was absolutely hilarious. He talked to the crowd, commiserating with another girl who was sick and inviting another girl to freestyle rap on stage. The other band members mostly stayed silent, except for guitarist Ryan Daly, who inexplicably and repeatedly told the crowd that his father pronounces Baltimore like “Baltee-more.” The crowd’s love was mostly aimed at Kline, the only member who has stayed with the band since its creation in 2001. Hellogoodbye’s audio quality was not great, and they only played two songs from their upcoming album, but Kline’s magnetic personality more than made up for their less than perfect musical performance.
The night ended with a truly grand finale in which Kline invited Ingle and Enders to help him sing Hellogoodbye’s most popular song, “Here (In Your Arms).” Hunter did not join them; he has been known to perform additional acoustic shows after his sets. Enders was at the merchandise table when the song began, and he crowd surfed the length of the club to reach the stage. The song was fairly chaotic; Enders repeatedly forgot the words and had to be reminded by Kline, and fans jumped on stage to join the performers. Still, the song exemplified the show: three eccentric pop bands performing sets that were not airtight but were tons of fun, pleasing fans and offering a truly unique musical experience, while PlayRadioPlay played alone out in the cold November night.
Why is this review still relevant? Well, although Hellogoodbye seems to be skipping the spring tours to record their next album, Ace Enders and NeverShoutNever! both have upcoming tours.
NeverShoutNever! is heading out on tour again with The Scene Aesthetic, The Honorary Title, and The Bigger Lights + Carter Hulsey. He'll be playing in the DC area at Jaxx in Springfield, Virginia on Sunday, March 8. Jaxx is a little club in a strip mall with a trashy-looking website. Their newest bartender is named Emily, and you can see pictures of her in a bikini here.
I'll probably spend that night dying inside because my parents won't let me go to concerts on school nights, but you should try to go and join the hoardes announcing their love at the top of their lungs.
After that tour, NSN heads out on the Bamboozle Roadshow, which will be stopping at the Recher Theatre in Towson, Maryland on Tuesday, April 28. He will be joined by We The Kings, Forever The Sickest Kids, The Cab, and Mercy Mercedes. In case I get reincarnated inside between this show and his show at Jaxx, I will be dying inside again that night because I cannot go.
More info about both these shows can be found on NSN's MySpace.
In other NSN news, his ukelele EP is now available on iTunes for those of you suckers who missed the free download week, and his song "Your Biggest Fan" will never get out of my head. Ever.
PlayRadioPlay! has not announced any future tour plans on his MySpace. Not that I would see him again anyways.
Ace Enders is also headin gout on tour again soon. This time, he will be supporting Craig Owens of Chiodos. The Color Fred, and VersaEmerge. His closest stop to the DC area is at Ottobar in Baltimore on Thursday, April 9, which is right in the middle of spring break for some of us. This much-anticipated show is rumored to be a hot ticket, so it's recommended that you make plans to go soon. My parents aren't too keen on the B-more club scene, but I'm trying to go.
More tour info on Ace's MySpace.
Also, if my smugness about downloading NSN's EP for free makes you want to punch me in the face, i'd like to offer you the link to downloa Ace Enders' album for free as an appeasement. It's right here, and it's totally jsut as good as NSN's...
I could burn you a copy of NSN's EP if you still want to punch me in the face.
[P.S. Sorry for the weird font changes; I'm having some HTML trouble with this post...]
Anyways, a few months ago, I saw Hellogoodbye, Ace Enders, NeverShoutNever!, and PlayRadioPlay! at Sonar, this little club in Baltimore, and wrote a review of it for my guitar class. Reviewing it was really fun, so rather than just writing a crappy little list of who performed & how they sounded, I tried to make the review good. And I wanted my review to be read by more people than just my guitar teacher, so I thought I'd post it here [more people than just my guitar teacher will read this, right?]
On November 7, 2008, I saw Hellogoodbye, Ace Enders, NeverShoutNever, and PlayRadioPlay perform live at Sonar in Baltimore. The show had a diverse group of performers and was overall the most enjoyable live performance I have ever seen.
NeverShoutNever, alias Christopher Ingle, performed first. Ingle’s acoustic pop songs were very pleasant to listen to and told heartwarming stories of love, insecurity, and growing up in a small town. Ingle sang and played tambourine accompanied by a man on acoustic guitar. NeverShoutNever was a huge crowd pleaser. Ingle said we were “the best crowd ever” which may have been true, considering that he is a newcomer to the music scene and already caused hoards of girls in the crowd to scream “I love you!” at the end of each song. The audio quality was not world-class, but Ingle demonstrated an impressive vocal range and the set overall was, like its lovable performer, absolutely adorable.
The next act, PlayRadioPlay, bore a freakishly similar name to NeverShoutNever but had virtually nothing else in common. PlayRadioPlay, alias Dan Hunter, performed electropop music that was as different from NeverShoutNever’s sunny acoustic pop as day and night. Like Ingle before him and Hellogoodbye after him, Hunter seemed like a bit of a geek; unlike the other acts, he seemed cold and emotionally distant from the crowd. He thrashed around with a variety of good-looking guitars, apparently oblivious to how silly he looked. His singing was virtually inaudible, even though he bent over the microphone like some sort of monster poised to devour the mic and the audience after it. Hunter was accompanied by a drummer and keyboardist, neither of whom ever addressed the crowd; Hunter barely said a word to the audience either. His audio quality was extremely poor, and all of his songs suffered from a lack of a discernible melody. Most of the crowd clearly disliked the set; my favorite part of it was watching people move away to the bar and merchandise tables so I could take their spots closer to the stage. It was evident that even among this group of geeky pop bands, Hunter was an outcast. The show would have flowed better without him.
The concert regained its momentum with the next act, Ace Enders and a Million Different People. Enders’ rock music was the most mainstream music of the night, but it just as well-received as Ingle’s and Hellogoodbye’s more eclectic tunes. Enders sang and played guitar on some songs, accompanied by a bassist, guitarist, and drummer. The four were very popular with the crowd, many of whom appeared to be personal friends of Enders and his bassist. Enders played faster, louder versions of the songs on his EP “The Secret Wars”. Their songs were fun and catchy, prompting jumping, moshing, and even some uncoordinated attempts at break dancing and crowd surfing in the audience. Bassist Sergio Anello got into it as well, jumping around, making funny faces for the crowd, and trying to climb up the wall. Enders’ set was probably the most fun live performance I have ever seen.
It seems necessary to mention that Sonar is a very small club, and the crowd was very tightly packed. The heat by this point in the show verged on unbearable, causing Enders and Anello to sweat visibly. One girl in the audience even fainted from the heat. The bar offered free glasses of ice water, but few audience members dared venture away from their spots near the stage. Although it was easy to forget the heat and smell during the sets, the waiting periods between sets were awful.
Nearly three hours after the show began, Hellogoodbye performed. Lead singer Forrest Kline was sick, so his vocals were fairly awful, but that only added to the fun, unique feeling of the show. Kline had to sing one song entirely in falsetto, which was absolutely hilarious. He talked to the crowd, commiserating with another girl who was sick and inviting another girl to freestyle rap on stage. The other band members mostly stayed silent, except for guitarist Ryan Daly, who inexplicably and repeatedly told the crowd that his father pronounces Baltimore like “Baltee-more.” The crowd’s love was mostly aimed at Kline, the only member who has stayed with the band since its creation in 2001. Hellogoodbye’s audio quality was not great, and they only played two songs from their upcoming album, but Kline’s magnetic personality more than made up for their less than perfect musical performance.
The night ended with a truly grand finale in which Kline invited Ingle and Enders to help him sing Hellogoodbye’s most popular song, “Here (In Your Arms).” Hunter did not join them; he has been known to perform additional acoustic shows after his sets. Enders was at the merchandise table when the song began, and he crowd surfed the length of the club to reach the stage. The song was fairly chaotic; Enders repeatedly forgot the words and had to be reminded by Kline, and fans jumped on stage to join the performers. Still, the song exemplified the show: three eccentric pop bands performing sets that were not airtight but were tons of fun, pleasing fans and offering a truly unique musical experience, while PlayRadioPlay played alone out in the cold November night.
Why is this review still relevant? Well, although Hellogoodbye seems to be skipping the spring tours to record their next album, Ace Enders and NeverShoutNever! both have upcoming tours.
NeverShoutNever! is heading out on tour again with The Scene Aesthetic, The Honorary Title, and The Bigger Lights + Carter Hulsey. He'll be playing in the DC area at Jaxx in Springfield, Virginia on Sunday, March 8. Jaxx is a little club in a strip mall with a trashy-looking website. Their newest bartender is named Emily, and you can see pictures of her in a bikini here.
I'll probably spend that night dying inside because my parents won't let me go to concerts on school nights, but you should try to go and join the hoardes announcing their love at the top of their lungs.
After that tour, NSN heads out on the Bamboozle Roadshow, which will be stopping at the Recher Theatre in Towson, Maryland on Tuesday, April 28. He will be joined by We The Kings, Forever The Sickest Kids, The Cab, and Mercy Mercedes. In case I get reincarnated inside between this show and his show at Jaxx, I will be dying inside again that night because I cannot go.
More info about both these shows can be found on NSN's MySpace.
In other NSN news, his ukelele EP is now available on iTunes for those of you suckers who missed the free download week, and his song "Your Biggest Fan" will never get out of my head. Ever.
PlayRadioPlay! has not announced any future tour plans on his MySpace. Not that I would see him again anyways.
Ace Enders is also headin gout on tour again soon. This time, he will be supporting Craig Owens of Chiodos. The Color Fred, and VersaEmerge. His closest stop to the DC area is at Ottobar in Baltimore on Thursday, April 9, which is right in the middle of spring break for some of us. This much-anticipated show is rumored to be a hot ticket, so it's recommended that you make plans to go soon. My parents aren't too keen on the B-more club scene, but I'm trying to go.
More tour info on Ace's MySpace.
Also, if my smugness about downloading NSN's EP for free makes you want to punch me in the face, i'd like to offer you the link to downloa Ace Enders' album for free as an appeasement. It's right here, and it's totally jsut as good as NSN's...
I could burn you a copy of NSN's EP if you still want to punch me in the face.
[P.S. Sorry for the weird font changes; I'm having some HTML trouble with this post...]
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Off the Charts: Music in Fashion Spring 2009
I don't want to diminish my integrity as a music blogger, but I would just like to say that I am madly in love with our crappy U.S. (and global) economy. Why? Because it means people bought less for Christmas, meaning stores have more merchandise to move, meaning everything in the world is 70% off.
In honor of the hardcore bargain-hunting I've been doing this weekend ($3 shorts at Pac Sun! $9 cardigans at Ann Taylor Loft!), I thought I'd give you kids a few music-related fashion tips on what to spend your Christmas money on.
[P.S. Please actually click on a few of the links since I spent some hard-earned time finding those pictures/sites!]
Plaid seems to be a hot new trend for spring, as demonstrated by everyone from the Jonas Brothers to Demi Lovato to the guys from Hey Monday.
Okay, not the world's greatest examples (not too keen on Demi's outfit in particular), but I'm not much of a fashion blogger. The mall seems to be filled with colorful gingham shirts - dELiAs has the basic gingham down, while Forever 21 adds some pizazz with ruffles. Some more traditional plaids are also around, such as at dELiAs, which are more what the guys in the pictures are wearing.
But really kids, you gotta trust that once the Jonas Brothers start wearing something, it's gonna be in style. Joe totally called the Ray Bans wayfarers and colored skinny jeans, and Kevin's scarves were big this fall. (They say they love reading Teen Vogue - call them what you will, but you can't deny they've got style.)
Next up: possibly the biggest fashion debate of 2008 was how stupid you have to be to wear a romper. They were in, people laughed, they were out, Katy Perry wore one on MTV, people laughed harder, critics said they were soooo totally the next big thing...
I'm on the team saying that, although they look absolutely adorable, you have to either be missing a brain or possessing astounding bladder control if you want to rock a one-piece. I think that an equally adorable alternative, however, is the also-Katy-Perry-endorsed shirtdress. I believe Katy rocked one recently in at least a few scenes in her "Thinking of You" video. Camilla Bell also wore one in the Jonas Brothers' video for "Lovebug," and if Joe Jonas's new girfriend wears it, you know it's in style.
Another note about both of those videos; they're both set in the 1940's. I could speculate about how Americans are more optimistic about war and foreign policy (cuz who didn't love WWII?), but I'd rather just note that retro 40's styles seem to be coming in, with Katy Perry leading the way, then move on to talk about the next trend I've noticed...
Crazy neon clothes, because who doesn't want to dress like a highlighter? Aspiring pop bands Cash Cash and Varsity Fan Club certainly do.
VFC doesn't mind rocking some gingham either. Not saying these guys are the height of cool, but Capitol seems to think VFC are the next Nsync, and I think they are dressing them in whatever will drive teenage girls crazy.
Cobra Starship, of course, pioneered the recent trend toward crazy colors, and they don't seem to be toning it down anytime soon.
And I think Gabe's checkerboard pants up there will continue to be a pretty hot seller at Hot Topic. Hot Topic and Pac Sun are some good stops to find pants and tees brighter than your Sharpie highlighters.
Those are the top three trends I've noticed on musicians these days. Oh, and as I'm sure you've realized, yellow is the hot color for spring. It didn't become 100% inevitable until Michelle Obama donned that yellow jacket/dress combo for Inauguration, but one of my fave bands, Oh, Hush! totally predicted it a few months earlier in their blog. (Real article about mimosa yellow here.)
There are even price cuts at some bands' merch stores. Danger Radio is having a huge sale at their store, and I for one want to snatch up that $10 sleeveless hoodie.
That's all the fashion advice I've got for now! Now back to the tunes I'm actually supposed to be reviewing...
[edit: I accidentally referred to rompers as jumpers a couple times there; sorry about that! It's all fixed now!]
In honor of the hardcore bargain-hunting I've been doing this weekend ($3 shorts at Pac Sun! $9 cardigans at Ann Taylor Loft!), I thought I'd give you kids a few music-related fashion tips on what to spend your Christmas money on.
[P.S. Please actually click on a few of the links since I spent some hard-earned time finding those pictures/sites!]
Plaid seems to be a hot new trend for spring, as demonstrated by everyone from the Jonas Brothers to Demi Lovato to the guys from Hey Monday.
Okay, not the world's greatest examples (not too keen on Demi's outfit in particular), but I'm not much of a fashion blogger. The mall seems to be filled with colorful gingham shirts - dELiAs has the basic gingham down, while Forever 21 adds some pizazz with ruffles. Some more traditional plaids are also around, such as at dELiAs, which are more what the guys in the pictures are wearing.
But really kids, you gotta trust that once the Jonas Brothers start wearing something, it's gonna be in style. Joe totally called the Ray Bans wayfarers and colored skinny jeans, and Kevin's scarves were big this fall. (They say they love reading Teen Vogue - call them what you will, but you can't deny they've got style.)
Next up: possibly the biggest fashion debate of 2008 was how stupid you have to be to wear a romper. They were in, people laughed, they were out, Katy Perry wore one on MTV, people laughed harder, critics said they were soooo totally the next big thing...
I'm on the team saying that, although they look absolutely adorable, you have to either be missing a brain or possessing astounding bladder control if you want to rock a one-piece. I think that an equally adorable alternative, however, is the also-Katy-Perry-endorsed shirtdress. I believe Katy rocked one recently in at least a few scenes in her "Thinking of You" video. Camilla Bell also wore one in the Jonas Brothers' video for "Lovebug," and if Joe Jonas's new girfriend wears it, you know it's in style.
Another note about both of those videos; they're both set in the 1940's. I could speculate about how Americans are more optimistic about war and foreign policy (cuz who didn't love WWII?), but I'd rather just note that retro 40's styles seem to be coming in, with Katy Perry leading the way, then move on to talk about the next trend I've noticed...
Crazy neon clothes, because who doesn't want to dress like a highlighter? Aspiring pop bands Cash Cash and Varsity Fan Club certainly do.
VFC doesn't mind rocking some gingham either. Not saying these guys are the height of cool, but Capitol seems to think VFC are the next Nsync, and I think they are dressing them in whatever will drive teenage girls crazy.
Cobra Starship, of course, pioneered the recent trend toward crazy colors, and they don't seem to be toning it down anytime soon.
And I think Gabe's checkerboard pants up there will continue to be a pretty hot seller at Hot Topic. Hot Topic and Pac Sun are some good stops to find pants and tees brighter than your Sharpie highlighters.
Those are the top three trends I've noticed on musicians these days. Oh, and as I'm sure you've realized, yellow is the hot color for spring. It didn't become 100% inevitable until Michelle Obama donned that yellow jacket/dress combo for Inauguration, but one of my fave bands, Oh, Hush! totally predicted it a few months earlier in their blog. (Real article about mimosa yellow here.)
There are even price cuts at some bands' merch stores. Danger Radio is having a huge sale at their store, and I for one want to snatch up that $10 sleeveless hoodie.
That's all the fashion advice I've got for now! Now back to the tunes I'm actually supposed to be reviewing...
[edit: I accidentally referred to rompers as jumpers a couple times there; sorry about that! It's all fixed now!]
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Quick! Free Ukelele Tunes!!!!!!!
Well, I think I have proven to be an even more horrible procrastinatron of a blogger than a student, which is the lesser of two evils I suppose, but I doubt I'm going to gain much Internet celebrity by only posting things when there are TWO DAYS for you to get some free songs played on a ukelele, so act now, limited-time offer!!!
My amazing best buddy Christofer Drew of NeverShoutNever, whom I do not know personally but kind of made eye contact with after one of his concerts, has just released a ukelele EP. While this is newsworthy in its own right, it's even more special because from the week of January 20-27th, you can download it for *free*
NSN's MySpace is here, and I strongly advise that you visit it and check out his ah-dorable emo hairdo, btu if you want to get right to the goods, you can download the 3-song EP here.
...And you might wanna get right on that. Since you only have about 53 hours left... Sorry bout that.
BUT, if you're reading this on January 28th and thinking bitch, there is good news! You can still download the EP on iTunes! Which is a good thing to do anyways, because Chris writes some ofof the most adorable tunes I have ever heard, and you really ought to support him.
And speaking of supporting, the reason for these free downloads? You have the option to donate money to Toms, an awesome lil shoe company that donates a pair fo shoes to a child in need for every pair you buy. I thought that was a terrific idea and considered purchasing a sparkly pair, but I wanted to check with my mom first, and she confirmed my suspicion that the design of the shoes is kind of hideous. So I decided that I love the idea and will definitely keep an eye on their future merchandise, but right now, the only pair I'd really want on my feet are the red vegan boots. [The boots are gorgeous, but no way are my parents paying 98 bucks for a pair of vegan boots.]
While we're on the subject of free music, and because I feel bad ending a blog by dissing a pair of shoes made by an incredibly conscientious company, I just discovered a free lil electropop mixtape. I came across it on Mark Maxwell's MySpace (under Band Members on teh left side of the page). It includes a song by one of my fave crazy electropop bands Hyper Crush and Mr. Maxwell himself who, in case you are unfamiliar with him, appears to be the brains behind those deliciously catchy airheads Millionaires. It's weird, but it's free. If you thought NSN's EP was too wussy, here's something that'll really make you... scratch your head and wonder what the hell kind of music I like...
My amazing best buddy Christofer Drew of NeverShoutNever, whom I do not know personally but kind of made eye contact with after one of his concerts, has just released a ukelele EP. While this is newsworthy in its own right, it's even more special because from the week of January 20-27th, you can download it for *free*
NSN's MySpace is here, and I strongly advise that you visit it and check out his ah-dorable emo hairdo, btu if you want to get right to the goods, you can download the 3-song EP here.
...And you might wanna get right on that. Since you only have about 53 hours left... Sorry bout that.
BUT, if you're reading this on January 28th and thinking bitch, there is good news! You can still download the EP on iTunes! Which is a good thing to do anyways, because Chris writes some ofof the most adorable tunes I have ever heard, and you really ought to support him.
And speaking of supporting, the reason for these free downloads? You have the option to donate money to Toms, an awesome lil shoe company that donates a pair fo shoes to a child in need for every pair you buy. I thought that was a terrific idea and considered purchasing a sparkly pair, but I wanted to check with my mom first, and she confirmed my suspicion that the design of the shoes is kind of hideous. So I decided that I love the idea and will definitely keep an eye on their future merchandise, but right now, the only pair I'd really want on my feet are the red vegan boots. [The boots are gorgeous, but no way are my parents paying 98 bucks for a pair of vegan boots.]
While we're on the subject of free music, and because I feel bad ending a blog by dissing a pair of shoes made by an incredibly conscientious company, I just discovered a free lil electropop mixtape. I came across it on Mark Maxwell's MySpace (under Band Members on teh left side of the page). It includes a song by one of my fave crazy electropop bands Hyper Crush and Mr. Maxwell himself who, in case you are unfamiliar with him, appears to be the brains behind those deliciously catchy airheads Millionaires. It's weird, but it's free. If you thought NSN's EP was too wussy, here's something that'll really make you... scratch your head and wonder what the hell kind of music I like...
Friday, January 16, 2009
first post!!!!!!!!!!1111
^Disclaimer: That title is meant to be cute and ironic.
I just thought I'd make a lil welcome post describing my new music blog PerfectoPop & introducing myself & all that... So basically, once upon a time, there was this kid in high school who really liked music and listened to lots and lots of it, which made her pretty much normal. But she had known from an early age that her thoughts about music differed slightly from those of her peers; this realization arrived sometime around the 7th time she got bullied for admitting she owned a Hilary Duff album. Two, actually, but she never even told anyone she bought the Christmas album.
So this little kid grows up and realizes you don't go around telling people you think Disney Channel is cool and starts listening to bands that were actually popular, such as The All-American Rejects and Good Charlotte (I listened to Hilary Duff while you listened to Nicole Richie's future husband? Who feels dumb now, huh?) But then she got to high school and learned that in high school, uncool stuff is the coolest, so she got in with the High School Musical-loving crowd & realized that the stuff she listened to as a kid wasn't THAT bad. Then she realized that maybe the mature thing to do would be to listen to the music you like, no matter how many times people make fun of Hannah Montana, and try to see the good in the stuff you don't. And she realized that there are a LOT of people in the world who completely suck at doing that.
So she decided to start a music blog to try to spread her love of everything pop music and get people to listen to new things because she's under the impression that her tastes are slightly distinctive. Plus, she loves writing music reviews and wants an Internet addiction that's more productive Facebook.
A few things to note about this blog:
Its name is "PerfectoPop", like "perfecto" as in perfect in Spanish and "pop" as in popular music, and it's not like "perfect-o-pop;" it's like one word that rhymes with "electropop," which is a genre I am very into right now.
It's not going to be updated every day unless a miracle occurs and I magically become a second-semester senior rather than junior.
I came up with a few fun sections that posts can pertain to; their clever names are:
DsCene & Heard - a section of live music reviews, probably all of which will be from the Washington DC metropolitan area because that is where I will be living for at least another year and a half. But they could be more wide-ranging; I have been known to travel as far as Pennsylvania for Jonas Brothers concerts...
Must See CD - albums I think you absolutely must listen to because they are the Next Big Thing. Bands I previously would have included in this category if I'd had a blog include The Ting Tings, who I was so totally right about, Katy Perry, who I was so totally even more right about, and Skye Sweetnam, who I was so totally not right about. But I try.
First Impressions - lame name, kind of lame section, basically for if I want to get a review out there RIGHT NOW and don't have time to listen to the album more than once.
[I believe you must listen to an album at least 3 times before passing definitive judgement on it because everything sounds better the second or third time around...]
ALSO:
-normal CD reviews
-music video reviews
-good free stuff
-tour dates
-music-inspired/related trends in fashion, etc. [I'm thinking of calling it What The Jonas Brothers Wore Today]
-other news
-hopefully no crazy rants about things like why aspiring musicians who illegally download music are stupid or how Taylor Swift does not know how to promote an album or anything annoying like that...
So, yeah, that is my little welcome message/explanatory note. Um, I hope you like my blog and it doesn't end up embarrassing me like previous misguided efforts. That's all for now... Expect a real post that is like actually about music soon!
I just thought I'd make a lil welcome post describing my new music blog PerfectoPop & introducing myself & all that... So basically, once upon a time, there was this kid in high school who really liked music and listened to lots and lots of it, which made her pretty much normal. But she had known from an early age that her thoughts about music differed slightly from those of her peers; this realization arrived sometime around the 7th time she got bullied for admitting she owned a Hilary Duff album. Two, actually, but she never even told anyone she bought the Christmas album.
So this little kid grows up and realizes you don't go around telling people you think Disney Channel is cool and starts listening to bands that were actually popular, such as The All-American Rejects and Good Charlotte (I listened to Hilary Duff while you listened to Nicole Richie's future husband? Who feels dumb now, huh?) But then she got to high school and learned that in high school, uncool stuff is the coolest, so she got in with the High School Musical-loving crowd & realized that the stuff she listened to as a kid wasn't THAT bad. Then she realized that maybe the mature thing to do would be to listen to the music you like, no matter how many times people make fun of Hannah Montana, and try to see the good in the stuff you don't. And she realized that there are a LOT of people in the world who completely suck at doing that.
So she decided to start a music blog to try to spread her love of everything pop music and get people to listen to new things because she's under the impression that her tastes are slightly distinctive. Plus, she loves writing music reviews and wants an Internet addiction that's more productive Facebook.
A few things to note about this blog:
Its name is "PerfectoPop", like "perfecto" as in perfect in Spanish and "pop" as in popular music, and it's not like "perfect-o-pop;" it's like one word that rhymes with "electropop," which is a genre I am very into right now.
It's not going to be updated every day unless a miracle occurs and I magically become a second-semester senior rather than junior.
I came up with a few fun sections that posts can pertain to; their clever names are:
DsCene & Heard - a section of live music reviews, probably all of which will be from the Washington DC metropolitan area because that is where I will be living for at least another year and a half. But they could be more wide-ranging; I have been known to travel as far as Pennsylvania for Jonas Brothers concerts...
Must See CD - albums I think you absolutely must listen to because they are the Next Big Thing. Bands I previously would have included in this category if I'd had a blog include The Ting Tings, who I was so totally right about, Katy Perry, who I was so totally even more right about, and Skye Sweetnam, who I was so totally not right about. But I try.
First Impressions - lame name, kind of lame section, basically for if I want to get a review out there RIGHT NOW and don't have time to listen to the album more than once.
[I believe you must listen to an album at least 3 times before passing definitive judgement on it because everything sounds better the second or third time around...]
ALSO:
-normal CD reviews
-music video reviews
-good free stuff
-tour dates
-music-inspired/related trends in fashion, etc. [I'm thinking of calling it What The Jonas Brothers Wore Today]
-other news
-hopefully no crazy rants about things like why aspiring musicians who illegally download music are stupid or how Taylor Swift does not know how to promote an album or anything annoying like that...
So, yeah, that is my little welcome message/explanatory note. Um, I hope you like my blog and it doesn't end up embarrassing me like previous misguided efforts. That's all for now... Expect a real post that is like actually about music soon!
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