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2007:04:28:15:34. Saturday. THINGS THAT NEED BE SAID. Hockey in HD is fucking amazing. But even so, I don't know if I can stand watching another Red Wings playoff collapse. The only thing nearly as cool as this TV is upgrading my laptop to 2GB of RAM, so that I can do anything at all that I might want to do while also playing videos onto the new TV. Adobe Creative Suite 3 is pretty nice so far, but I'm a little confused as to why it takes up twice the hard drive space of CS2.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2007:04:28:13:09. NOTRE DAMNED IF YOU DO. I tend not to be much of a hater when it comes to sports, but I hate Notre Dame and I think it's hilarious that Brady Quinn has fallen out of the top 10 in the draft. Just like they do every few years, the good ol' boys of college football decided that some nondescript Notre Dame QB (Rick Mirer anyone?) was the future of football, and this time it looks like the NFL didn't bite. When's the last time they produced a star QB, maybe Joe Montana? If Quinn keeps falling, I guess there's always the CFL.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2007:04:23:23:43. Monday. NEW TV. It's just as well that I haven't got clips to post this week, because our TV died on Saturday and now I'm immersed in playing with the new one. We're now watching HD over the air, and it is super duper. It can also be used as a monitor, so I'll be picking up a VGA cable tomorrow; the giant LCD monitor we have on campus is pretty incredible, so I'm really looking forward to it.
2007:04:20:08:00. Friday. NO!: FROM THE HEADLINE (#256, APR 13 2007).
I, ah... I actually have nothing to say about this clip. It's a rocker from the end of their set. The crowd's started to get into a bit by this point -- I think they may have something here, with a bit more tightening up and stage-assuredness.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2007:04:18:08:00. Wednesday. NO!: FROM THE HEADLINE (#255, APR 13 2007).
Since posting the first of these clips I figured out who these guys remind of -- Thursday, which is weird, because when I actually think about it they don't sound that much like Thursday. Certainly there is no screaming to start with, but Thursday just seems to have a much harsher, crunchier sound. On this song it's a little easier to see the comparison, I think; it's a piano-driven ballad-y tune done up in post-classic emo style. Also, see if you can spot the audience members with balloon hats!
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2007:04:16:08:00. Monday. NO!: FROM THE HEADLINE (#254, APR 13 2007).
We went to the Miramar Theatre last weekend to record the Box Social's single release show -- something of a Milwaukee pop-rock showcase, actually, though we only got there in time to really see one of the opening acts. Comprised of guys from various other Milwaukee bands, From the Headline have what I would call a pre-2003 emo sound that they're still growing into on-stage. One of things that I really liked about them is that they said the name of each song they played -- very helpful for someone who's recording a handful of clips, since they don't have a record out yet -- but this one they got out of order. They announced it as "All-Purpose Room," but then before the next song said, hey, no, this one is actually "All-Purpose Room." So I don't know what this one's called.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2007:04:14:08:00. Saturday. NO!: BOUND STEMS (#253, MAR 22 2007).
We had the pleasure of witnessing the public debut of this new Bound Stems show, which was made all the better by the big recorder melody in the middle of it. Or would have been, that is, if the band's keyboardist/recorder player knew which part of the recorder needed to go by the mic in order to be heard. I think the recorder is woefully underused in indie rock, but it's too bad that you can't really hear it in this performance.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2007:04:13:08:00. Friday. NO!: BOUND STEMS (#252, MAR 22 2007).
I was quite glad to have another dose of the Bound Stems so soon after we saw them open for Maritime. In just two sets they've become one of those regional acts that I really look forward to seeing. Their playfulness on-stage did a nice job of corralling the crowd and setting things up for the Long Winters to come out -- hopefully they also made enough fans of their own to be back here frequently.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2007:04:10:08:00. Tuesday. NO!: STARS OF TRACK AND FIELD (#251, MAR 22 2007).
Stars of Track and Field are coming back to the High Noon later this month to play a show with Joseph Arthur & the Lonely Astronauts, and I'm not sure about going to it. I liked their set a lot, and I generally dig their music, but as you can hear in this clip, I don't think the room really agreed with them. Their atmospheric approach echoed a lot, to the point where you really can't discern any of the lyrics in this non-album track. Their show is the same night as Ted Leo's in town, though, which means it probably won't be too crowded; I guess I'll have to see if I like Joseph Arthur enough to push it over the top.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2007:04:09:08:00. Monday. NO!: STARS OF TRACK AND FIELD (#250, MAR 22 2007).
And now, back to the skipped opening acts from the Long Winters show! One of the many great things about this show was the terrific support on the bill. The second band of the evening, Stars of Track and Field, surprised me by putting on a set that was a lot more engaging than what I'd heard of their recorded material. They also brought along a more involved light show than the High Noon usually hosts, the only downside of which was that the stage was generally much darker than at any other time during the evening. Still, I think the atmosphere of it comes through in this clip.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2007:04:06:08:00. Friday. NO!: THE NERVOUS SYSTEM (#249, MAR 30 2007).
While the more rocking songs in their set seemed a little undernourished at this point in their career, the ones that tried something a little different, like this heavy surf numer, worked really well. It's a simple tune and built on a simple pound-and-shimmer riff, which they wisely tend to stay out of the way of. I'd say about half their record is like that, and half is stuff that isn't quite ready. Hopefully as they continue growing as a band they'll focus more on the idiosyncratic stuff that's already standing out as their stronger material.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2007:04:05:08:00. Thursday. NO!: THE NERVOUS SYSTEM (#248, MAR 30 2007).
I'm still very much on the fence about the Nervous System. I first became interested in them because they have two guys from the late, great Super Eights, whom I thought they'd be like. They're actually much less fully formed, though, and less energized. This song -- the album opener and lead promo track -- illustrates well the trouble with their approach. It's a nice little jangly pop song, but it doesn't quite know where it's going and takes a minute too long to get there. All the necessary parts for a pretty good song are there, they just aren't put together in the right order.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2007:04:04:08:00. Wednesday. NO!: THE NERVOUS SYSTEM (#247, MAR 30 2007).
The Nervous System took about 45 minutes to take the stage after Sleeping in the Aviary, and some of the crowd had taken off by then. The first few songs in their set were a little ramshackle -- and this one in particular came with some unidentified little intro song -- as they began to settle in to what was their first show with a new member.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2007:04:03:08:00. Tuesday. NO!: SLEEPING IN THE AVIARY (#246, MAR 30 2007).
At about 75 seconds long, this song is shorter than the average SitA tune, but not by much. Unlike the short bursts of melody played by big-time pop-punk bands, which usually come out to three minutes or so, these guys really do play short bursts. Following the recent release of their new album, they've been touring a lot, and this was something of a rare Madison appearance for them. I wonder, then, if they're on the verge of breaking through with these near-fragments. Their live shows get deservedly great press, and maybe in the modern age that's enough to overcome a songwriting style that's no good for radio.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra 2007:04:02:08:00. Monday. NO!: SLEEPING IN THE AVIARY (#245, MAR 30 2007).
I listened to Sleeping in the Aviary's record a couple times last week, and I was struck by how good it was. A lot of the songs -- despite being just fragments in some cases -- have a really bright pop sheen to them, which is just the opposite of the lo-fi buzz that my mind expects; the first of these two songs is particularly surprising to listen to when you haven't heard it in a while. I wonder if that has to do with how popular they seem to be in the local scene -- the King Club was fairly packed for their opening set at this show, but had thinned out a bit by the time the headlining, and CD-releasing Nervous System took the stage.
posted by Aaron S. Veenstra |
