something you shouldn't have missed.

okay...so maybe i missed part of the manchester orchestra/say anything show at club sound tuesday night, but what i saw blew my mind. biffy clyro was up and judging from their first song i didn't like it. i didn't even know who they were and was later misinformed of the name (biffy clyro not buffy cairo). however, as soon as they went into their second song my mind was changed. i suppose i'm running out of new and interesting things to say, but they were unique and they rocked hard :]. i was suprised i enjoyed them to be honest. it was more...guitar(???)...than i'm usually into. anyway, i'm going to have one hell of a hard time describing their music past what i did so go check out their myspace and listen. but, i will warn you: they are one of those bands that are better live (which is great). and now ladies and gentlemen...manchester orchestra. since summer i've been listening to this band non-stop and i finally got the chance to see them live; it didn't disappoint. they come on stage and it made me very happy because they just look so normal - no "rockstar aura", no "trendy" clothes. just people. frontman andy hull looks like a badass country man with his big beard and trucker hat foiled by a voice so genuine and soft accompanied by a hint of some "country twang"(as described by sami p). their performance included "where have you been" and (my personal favorite) "i can barely breathe". they also included some new songs (off their album that comes out this summer) and mixed up an oldie/goodie song - "collie strings". everything was good and the whole thing made me feel good. i got chills i wanted to cry blahblahblah. it was fantastic and they're a bona fide band that's gonna keep it real and you can always count on that.

colour with an r...

so i've literally been watching the office with the guys from colour revolt for 12 straight episodes. seems like a good time to write a blog about them since they played kilby last night. despite wyoming's best efforts to wipe them off the road, they made it in time to close out the show and make 29 fans happy.

i can't pretend to know them or their music. i've heard good things for a while (from who i can't recall) and i remember about a year ago when they had everything ripped off (van, trailer, equipment, three macbooks, two cameras and more). other than that i know nothing.

seems like a good time to figure them out as a band. i've known them as people for a day now and they like good movies, are quite well read and extremely polite. they love their home state but don't share a lot of its "values" and agree that touring from denver to salt lake to reno to los angeles this time of year is a battle.

"say that we're good" jokes drummer len clark and thusfar, this the only usable quote i can get in between episodes of the office.

as a band, here are the basics: colour revolt are a five-piece from oxford, mississippi. they've played with brand new, as cities burn, menomena, okkervil river, anathallo, explosions in the sky and manchester orchestra (they claim to have known lead singer andy hull since "before he had a band"). they sound like...okay seriously i've put this off for a day and i can't come up with an honest comparison. if mewithoutYou and manchester orchestra were playing an evenly matched game of baseball, cr would be in the ballpark. if the ballpark had a bluesy edge with frenetic guitars and soulful lyrics. we all agree that comparing bands is impossible and if your band is any good and necessary then there shouldn't be any comparisons anyway.

[author note: they disagree with me on this comparison, but not enough to give me a differing comparison]

cr is on fat possum records which is the happy home of andrew bird and a cacophony of borderline criminal bluesmen that they describe as being the home of "two killers" and a guy "who doesn't know how old he is."

"we just try to stay vague and hope that comes off cool" says guitarist jimmy cajoleas when trying to describe the rigors of being on a tough blues label like fat possum without actually being a blues band.

three of colour revolt are full-time students at ole miss and still find time to play 150 dates a year (which explains why they're touring salt lake in december and almost getting stuck on the back roads of wyoming). they have an ep out now and a full length available in march 2008.

Hey, I'm A Newbie.

due to my busy schedule or my scattered brain i have had yet to post a blog. cut me some slack if it's absolutely terrible. this could be brutal (i think i have picked up this word from chad). anyway, here i go. tonight the new frontiers played a show at el cafe. before seeing them for the
first time i was informed that they were good friends with the manchester orchestra, one of my favorite bands by far. so, i was immediately interested. generally, they have a softer sound than manchester, but definitely not weaker. tonight was my second time seeing them perform and i still wasn't disappointed. the vocals are what i can only describe as beautiful and calming. a perfect little band for our little cafe. a few of my favorite songs by the new frontiers are: "this is my home", "mirrors", and "who will give us love?". oh, and this was patrick dempsey night because the drummer of TNF and the lead singer of let's become actors both resembled him in some ways. i just wanted to throw that in there for lack of ideas on how to close this off. so, goodnight.

Supermarket Sweep

if you had $50 and 30 seconds in graywhale in draper (they're the only graywhale that doesn't take down our posters), here's what i suggest you aim for (based on what i've been listening to this week):

band of horses - cease to begin

the new band of horses is indeed better than their first cd. get beyond the s***bucks free download and get the whole album. click here to listen to the entire cd.

maritime - heresy and the hotel choir

maritime's third release just came out yesterday so i'm new to it still, but it's amazing. and in true promise ring fashion, this cd is not like the last maritime cd. there are echoes sure, but heresy is it's own bird.

manchester orchestra - i'm like a virgin losing a child

i know everyone's caught the hype about this band, but the hype is for real. mo is a great band and worth the effort to get their album.

and by the way, tim is making me a mix of bruce springsteen songs in the hopes that i'll develop a man crush on him. i say whatever; tim's always been my only man crush (since the untimely death of steve mcqueen) so if he wants to give that away, he's crazy.

also the new matt pond PA and the new pinback are amazing as well.