Live: The Dead Weather @ The Glass House 8/27/09

Alison Mosshart is a beast when she's on stage, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. From the moment she steps on stage, everything simply changes and the energy level rises tremendously, as does the temperature. Although Jack White does take part in this band, along with Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence, there is no doubt that Alison is the presence of the group. One could have tried to focus on Jack White or the other members for longer than a few seconds, but it was impossible to ignore Alison.

She isn't anything like most frontwomen of this age. Her voice ranges from soulful to agressive. There isn't anything fake about her or the Dead Weather as a collective. They are real and they are raw.

The band kicked off the night with "60 Feet Tall", the openning track off of their debut album Horehound. It started off slowly and subtley, but in no time the drums and powerful guitar kicked in, and Alison was right there, shifting her weight along with the music.

During the powerful "Hang You From The Heavens", Alison proceeded to grab the hair of a girl in the front row. She was constantly in the audience's face, often times hovering over everyone and staring so fiercely, that it would make even the strongest of men intimidated. The audience was absolutely loving it.

They played every song on their album, save for the instrumental jam "3 Birds". Their blues/rock rendition of Bob Dylan's "New Pony" more than serves the original justice. The crowd was going crazy for it.

Perhaps the most memorable moment was the last encore song, "Will There Be Enough Water?", which is also the closing song on the album. Jack White traded the drums for the guitar, and sang along with Alison. It's perhaps the most bluesy track on the entire record, and one of my favorites. Jack's guitar solo was brilliant, and reminded us of why we love him. Alison and Jack's lips nearly touched when they shared the microphone, and the performance itself was nothing short of intimate.

There is no doubt that The Dead Weather are the supergroup of the year, and their live performance only affirms that notion even more.

Revisiting

I'm sitting here thinking of a way to properly introduce this article I'm about to share. "Start with an anecdote" my Senior English teacher always said. I wrote some things, and then erased them. I'm fresh out of anecdotes right now. Call it writer's block if you will.

Anyway, I came across an article this morning. It's essentially "indie rock" from a fifty-seven year old's perspective. I found it to be interesting. To him, it's the sixties revisited, and I think there's a lot of relevance in that. I wasn't alive back then, but I think influences from that era are very obvious...but that's not the only similarity linking my genration to his.

Read the article here.

Third Man Records in Los Angeles

Third Man Records is coming to L.A. for three days and bringing numerous merchandise and exclusives along from the White Stripes, The Dead Weather, and The Raconteurs.

Here's all the info:

Third Man Records is overjoyed to announce the opening of Third Man Records and Novelties West FOR THREE DAYS ONLY in downtown Los Angeles, California.

The store will be located at 448 S. Main Street and opening day is Wednesday, August 26th, at 10 AM.

Come see us for all Third Man releases and miscellany from The Dead Weather, The White Stripes, and The Raconteurs to all Third Man 45s, T-shirts and loads of surprises exclusive to this temporary location.

We will be open 3 days only, store hours are as follows:

Third Man Records and Novelties
West 448 S. Main Street Los Angeles, CA 90013

Wednesday AUG. 26: 10 am to 8 pm
Thursday AUG. 27: 12 pm to 8 pm
Friday AUG. 28: 12 pm to 8 pm

New Dead Man's Bones

Yet another lovely track has been released by Dead Man's Bones. It is entitled My Body Is A Zombie For You, and is filled with darkness, haunting vocals, and a bit of a 1950's inspired sound. Beautiful.

For all of you who have been waiting impatiently for a full-length (including myself), it is set to be released on October 6th.

You can download My Body Is A Zombie For You here.

Sufjan Stevens and Cryptacize: Fall Tour 2009

The most miraculous thing has happened- it has been announced that Sufjan Stevens will be on tour this fall...finally! I'm so glad to hear this. While the tour is limited to the East Coast/Midwest/Canada, I am hoping that this will signal a West Coast tour soon to come.

Here is where he will be with labelmates Cryptacize:

09-21: Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
09-22: Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
09-23: Ithaca, NY - Castaways
09-24: Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
09-25: Pontiac, MI - The Pike Room Crofoot Ballroom
09-26: Champaign, IL - The High Dive
09-27: Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar
09-28: Madison, WI - The Majestic
09-29: Bloomington, IN - Buskirk Chumley
10-01: Toronto, ON - Lee's Place
10-02: Montreal, QC - Cabaret
10-03: Portland, ME - Port City Music Hall
10-04: New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
10-05: New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
10-06: Brooklyn, NY - Hall at Williamsburg
10-07: Brooklyn, NY - Hall at Williamsburg

Radio23

I've chosen to take a break from broadcasting on radio23. I've enjoyed being a part of it all, and I definitely support what radio23 is all about. I hope to return in the future, but with college starting soon, I think it would be best to focus on that and get situated.

Be sure to listen to all the various programs on radio23. The djs have an eclectic mix of music and great discussion.

Gabby

New releases from Bob Dylan and Radiohead

It was reported today that Bob Dylan will be releasing a Christmas album this year. I'm curious to see what a Bob Dylan Christmas carol would sound like.

Also, Radiohead has a released a new song in honor of Harry Patch, who was the last known British WWI Veteran. He passed away on July 25th of this year at the amazing age of 111. Radiohead had recorded the song a few weeks before Patch passed on. According to Thom Yorke, the way Patch talked about war in a BBC interview in 2005 had an immense effect on him, thus inspiring a song.

You can download the song for $1.70 here. All proceeds benefit the Royal British Legion.