Kevin Tully

Ocrilim’s Purging Trilogy is something I can appreciate for what it is.

There’s not really much going on in the whole damn thing except guitar track over guitar track over guitar track times infinite. It’s basically 2 hours and 12 minutes of one dude playing guitar. Now, I have to say I’m totally in awe of anyone that can see a project of that magnitude to completion. Especially considering the fact that all 24 tracks sound different from one another. That’s fucking impressive, I don’t care what you’re into.

But is appreciating this behemoth of a trilogy the same as enjoying it? No. It’s not. Though I certainly found some enjoyment out of a couple tracks on this three-part epic (Namely Ixoltion Part III and “Annothrith Hymn 5″), they were few and far between. I understand why people like heavy-handed experimental musicians like Ocrilim. And shit, if this sort of music is your thing then you’re totally gonna love The Purging Trilogy. It’s just not MY thing.

I’m not asking for the two hours of my life I spent listening to it back, I’m just saying that I probably wouldn’t do it again.

Angela Sanders

For an album that is over two hours long, not a whole lot happens.

The Purging Trilogy is a huge undertaking for the listener, and while I can appreciate Barr’s technical skills as a guitarist, I cannot help but be dissatisfied with the product as a whole. Part 1, Ixoltion, has a constant drone in the background and not much layered on top of it. The potential for an epic album to match its epic name was there. So, I waited. And waited. And waited.

Nothing.

The same phenomenon occurred in part 2, Sacreth: the drone and the minor layering, but nothing that caught me off guard.

At least part three, Hymns, had some variety. But the technical aspect had lost its intrigue and I felt like I was listening to my life just hum by. Music should be more engaging than that.

Basically, The Purging Trilogy is a two-hour guitar solo: great for the guitarist, but a musical drone for listeners.

Peter Starkebaum

It all starts with a pain bearing, angst-spiked guitar with an accordion-like drawl during Purging Trilogy I: Ixoltion. That leads to an annoying buzzing bass draped in static infused white noise. However, in this horror there is an attraction; the notes feel sensitive and bare, the guitar alone gives me the feeling of an open nerve being sliced. But the noise cuts not so sharp as serrated, and it makes my ears wince. The longer I listen, the more my mind circulates with annoyance and frustration. As I write this I am listening to Part II of Ixoltion, and all I really want to do is punch a spinning fan.

Actually, a spinning fan might be a good image for the first part of the album, in which repetitive rifts further urged on my frustrated attitude. However, as the album revolves toward Purging Trilogy II: Sacreth, it becomes clear that the progression of the album will reflect human life: a mingling of pleasure and pain.

In this case, that powerful collision occurs with mercy when the percussion breaks in as a grounding force to the relentless shredding. Finally, the album’s chaotic mood seems to have found relieving stability.

And then the Annothrith Hymns begin. They seem like a ghostly reflection of I and II, and I feel an oddness of opposites while listening to them, like a steady heartbeat after two cups of coffee. In reflection, the Hymn’s felt like a romantic after thought to the Sacreth’s Industrial Revolution, where the rhythm attempted to tame the raw wild guitar chords. Ultimately, the Hymns ended the album in a complete way and left a clear impression that the album had a distinct direction.

Overall, the experience was heavy and epic; it provoked perspective and true emotion. But if someone asked me if I enjoyed the new album, I would have to say it was like picking a scab: it took some cold shivers and necessary pain to get in to the warm, sensitive and bloody.

Sage Dahlen

Ocrilim’s The Purging Trilogy is more than an album. All told, it clocks in at just over two hours and twelve minutes. Seeing as so much music consumption is measured in seconds, listening to this project is sort of a commitment.

What fills that time could be described as a soundtrack to a torrential rainstorm, or a migraine headache. It’s long, self-indulgent, unremarkable noodling with some badass grunge and metal riffs interspersed (I’ll save you some time - the best track is Part 3 of Part II, Sacreth).

Trilogy, however, is not long in a “I-want-my-life-back” way, because it never fully holds your attention. You can troll around on the Internet, or make dinner while Mick Barr twiddles his fingers over guitar strings.

But how much can you really ask for from a solo guitar project?

Zach McCormick

My journey into Ocrilim’s uniquely daunting Trilogies was not one I willingly gave my full attention to. I’ve never been much of a fan of experimental classically-influenced metal. I’ve never been much of a fan of either classical music or metal, for that matter. This process was, at some times, akin to aural invasion by tiny alien buzzsaw. It was not fun.

But, I, ladies and gentlemen, am a Journalist. And that means something goddamnit. So I’ll listen to all two and a half fucking hours of this thing if it kills me, because ethics are the only fucking thing that matters these days anyway.

Look, I’m not going to say that the album’s final screetching, feedbacking decent into silence wasn’t the best thing to happen to me all night. I basically did everything I could to hold back the sweet tears of joy. But this is a legitimate work of music here people, and we have to treat it as such. Ocrilim may be the Public Enemy Number One within my auditory cortex, but he deserves a fair shake like everyone else, and I’ll be the man to give it to him.

This is actually a trilogy of Albums by the virtuousic solo guitarist Mick Barr. The first album being Part I: Ioxoltion and the second being Part II: Sacreth and you can see where this is going. Sacreth has a drum machine (the other two are solo guitar) and contains the album’s only highlight: “Part 4”. The rest of these songs, while all virtuosic and technical and lofty, really aren’t all that engaging. Great playing simply does not equal great album, and this record will really only appeal to diehard genre fans, who will probably love it because it’s a masterpiece. Everyone else is going to run in horror away from the mental sandpaper that is layer upon layer of buzzing, treble heavy guitar constantly switching tempo and time. If Rachmaninov had been raised in a stoner metal band, this is probably what he would have come up with.

So if you enjoy this sort of posturingly virtuosic playing from a fellow who probably spent many long hours pouring the midnight oil over at the music school, by all means, Trilogies is probably album of the year for you. For the rest of us however, it’s a droning torturous mess of buzz and pretense.

Finally, somebody cast Tom Waits as the Devil. As in Lucifer, the son of perdition, the tempter. Here, he is called Mr. Nick, a No. 2-mustachioed, top-hatted, cigarette smoking villain. Waits’ lines take on the distinct, timeless quality of a man not of this world, and his performance drives the comedic playfulness of the film, providing it with its most memorable dialogue. He plagues the life of the powerful Dr. Parnassus, a former mage/monk turned alcoholic mobile sideshow street attraction proprietor and performer. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) is tragically flawed: he likes to gamble, and his usual opponent accepts nothing but the juiciest of stakes. The great doctor’s past catches up with him and he and his sideshow crew, with the dubious aid of Heath Ledger and company, must out-magic the Devil while dealing with their own stressed relationships and dreams of life beyond the imaginarium circuit.

The film, due to the untimely death of the talented Heath Ledger, had to undergo plot alterations which at times convolute an already fantastical story. As a Gilliam film it was never going to be easy to follow or entirely preoccupied with plot resolution and clarity, but the extra layer added by a character whose face repeatedly changes—for the other characters as well as for the audience—cannot be said to be smooth, but despite the fact that it is clearly unplanned, this does not detract from the narrative too strongly, and the situation lends to the film the chance for Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law to play short parts, paying tribute as fill-ins for Ledger in the scenes he left unfinished.

It is not a movie for everyone, but for every Terry Gilliam, Heath Ledger, Tom Waits, or anything-but-the-same-crap-movie fan, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus should be a treat.

Finding its place in the first half of the stunning K & D Sessions, “Useless” is a slice of downtempo bliss that even those unfamiliar with the genre will appreciate. With a beat that deftly tiptoes the fine line between overwhelming and shallow and a bassline that is fluid beyond all words, “Useless” is a song that radiates calm focus. It is not dense and distracting but is engaging enough to keep you conscious during a marathon study session.

Like the best of Brian Eno’s work, “Useless” doubles as good background music and remains engaging when given a deeper listen. The mix is open, but where this can sometimes lead to monotony, “Useless” has enough subtlety that it remains entertaining. As is characteristic of trip-hop, “Useless” is a song of loops, but these loops are interesting, making them appear as more than parts on repeat.

If “Useless” proves anything it is that Kruder & Dorfmeister may very well be the most talented production team in the trip-hop scene. They are able to temper the wilder sides of their genre with more accessible elements without bastardizing their art. “Useless” is an incredible song, a true testament to the great things a couple of producers with a pile of studio equipment can do. For those looking to stave off the insanity that inevitably accompanies long hours in the library, “Useless” is the song for you.

the muppets sing queen’s “bohemian rhapsody”

The quartet has an older, garage band sound with a hint of psychedelic (they are definitely channeling some sonic youth). Their heavy guitars fill the soundwaves with further vibrations from the drums to make a Southern/rock/blues combo that brought the audience to their feet.

Their new album entitled The Mountain is raw, powerful and passionate and entirely worth checking out.

“Nothing Seems the Same” video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j48UVaBoR60

Under the alias of Rain Machine, Malone’s album “Rain Machine” dropped on September 22, 2009, and was met with high praise. While Rain Machine shows ties to TV on the Radio’s albums, “Rain Machine” is more than capable to stand on its own. The overall sound of the album is natural and strikingly experimental. While the two ideas seem ironic, the sound Malone creates is earthy and harmonic.

The album is introduced with isolated pieces of percussion and develops into the first single off the album, “Give Blood”. Malone’s falsetto carries through each song…you can finally hear his full range. It is well impressive. “Leave the Lights On” is one of my personal favorites; it is spacious and light and you can just drift away in the song.

“Rain Machine” has an extraordinary power of decompressing the anxieties of the day, which is perfect for me this week. And, to top it all off, Rain Machine will be in Minneapolis this Friday!!! I’m stoked, hope to see you there!

Rain Machine
7th Street Entry
16 October 2009
Doors: 8.00pm

I am going to predict the outcome of the film festival. The judge’s selection for best short film will be Liška. This film festival was no contest. Liška had plenty of room for improvement [to the filmmaker: The pauses at the end of the film were poorly placed and too frequent. The cigarette falling from the girl's mouth fell all wrong. Do this shot over. The acting by the filmmakers on the bus ride was atrocious] but no other film was composed well enough to compare.

I couldn’t force myself to sit through the long films. I watched one and convinced myself that watching these films was ruining my cinematic brain. Also, I won’t be making any reliable predictions for the audience’s favorite film since it’s dependent on how many persons each filmmaker can bring to see his or her film. I hadn’t a chance to survey the audience much during the films but perhaps the film with the largest number of actors will win (Equinox?)

Ideally, the next student film festival will have hundreds of entries instead of a handful. Perhaps then the University can opt to have a festival of some merit.

The awards presentation is tonight at 7PM at Coffman Union Theatre. I will update this entry with the winners afterwards.

Winners
Short Film, Judge’s Choice: Liška
Short Film, Audience’s Choice: Li
Long Film, Judge’s Choice: Hearing Murmurs
Long Film, Audience’s Choice: Off Campus

The attraction to publish through one of these companies is clear: it’s cheap and quick (like couscous). Little to no upfront costs and one can have copies made for friends and relatives by Tuesday. The author has a great deal of control over the process with no need to worry about storage space for unsold copies; many of self-publishing companies will print-on-demand and mail to customers. How does an author justify the arduous process of going to a publishing house? Consultation, editing, connection with an existing string of bookstores for distribution, upfront payment, marketing? Whether these aspects are worthwhile depends on the author’s goals and vision for their work but turnover in titles is showing that publishing houses are suffering while self-publishing companies are thriving.

So it would seem that people would rather hold what they have written than read what someone else has. In turn, traditional publishers are also forced to be more selective with their booklists; focusing on titles that will sell despite the economy rather than those that are substantial (with some overlap, I hope). For this reason, it’s comforting to know that self-publishing exists as an alternative to those who can’t afford or be afforded to be published by traditional means. Any comfort can turn to an unsettling feeling when one realizes any great work will likely be lost in the depths of common poetry and memoirs that should never have been written, much less published.

Short story: Don’t sleep with someone just because they’re published.

In this midst, I contemplated more and more. Or could it be about dangerous coastal waters that sparkle in sunlight by day but claim lives by night? Maybe the man was surrounded by sand when he wrote the song – it had a beachy feel. Resonant patterns of the music guided me while intuition served my purpose with no words to help out.

It is easier to pay attention to lyrics instead of the multi-dimensional instrumental parts of music. Listening to and discerning between the different layers often takes more effort than we would be willing to dedicate. But when lyrics are incomprehensible, zooming out of a single tune is possible, and the piece can be heard more wholly. I used to listen to the Life Aquatic Soundtrack all the time – mainly to the tracks with the acoustic Portuguese David Bowie covers. That served a similar carefree purpose.

Seeing the complete picture in a song is important. Perception can be annoying – our brains don’t always pick out the most valuable senses to process. It’s pretty tough to take note of what is being sung and separate each instrumental voice at the same time, but with foreign lyrics, you realize how much more there is to vocalization than what the meanings imply. There is no need to sing along, only listen. Yes, just listen.

Which brings me to the next reason why I probably shouldn’t be reviewing this: I fucking hate Antony’s voice. I hate the tone and tenor of it, I hate its smoothness and how he always sounds a little too low, how his voice is always arcing down even when ascending a scale. And I really really fucking hate how he over-vibratoes everything. I’ve hated his voice since the first time I heard it on a Current 93 album (which to be honest, the only Current 93 song I like is the one by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy).

And not only that, but I hate his lyrics, how everything is kissing everything else while inanimate objects cry.

To a certain extent, I buy into the idea that good art stems from an understanding of the listener’s expectations. What a good artist does is satisfy or defy those expectations, generally a bit of both, and to do either he must understand them. Being a good critic, then, requires understanding of those expectations as well, because otherwise you can’t tell if the artist has done a good job, you can’t even really tell what he’s doing at all. And that’s the position I’m in: the bitching above is not informed criticism of a sub-par work of art, it’s a manifestation of the uncomfortability and frustration brought on by my engagement with an object of art that is outside the realm of my knowledge.

But people who get this sort of music seem to be going pretty nuts about this album, so if you’re into mellow and somber melodic vocalizings, maybe give it a spin. Me, I’ll stick to music that’s about guitar and beats.

Band named after a Gorguts album.
Fancy-sounding science-word album title.
Song titles all about outer-space stuff.
Fretless bass.
Ex-members of Necrophagist.

Boom. Reviewed.

I got all excited about that last little bit of information, but really all it means is that there is flawless shredding on this record. The stuff that makes Necrophagist such a standout, their neo-classical melodicism and listenably technical songwriting, that’s all Muhammed Suiçmez.

Speaking of which, when is that band’s new album coming out? I bet it’ll be better than this one. Not that Obscura is bad, they’re undeniably solid. Just they’re about the least progressive “prog-death” band I’ve ever heard. Nothing will surprise you here if you’ve ever heard Gorguts or Death or Cynic.

So I guess if you’re nuts about prog-death, you should probably listen to this record. But I doubt that applies to many of you reading this.

Check this out: I just brought up a band you’ve probably never heard of, just to let you know that it’s mediocre. What a delightful service I’ve done for you.

Chen started a project with his girlfriend and Vitesse-contributor Celeste Alexander called “Fiber Study”. The duo found it difficult to produce their sound live so with the help of friends around NYC, Chen and Alexander (now married) formed “The New Lines”. The sound is, not surprisingly, quite Vitesse-esque; it’s a full-band effort of Vitesse complimented with the complexity and disarray of NYC.

The New Lines play a limited number shows and semi-frequently update their Myspace with what sounds like basement compilations of a group playing at its own leisure. This exclusivity is explained by the world of day jobs; Hewson Chen is now an Associate at Powley & Gibson, P.C. law firm. Hewson’s attorney bio at Powley & Gibson’s website states that he has “handled trademark and copyright matters concerning the publishing and music industry” but mentions nothing of his previous success in the indie-synthpop band Vitesse. Regardless, The New Lines aspire to a release something outside of their 96kbps Myspace-streamed songs. Until then, I’m going to continuing collecting via file2hd.com.

As Hewson Chen is experimenting with unconventional time signatures and other ostentatious efforts in Brooklyn, Joshua Klein is remaining elusive. In a desperate Google search of the Facebook website I found a Josh Klein who claimed to have graduated from the University of Chicago. I created a Facebook account and sent a message. Two weeks later I received a reply validating my guess (I use the term validate loosely here — it’s the internet). I was told that he was not currently working on any musical projects but that he was open to the possibility of one in the future. Hope.

But what does this say about the free time of a New York Intellecutal Property Attorney and a Midwestern newspaper Editor? Or is it about efficient use of time? Individual drive? Too many variables.

myspace.com/thenewlines
myspace.com/fiberstudy

Toki Wright on Obama:

“[The economic crisis] has always been there in the urban community, and now its an issue for the entire country to have to deal with. Food shortages, the prison system, violence… Unless these conversations happen, unless we work together as people, we can’t expect anything to change. The good thing about this past election is, whatever side of the issue you were on, people were speaking up. I’m a Barack Obama supporter. I wasn’t initially; I wasn’t an anybody supporter. I’m always a skeptic when it comes to any politician because to be a politician, you have to be crafty, you have to be a good liar. That’s where the question of ethics comes in. Do you appeal to whatever will get you elected, or do you stick to your guns and have your own opinion? I came around [to Obama] probably during the primaries, probably right before Iowa. I saw him as somebody that knew how to speak to different crowds of people and actually take their opinion into consideration.

The youth are interested in politics, people of color are interested in politics, women are interested in politics when they have representation. When you feel like you’re not going to be truly represented either way, that’s when people get apathetic. When Bush gets a second term and you go out there and work your ass off to try to prevent that, you see in the end somebody’s gonna cheat anyway. This time it proved, at least, that if you really believe in something, it can actually happen. The fact that he brought people together and the fact that he was open-ended to all these different opinions doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have a strong opinion. He has a cool head, especially being an African-American going through this race and hearing the things people were saying about him. It’s really cold-hearted. He has to be a level-headed person to take on all the crap he’s gonna get, just being from where he’s from, looking the way he does, and even having the education that he has. But that’s the positives of having Bush in office and having the real polar opposite is that real comments come out. Bush in office made people go ‘This is horrible, this is really not how I wanna live’. I like the fact that the economy did come up because it would have been really hard for him to win.”

On how his experience comes into his music:

“I like to have a descriptive one on one conversation and connect with people on some level, even those who don’t know my experience or have dealt with it first hand they can understand where I’m coming from and try to relate to me on a human level. I was raised Buddhist so my whole outlook on life is different form a lot of my friends. I tended to stand out all throughout my life, so its like my attitude as far as eye for an eye or just violence in general, towards self-preservation, towards law, fortune, and faith, have been really open. That’s the way I was taught, to take somebody’s opinion, take it into consideration, and turn around and have your opinion. Sometimes it comes out contradicting itself, which is fine. What goes up must go down. ”

On mainstream rap radio:

“I’m battling this whole notion that, as a black hip-hop artist, there’s a box. You have to come from a certain set of circumstances to be acceptable. That’s one of the great things about Barack Obama. He wasn’t even considered black a year ago. Who cares where Al Green is from? Who cares where Guns ‘N Roses went to high school? Does the shit bang? As a hip-hop artist, you’re always faced with ‘am i hard enough’ even if you decide to be totally opposite that. Its a reaction to the fact that you have to be hard as a hip-hopper. That’s what trips me out about the radio; I call it ‘urban pop’. Its the information age. We’re inundated with information, sometimes you just want somethin’ simple. You see how hip-hop has progressed to really basic, short words… You see that in the dancehall and reggae scene, there’s a new song every day, nobody can really make any money! You can be hot this week and trash next week.

I understand all music, I grew up going to parties, school dances… Havin’ rugged hip hop music in the car. The problem is there’s not enough variety. I can’t even have an opinion on what I wanna hear on the radio. When somebody breaks through on a commercial level and says something of importance, with style, like Lil Wayne or Jay Z, Nas, Common, Talib Kweli, even E-40, just the fact that he can still be creative [after all these years]. …I like T-Pain. But I like T-Pain doin’ T-Pain, I don’t wanna hear nobody else doin’ T-Pain. …Some things people are gonna look back on and go.. Oh, maybe that wasn’t hot… What were we thinking? It’s good to have your timeless music. I go for trying to make music that’s gonna last more than a couple months.”

On the government:

“My opinion on government is that the government is a mechanism, its a bunch of written laws built to maintain this mechanism. You do something, here’s the reaction to it. You spend money, this is how the market reflects it. But inside of those machines, you have humans, you have heart. You can’t give a machine a heart, but you can get the people within it to try and redirect it. So, now its time for somebody who feels like they don’t have an opinion at all to affect the people who run the machines. Hopefully my music has some sort of effect on the heart of the people.”

On his dual roles as artist and community activist:

“I like to say what I feel. Being an activist, in a community role, you’re a little bit more restrained. There’s a time and place. When you’re performing, you’ve got a 30 to 45 minute box, where everybody’s looking at you, you can say whatever you feel. You can have an opinion one place, and say, here’s to refute that opinion. When you’re in the community and there’s the livelihood of others at stake, you have to be a lot more cautious. I’ve been trying more so now a days to keep things more separate. I try to be helpful in the community, but a big part of me just wants to be an artist. The artist has a role. In some communities, art is just a way of life. My work, if it has a positive affect on the community, is that not community work? What would the 60s be without radical music? What would a wedding be without wedding music? What would the holidays be without holiday music? Its important. That is community work. Community is about bringing people together and dealing with issues, and if you can do that in a song, be the best damn songwriter you can.

I think I spread myself thin sometimes, trying to be everything for every body. If I can just make great music first, that’s my truest passion. Doin’ work in my community is natural. That’s what I have to do. I have no choice but to do it. But if I start to think I need to be a community musician, if I look at it like that, its too big for your mind to wrap itself around. I’m just gonna make music, it doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop. Sometimes I get typecast just as this community person, which I am, but I’ve done a lot on the music and artist front that I need to shine light on all the things I’ve done musically.”

On touring with Brother Ali:

“Initially when you go out with an artist that’s more established and people don’t know you, every day is a talent show. People are already [shrugs shoulders] before you even say anything. I had a lot of training in that growing up, especially in the black community. You go to a show, people will let you know before you rap ‘you whack!’ Being on tour like that has taught me how to talk to different crowds of people. I started off hosting shows, I went from hosting to doing two fifteen minute segments, to having my own set. I learned there’s certain things you cant do in 15 minutes. People cant really get to know you in a couple songs. But you better damn well try your hardest. I’ve been performing for a long time, way before I even knew who Rhymesayers was. I remember The C.O.R.E. [Toki's group with rapper A.D.] did a show at a kindergarten class in Woodbury like 8 years ago, and I was like, where the hell am I? How did I get here? Little kids in the front jumping up and down, their parents in the back with their arms crossed, like ‘what the hell you teaching the kids?’ So there’s all these little training grounds. I’m gonna work my ass off. I don’t want nobody just giving me opportunity. I want you to see my work ethic. I’m not gonna give up. I want people to know that when you come see me, I’m sweatin’ my ass off, because I really believe in what I’m doin’. I want you to want it. The veins are poppin’ outta my neck cuz this is comin’ from my soul. I don’t mind touching people, I like to let you know I’m real; this is not a story, this is not imaginary, this is my experience and my experience is real. Often times we have different communities of people that only cross at certain points. If i have a chance to cross in front of a group of people that has no idea what my experience and what my life is, I want you to know I’m here, I’m alive, what I’m talking about is real, this is reality.”

On conscious rap and acting hard:

“What is consciousness? If you’re truly conscious of your surroundings, you’ll realize that people don’t like being preached to. I don’t want you telling me whats wrong about me all the time. In order for us to move forward, I need to feel like we have some sort of relationship. I don’t want some person that walks down off a pedestal and says ‘you guys gotta get your life together’. I feel like the traditional ‘conscious’ artists have a tough time dealing with themselves and their own personal issues of how they need to present themselves, how they can be accepted. I listen to some of everything, I do some of everything. I deal with my own demons and contradictions, all that stuff. It is what it is. I like a good story. I don’t wanna be a pimp, [but] I like a good Too $hort story about bein’ a pimp. If somebody wants to tell a story about violence, whats really goin’ on, yeah, tell me. I’m not really into glorifying it for no reason. Life gives you certain circumstances where you have to be hard; [but] the nature of people, as fans or as artists, we think you have to be all of one thing. Just tough, just hard, I’m hard when I’m eating my cereal, I’m hard when I’m takin’ a shower. Sometimes I’m just into people just sayin’ some fresh shit. At the same time, sometimes I don’t want you to know me. Sometimes all I want you to know is that I will whoop your ass. [laughs] In certain situations, I don’t want you to break that wall. I just want you to dance, I just want you to party. I’m doin’ my job up here so that you guys have fun and we’ll leave it at that.”

On doing shows around the world:

“I did a show in Birmingham, Alabama in this little hillbilly bar. You know, I’ve never heard a whole lot of polite things about being black in Alabama. I went in, did the show, people were gettin’ into it, small crowd maybe about 100 people, there was just love. It was about the music. I’m like, I like Birmingham! This is a good city! It goes back to being able to make a connection, just making good music. I was doin’ this show in Uganda once… African b-boys goin’ nuts, crowd is wildin’ out… Wall to wall packed around, performing with a cordless mic in a circle, I’m just strollin’ around, this kid from Minnesota, goin’ across the water and rappin’ in the motherland… This is kinda fresh right now! I can’t say that, cuz I’m a rapper and I gotta act tough. There’s a certain part of being an artist where you have to tell your story. I’ve done some dope things; if i don’t tell people, its like they don’t exist, to the rest of the world except myself. I’ve done a lot of stuff, I come home and just kind of melt back into my regular life. Play in front of 10,000 people one day, then come home and take out my trash. But in the rap world I want people to actually know. That goes to, who am i making music for? Am I making it for myself? Otherwise I’m just another dude. I’m never one of those people that thinks that just because I rap, people have to care. Why be interested in me when I got ten rappers on my block who think they’re the greatest too? My answer to that is, they’re not me. [laugh]”

Don’t forget to check out Mr. Wright at the Dinkytowner on Saturday, December 27!

Bruce Campbell made this movie one time called Evil Dead. Enough people watched it to warrant two more progressively ridiculous sequels, Evil Dead 2 and The Army of Darkness. The dude who directed them went on to direct the Spiderman film franchise. The dude named Bruce Campbell went on to play Bruce Campbell in the new film “My Name Is Bruce”.

Bruce’s character Ash from the Evil Dead series holds a special place in the hearts of nerds everywhere, special enough for Campbell to have continued to have some sort of a career in film. He has since appeared in movies like Bubba Ho-Tep, where he played Elvis, and the television program “Jack of All Trades”, where he played a 19th century American spy out to battle Napoleon. He’s also written books, including If Chins Could Kill and Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way. All this being said, even if you’ve never seen a Bruce Campbell movie, you maybe have an idea of what he’s all about. The actor is a B-movie favorite for his roles in various cult classics, and his fame therein has culminated in a movie where he plays himself battling ancient Chinese warrior gods, premiering at the Lagoon this weekend.

I am not a proactive member of the elite press and have thus not seen this picture. However, I believe I know pretty much what the movie is about. You’ll probably like it best if you already like Campbell; in fact, I’ll bet that’ll be a prerequisite for even sitting through the whole thing. It doesn’t look terrible, and who knows? It could go any number of directions. I am a tenuous fan of these sorts of self-aware low-budget slapstick horror films, and I certainly have enjoyed much of Campbell’s work. Still, projects such as these sit as rather iffy with me as they tend to rely quite a bit on the actor’s recognition and invented persona than they do on quality scriptwriting or clever moviemaking. It appears to be a movie which will be slightly amusing and not really much more than that.

I have been wrong before, so keep in mind I haven’t actually seen this yet. Besides, you’ll probably want to go see this this weekend anyway, as Bruce Campbell himself will appear at all screenings of his new film to introduce the picture and answer questions afterwards. The man is a very funny and charming personality and his appearance at these screenings proves his devotion to fans. This is, after all, a movie strictly for the fans, and it is certainly gratifying to see the man giving something to his devoted following.

Join Campbell at the Lagoon Theater at any one of their screenings this weekend for a chance to meet the cleft man himself and take in his latest offering to the world of schlock cinema!

My Name Is Bruce premiere with introduction and Q&A from star Bruce Campbell
Lagoon Theater, 1320 Lagoon Ave
Showings at 7, 9 and midnight, Friday, Saturday and Sunday; Campbell will be at all screenings

There was quite an influx of bad business going on when the Republic National Convention stormed our humble little city, not the least of which include the 18 felony cases stemming from the protests and the persecution of the RNC 8 under the Patriot Act. The lead prosecutor in the felony cases is Susan Gaertner, who is holding a fundraiser for her 2010 DFL nomination at the Minneapolis Club. Friends of the RNC 8 and CRASS decided to put together an event to confront Gaernter and demand she drop the charges against protesters. So, in short, come on down to 2nd Ave and 8th St for a dance party and rally in support of the RNC 8 and those charged with crimes for protesting! There’s nothing like a confrontational dance party with political convictions. CRASS (Community RNC Arrestee Support Structure) says invites “you & your loudest and dancing-est friends!”, and says to “bring signs & noisemakers, dress warmly, and be ready to get down!” Go get your groove on and feel active at the same time. As the saying goes, No Justice No Peace, so go give Gaertner a good old fashioned lack of peace this Tuesday.

No Peace For Susan Gaertner - Rally and Dance Party
Tuesday, December 2
Outside the Minneapolis Club on the corner of 2nd Ave S and 8th St
4:30 PM

This Thursday, Stella are bringing their brand of oddball comedy to First Avenue. Stella consists of Michael Ian Black, David Wain and Michael Showalter, who are a much more insane whole than the sum of their parts. Individually, each member of Stella has been involved in some of the more inspired bouts of recent comedy, from comedy albums like Black’s I Am A Wonderful Man, Showalter’s online show The Michael Showalter Showalter, and David Wain’s writing for films like Role Models and The Ten. As a troupe, their collective energy is simply startling. Described as “dumb comedy dressed up in a suit”, the trio had a short lived series on Comedy Central (see below) in which a series of absurd events happened in such a way that audiences felt compelled to laugh. There’s really no other way to explain it other than that it is unrelentingly bizarre and takes pride in its own ridiculousness. How in god damn these boys manage to keep a straight face through all this wackiness is beyond me. Check them out live on stage and enjoy the madness.

Stella Live - Michael Ian Black, David Wain, Michael Showalter
First Avenue Mainroom, 701 1st Ave N
Thursday, December 4
$20/$22, 18+, 7PM

If you don’t know about Doomtree yet, you’ve not been paying much attention, as this group of marauding young hip-hop innovators have been killing things in this town for quite some time now. This Saturday is the 4th annual Doomtree Blowout, the collective’s giant showcase of their crew and how incredibly awesome they all are. MCs Sims, P.O.S., Dessa, Mike Mictlan and Cecil Otter join DJs/producers Paper Tiger, MK Larada, Turbo Nemesis and Lazerbeak to create the powerful rap unit known as Doomtree, and these Blowouts have stood as one of the better music events of the year for the past three years running. Each one has been progressively more impressive, and the crew always manages to pull out all the stops and bring an onslaught of surprises and powerful performances. Expect amazing music and lively stage presences, but other than that, anything can happen. Doomtree is celebrating with the release of their brand new DVD, with live footage, promo videos, a documentary, and a new full-length False Hopes albums with songs from every member. Also, Dessa Darling will be selling copies of her new book of writings, Spiral Bound, for those who dig on words in a less vocalized format. The Blowout is not to be missed, so don’t sleep! Tickets have been known to sell out, so grab yours soon.

Doomtree Blowout IV
First Avenue Mainroom, 701 1st Ave N
Saturday, December 6
$10/$12, 18+, 6PM

Go have some fun, now.

Their sound is far from that of the pop diva, but I was not actually terribly surprised by the band’s fondness. Dub Trio is indeed a trio who perform dub music, of sorts, but the amount of sounds stuffed into the band’s repertoire is such that there could be some Titanic soundtrack stuck way in there. A quick description of the group would be “dub meets metal”, and that’s accurate enough to prepare listeners for what they’re getting into. The three white Brooklynites have a deft command of dub style and do their name justice. But this grasp of Jamaican roots music is filtered through a plethora of other styles, from stoner metal to hardcore punk to Explosions In The Sky-styled post-rock to Slayer thrash to… well, you probably get the idea.

Actually, the only way to truly get the idea is to hear the group. It’s one thing to say that they fuse a great number of styles, but their method is one that defies easy categorization. Songs like “Casting Out The Nines” are pretty heavily dub-influenced, downplaying heavy guitar in favor of deep bass and echo effects, but upon hearing the distorted rock megablast “Not For Nothing”, you’ll start to see the range the group has. Dub Trio’s strength is in how fluid they are with the multiple styles they incorporate. A lesser band attempting to create a dub/metal hybrid would simply play open chords on the offbeat and leave it at that. The Trio have a real handle on the core ideas of dub and are able to embed them into their heavy guitar-driven sound rather seamlessly.

This particular set was quite heavy, not to mention loud. Each song was a Molotov cocktail of musical ideas which exploded into the audience with massive riffs and crunchy distortion. Those not paying close attention might have missed all that was going on underneath the onslaught of metal coming from the stage. Often times the Trio would hit you with a heavy bout of guitar only to abruptly remove it and shift the focus to the bass and drums as echos faded the heavy portion away. Each song kept me on my toes, not sure what to expect but ready for anything. I wonder what King Tubby (the band’s top friend on MySpace) would’ve thought of these guys: They seem too loud and rock-infused for dubheads, seemingly aimed to bring dub to metalheads rather than the other way around. All the songs were instrumentals; the band’s only vocal tracks are on album with fellow Ipecac artist Mike Patton, who usurped the band for his 2006 Peeping Tom project. If that doesn’t clue you in to the band’s grasp of varying styles, note that all three are seasoned studio musicians who’ve worked with a wide variety of artists: Guitarist DP Holmes has appeared on Mos Def and Common albums, bassist Stu Brooks has recorded with 50 Cent, 2Pac, Slick Rick and Tony Yayo, and Joe Tomino was the touring drummer with The Fugees. And they all like to play stoner metal too. It makes sense that these guys would create a project with so many influences that manages to remain justifiably headbang quality. Few groups I’ve ever seen so skillfully string together genres like this, and their solid performance at the Varsity proved their powerful command of musical languages.

Openers Hardcore Crayons are a local ska group, which reminded me of high school a little more than I was comfortable with. There are some hardcore and metal influences in there, which are for more interesting to me than the ska elements. Their set was heavier than their MySpace initially led me to believe, with distortion far heavier than that of your average ska band. They reminded me somewhat of bands like The Plastic Constellations, ie a high school band that stayed together and continued on in the same vein, progressing as they went but still sounding very high school. As far as ska groups go, there was a lot more innovation in this than many other groups I’ve seen. Skimmed down to just guitar, bass and drums, there was no obnoxious horn solo to sit through, just lyrics about cats and tacos.

Marvelle, the first opening act, seemed very well suited to the ambiance of the Varsity Theater. The baroque-rock style fit beautifully among the plush chairs and dim lights. The band consists of violin, bass, drums and live art, and brought as heavy a sound as anything else that night. I remain quite impressed with the painter, beset with the task of completing a painting by the time the set is over. Her colorful landscape painting was thrown onto canvas as the haunting sounds of violin and heavy bass riffs churned underneath. You can read my full review of the band here, because I don’t feel like writing much else.

As December approaches, it’s getting to Christmas special season. Last night I went to Bryant Lake Bowl to attend one of the most infamous Christmas specials of all time, the Star Wars Holiday Special. Technically, this is not a Christmas special, as it takes place a long time ago in a galaxy without a Jesus or a Santa Claus. This is a “Life Day” special, centering on the sacred Wookie Christmas equivalent which, from what I could tell, involves nothing other than being in a house and turning on devices. Oh, and dressing in robes and walking into the sun while singing. Uh, yeah. But this holiday is revered in Wookie culture, and the plot revolves around the intrepid quest to get Chewie back to his home planet in time for Life Day.

If you have never seen or heard of this film before, it is because no one wanted it to surface. This is, and I say this with little hesitation, the worst thing I have ever seen in my life. The special originally aired 30 years ago and has never seen release or been re-aired since. Rumor has it George Lucas did everything in his power to prevent the special from ever being seen again, and it’s understandable why. Having a certain propensity and even enjoyment of bad movies, I went to the screening last night expecting a low-budget travesty which would be so bad it’s funny. I’ve seen a good number of classic bad movies, from Manos: Hands of Fate to Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, and felt prepared for some unintentionally hilarious footage from this much-hyped cult classic. I was wrong. I did not respect just how terrible this movie was.

The opening sequence depicts Chewbacca’s family back on his home planet, awaiting his arrival for Life Day. The family are all creepy grunting squats who do not deserve as many close-ups as they receive. Chewbacca’s son Lumpy (yes, yes, I know) is an especially frightening hirsute imp who flits about making nightmarish grunts. After being in shock for a good ten minutes about what I was seeing, I began to realize that for these past ten minutes there had been no dialogue other than grunts and flailing pantomime. What in the hell is this?

And it only proceeded to get worse. All the original characters were there, with Harrison Ford putting in little to no effort, Carrie Fisher singing the theme song, and Mark Hammil looking like a coked-out Ken doll. The special was basically a bunch of different scenes which revolved, all painfully tangentially, around the central plot of Chewie’s return home. A rasher of guest stars made appearances, everyone from Jefferson Starship to Bea Arthur. Harvey Korman’s odd turn as a TV chef in blackface-Aunt-Jemimia-alien drag was… interesting… Diahann Carroll as the Wookie fantasy pleasure-machine clued me into something odd about the whole piece: How insanely sexual it all was. I was expecting this to be bad and have plenty of moment’s of unintentional hilarity, but with a scene of Diahann Carroll as the “holographic Wow” (”I am found in your eyes only eyes only - I am in your mind as you create me. Ohhh yes… I can feel my creation… Oh… oh… we are excited, aren’t we?”) singing in space as Chewie’s grandpa jerks wildly and grunts orgasmically, I stopped believing this could be unintentional. Um… Wookie masturbation? That didn’t get caught in the rewrite process? Jefferson Starship’s lead singer uses a light saber instead of a microphone when they perform, and let me tell you, that was not my first guess as to what it was. Yikes.

There was a strange little animated sequence in the middle which, for those of you trivia buffs out there, featured the first ever appearance of Bobo Fett. In it, Luke’s pupils dominate his whole face, Han looks like John Travolta if he had died in the 70’s, the planet they land is made of jello and R2-D2 wobbles like a dildo fresh off the conveyor belt. I don’t remember the plot. One of the biggest laughs came from the bumper in between commercials citing GM as a sponsor. Connecting themselves to this monstrosity appears to have been a bad omen.

I could go on, as the movie seemed to endlessly do, but in a nutshell, this was such a terrible movie that it exists on a separate plane from all other terrible movies. This is all-out ridiculous awful that probably counts as a torture device. Every two minutes I grabbed my hair and asked myself “Did that actually just happen? Am I really watching this right now? Somewhere along the line, someone somewhere felt that this needed to be captured on film?” I was simply in awe how god-awful this thing was. Eat your heart out, Jar-Jar: this is the fucking Citizen Kane of shit movies.

The event was hosted by The Minnesota Film and TV Board. This is their second year subjecting the masses to that which should not be seen, and this time they helped support Toys For Tots. It was free, and seeing the film in a bar with a crowd full of ironic appreciators turned what could have been an excruciating internet video into an enjoyable time despite itself. If you’re feeling brave, stupid, or suicidal, here is the Star Wars Holiday Special on Google Video, the whole two hours of non-stop decrepit garbage. Otherwise, you can join the Board next year as they show it again. Or, better yet, you can forget any of this ever existed and still pretend like the Star Wars franchise has some shred of dignity.

When I ran into Military Special for this interview, they were in the midst of an argument over aesthetic. Short songs versus false endings? Are the beats to be hard and heavy or do they just come off as sad bastard music? How much minor key is too much? “I wanted this song like a drunken anthem,” said guitarist Peter Blomgren, “but [keyboardist] Danell wants it to be a serious happy song with a melody,”. The band bandied back and forth their ideas over cigarettes and PBR at their practice space in downtown St. Paul. The space, adorned with posters that “nobody wanted to put up in their own house”, was well-stocked with beer and a range of instruments. The six-piece dance-rock band uses keyboards, vocoder effects and programmed drums intertwined with guitar, bass and live drums to bring the sensibilities of live rock and roll to electronic dance music. The result is a sound which captures both the infectious energy of dance and the hard drive of rock without either side being buried in the other.

Guitarists Joe Schweigert and Peter Blomgren originally played with current MS drummer Matt Robshaw in the band Look Down, and were looking to start another rock-oriented project. Joe and Peter were working on an album that was intended to as rock and roll, but Joe had also come into possession of a Juno keyboard. As the other band members (keyboardists Charles Smith and Danell Norby and bassist James Shaff) began to slowly flock into the fledgling group, the original concept of a rock album became an electro-rock album. The addition of electronic instrumentation to the band’s jam sessions led them to their current format for song-writing, and served well in getting the audience to dance. They let me play around with the vocal distortion they use to create the spacy robot voices incorporated into songs such as “1971″, and I saw why they felt they needed this in the band. I was also shocked they didn’t get caught up in the fun of messing around with these electronic goodie bags. I know I probably would waste a lot of time saying inane things into a distorted mic, but they manage to use the effects sparingly and when appropriate.

Military Special manage to come off as more than just electronic beats with guitar or rock and roll with synth, instead encompassing that center rung in the Venn Diagram of indie rock and dance music. It’s clear that the discussion I walked in on at the beginning is a necessary component to finding this stylistic middle ground. Each song is poured over, reconfigured, and removed of unnecessary or cluttering elements, until it becomes a final product. “Everybody comes up with their different parts, and after we figure out what parts we like, we start to scale back what isn’t necessary,” says Joe. The electronic beats are usually programmed first by Joe and Charles and brought into practices to begin writing live sections.

When asked if the band would ever delve more into the programmed side of their music, Joe responded that the band has more fun with the live element. “Our first album was lot more produced, and we’re trying to incorporate more of the live sound into our next album,” said Joe. “It seems like here in Minneapolis people are more about that then a couple of dudes with a bunch of computers,” The producer for their first album conceived of a band consisting solely of Joe and Peter and having the rest of the sound pre-programmed, but the group element and the performance element seems to be too important to the band’s sound to forgo the full lineup. Live, Military Special play off of the energy from bandmates and the crowd to bring the house to a frenzy. As a paired down, more electronically influenced band, I doubt they would have the same atmosphere of raucous abandon they have now. Without the rock element, the dance portion would not be as strong, and vice versa.

Military Special is currently working on a new album which is set for release early next year. Their current six-song EP can be purchased from their web site. If you require your legs to move and your head to nod, do yourself a favor and check out this band. Fans of dance music and indie rock will enjoy the bands melding of sounds, and everyone else will be too busy dancing to care. Check them out this Friday as they join Sleeping in the Aviary, Ouija Radio and Gospel Gossip at the Hex.

Military Special on MySpace
Official Page

Military Special with Sleeping in the Aviary, Ouija Radio and Gospel Gossip
Friday, November 21st
Hexagon Bar, 2600 27th Ave S
21+, FREE, 9PM

Fort Wilson Riot at the Hexagon Bar
Thursday, November 13th with Best Friends Forever, Chickadee Mountain Martyrs and Anders Ponders
Thursday, November 20th with Speed’s The Name, Plastic Chord and Lamb Lays With Lion
2600 27th Ave S
21+, FREE, 9 PM

Eyedea and Abilities play St. Paul for the first time in 5 years on Friday (what took you so long, guys? St. Paul don’t bite) at the Turf Club. The Rhymesayers duo pits Eyedea’s kinetic and energetic paranoid flow over Abilities’ masterful tracks and skill-laden cuts. About to drop their third album, E&A put on a killer live show that is not to be missed.

Eyedea and Abilities with Kristoff Krane, Abzorbr and Sector 7G
Friday, November 14
Turf Club, 1601 University Ave W in St. Paul
21+, 9 PM, $10

Other good shit going down:

Desdamona at the Dakota Jazz Club
Saturday, November 15
1010 Nicolett in Downtown Minneapolis
$5, 11:30 PM

The Original Truth Squad presents Pimps Up Hoedown
Cowboy & Pimp themed Dance Party
with I Am Break, He Is Beat, Rob Rob and Saund Waav, visuals by Time Squid
Friday, November 14th
7th St Entry, 701 1st Ave N
18+, $3 or $1 with student ID, 9 PM

Japanese Space Program CD Release with Red Pens, Dragons Power Up! and TEXAR
Friday, November 14
Eclipse Records, 1922 University Ave W in St. Paul
$5, AA, 7-10PM

There were two floors which separated the music and fashion show area and the art instillations and film. A lot of the art was impressive, ranging from screenprints to paintings to graffiti using street signs for canvases. From Steve Lang’s intricate collage work to Shawn Dalsen’s graffiti-influenced pieces to Ema Cook’s vibrant and striking animal paintings, it was evident that there is some amazing artwork being produced in the Twin Cities. I caught a couple of the films that were playing throughout the night, though I am often pretty wary of amateur film. Brian Perkin’s We’re Anonym.us was an odd bout of short episodes where everyone wears masks in a supermarket, and then out of nowhere some cartoon figure rides a skateboard and screams or something. It was quite odd and quirky, and I couldn’t really decide it it was good odd or bad odd. I settled on just plain odd. I saw only a few episodes of it, the rest can be seen at the website. Melody Gilbert’s Married At The Mall was a mildly interesting account of couples who wed at the Mall of America. Containing intimate interviews with 8 different couples tying the knot at the mall, I made it through 3 before I moved on. Travis Lou Wavescorx’s Clapperclaw commission Kissing With Teeth was my favorite of the films, a short centering on the relationship between a man and his dog. The thing that made this film great was the dog, who was a surprisingly good actor. The film was sweet, funny, and not afraid to depict a dog taking a crap on screen in the midst of all the cute footage. The dog made an appearance at the showing, basking in the admiration of his fans. Awwww.

Clapperclaw brought a whole night of great music, including rappers Cecil Otter and Big Quarters, rock bands XYZ Affair, Peter Adams and Speed’s The Name, plus DJ sets from DJ Real Talk Radio and Cool Money in between sets. I didn’t catch a lot of the music up til the end, because there was so much else to see and do, but I could sense some real great energy coming from the crowd. Being in a warehouse, there was no stage but a section of the floor with a carpet on it that acted as the stage. By the end of the night, this suggested barrier was not paid much mind by the droves of dancing drunk girls and hand-waving fans. Big Quarters brought the pandemonium as always, though didn’t get as much love from the audience as they deserved. With the energy this duo puts into their music, I expected nothing less than the entire crowd getting down, but that seems to be too much to expect from people. Cecil Otter, surprisingly not drunk, got the spot moving as the final act of the night, dropping introspective raps which culminated the night beautifully. Overall, this was a pretty amazing event; very cheap, free drinks, supported a good cause and exposed me to a huge amount of great local art. Hats off to you, Clapperclaw, and I can’t wait til next year.

City Pages Picked To Click artists Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles kicks off a miniseries stint at the Nomad Pub tonight, with the first of three Thursday concerts in a row. Lead Lucy Michelle conjures up the vocal talents of Jolie Holland as she plucks away at her ukulele, while her backing band brings a variety of instrumentation to the stage. This unique folk ensemble has something for everyone, and Michelle is easily one of the best whistlers I’ve ever heard. They’ve promised some new tunes this time around, and the event is FREE, so come on down to the Nomad and get let your folk flag fly. This is part of the Nomad’s Minniseries event, which showcases a new local artist every month. If you miss this one, the Lapelles shall be back next week for another free show!

Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles with Poor Nobodys and Bitch n’ Brown (as the Chixxxy Dicks)
Thursday, November 6
Nomad World Pub, 501 Cedar Ave
Music at 9:30, 21+, FREE

This Saturday, the Clapperclaw Music and Arts Festival, an eclectic co-mingling of a great number of alternative forms, returns. The festival intends to showcase a wide range of local and national art, including film, art and fashion shows, and musical performances. This eclectic festival features music from local rappers Cecil Otter and Big Quarters, electronic-infused rock and roll from Speed’s The Name, Look Book and Man Is Doomed, out-of-towners XYZ Affair and Peter Adams, plus DJ sets from DJ Cool Money and DJ Real Talk Radio. On top of all this, there will be films screened all night, artwork from some truly talented local artists, and exclusive fashion work from local designers. I tried to write it all down here and there was simply too much; check out the Clapperclaw website for more information on what is happening and when. This event is $12 at the door and $5 in advance (with free drinks all night, did I mention that? Some people might like that sort of thing), so I suggest you get tickets early. A portion of the proceeds go to Free Arts Minnesota, which makes this awesome event all the more legit. Come check out this amazing festival and come support your local art scene!

Clapperclaw Music and Arts Festival
Saturday, November 8
Sound Gallery Recording Studio and Warehouse, 414 3rd Ave N
4 PM - 2AM (Check Clapperclaw website for schedule)
$5 pre-sale or during “Happy Hour” (4-7), $12 after 7, 21+

Also this Saturday comes the band famously kicked off tour with Guns N’ Roses a few years back for being simply TOO AWESOME (though this was not the official statement at the time, I believe, in our hearts, we all know the real reason). That’s right, those sex-starved sleaze merchants the Eagles of Death Metal are bringing their unabashed dirty-rock stylings to the Fine Line, and you’d better bring an extra pair of fists to pump cuz the rock is much too much. On tour in support of their latest effort, Heart On, the bad news boys bring you crunchy rock and roll to which you simply can’t help but move your feet. Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme drops the guitar and sits on the skins as frontman Jesse Hughes sings of love, lust and more lust while blowing your clothes off with his guitar solos. The California band bring a fun and sexy sound to the staple stoner-rock of the bands extended family, and no, they don’t actually play death metal. If the Eagles really played death metal, would they sound like this? Who cares? Come get your rock on and get your rocks off in the good old fashioned way at the Fine Line.

Eagles of Death Metal with The Duke Spirit
Saturday, November 8
Fine Line Music Cafe, 318 1st Ave N
$18/$20, doors at 8, music at 9, 18+

The haunted house portion was swarmed with screaming police officers and accosted protesters. In the dark confines of the church basement, I was ordered to get on my knees as an officer placed a bag over my head and led me to the next room. In the corner, a witness was being tortured and police officers beat civilians. I didn’t quite feel the fear I was intended to feel, the guns shoved to my face being rubber and all. As a political statement, the haunted house worked well, exaggerating actual events to emphasize the madness that took place. As a haunted house, it left something to be desired.

Once inside the main area of the church, the piercing aggressive electro sounds of Slapping Purses flooded my ears as a slew of costumed individuals danced the devil’s dance and downed snuck-in alcohol. All the acts were permanent-hearing-loss loud, with Gay Witch Abortion bringing their standard two-man sonic assault and Kill The Vultures sounding like they had blown the speakers. Crescent Moon of Kill The Vultures schooled listeners on the history of the place they were standing and the legend of Oakeshott, the deceased medieval-armor enthusiast for whom the church was named. In the middle of the KTV set, the real cops came and busted the whole thing. In an ironic image, some of the fake cops from the haunted house portion wound up in the backseat of the squad car. One audience member implored KTV to keep playing so the situation would escalate and we could all “get on the news”. He had probably gone without getting arrested at the RNC and was really bummed about it.

With American Nightmare, Substance successfully helmed yet another politically-charged musical event, bringing arts and activism together as is their M.O. They urged people to vote tomorrow, and so do I. Get your ass to the polls.

There is no better place to surround yourself with the Halloween spirit than at First Avenue this Saturday: Though this event is after the 31st, nothing says Halloween quite like GWAR. There’s a moment in the midst of any GWAR concert, where, soaked in blood from the eviscerated body of a pop-cultural icon and bruised from the fists flailed your direction in the mosh pit, you realize that this is perhaps the pinnacle of concert euphoria. Sure, you had a great time seeing Deerhoof or whatever, and Conor Oberst is a great songwriter akin to a modern-day blahbedy blah, but this is fucking GWAR. GWAR is more than a concert, it is an visceral musical experience. GWAR is heavy metal at its most balls-out (literally; you should see lead member Oderus Urungus swinging his obscenely monstrous genitalia with wild abandon) ridiculous, as monsters take stage and kill all the humans in sight while rocking out painfully hardcore. With smatterings of theater and performance art, and splatterings of brains and internal organs, GWAR turns First Avenue into hell on Earth, and brings the audience kicking and screaming along for the ride. There is no better way to celebrate Halloween, hands down. Wear clothes you don’t mind getting covered in a wide range of fluids and come see the mayhem.

GWAR with Kingdom of Sorrow and Toxic Holocaust
Saturday, November 1st
First Avenue Mainroom
701 1st Ave N
$18/$21, AA, 5 PM

In the spirit of pretending to be someone else, there’s a couple of cover band events going on on Halloween night: Lee’s Liquor Lounge has got E.L.nO. covering ELO (how appropriate) and Little Man covering T-Rex, and the Triple Rock features Shit Sandwich as Spinal Tap, If You Want Blood as AC/DC, We Who Cannot Be Named as The Dwarves, Sirens of Titan as Soundgarden, We Aren’t The League as the Anti-Nowhere League, and Power of 2 as the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s.

Lee’s Liquor Lounge: Cover Band Night
Friday, October 31
101 Glenwood Ave
21+, 9:30 p.m., $10

Triple Rock Social Club: Halloween Celebration
Friday, October 31
629 Cedar Ave
21+, 8 PM, $8, $6 with costume

Certain bands seem specifically tailored to Halloween. Gothic trans-core glam-rock (music writing is a great opportunity to stretch my bullshit-terminology muscle) outfit All The Pretty Horses, back together and in great form, are one of these. The Horses, a Minnesota act you ought to see before you die, share the stage with other well-cast bands, the blistering and loud twosome Gay Witch Abortion and gothic shoegazers The Funeral and The Twilight. Goth stylings and loud music feel oh so right on All Hallow’s Eve, so come blow your ears out to some fantastic local rock at the 331 Club on Friday.

All The Pretty Horses with Gay Witch Abortion and The Funeral And The Twilight
Friday, October 31
331 Club, 331 13th Ave NE
21+, Free, 9 PM

Local rap outfit Hecatomb return again for the second annual installment of the Hecatomb Halloween Howl at O’Gara’s Bar and Grill in St. Paul. With performances by Carnage, Desdamona, Concentrate, Capaciti, Mac S.P.I.L.L.Z, Ruthless, Ill E. Gal, Kymara and Zone Cashus, this is sure to be a hard-hitting Halloween event. Carnage promises “twice the exxxperience” from last year (and he looks daaaamn scary as a zombie, yikes). As everything ought to be on this hallowed of nights, this is a costume party. Come outdo the other heads in town with yours.

Hecatomb’s Halloween Howl 2
Friday, October 31
O’Gara’s Bar and Grill
164 Snelling Ave N, St. Paul
21+, $6, 9PM

Happy Halloween, be safe, eat too much candy, and watch for razorblades in apples. They’re sneaky like that.

Conor Oberst, known best for his work with Bright Eyes and currently touring with the Mystic Valley Band, is doing a free solo performance at the Loring Pasta Bar in Dinkytown today at 2:30 PM. He is playing in support of the organization Obama Campaign For Change, and tickets are available to anyone who volunteers for at least two “Get Out The Vote” shifts before the upcoming election. Sign up for shifts here and get your tickets to this intimate solo performance.

Oberst also hits up First Avenue tonight with the Mystic Valley Band, All Smiles and the Matt Focht Band.

Conor Oberst: Concert for Change
Wednesday, October 29
Loring Pasta Bar
327 14th Ave SE
All-Ages, FREE with volunteer sign-up

Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band with All Smiles and Matt Focht Band
Wednesday, October 29
First Avenue Mainroom
701 1st Ave N
$24, 18+, 7:30 PM

The turnout was impressive, and it was great to see a real open and perceptive audience. The show felt very close-knit in the confined space of the Acadia, and this made for intimate performances from the bands. The night was free, a show of appreciation for everyone who came to support the magazine. All in all, this was a really fun night, and a big thank you to all that showed up and helped make it what it was!

There were photos and audio taken from the event, which I’ll try to post once they’re available.

Be sure to come out to the Acadia Cafe this Friday to celebrate The Wake’s 7th year! The corner pub will be host to a variety of great local acts from 5 PM to bar close, and it’s free! That should leave you with plenty of money to buy some beer from the Acadia’s impressive selection!

U of M student group Voices Merging kick off the event at 5, and the well-rounded night continues with music from morbid pop band Zombie Season, a solo set from Picked-To-Click artist Lucy Michelle, poetry from Words, spitfire rap music from MC Harv, and electro-tinged indie rock from Military Special! The show promises to be truly excellent, so come out and support The Wake by getting tipsy and seeing some great live music!

The Wake’s 7th Birthday Party
featuring Military Special, MC Harv, Words, Lucy Michelle (solo set), Zombie Season and Voices Merging
329 Cedar Ave S (Corner of Cedar and Riverside)
5 PM - 2 AM, All Ages, FREE

At 4:00 I began to apply my zombie makeup. The Zombie Pub Crawl web page had some simple makeup tips using random foodstuffs, the likes of which were utilized in many low-budget zombie films. Oatmeal, gelatin, corn syrup, red food coloring and eyeshadow were applied liberally to my undead face and body. Next, ash from a fire and clumps of dirt were spread over my clothes, after which I jumped in a hole in the ground as someone shoveled dirt onto me. Sticky, dirty, uncomfortable, and already looking forward to a shower, I felt I had appropriately affected the persona of a zombie. It was time to get my drink on.

The day began at Gold Medal Park, where people were getting last minute makeup done and gearing up for the crawl. After the bike ride to the park, donned in full zombie gear and getting strange stares from everyone, it was amazing to see a whole smattering of undead out for the same thing I was: BRAAAAINS!!! First stop: Grumpy’s. I got a glimpse of what a post-zombie-apocalyptic future might look like: After all the smoke had cleared and all the humans had been feasted upon, zombies would eventually evolve into the scene I was witnessing now, standing around guzzling Tall Boys and talking about shitty bands. The place was packed, as were all the bars I visited. Many bars had free live music, including The No-Nos at the Nomad and Cadillac Kolstad and the Flats at Palmers, so I didn’t feel terrible about missing Dance Band and MC/VL at the Cabooze at the end of the night. By then, I’d been stumbly drunk and seen a lot of great music already.

Not many of the bars on the itinerary actually had drink specials for zombies as promised; instead, most of them offered up a shot named after that which we were all lusting for: Brains. Yes, brains were the topic of the evening, with a good amount of groaning and shouts of “What do we want? BRAAAAINS!!! When do we want it? BRAAAAAINS!!!”. The Nomad offered up perhaps the most satisfying display of zombie carnage, when an effigy of John McCain was lowered from a zipline into the patio full of zombies, all craving the taste of human flesh. As the horde tore the body apart, Day of the Dead style, our bloodlust was satisfied more so than any shot of green stuff in a test tube ever could. For those who are curious of what McCain is truly made of, the answer became clear as he was eviscerated: Bloody babies. In a rather environmentally unsound move, the pile of bloody babies was thrown into the fire in a delightful bit of anarchic destruction. At the approximate count of about 1200 heads, it was clear that zombies ran the streets. Traffic laws were violated by slow-moving zombies, unfazed by the honks from the cars of mortals. Someone broke a window at one of the bars, several times dishes fell to the ground, and the night felt overly destructive in the best way possible. The spirit of the undead was in the air.

Though my costume was little more than the dregs of the pantry smeared on my person, I was a little disappointed by the effort of others out that night. Some people clearly didn’t want to get too dirty, doing little more than dark eye shadow or a bloody handprint on their shirt. Shame. On the other hand, there were some pretty great zombies out there. Many had things stuck in their heads, others carried severed limbs to gnaw on all night (plastic hands connected to a chicken drumstick: a very nice touch). There were plenty of zombie celebrities out, including Zombie Sarah Palin, Zombie Hunter S Thompson, and, yes, Zombie Jesus. Everywhere you went was a sight to behold; even those not zombified could appreciate the amazing people-watching factor, the “zambiance”, if you will.

This was my first time to the Zombie Pub Crawl, and it was an amazing night. It sounds like this was the biggest event yet, and it was such a joy to see so many zombie hordes taking to the streets and drinking heavily. The event felt so epic in scale, with every bar filled to capacity… WITH ZOMBIES, I TELL YOU!!!! This is truly a brilliant concept, in that being piss-drunk goes so perfectly with being dressed as a grotesque creature from beyond the grave. Stumbling, mumbling and being bent on destruction of humanity are very well-suited to vehement alcoholism, and maaaan is it fun to shout “Braaaaains!” when you’ve tied one on. Everybody should be there next year, and I mean literally everyone. The zombies shall own this town yet.

UPDATE: Photos from City Pages

Brother Ali talked about his early years, showing pictures he was clearly embarrassed to make public of when he was a rap-obsessed 8 year old, spitting Whodini songs at talent shows and putting on concerts wherever he could, from the playground at recess to his grandmother’s funeral. He talked openly about the struggle of looking different from his peers and how he had to face not being like everyone else. The picture he showed of his younger self, bloodied and beaten at school by a group of white kids, wearing his “Increase the Peace” t-shirt, showcased the harsh realities of the young rappers life. This incident inspired the song “Win Some, Lose Some” off 2003’s Shadows On The Sun, and it was quieting to see an actual photograph of this traumatic experience.

It was clear Ali had a lot to talk about (his tour with Rakim and Ghostface Killah was barely mentioned, same goes for his European tour with Atmosphere), and there wasn’t enough time for him to get out everything he wanted to. What he did touch on seemed to be of the greatest import to him, the elements of his life that shaped his music the most. Ali talked at great length about his views on race as it related to his own life and work, and what it means in hip-hop culture and society in general. His perspectives on race are some of the most interesting I’ve heard from anyone. Apparently, Ali’s agent keeps suggesting he write a book on the topic, which I think would be quite thought-provoking, and it’s clear the man has a lot to say on the subject. Ali went on to talk about his faith in Islam, changing his name, and moving away from the Christian ideology he was born into. JG Everest barely asked Brother Ali a single question, as Ali poured his heart out about subjects that were clearly very important for him. On stage, the man is a force to be reckoned with; in conversation, the man carries the same power just speaking his mind. This Making Music went beyond the “What was the first album you bought” realm and ventured into territory that was more deep and rich than one would expect from any interview. Brother Ali’s music comes from deep introspection and baring of the rapper’s soul, and in talking so intimately about his life last night, we got an excellent sense of who Brother Ali is and why he writes the way he does. This was one of the most amazing interviews I’ve ever seen.

The Whole’s Making Music series is a monthly event that interviews local artists about their craft and inspirations. Visit the Whole’s website for future events in the series. Each interview is taped (previous interviews, including Andrew Bird, P.O.S., Slug, and Alan Sparhawk, can be seen at the Whole Music Club’s Youtube channel), and last night’s should be up soon. Check back to this post for the video of last night’s interview when it is released.

Sparks highlighted a number of folk songs, such as “Knoxville Girl”, “Barbara Allen”, “Oh My Darlin’ Clementine”, and “Pretty Polly”, and discussed their contrasting use of pleasing melodies and dark lyrics. Her lecture concerned our fascination with this brand of songs, and how they’ve affected the lexicon of American music. She drew parallels to alchemy, mysticism, and Carl Jung’s theories on collective unconscious. Her interest in these strange and violent murder ballads are in their artistic catharsis and the comforting world of dreams. Sparks concluded that folk music gives us an “awed connection to life’s beautiful mystery”, and it is this place of beautiful mystery that Sparks herself puts herself in in her own lyric writing. This was an interesting lecture and gave incite into the artist’s relation to the folk music tradition.

Monday the 13th in the First Avenue Mainroom, Canadian nineteen-piece Broken Social Scene bring their grandiose sound to the stage (touring, sadly, with only eight members - c’mon guys, can’t afford a big enough van?), infecting your ears with their experimental indie-pop stylings; on another end of the indie-pop spectrum, Ben Kweller also plays tonight at the Varisty Theatre. Where would you rather your twenty bucks go? For those with no money, Triple Rock tailors to your punk and drunk ways by having a free listening party for Dillinger Four’s October 14th release Civil War. If you have money, you can buy it, but I’ll bet you probably don’t.

The Mainroom stays Pitchfork-friendly as Tuesday night sees perennial WTF-band Deerhoof, touring behind their latest album Offend Maggie, which was just released on Kill Rock Stars. Deerhoof’s energetic performances and bizarre rhythms and cadences make for an entertaining night of odd music that is sure to delight. Deerhoof play for the comparatively reasonable price of $14. You might as well just camp at First Ave, as the next night are hip-hop pioneers Digable Planets, with local sota-rican Maria Isa and Cash I$. The old-school trio brings that good groove rap music has seemingly forgotten about, infusing jazz, soul, samba, and psychedelic music into their poetry-laden smooth rhymes. In their own words, they be to rap what key be to lock. Shell out 20 bucks and you’re in for a good-vibes old-school rap performance.

Damn, then on Thursday at First Ave (who seem to have completely monopolized this week’s concert highlights), Against Me! tours with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and Future of the Left, ushering in their post-post-punk sounds, incorporating pop and hardcore elements without sounding too damn Blink-182y. On Friday, the torch is passed to the old timers, as proto-punk masters Wire scourge the mainstage with their impressive new sound. The band made it’s biggest impact on me with their debut, 1977’s Pink Flag, but, unlike many other punk groups in a similar position, they’ve managed to remain a formidable group and artistically viable. Their latest work, such as the aggressive Read and Burn series and their most recent, Object 47, have showcased what makes the band remain fresh and important, which is what has made them so great in the first place: Their signature sound is not a signature at all, but a lo-fi approach which lends itself to a wide variety of styles and song-writing. Come out and see the long-standing band tear up the stage which will have been trampled by so many others this week.

First Avenue Mainroom (701 1st Ave N):
Monday the 13th: Broken Social Scene with Land of Talk, 8PM, 18+, $20
Tuesday the 14th: Deerhoof with Experimental Dental School and AU, 5:30 PM, all ages, $14
Wednesday the 15th: Digable Planets with Maria Isa and Cash I$, 8PM, 18+, $20
Thursday the 16th: Against Me! with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and Future of the Left, 5:30 PM, all ages, $22.50
Friday the 17th: Wire, 8PM, 18+, $15