Friday, October 8, 2010

The Suburbs and Halcyon Digest


(Photo from Contactmusic.com)

In support of "The Suburbs", the Arcade Fire sprung into their first of a two night stay at the Shrine Auditorium, in L.A. The first part of their set covered much from the new album, while the band incorporated a healthy mix of songs from "Neon Bible" and "Funeral".

The band overcame some early technical difficulties, which set the tone for Win to be pretty loose most of the night. He even took a light-hearted jab at our own L.A. Lakers, but prompted the band to start 'Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)' before any audible response or disapproval from the audience could permeate the crowd.

Overall, the band was as entertaining and provoking as the previous times I've seen them. While I'm about to sound like an enormous dick for taking offense to people having a good time, to the people who were dancing as if they were in one of the terrible clubs on the Sunset Strip, don't act surprised when you get made fun of when you're showing off those moves in a context that doesn't match to the tune of songs like 'Intervention'.

The band was great, but the venue was a pain in the ass to get to, and the mainstream appeal of a band like the Arcade Fire cannot prevent people who drive large trucks with Dave Matthews Band stickers plastered on them, from clogging the very same streets the USC kids and concert goers needed to access to get to the show. 'A' for effort, 'A' for performance, 'C' to the Shrine for being the Shrine.

Check out 'Earthquake' from the new Deerhunter album, "Halcyon Digest" below. Available now from the always wonderful 4AD Records. That's song 2 of 30 for my promise.

"Earthquake" by Deerhunter

Download via YSI or zShare

Deerhunter music is available on iTunes.

CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track listings.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

30 in 30

Growing up can be hard (on your records). In the last year, I've gotten married, bought a house for the first time, thrown around the idea of making babies, and stood pat at my crappy day job.

The stream of good music has been consistent, but writing with frequency has not. That's why I'm challenging myself to write for the next 30 days, with 30 songs in tow. Any lapse in days will be made up in the next day I write...I will do my best to avoid 29 songs in one post, 29 days from now.

ARCADE FIRE at The Shrine Auditorium


Tonight, the Arcade Fire will open a two night stay at L.A.'s historic Shrine Auditorium. I sure hate big shows, with droves of people, but I just can't stay away from seeing them tonight. I've seen them play at least once, for every album they've put out. Can't say enough about their live experience.

Check out one of my favorite's from 'Neon Bible', 'Ocean of Noise' below. A word about the show at The Shrine tomorrow...

"Ocean of Noise" by The Arcade Fire

Download via YSI or zShare

Arcade Fire music is available at iTunes.

CLICK HERE
for front page, and full list of track postings.