This town was built on miles of hope and I dare you to give one reason to stay.

11/25 - Texas Is The Reason/Ian Love @ Irving Plaza
11/26 - Texas Is The Reason/Ian Love @ Irving Plaza

It's now three days later and I still cannot believe I had the chance to see Texas Is The Reason play in the year 2006. In a way, it's like for two nights I was able to go back in time. It's been 9 years since they played together. Numerous bands have come and gone for these young men, Solea, Jets To Brazil, New End Original, Walking Concert and New Rising Sons. Not a bad legacy to leave behind, huh!

Yet, none of that work equals the timeless 1996 classic, Do You Know Who You Are? . Considered by many as one of the pinnacle releases in the development of the "emo" scene, to us back in 96, it was simply one of the best records, post hardcore, emo, whatever you want to call it. The record and the band stood the test of time.

Coming on to the instrumental interlude and title track, they were accompanied by photos of the band during their hey-day. And then, just as on the album, they kicked into a thunderous version of, "Back and To the Left." The audience, comprised of mostly 25-35 year olds, sang along, and did not let up throughout the entire night. They played every song on both the album and the EP, even playing "Blue Boy" from their split with the Promise Ring. One of the most interesting things, was playing new songs, that they introduced as, "This is a new song, we wrote ten years ago." The slower track of the two is called "Every Little Girl's Dream." The more upbeat track of the two is called "When Rock 'N' Roll Was Just A Baby." We were treated to something that cannot simply be put into words. They were amazing, pure and simple. Tight musicianship, Daly is a machine behind the kit. Scott comes in with the rolling bass lines, and Norm busted out his best chops ever on lead guitar. Garrett's vocals sounded like he never missed a beat. This was without a doubt in my mind, the best show I've seen all year and quite possibly, one of the best ever. We were treated to two wonderful and special nights. For a momment I think a good part of that audience felt like it was 1996 all over again, and we're the better for it.

So, this leaves me with this. What other band out there would you like to see back together, if even for one night. That seemed to come up a bunch over the two nights. Quicksand, was high on the list, if not topping it. But who else would be on the list, Fugazi, Pavement, New Order(there is this nasty rumer), U2, oh wait, they are still together, you'd just think they stopped making music ten years ago. Whatever band it is, lets just hope it doesn't turn into the VH-1 show, Bands Reunited Especially, like their ill-fated attempt at trying to get the Smith's back together.

Listening Pile
I still need to give it up for Texas Is The Reason. Check out four of the band's best songs at their Myspace page. Which includes the song, "Blue Boy" from the split with the Promise Ring, that somehow is out of print. Very strange. Plus get to view some pics and videos from their two nights at Irving Plaza.

Also, go to their site, Texas Is The Reason and check out their thoughts on the two nights, plus credits, info on the new songs and cover they played, where to get merch (got myself a snazy t-shirt) and more...
Roll The Credits
Now that it's over and we're all able to reflect, I think it's safe to say that this weekend's festivities were a complete success. There were a couple of mostly unnoticed mishaps and a few ideas that unfortunately didn't make it to the finish line, but by and large, we accomplished what we set out to do: We played these songs sincerely, among friends, in our hometown, to a sea of smiling faces. To say that these were the most important shows of our career would be an understatement.

And long before I knew you, I've got the scars to prove it.

So, as many of you know. I've taken up running again. It's beeen almost 10 years since I was a good athlete in high school. I ran cross country and track. It was time for a change. Figure I eat pretty healthy, but still have a problem gaining that extra weight up the middle. I've been running off and on for the past 6 months, but have really kicked it up a notch over the last 3 months. I discovered how much more fun running is with an iPod. I've never really been able to run with music in the past, as cd players tended to skip, and making cassette tapes always just seemed improbable. And mini-disc, never quite worked either. I found the unit would skip too much and wasn't quite conducive to the shaking involved. So, then came the iPod. I am not sure why I never tried this before. It seemed ideal really. You could even use the clock feature to time yourself. It changed the way I run. If you're going on a nice casual run, just load up some mid-tempo jams. If you're going on short timed runs, go with something faster paced. It totally revolutionized the way I run.

To top it off, I recently purchased one of those new iPod shuffle units. It's a featherlite item with a capacity of 1GB, or about 250 songs. 1000 if you're loading it up withy Misfits, Mclusky, NOFX or Descendents songs. It's great for those long runs and a good mix loaded up. The two things I really hate are no display feature showing songs or a clock. The other thing is the ability to only synch it up with one computer. Which sorta makes it worthless for taking it to and from work unless you want to keep loading it up at each place and then erasing when getting to the other location. But for $79, you can't really beat it's convenience and portability.

Here's a nice little iMix I made for a short 4 or 5 mile run. I think it works well it getting the heart rate up and keeping it pretty steady in the middle, and kicking it up right at the end, when I find I need it most. A good mix of bands and songs, including Bloc Party, Placebo, Editors, Mew, Muse, and some make sure to check out the first band, 78 Saab band. They kill and I love that song, "Saviour". Seemed like the best song to start off a good run with. I think their bio on myspace describes them most appropriately,
78 Saab are a beautiful rock and roll band like no other. Distinctively husky, yet lustrous vocals accompany psychedelic guitars and cruise effortlessly with the rhythm section across a soundscape of emotive and endearing songs that range from gently textured trippier moments to unrestrained rock.
The band are currently preparing to record their third album. I cannot wait to hear this. Maybe we'll get lucky and they will come to the US and play some shows for us. I have read some live reviews, and they are supposed to be great live.

Listening Pile
I've really been diggingJudah Johnson lately. He first came to my attention about 5 or 6 years ago, through his early demos, when the band was pretty much just known as frontman, Daniel Johnson. I always thought he seemed like a good singer with some interesting music and arrangements. Well, for obvious reasons, he went with the Judah moniker and has now released his 2nd full length, BE WHERE I BE I love the carefully constructed soundscapes, with tightly wound drum machines, deep bass grooves, washy guitar tones, sweeping melodies and gently layered vocals. It's a great treat, and while the band hasn't fully hit it's creative peak, there are some miscues here, this album touches on some serious promise for future releases. Check out some his of tunes at their myspacepage. Or go straight here and listen to "Little Sounds", possibly my favorite song right now. And I'm totally bummed I missed them live during CMJ, but it looks like they are touring a bit on this new release.

Am I Wry? No

OK, I know it's been a while. But... uh... the best is yet to come. Well, not reallly, but I need to come up w/ something to excuse my ass for being lame and inconsistent. So, lets get started. In the last two months, I've switched positions at work, yet am still doing my old job as they've yet to hire my replacement. And no, I'm not getting the pay of both jobs, just the stress of the two. Fun times ladies and gentlemen, fun times. Let's move along. There's nothing to watch here, keep moving.

So, in that time, I've been to this many shows: 24. Here are some of the highlights, with a slight description, if I can remember. A good chunk of it was during CMJ, and well, there were a few late nights, and lots of drinks had.

9/19 - Klaxons/Holy Hail @ Midway
Sadly, I didn't even get to see the Klaxons. The wonderful people throwing this party decided to have Holy Hail play at 12am, half hour after they should have been off stage. So thanks guys! You killed this night. All I know is some chicks w/ angular haircuts and cheesy outfits got on stage, sang some god-awful songs and made me leave. Somehow, there was a long, long line of people wanting to get into this show and they sadly waited and were subjected to this. Sad, very, very sad. It's like a Sunday evening when you're all ready to watch the Simpson's go on at 8:00 pm on Fox, only to still have some lame episode of Futurama on, making up for the lost time that a Jets/Bills game pre-empted everything for. Fun times, guys.

10/02 - Fields @ Mercury Lounge
First off, let me start by saying, this band spammed me on Myspace. Yet, they've been one of the best bands to ever politely say, "hey, thought you might like to check this out". One listen to the band's debut EP, 7 From the Village, is more than enough to justify the hype surrounding them. They are now on everyone's radar. But, to many nay-sayer's dismay, they actually hold their own. Sweet melodies, propulsive choruses and wonderful harmonizing, make this band quite a treat to listen to. Live, they add the extra oomph that makes them great live, yet makes other studio bands who lack that, out of place on a stage.

10/11 - Basment Jaxx @ Webster Hall
I didn't see this coming. But I don't think I've ever seen this many sweaty people dancing at Webster Hall. Then again, I've never been to the male-revue night. Basment Jaxx brought it, and then made everyone in the place shake it. It's like mardi-gras on stage. Big black women, lavish costume changes, surprise guests, surrounded by men in kilts, and dancing. I'm not sure, but I think I even saw beads strewn amongst the crowd. The place went nuts when they kicked into "Where's Your Head At".

10/31 - Amiina @ Joe's Pub 11:45
Better knows as the string section during Sigur Ros's live show these lovely ladies were so incredibly charming live. Dressed in their individualized colors, one red, one blue, one green, and one black with white flowers, they played an array of instruments, bells, electronic blips, wine glasses and traditional strings. It was beautiful and dreamy, but also had it's quirks. One of the finest shows I've seen in forever. And at Joe's Pub to boot, which only holds an intimate 150 people or so. Also, came across this.

American tour is FREE thanks to Iceland Naturally (27.Oct.06)

Amiina announced today on their MySpace page that the American tour will be free!

This is thanks to the kind sponsorship of Iceland Naturally.
Is it no wonder that other countries are more cultured and sophisticated than America. Their governments care about the arts and provide them with grants to let them create it. Meanwhile, those funds are always amongst the first to be cut in the US. And, lets not even get into education budgets. http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182

11/01 - The Knife @ Webster Hall
So, was I really watching the Knife. Or could we have been watching anyone in their costumes? Did they lypsynch? Did they even play their intstruments? I have no clue. The visuals were pretty cool early on, but got kinda whack as the night went on. I thought they were OK, but I really wanted a bit more depth to the live show. I feel like it was all some sort of elaborate hoax.

11/02 - Stephen Brodsky Experience/Panthers @ Sin-e
Remember that guy from Cave-In? The band with soooooo much potential. Did they break up? Well, this was, uh.... weird, to say the least. I thought I'd be in store for some spacey floydesque jams w/ whimisical lyrics about falling in love in space or something. Nope, it's like these guys crawled out of some bar in the South End of Boston and showed up at CMJ and said, "Hey, we're hear to play. Can we get payed in beer?" WTF!?!?!?!

11/03 - Loney Dear @ 205 Bar
Definitely the best band no one has heard of yet. Beautiful, inventive, inspiring melodies, deep textures. Glad I got to see them live. Apparently the Swedish indie popsters have just signed to Sub Pop. Good for them.

11/03 - Mew/Fields @ Bowery Ballroom
Mew are awesome. They combine ethereal vocals with proggy Euro space jams, lavish touches of keyboards, soaring choruses and monstrous riffage. The played a good amount of selections from their most recent album, The Glass Handed Kite, but also played a good amount of songs from their debut full length, Frengers. However, as much as I enjoyed this, I could not help myself from being reminded of Europe. Yeah, the "Final Countdown" Europe. I think it was the posing, long haired European thing they had going on. But when they busted into the chorus of "Apocalypso". I was like holy snikes. "The Final Countdown!" And I am not the only person that thought this. I swear. Whatever though, I still love these guys.

11/07 - Placebo @ Nokia Theater
Who doesn't love these androginistic fools. They killed at the Nokia. Though, lets just for a moment ask, "Brian, what is up with that shaved head look?" Who didn't love his peasant boy locks? I think we can blame that on male pattern baldness. He used to look like a cross dresser, now he just looks like a kiddie toucher or something. Starting off with five straight songs from their recent disc, Meds, they played a rocking set. Going through classics, "Special K" , "Every You, Every Me", "Sleeping With Ghosts", "Taste In Men", and the rarely played, "Without You I'm Nothing", they were relentless. The encore left fans with more to be desired, but they did play the Kate Bush cover, "Running Up That Hill." They were a treat. It's been about 5 or 6 years since I've seen them(I missed them on the Sleeping With Ghost tour). It's been way too long my freaky Euro friends.

CMJ, came and went. It was fun, though I have to say, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of quality bands. Aside from Mew, Fields, The Knife,TapesnTapes, and Amiina, it was pretty slim pickens.