The Trouble Dolls Are Playing Out Tonight....

Brooklyn underground pop legends The Trouble Dolls (with whom I've shared a stage in the past) are part of a group of bands covering David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" and Radiohead's "OK Computer" tonight at Cake Shop in NYC. Starts at 7pm. Should be a heckuva good time.

The Dolls will play three Radiohead tracks - Let Down, Karma Police and Fitter Happier.

Other bands involved in the evening's affair include Todd Carlstrom and The Clamour, Poton, Randi Russo, So Lil, The Passenger Pigeons and others...

KISS in Munich, May 11

The global theatrical rock extravaganza called KISS exploded onstage in Munich, Germany earlier this week for its Kiss Alive 35 tour, in which the band is playing the complete "KIss Alive" set from start to finish. The band kicked off the show with 'Deuce' like they used to do back in 1975...amazing.

Here's a short clip of the set opener, good to see if you haven't been to a KISS show in eons (like me):



"You know you're man is working hard....he's worth a Deuce!"



SET LIST IN ORDER:

Deuce
Strutter
Got To Choose
Hotter Than Hell
Firehouse
Nothin' To Lose (Eric lead vocals)
C'Mon And Love Me
Parasite
She
Watchin' You
Rock Bottom
100,000 Years
Cold Gin
Let Me Go Rock 'N' Roll
Black Diamond (Eric lead vocals)
Rock And Roll All Nite

Encore:

Shout It Out Loud
Lick It Up
I Love It Loud (Gene split blood and flew to rafters)
I Was Made For Lovin' You
Love Gun (Paul flew to back of arena)
Detroit Rock City

The Takeover UK - Free EP Download

Thanks to Rykodisk for alerting me to the fun, snappy pop that is The Takeover UK and their soon-to-be-out EP called "It's All Happening". The Pittsburgh combo puts all the good stuff together - Beatlesque melodies, Strokes-y guitar and vocal lines, ELO-laden harmonies and smashing, crunchy guitars. Ah-La-La is especially catchy.



They say....

"Pop geniuses THE TAKEOVER UK have released their debut EP for free... one week only! Rykodisc’s latest signing, The Takeover UK, want to introduce themselves to you so they’re making their debut release, the It’s All Happening EP, available as a free download for one week only. The EP is officially released next Tuesday, May 20. But starting right now, you can download the EP in its entirety -- along with bonus podcasts -- exclusively at Last.fm.

The band plays Mercury Lounge in NYC on June 12th, along with assorted PA shows in between.

Squirmish Frontal Room

Sitting in the squirmish frontal room
She says I'm not very cool
But I know better than that
She knows better than that
And I know more than her
And she knows better than that
No no no no no...
Sitting in the squirmish frontal room
She says I'm not very cool
But I know better than that
She's no better than me
I'm no better than her
But it's not hip, not okay
I say no no no no...



(wild photo credit goes to Kelp Records)

Prog-Metal Clips of the Week

Temporarily entranced with ProgRock & ProgMetal this week, I thought I'd mix up the lapsed Friday edition of the 'Rock Clip of the Week' at this blog with a prog-metal version, both new and old.

THE NEW: Reading all about the Swedish prog-rockers Opeth at Brooklyn Vegan this week inspired me to listen to some of the band's tracks online. When they rock out, Opeth plays a guttural growl deep metal. But when they hit the ballads, it's quite beautiful instrumentation, with melodic touches all over the slower pieces. But that growl! Wow.

Here's some more melodic live Opeth from their Los Angeles gig last weekend, playing "In my Time of Need" prefaced by the singer's story about hangin' at the Roxy the night before with some 'cock rockers'....cool guy.



THE OLD: Nektar was a British prog band based in Germany in the early 1970s, riding the wave of popular prog-metal back in them days.

Here's a 2005 clip of Nektar doing their classic track 'Remember the Future' (in 4 parts!) at some reunion show. Worth a look at the song live, but the original 1973 recorded version (found here) still holds some great power.

For all your prog-rock needs, go no further than the most excellently excellent Prog Archives.

Remember the Future (Part 1)


Remember the Future (Part 2)


Remember the Future (Part 3)


Remember the Future (Part 4 - end)

Dfactor - Drinkin' (video exclusive)

A few months ago, I convened at a NYC rehearsal studio, armed with Monsters and Budweisers, guitars and amps. Today, I finally post up the first of those valiant no-budget video performance efforts. From my recent solo CD "Say Yeah!", here's a clip of the mighty track called 'Drinkin' about the perceptions of a would-be lothario with a young damsel in waiting. Dig the energy.

Scary Times for travelin' bands

Ever wonder what happens to rock bands who are on the road a lot and their van gets burglarized? Everything essentially stops, that’s what.

The latest robbery happened last week to Black and Greene Records band Bryan Scary & the Shredding Tears.

Now the band has sent through a followup note, stating:

All-
So, the LAPD just found our van in downtown LA, sans engine, transmission, and differential. Also, still no sign of our trailer and instruments. Ugh.
We were hoping that van insurance would write us a check for a total loss and that we could get back in the saddle quickly, but now that the van has been found we've got to wait even longer for their appraisal and decision. Unfortunately, this forces us to cancel the rest of our tour dates, although we are aiming to be back on the stage for our Boston, NY, and DC shows May 29-31. We feel horrible about this development, and absolutely promise to make up the canceled dates as soon as we possibly can.
We can't thank everyone enough for their support and understanding throughout this, the lamest event in BSST history. We greatly appreciate everyone who has donated through paypal. It makes a world of difference, since insurance technicalities prevent us from receiving full coverage for our stuff.
Despite this mess, we promise to be back soon, bigger and better than before. In the meantime, get your BSST fix this Monday night when our tunes are featured on MTV's new reality show, The Paper.


Any other rockers out there whose prized gear ever got nabbed by burglars? If so, drop a note into the comments.

Neutral Milk Hotel Thesis - Parts 4 & 5

Glorious Noise has uploaded Parts 4 & 5 of the Neutral Milk Hotel thesis on In the Aeroplane, Over the Sea.

Here's a fun part:

""Ghost" returns to E major, opening with an upbeat strumming pattern, the roots on the downbeat and the full chords on the off-beats in the style of bluegrass or Irish folk. The Irish influences come to the fore in the untitled adjoined instrumental track that follows. This propulsive strumming technique endows the song with a sense of urgency. After a few measures of unaccompanied guitar, the explosively distorted bass from "King of Carrot Flowers Part 2 and 3" enters, evoking the same implication of superhuman power. "Ghost" shares that song's sublime spiritual connotations, as well as the death-obsessed frenzy of "Holland, 1945."