Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Soon as I get home

...whenever you decide that you haven't heard nearly enough 2Pac lately, just find yourself an old Davekwon mixtape. Problem solved. Hey, that reminds me of the fine ditty we came up with while he was in town (to the tune of "Milkshake" by Kelis):

My mixtapes bring all the boys to the yard
They've got...more 'Pac than yours
They've got...more Shaq than yours
I can help you, but I've got to charge

Or something like that. Lame, I know, but it don't take much to make a hit these days. Anyway, it's looking like it might become a restful night. Sometime I'll make another Tuesday appearance at the Ravari Room, probably not tonight.
Last night, though there were ticket mishaps, Andy, Julia, Julia's brother, and I went to see the Stills at the Newport. The Stills were pretty good. They didn't play a super-long set, but they rocked most of the album, which made sense. I guess they're right after all, logic WILL break your heart. Good Canadian rock band. I guess Metric, one of the openers, has a little fanbase here, but I hated them! Boooo. No description is necessary.

On Saturday was an even better show, that being the mandatory Columbus stop of the Plague on Wheels tour, consisting of Eyedea & Abilities, Blueprint w/DJ Rare Groove, Illogic w/DJ Przm, and Grayskul. I had to go to this one solo, and got there during Grayskul's set. On stage, they were a group consisting of two MCs and a guitarist, and they must have had the rhythm tracks on CD or DAT or something. They were pretty good. No songs about He-Man, sadly, but they rocked it just the same. They're a brand new signing to Rhymesayers, so they should have a new album out in the fall. Next up was hometown hero Illogic. As soon as he started into the first song, Wes, who was standing near me, looks over with a weird expression and says "it sounds horrible." Yeah, somehow the rig set up on the right side of the stage for Illogic and Blueprint was messed up beyond easy repair, because they attempted a handful of times from that point on, but to no avail. Most of the treble would come through OK, but the bass was all distortion. Blueprint came on stage to try and help the show go on, and they ended up rockin a mostly accapella set together, which was not part of the plans, with hip-hop handyman Przm on the beatbox. They still killed it! My favorite was Blueprint's two-part poem (which he supposedly came up with because all these guys have more props than he does due to their poetry) dedicated to the two under-appreciated sectors of the female population: the real skinny girls and the real big girls. Hilarious. The Weightless boys definitely persevered. Eyedea & Abilities rounded out the night with an ass-rockin set. They had a quality medley of hip-hop classics with Eyedea altering the lyrics a bit, rockin. They had about a 10 minute freestyle/scratchin session, rockin. Eyedea can get a bit emotional, ala Slug, from time to time, but overall it was a hip-hop party. And Abilities is a crazy DJ. Overall, a fine night of hip-hop entertainment. David, I see the tour hits the Abbey Pub in Chicago tomorrow night...I'm jussayin is all.
I could write up alot about these, but instead here's a quick paragraph on upcoming shows. Friday is the next CD101 Low Dough show with the Von Bondies, VHS or Beta, and Modena Vox (nice local guys that I met at the show last night). Next Wednesday is a five-dollar hip-hop extravaganza at Skullys: Illogic, Spitball, Envelope (whose CD rocks), and Flip the Early Riser. Damn. The next night, Spookie Daly Pride opens up for some local crap at Little Bros. They're a rockin band, I guess I'm now a member of their street team as I put up 10 posters in stores yesterday, come with me to see them. And then the next two nights, Friday and Saturday of next weekend, are Springfest and Hempfest on campus. Fun fun fun fun fun. It's good training for Bonnaroo.
OK, this is a classic long-ass post. I'll work on keepin it short.

Friday, May 21, 2004

Enough of the Loverboy routine...

I'm done working for the weekend. I'd like to start this entry with...
RANDOM HIP-HOP LYRIC REFLECTION
Ice Cube's "We Be Clubbin'" from the Players Club soundtrack:
"Brainiac with the maniac Mack 10"
You hear a lyric a bajillion times and never think about it, then one time you actually try and process it and come up with the result, "What?!?!?" In this case, yes, I guess you could call Mack 10 a maniac. But Ice Cube a brainiac??? The only thing that line has going for it is that it rhymes. This song came out in 1998. With some of the NWA stuff and early solo albums, you could make the case that he was thinking a little, with all the gritty social commentary and whatnot. But by the time he made this (I mean damn, it was called "We Be Clubbin,"!!!), I don't think anyone listening to Ice Cube was thinking "This Ice Cube guy is pretty good, but he's just so damn nerdy!" or "Listen to that rhyme, Dr. Jackson sure is wise." I realize this rant is completely out of left field, but it's Friday afternoon, my brain has been turned off for the weekend.
I'd also like to add that the free screening of "Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle" that Renkes and I went to at the Arena Grand last night was pretty funny. If you like Van Wilder or any movie in that group, I'm pretty sure you'd like this one too. The message of the movie might be shaky, but there's lots of cool cameos and outrageous scenes, so it works well. I'm sorry you have to wait until July 30th to see it in theaters.
Alright, it's about time to get out of here. Have a good weekend, y'alls.

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Since We Last Spoke...

I've used that joke 10 other times. OK, I'm sorry, I'll stop, but it's hard to lay off such HOT material. Yesterday was RJD2 day here in Columbus (unofficially, like that Wendy's spokesman in the commercial), which was pretty sweet. Since his new album, Since We Last Spoke, was officially released yesterday, he made an in-store appearance at Used Kids and performed at the Wexner Center on campus. I stopped in at Used Kids after work and there were alot of people in there. He was running a contest where he would play a record of an old TV show theme, and if you could name the show, then you won a prize, like a copy of the album or other stuff. Sadly, I didn't win anything. Then he went back to playing records and signing autographs. I had him sign a poster and told him the last time I shook his hand was at Bonnaroo (ooff, don't get ol' man Patton started on THAT story). Anyway, that was fun, saying hey to all the hip-hop scenesters and whatnot.
Like I said, the performance was at the Wexner Center, in a performance space Andy and I weren't too familiar with. The first opener was Automato, who definitely exceeded my limited expectations. Automato is the rap act produced by the DFA, currently known for all their disco-punk productions, like The Rapture. I can imagine that on record it wouldn't sound too hot, but live in concert, with a live band behind him, it was pretty good. Maybe a slightly artsier, more electronic Ordinary Peoples (for you Columbus types).

Next up was Diverse, a man I was happy to see in concert, as the underground hype and my desire to buy his CD are ever-increasing. Like ol' Pap Napier detailed earlier, Diverse was big into crowd participation, but it didn't come over forced, but pretty natural. His album is produced by a bunch of underground heavyweights, like RJD2, Madlib, and Prefuse 73, and those beats were bangin' out of the speakers (and threatening to damage my eardrums). His DJ wasn't too hot, but it was an overall great set, that of course led to me buying his CD (and the CD single for "Explosive" which includes that video of him playing ping-pong with RJ and Lyrics Born and whoever).
I thought RJ rocked it. It was about an hour-long, four-turntable (plus a sound machine of some sort) set, with a weird video presentation (including a camera focused on the tables) playing on the big screen behind him. He mixed in elements of alot of old classics, and some new stuff, and I was dancing in place for most of the set. Sure, the coolbots were in full effect, but you can't let that stop you. His encore was a solo acoustic guitar rendition of the one vocal track from the new album, which was surprisingly good.
Overall, a fine night of hip-hop. I said hey to Jason and Pos, who both liked my Nighthawks T-shirt, and finally met the renowned DJ Goldfinger of OSU's KBUX Underground radio (Thursday nights 10-12, bitches!), who seems to be a nice guy. Man, this new job seems to be helping the bloggin', huh? Time to get out of here and get my sister (Katie) a bday present. Later, yo.

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

CapSoul, Columbus' Own


I know some of my Columbus friends have heard me talk about this recently, but lots of instances have continually reminded me about it, so here's something written. CapSoul was a Columbus soul/R&B label run by Bill Moss, known today in town as that crazy guy on the school board (though I think he's been voted out now). It was a very small, fledgling operation, but apparently put out some quality music. I know this because a new reissue label called Numero Group has put together a compilation of the music called "Eccentric Soul: The CapSoul Label." It was reviewed a few weeks ago in Columbus' Other Paper by ol' John Petric, who loves it. So last Monday, on our run through most of the quality campus record-selling establishments, stopped in at Johnny Go's Music, run by the very same John Petric. I asked him about the comp, he says he doesn't have it, wishes he did, and I ended up on the mission to email the label and check on availability (Johnny Go's computer apparently doesn't have Flash). While undertaking this mission, I found a lovely blog called The Suburbs Are Killing Us (thanks to David's tip), where the author wrote a nice blurb about the CapSoul comp with audio and links to reviews and everything (though you'll have to scroll down the Suburbs blog to May 12 to read about CapSoul, this gives you a good chance to check the other awesome stuff he's written about recently). So it turns out that Numero only does online ordering to keep costs down. Oh well, I'll just have to order it there. Check it out, I know you wanna hear Bill Moss croon some funk!

Sunday, May 16, 2004

FINALLY...THIS BLOG HAS RETURNED TO ACTIVE STATUS!!!

Sorry to keep y'alls waiting like that, but computer time has been hard to come by as of late, especially this weekend. Believe you me, I sprinted for this computer when I got the chance. Since we last spoke (ha! subliminal hometown hype fo dat azzzz), I've been a busy dude, I guess. The rock has decreased in a vain attempt to recover from those 7 Labors you've heard too much about. To briefly sum up, last weekend in Wooster for graduation was fun. Having Abele come to visit was cool, especially when we killed record stores and the Ravari Room on Monday. Though this past week rocked considerably less than the week before, there was this show on Tuesday...

Chops and I went down to Little Brothers to see Enon with Blood on the Wall and the Cathedrals. The Cathedrals are a fine up-and-coming band out of Cincinnati that y'all should watch out for. I don't know if I can describe their sound that well, maybe Interpol but less detached and more rockin'. Blood on the Wall is just weird. It's a brother and a sister with another guy on drums, and they just play some sort of deranged-party-garage rock, with strange yet simple lyrics and good energy. Now Enon was cool. Chops and I had both wanted to see them for a long time coming, and they were worth the anticipation. They're a trio that likes to rock, sing, and dance, so there are lots of loops and every song seems to be a different style. Before the show, all I knew was their album "High Society" from 2002, which they played alot of. They're promoting 2003's "Hocus Pocus" which I purchased but have yet to listen to. For the second Little Bros show in a row, I snagged a setlist from the headliner, so do I rock or what? Hahahahaha.
In other news, on Thursday Andy and I went to see "Kill Bill Vol. 1" at the dollar theater. It was the first time for me (yes, I know I'm lame), and it was rather kick-ass. Now I can allow myself to see #2. Friday was Dudes Night Out with my dad, as we went to the home finale for the Destroyers (arena football) and a free Blue Oyster Cult show. BOC was pretty boring, though they did play a few songs from the first album, which I'm sure Lucas would have loved. We just waited for "Don't Fear the Reaper" and then got out of there, you know?
Last night the old school crew of Dave, Andy and I went to Basebrawl at Cooper Stadium. Dave was in town for a wedding, which was weird since Andy and I were talking just days before that it would be nice if Dave showed up for Basebrawl. Good ol' karma. First, the Clippers beat up on the Buffalo Bisons, mainly because the Bisons played defense like...I don't know, something crappy. Then, the HWA put on some postgame wrasslin' that was...not too great. A decent match or two, but there was an awful woman's match and some other nonsense, accompanied by serious, apparently un-solvable sound problems. Boo. Then we rocked Hound Dogs, as if there was any doubt.

As I slyly referred to earlier, Tuesday is the official release date for "Since We Last Spoke," the new album from Bustown's own, RJD2. Reviews have been mixed so far, but I'm sure it'll rock just the same. He has an in-store appearance at Used Kids on Tuesday from 5 to 6 which I'm gonna try and hit up on my way from work, then Andy and I will be attending his release party show at the Wexner Center with Diverse and Automato opening up. Mmmmm, dopeness.
On Saturday, the Plague on Wheels tour hits Little Brothers, with Eyedea & Abilities, Blueprint, Illogic, and someone called Grayskull, so that will be fun. That afternoon, from 2-3, E&A will be at Magnolia Thunderpussy for their own instore, so maybe I'll show up there too.
Yep, it's lookin like a good week. I'm gonna post my thoughts on some recently-purchased CDs soon, maybe I'll start a separate review page like Double Dee's Music of 2004 page. That would be cool. Oh well, this has taken long enough, so enjoy the newness.

Saturday, May 08, 2004

Spleep?

Yes, Rockuleeeeeeez can now rest comfortably, having completed his SEVEN LABORS.
Labor #7: Rock here, rock there, rock rock everywhere.

So despite the recruitment committee's best efforts to fund a new rock scholar for the evening, yours truly attended the mega-supreme rock show of Electric Six/The Hiss/Back in Spades all by his lonesome. But oh well, more rock for me. Back in Spades is a solid Detroit garage-y band (surprise) that wasn't billed as part of the show and barely made it down from the Motor City in time to rock. But rock they did. It was just good, scrappy rock, played by 4 greeeezy lookin' dudes. These guys bathed in rock because they needed to bathe in something, yaknawmean? The lead singer reminded me of Jason Schwartzman, sans the Hollywood cool. But I talked to him afterwards, he was nice. Sounds like his actual job is editing commercials for Ford, as he commented on the ad on the TV behind the bar and how though it is one he edited, he never sees it because it's a Columbus (or Ohio) specific ad. Riveting, right? I thought so. And the rhythm guitar player, whose rock appears to be slowly wearing out his hair (like me), had the ability to show the pain of rock on his face with every note, it was impressive.
The Hiss was up next, and they kept the rock flowing. They were four less-greeeezy dudes from Atlanta, and I guess you could call it Southern garage rock, or something. One of the guitarists wore a Budweiser logo sweater on stage, that was pretty sweet. Anyway, these guys just killed it, and I just bounced around from one song to the next. If you go to the site, it appears that they are now major label property and the undercover hype machine is at work, but they still rock in concert, so there's hope for them yet. And there's a couple songs on the site that sound like Oasis, luckily they didn't uncork those tonight. I talked to one of the band members after the show, he thinks they should be back to town around July, I'll be there.
And of course, there was another little band from Detroit headlining by the name of...Electric Six. They did not bow down in the face of two top-notch openers, and instead unleashed a non-stop rock dance party like only they know how to do, or something. The lead singer reminded me of a modern-day, slackerized Angus Young, with a suit jacket, mesh hat, and long pants. He did pushups and situps during one tune, leg lifts during another, and arm flailing during most. And one of the guitarists reminded me of Frankenstein. They played the current faves, along with some damn rockin' new stuff. These three bands pleased me immensely.
The only annoying thing was this group of guys standing near me (at the very front). Maybe it's something about Electric Six that has a homo-erotic effect on men, but these guys, some of which seemed to have girlfriends sitting off to the side out of harm's way, were LAME. They probably snapped a 100 pics each with their stupid cellphones, they reached out for the singer and guitarist whenever they were sorta within reach, and just bounced around like giddy girls. I like to have a good time, but these guys were ridiculous. OK, enough ranting.
Labor #6: Man, Heroes of History must have rocked 5 times harder than they did the last time. Abele, Chops and I saw them play with Go Evol Shiki and the Husher at Ruby Tuesdays. The Heroes slayed me. They just pounded through their tunes, including my favorite "Your Mom" or whatever it's called. Then Go Evol Shiki came on and BLEW! It hurt bad. It was cool to see Erin out at the show too, since I don't see her at the bank anymore. So yes friends, go see the Heroes of History soon...or else.
OK, Rockuleez must sleeeep. We're off to Wooster tomorreee, so have a good weekend because I know I will (I think).

Thursday, May 06, 2004

What?!? It Ain't Sunday Yet?!?

Oh, I just figured I'd keep y'all off-guard by posting on a Thursday. Being in the middle of the 7 Labors, I still have alot to talk about (go figure). And oh yeah, that Sleepidra is a bitch, she almost snagged me last night. Last two labors are looking shaky, so please do your part to clear your respective schedules and help out Rockuleeez. I'm soon going to pick up Abele, my old college roommate, at the airport as he's coming to Ohio to see his sister graduate from the Woo. So hopefully we'll rock out tonight at Ruby Tuesdays. And as far as tomorrow night goes:

ROCK!!!!!!! BE THERE!!!
I know money is tight for some of y'all, but hopefully someone will catch Electric Six with me at Little Bros. Please?!?!? Remember, the United Patton Rock Fund and the Rock Installment Plan both have fund availability at the moment for ticket cost woes. Contact your local loan rep for info.
Labor #5: Sickness and despair ran rampant through the streets as bands were killed off left and right.......oh wait, it was nothing like that. Lucas, Lee, Franz, Andy and I all saw Apollo Sunshine and the Apples in Stereo for free last night, which must mean we RULE THE SCENE!!! MWAHAHAHAHA!!! Or something. The aforementioned sickness and despair was actually some sort of illness (bronchitis, I think) that felled the drummer for the Apples in Stereo/leader (I think) of the High Water Marks (same person), leading to the High Water Marks not playing this show and the drummer for High Water Marks sitting in with the Apples. Though also ill, Lucas' friend from the High Water Marks (sadly, I don't remember his name, but he must rule Rock-tucky with an iron fist, as this band is supposedly the worst of the three bands he's in, including one that never leaves the couch) was still doing a bang-up job selling merch for his band and the Apples in Stereo, bravo. Ooops, almost forgot the rock show. Apollo Sunshine delivered another fine show, and since that was the fourth time I've seen them in the last four months, it must have been good. The main changes to the set were: 1) Their opening cover of "Once in a Lifetime" by the Talking Heads (Well done); and 2) Their friend playing vibes and things, making it a quartet for the evening and giving a different spin to alot of those songs I've heard a few times. The Apples in Stereo were good, and the lead singer was very friendly and the antithesis of the stereotypical egotistical lead singer guy (at least onstage), but like Andy was telling me last night, the set just didn't quite do it for me. Some good pop tunes, and then some over-long borderline-psychedelic tunes that weren't as good. But hey, it was free.
Labor #4: OK, I didn't actually end up seeing a show. I JUST ROCKED 3 DJ SETS AT THE RAVARI ROOM, THAT'S ALL!!! That counts as a damn labor, if I may say so myself. It was an awesome time. Thanks to: Andy, Ashley, Lucas, Lee, Franz, Keith, Chops, Jerome, Sara (I think, John's former co-worker at CopEz) and her friends (sure, they weren't there for me, but they were still there) and Brad Caulkins, of the dearly departed Jive Turkeys (also not there for me), for their attendance (And Amy for her loving reception of my sterling cell-phone messages). I started my first set with "The Champ" by Moe Bandy and ended my last set, around 2:10, with "Goodbye, So Long" by Funk Inc. Daaamn, that was fun. Wicked Lung and the Wookalar seemed to like my tunes, so I'll probably be back to play again in a few months. Damn straight.
Labor #3: Hung out for awhile by myself at Bernies, which was interesting. Saw the end of some hardcore-esque band who really had the soft-loud thing down pat (strum strum strum, sing sing sing, ROAOAOAROAOOSADGFAJDFOWAEARRRRRRRRRRR, strum strum strum). Then came From My Cold Dead Sandwich, which was two guys from Dayton screaming into mics over basic pre-programmed beats and insisting that the crowd be onstage with them for their set. They even did a crazy crap-techno version of "Batman," complete with Don B's assistance. Then one of their girlfriends came onto transform them into a "band," taking the skins while the one guy started playing guitar and the other guy went back to screaming. Weird. Fat Girls by the Snack Table were three "thick" girls, one singing, one on a keyboard, and one on some sort of drum machine. They also were convinced to do "Batman," what a surprise. I was tired near the end of their set, so I left. It was fun for 3 measly bones.
OK, hopefully the rocking concludes happily. Talk to y'all later.

Sunday, May 02, 2004

THE SEVEN LABORS OF ROCK-U-LEEEEEEEEZ!!!!!!!

And not to mention the labor of actually posting on this, your friendly, neighborhood blog. As some of you know, I am often interested in seeing many of the shows that come to town, and this has led to various feats of "rockingness," including the 5 Days of Rock back in October, the two Bernies shows in one night in January, and the three shows in one day (if you count a CD101 Big Room as a show) at the end of January. Well, continuing in that proud tradition, I recently embarked on a new rock voyage:
THE SEVEN LABORS OF ROCK-U-LEEEEEEEEZ!!!!!!!
Yeah, you already knew what it was called, but I repeated it for effect, see? So starting last night, I am seeing a show of some sort the first seven nights of May. Crazy? Yes, especially since it coincides with the first day of my new job tomorrow, but this is oh-so-necessary for my well-being, and it's training for Bonnaroo, which I am indeed attending this year, after plenty of foot-draggin by my friends to the north. Anyway, here is the rest of the schedule, in case any of y'all are interested/need reminding:
Monday: After some deliberation and consultation of availability of funds, I think I have decided on the show called GEORGE MOSHINGTON at Bernies after picking up a flyer for it at the Dube the other night. Four rock bands including names like Fat Girls by the Snack Table and From My Cold Dead Sandwich for $5??? Hellz yeeeeah. Someone's GOTTA be with me on this one.
Tuesday: Well, I think you all know what Tuesday is, yes, that's right, my big ol' vinyl spinnin' debut at the Ravari Room. It's gonna be awesome, so you better all be there. But since this will not be an actual show, in order to silence any possible critics of these 7 labors, I will try to run across the street to Oldfields and catch Flip the Early Riser's set at the weekly Soul Gathering, as I hear he has a new EP coming out to celebrate. Join me, won't you?
Wednesday: The well-hyped (here, at least) Apples in Stereo/High Water Marks/Apollo Sunshine show at Little Brothers. EUREKA!!!
Thursday: Heroes of History/Go Evol Shiki/The Husher (I think) at Ruby Tuesdays. Rock your socks off, then buy cheap, one-of-a-kind Heroes of History merchandise! I'm wearing my shirt now!
Friday: In a fitting conclusion to the 7 Labors, the return of Electric Six to Little Brothers. Wooster graduation parties be damned!!!
That's the future, here's the very recent past:
Labor #2:

Yes indeed, tonight I witnessed the rock of the Butchies and the "anti-folk" of Kimya Dawson (Moldy Peaches) at Little Brothers. It was a good show. Sure, I was one of no more than 10 straight guys in the entire building, but who cares? Lesbians can rock, and the Butchies are proof. A little cheesy, and as a joke, the drummer did run up and kiss the lead singer on the lips once, but all's fair in rock and roll, right? And ol' Kimya did a good chick-with-guitar set that included some pretty witty numbers. Plus, I was out of there by 9:15, you can't argue with that.
Labor #1: Saturday night was a good time. It started with meeting up with some now former co-workers and their fiancees for dinner at Mi Mexico. Then, Chops, Jerome, and I went to a party on campus thrown by Denyse and Tina from back in the ol' CAHS days. Good times. At around 1:10, Jerome dropped us off on the way back to catch the release party for Wicked Lung & the Wookalar at the Ravari Room. They put on another quality set, more stuffed animals bit the dust, and all were sent home happy. Plus, the CD is a $5 ROCK BARGAIN! It was a quality first labor.
OK, that's enough about the Seven Labors. Last Tuesday's Def Jux show was good, so I better give you some quick thoughts. It was good to say hey to the SA Smash guys and assorted friends that used to live next to Renkes down on Blake. The first performer, 4th Pyramid, was quite lame, as expected. For some reason, the Perceptionists (Mr. Lif, Akrobatik, and DJ Fakts One) went on next, and rocked it hard. Akro did "Internet MCs" and I freaked out, it was great. Then Murs came on with Scarub from the Living Legends and continued the hard-rocking. It was during this set that the announced "Special Guest" made himself known. After playing keyboards for most of the set, when "Risky Business" started up, the keyboardist came out front, put on some funny glasses, and revealed himself to be Shock G/Humpty Hump!!! It was great. After that, he played the music for "I Get Around" and gave us a taste of his verse. Another great set from Murs. SA Smash rounded out the night with what had to be the best set I've ever seen them do. Less stereotypical gangster posing and noise-making, more quality hip-hop, though sadly, there was no "Hold the Floor." There was crazy moshing at points, including involvement from Murs and broken beer bottles. So it was an awesome show. I shook hands with Murs and told him it was fun moshing with him, and also got some dap from Shock G, both good guys.
Alright, that's another grotesque monster of a blog entry. Please come and cheer on Rock-u-leeez at a live music venue near you. Goodnight.