Thursday, March 10, 2005

I don't have Bad Mattitude

Don't you wish you were here? Well, except for the wall of snow that remains in place, growing stronger brick by brick. Shit, hold on. That's better. What's up, peeps? I hope no one showed up at the Ravari Tuesday night, only to realize the distinct lack of my presence. Actually, if anyone reading this was there, what happened? Entertainment? I'm curious. I'm scheduled to make my triumphant Ravari return on Tuesday, April 5, so get ready. And CD101 Day sold out. Boo.

Your Mom!!!!!
Yes, the triumphant sounds of me requesting my favoritest Heroes of History song rang through the biker-filled expanse of Whiskey Dick's last night. The Heroes played a fine set of their hard rock magic, and just when we thought it was over, the boys in Mors Ontologica begged them for more. Of course, I seized the moment, and Pat ended up re-learning "Your Mom" to splendid results. Hopefully, once the album comes out, the guys will come through on a follow-up EP with softer stuff like that gem. Dave and I stayed for the first set of Mors, which was pretty snazzy too. I bought their vinyl-only (well, vinyl and download-only) album Don't Cry, which should be pretty sweet. Rocktastic.

Wow. On Sunday night, I went down to the Newport to see Matisyahu, the Hasidic Reggae superstar! As you can imagine, this was a pretty unique show. To quote his website, "With his long beard and black hat, this 24-yr-old lyricist, MC, and beatboxer is a singular performer, whose power, poetry, and skills combine the sounds of Bob Marley and Shlomo Carlebach, yet remaining wholly original." Crazy. His band kicked out reggae jams while he sang and chanted and rapped and beatboxed and all that. Sweet stuff. I'd say that the crowd was close to half-Jewish, with a large portion of the remainder being barely interested OSU kids who were there from some Community Fest. Though I can't identify with the religious beliefs, I could definitely feel the love in the room.
Friday night was cra-zayyyyy. Dubbed the "Pisces Crisis," this High Five shindig was a joint birthday party for Envelope, his DJ Amos Famous, and a bunch of other folks. It sold out and was supposedly the highest money-making show for the High Five ever, or under the current management, or something spectacular. First up was rapper Bru Lei (well, after the DJing of DJ True Skillz, with the funkiest crates this side of Poughkeepsie) with DJ Pos2 on the wheels. He tore shit up as usual, what can I say? Then Dove !nk label head Eyamme came on with his MC Davu from Pittsburgh. Good jazzy hip-hop, I was diggin' it. Then, in a much-discussed lineup decision, local punk 'n rollers Tree of Snakes commenced to kick ass for an extended period of time. I love those guys, so it was great for me, and I sang and moshed as best I could. Finally, Envelope and Jamos Famous killed it. The new jams sound pretty hot. Unfortunately, the album has been delayed by the boys' transition from local label Dove !nk to local label Weightless, but it should be out in the next few months. I'll start up another countdown as soon as I know what I'm counting to. Good shit indeed.
On Wednesday, Todd and I made it to Skully's for the CD101 VHS or Beta Low Dough show. It took forever to get started, but around 10:15, locals Manda & the Marbles began their set. It was my first time seeing them, and I wasn't too impressed. Their sound reminded me of Gwen Stefani singing for Cyndi Lauper's backup band on happy pills. OK, but boring fast. But Todd's fellow Louisvillains ("I mean, what do I call them? Guami Bears? Guambats? The Guamish?") eventually burst forth with those dancin new wave jams. They did finally have a guy playing keyboards, so I think I finally got to hear a song or two from Le Funk, but as those songs aren't super-distinctive, I'm not completely sure. Good times though. They're opening for Duran Duran when they come through the Bus, should be sweeet, haha.

"...And the power's out in the heart of man..."

Yes, I gave in today and bought Funeral by Arcade Fire off my cousin for $8.50 (it was brand new). And it's pretty sweet. Lots of strings 'n things, lots of emotion, and the occasional dose of rock. Those Canadians can do anything, can't they? Just like I can finally be cool in 2004......dammit.

Well, that's all for this post. There should be excitement this weekend, with lotsa old Scots wandering around. Catch ya on the flipside.

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