New Jamie Lidell Album & Tour in 2008

Check out this live rehearsal video from Jamie:



Looks like he's bringing a full live band with him this time. He was awesome last time I saw him live -- and that was just him solo!

See also:
Jamie Lidell – Live Goodness!

Underworld Live @ the Fillmore Auditorium, 9/11/07

Last night was one of the musical highlights of my life: I finally got to see Underworld live.


Several years back when I was first discovering them, I heard from many different sources that they delivered an earth-shaking performance at Coachella 2003. That alone was enough to get me out to three consecutive Coachella Festivals, in hope of catching something as exciting (which I did). But still I waited for my chance to see Underworld.

The venue was originally set to be the epic Red Rocks Amphitheatre, but just a few short days before the show the promoter moved everything to the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver instead. While that was undeniably a disappointment in and of itself, the show was still incredible. Before the starting the first song, Karl Hyde apologized to the crowd and informed us that Live Nation would be sending every ticket holder a free copy of Underworld's upcoming album, Oblivion With Bells. Nice way to clear the air!

There's no way to describe it like it was, but I can tell you that as far as I'm concerned, it was two plus hours of pure bliss. My pal mrkvm captured the vibe well with a few surreal photos of a surreal experience (including the one at the top of this post). Peak moment: all 3700 audience members bouncing out of control to "Cowgirl".

Setlist:

1. Dirty Epic
2. Crocodile
3. New Train
4. Biro the Leggy (a.k.a. Beautiful Burnout)
5. Rez/Cowgirl
6. Glam Bucket
7. Two Months Off
8. Spikee
9. Nuxx
10. King of Snake
11. Pearl Girl
12. Moaner
13. Jumbo

(The less said about wretched opener Paul Oakenfold the better. He should be ashamed of himself.)

Beastie Boys Live @ Red Rocks

On August 16th, I had the distinct pleasure of seeing the Beastie Boys perform live at Red Rocks.

This was the third time I've seen them (once on the Licensed To Ill tour and again on the Hello Nasty tour) and by far the best show. Touring to promote their all-instrumental album, The Mix-Up, the show was a great balance of rap, punk and instrumental songs from throughout their musical history. I think Mike D probably wins the prize for "Most Fun to Watch", but MCA and Ad-Rock were both on point. Mix Master Mike, Money Mark and Eric Bobo were all on hand to round out the touring band, so it was a real all-star affair.

(Mic to Mic posted a great set of photos from the show on Flickr)

Underworld tix, baby!

I'm finally getting my chance to see Underworld live on September 11th, after wishing and praying for the last several years. It's going to be at one of the most memorable venues in the U.S.: Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Awesome!

Also, this makes it seem like a pretty sure bet that there will be a new Underworld album release this year – double awesome!

Planning to go? Give me a shout out!

Damien Rice Live!

(super-awesome mobile phone action photo)

Saw Damien Rice last night with my wife at the Paramount Theatre.

While I'm sort of ambivalent about his albums (hhd is a huge fan though), I have to say the whole performance was way classy. The band setup itself was tastefully done, with the drummer, bass guitarist and cellist on low risers and the entire dotted with candles. Rice alternated between playing a piano upstage and acoustic or electric guitars front and center. The sound was excellent and the venue wasn't even close to as horrid as we had expected.

All in all a surprisingly (for me) pleasant evening.

Amon Tobin Live!

Saw the incredible Amon Tobin throw down a vicious DJ set last night at the Bluebird Theater in Denver.

His arsenal included (as usual) a little bit of everything: techstep, dubstep, good ol' drum 'n' bass, ambient, chorales, marching bands, symphonics, and sprinklings of his own material...typically all at the same time. Folks that came expecting the subtlety of his latest album, The Foley Room had their minds and ears exploded.

Having seen him several years back I knew what kind of dark, crazy territory I was in for. Both times there were huge chunks of the set that sounded like an alien warehouse party flavored with random selections of that crazy Earth music. He has the ability to spin baffling combinations of sounds and beats with the utmost precision; always surprising and always fantastic.

If you have a chance to see him, do so – it's a one-of-a-kind experience.

Tops of My Pops for 11/26/06

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending Nov. 26, 2006
1. Burial
2. Doubting Thomas
2. Aceyalone
4. Renegade Soundwave
5. Underworld
6. Imogen Heap
7. Tears for Fears
8. Public Image Ltd.
8. Steely Dan
10. My Bloody Valentine

Burial is a mystery. He's refused to reveal his identity, and has barely even spoken publicly (here's an interview from March 2006 – the only one I could find). To make matters worse, there's at least one death metal band of the same name. But this Burial is electronica (dubstep if you're keeping score) and like some of the very best albums, it's taken me awhile to really get into his self-titled debut and discover how great it is. My buddy mrkvm deserves all the credit for bringing it to my attention and pestering me to listen.

Going to have to miss seeing Imogen Heap live in Denver next week due to a very annoying work conflict, but rumor has it that her live shows are even better than her great DIY solo album, Speak For Yourself.

FYI Dept:

1. The only good thing happening on Tears For Fears' Saturnine Martial & Lunatic album is the spot-on cover of "Ashes To Ashes".
   
2. Steely Dan's The Royal Scam album does not hold up well at all thirty years later.

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Jamie Lidell – Live Goodness!

Saw Jamie Lidell in concert last night at the Larimer Lounge in Denver with pal Mark & wife Heather – what a great show!

Hadn't been to the Larimer Lounge before, but it was suitably fun indie hipster kinda dive bar. From the website and the posters on the walls, it looked like most of Denver's local bands have played there at one time or another.

The crowd was a little thin when the opening act, the incomparable Snax, came on stage. The place soon filled up as the crowd started bumpin' to Snax's one man disco-funk explosion. The guy had absolutely no fear and it showed. I can totally understand why Jamie decided to bring him out on tour.

After a short break Mr. Lidell jumped on the stage in his leopard-spotted velvet hoodie and black spectacles and just tore the house down. If you haven't seen him live just get your ass out there and find him, because he is an amazing performer. Sometimes he'll sing to a preprogrammed musical accompaniment, but more often than not he'll build the track from the ground up using only his voice and his rig to loop up a killer track right there live on stage. And besides the fact that he's a musical chameleon, he's got a fantastic voice like Sam Cooke would be proud of.

Great performers, great show, great night!

(Photo © clayhawkley. All rights reserved.)

Festival madness

The other day I was sharing my pictures from this year's Coachella Festival with a friend in the UK, when he mentioned that he was going to “the Scottish version.” Sure enough, he is. I've never heard of T In The Park (living the sheltered American life that I do) but it looks like a hell of a lineup.

Wish I could be there...then maybe I could finally see Coldcut live (may you never be forced to choose between seeing Coldcut, Massive Attack or Mogwai). Their latest album was a terrific mish-mash of sounds and styles, with guest vocalists galore. Not that's a studio release would resemble one of their legendary live v/dj sets -- how do you possibly get the lawyers to let you release something like that? Come to think of it, I've got no idea how they were able to re-release Journeys By DJ: 70 Minutes Of Madness. It's wall-to-wall pop culture plundering musical nirvana!