Ironic Twist
seeking irony, because sarcasm clashes with my outfit
Friday, January 27, 2006 :::
So, The O.C. last night? Meh. I hope Johnny falls off a cliff next week. But speaking of, my mom's inner Seth Cohen has been coming out lately. About a month ago, she discovered that she likes Death Cab for Cutie. Around the same time, she started reading Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, which she likes so far. In general, my mother has been very entertaining lately. Last weekend, I stayed in on Saturday night and ended up watching SNL. The musical guest was The Strokes. After their first song, my mom called to let me know she doesn't like them because they "look pretentious." Score one for mom. Nice. A few sketches later, she called back, excited: "I just came up with a great name for a girl band." I asked her what it is, and she told me: "The Cramps." Her line of thinking was, a stroke is a bad thing to have. Bad cramps are also quite unpleasant. If you can name a band The Stokes, why not The Cramps? Needless to say, she was quite disappointed when I told her that there's already a band called The Cramps, and that they're not an all-girl band. But still, she was pretty proud of herself for coming up with it. (And I was pretty proud of her too.) If my mom had not spent her teens and 20s under an oppressive Communist regime, she'd probably be a pop culture pundit instead of a programmer/analyst. Sometimes I tease her for being so thoroughly obsessed with pop culture, but I recently realized that it's probably just because she spent the first 30-something years of her life with so little of it. Sure, there were pop stars in the USSR, but no Access Moscow, E! News Kiev or Soviet Enquirer. And definitely no indie pop.
Tonight: I'm going to have to go with the Nethers, Cedars and Bicycle Thieves at the 9:30 Club. I'd love to see The Hard Tomorrows and Paul Michel, but they're playing out in Virginia somewhere (The State Theater, Falls Church), so I'm going to wait until February 23 to see The Hard Tomorrows at DC 9. There was also the Mooney Suzuki at the Black Cat option, but I've seen Mooney Suzuki three times now, plus I keep hearing them on that T.G.I. Friday's commercial, so I'm going to count that as my 2006 Mooney Suzuki experience.
Saturday: I'm finally going to see Brokeback Mountain. It's been one of those things when every time I try to go see it, something gets in my way. But not this weekend, dammit. Then, dancing at Bliss, if I can get a hold of Jeff.
Thursday, January 26, 2006 ::: Irene are a new band on Labrador. I've only heard two of their songs. One of these is their Labrador single, called "Baby I Love Your Way." At first I thought it might be a cover of the Peter Frampton song, but it's not. One of the first things I noticed about Irene is that their singer sounds a lot like Tom Jones. There aren't many lyrics besides "Baby I love you. Baby I love your way. Baby I want you. Baby I want you to stay." It's barely two minutes long. For some reason, I'm finding this song irresistible.
Labrador writes: "Irene write songs that sounds almost like cliches of pop songs. Songs about love and heartache, girl group-style rythm section, handclap, Beach Boys, soul, brass and songs that are evergreens from day one."
Update: You can listen to two more songs on their MySpace page. These songs are less crooner-like, and have more of those pretty boy/girl harmonies. From the photos, it looks like there are at seven people in the band. The "band member" section lists nine people. That's a lot of people...
Wednesday, January 25, 2006 :::
Sunday night was my second time seeing Aberdeen City, this time at the (smoke-free) Warehouse Next Door. There was a decent crowd, for a rainy Sunday night, but the show was not as well-attended as when I saw them at Velvet Lounge a few months ago. A shame, because Aberdeen City are really good live, and put on an engaging show despite some technical difficulties near the start of their set. It's easy to tell that Aberdeen City are one of those bands that play their hearts out whether there are 30 people in the audience or 300. While some other guitarist might have toned down the theatrics for a small audience, Chris McLaughin was quite dramatic, bringing his guitar up to his face and cradling it during a particularly anguished part of "Pretty Pet." Vocalist/bassist Brad Parker, who writes the band's lyrics, is a tense, emotional performer, and it's easy to get caught up in the atmospheric music because of his committment to the singing. In a small place like the Warehouse, Aberdeen City still sound big, with songs that are written to be anthems and performed to get under your skin. Pictured below is guitarist J. Ryan Heller.
I like the pictures in which it looks like someone's playing two guitars at once.
Set list: Another Seven Years 60 Lives Pretty Pet In Combat God Is Going to Get Sick of Me [a new song?] Mercy
Monday, January 23, 2006 :::
Let's talk about spaceships... or about how much better I feel this morning compared to the last time I posted! It's also really great to be able to talk without sounding like I go through 10 packs of cigarettes a day. I was feeling better by Friday, and went out to the Warehouse Next Door to check out Five Four, Dirty on Purpose and Say Hi To Your Mom. I'd forgotten that the venue is smoke-free, but was quite happy when I got there and remembered that it is -- even better for my recovering throat. I'm not sure why businesses like the Black Cat think they'll be hurt by the smoking ban, since the Warehouse was packed (and has been in business for years, smoke-free). Does anyone really think that people will stop going to shows just because they can't smoke indoors? "Hmmm... I could go to the New Pornographers show, but I'd rather stay home and smoke my Camel Lights." Right.
Anyway... I haven't seen Five Four in a few months, and was really happy with how polished they sounded on Friday night. I've always enjoyed their live shows, but it was really a pleasure to see how they've progressed. They sounded much tighter, and rocked harder, and had a new song that might be even catchier than "Eurotrash." Karen totally rocked out on guitar and Kiki did a nice job on vocals during two of the songs. It still drives me a bit crazy that you can't make out the lyrics at all, and some girls behind me made a similar comment, something like "I really like them, but I wish I could tell what she's singing." But hey, it's the "I really like them" part that's more important. Five Four started the show with "My Love Song" and went through "Crazy," "Eurotrash" and a good number of songs I hadn't heard before, finishing with "Dream of You Dead." (MP3)
Five Four
New York people, Five Four are playing at The Delancey on February 10, and you should go.
I didn't really expect to do any socializing, but ended up talking to a lot of people, including Dirty on Purpose's manager Jinners. This is sort of embarassing, but right up until the band started their set, I had completely forgotten that the band's female vocalist recently left the band. Fortunately for Dirty on Purpose, the drummer and guitarist have some nice falsettos, and while the songs I recognized obviously sounded different than on the EP, I enjoyed their set nonetheless. Since I'd only heard the five songs on the EP, it was good to hear more of their material, and it was less shoegazer-y and twee than I expected. I also can't help but like bands that give off a slighly shy, nice-guy vibe, which Dirty on Purpose definitely give off. They just seemed like a pleasant bunch of guys playing pretty songs, and I like that.
Dirty on Purpose
I am happy to report that I was right about Say Hi To Your Mom sounding better in a smaller venue. Since the Warehouse Next Door is about 1/10 the size of the Black Cat, if not smaller, the band came across as much more dynamic. I ended up staying almost through the end of the set, which I hadn't expected to do because I still wasn't feeling 100% better. No pictures of them, since the lights were dimmed during their set.
01/05: Taint and Bliss present INFAMY, 9:30 Club
01/10: Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton, 9:30 Club
01/19: Benjy Ferree, Meredith Bragg and the Terminals, Greenland, Black Cat 01/24: Hej Hej, Cafe Saint-Ex
