Filed under: bands, events, interviews, pittsburgh, video | Tags: black flag, don caballero, grand buffet
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1. Grand Buffet and Mrs. Paintbrush (two different acts involving Jackson O’Connell). I had heard some Grand Buffet stuff before and still am not fully converted into a believer, but hearing Mrs. Paintbrush is a good way to get back into them. when it comes to Jackson’s independent work, the fluidity in terms of sounds, but also in terms of lyrics, captured my interest. I think his partner in crime, Lord Grunge, has some dynamic beats, but I think the way he executes his verses comes across more as separated declarations, and is a little incongruous with his beats.
And to be completely honest, when I saw Jackson dance to DJs Huck Finn’s & Glenn[electric]’s sets this past friday at the Brillobox…man, this guy has a method to wild performance and I think it will go very well with his slick raps at the Grand Buffet show this upcoming Saturday. Grand Buffet will be opening for Don Caballero at Mr. Small’s (Sept. 6th).
Centipede Eest at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, 8/23
© 2008 Mahsa Borhani
Let’s just say that this show will be very interesting in terms of attendees. Don Caballero, who are from Pittsburgh but now based in Chicago, will draw a bit of an older crowd. Centipede Eest and Don Cab obviously have more in common than Grand Buffet–however–judging from what I saw at the PCA show a week ago, Centipede is more influenced by an ambient noise aesthetic and now that Don Cab has released Punkgasm, I am assuming there will be an even greater diversity between these two acts.
Don Caballero
Centipede Eest
Grand Buffet
@ Mr. Small’s Theatre
9-6-08, 8 PM
$10
2. Black Flag minus Henry Rollins. As much as I enjoy this interview that Rollins did:
it’s much more admirable to see Chuck Dukowski talk about the band and defend them from the ruffian stereotype in this interview at 3:43
Later on in his life, when Chuck talks about how he saw government armed forces wait insidiously as kids gathered to see the show, and then unleashed all of society’s hatred at a moment when they thought they’d eliminate all the voices of this movement–I guess it never really hit me till now how incredulous that can be. If police can freak out about music, then how bad is it going to be when it’s about something that directly addresses the policies and regimes of the government without art as a method for dissemination? Is it worse to see the people around you disappear mysteriously, or is it worse to see them die or be injured in a highly publicized event that society just stares blankly at?
I don’t have any answers to these questions. Yeah the punk rock movement is over. But from an Iranian-American point of view, it is more relevant now than it could ever be. At the time of that interview, Chuck Dukowski was a voice for the kids who couldn’t really speak for themselves, who were letting out their “desperation” in the most primal way they could–a physical oscillation to the constant force of music.
In two months everyone from age 18 and on can speak for our friends in other countries who support democracy and allied federations. I hope everyone is following the ever-frenzied presidential election campaign as close as possible to develop a viewpoint that will help them choose the right candidate.
Filed under: aaron jentzen, concert reviews, interviews, news links, pittsburgh
- Basia Bulat and Devotchka concert review – some thoughts on the recent show at Diesel. Don’t really agree with the Denver comment, but check it out.
- Blurb in the Post Gazette about Olympus Mons – saw them play at Gooski’s with Suburban Sect a while back and they were pretty sweet. CD release show TOMORROW.
- An old preview about British Sea Power – did anyone go to this show? It was last week and I’ve liked The Rosebuds ever since Chris Cain mentioned them in this great interview on Faceculture.nl. The last minute is gold.
- Aaron Jentzen talks to the Takeover UK about their new EP on Rykodisc – I know you guys like them as they are probably the most searched local band hit for gigawave. Here’s an ending quote from the drummer:
“It’s basically just a lot of hustling, man, just getting out of Pittsburgh,” says Sickels. “You’ve just got to get out, or you’re never going to get anywhere.” Snyder quaffs his beer and offers a little barstool philosophy: “You basically have to shrug off every single responsibility that normality would give you.”
Sad but true. Unless you play hockey, do research for CMU, or curate. I can’t really think of any other career-catapulting opportunities here. ALSO, afternoon beer? Really?
Filed under: bands, events, interviews, miscellaneous, news links, pittsburgh
So Many Dynamos Coming to Pittsburgh
Yes it is true! SMD are planning to play a date in the burgh. From their myspace bulletin:
In the almost-as-near future, we’re about to do another tour. Here are the dates so far. As you see, there are lots of TBA’s so feel free to message us about it, we’re still in the booking stages and could use assistance if you feel like you can help.
04/30 – Pittsburgh, PA @ TBA (details will be announced soon)
download:
So Many Dynamos – In Every Direction
So Many Dynamos – Progress
Triggers Interviewed for Post Gazette Article
Triggers explode with power-pop debut
Thursday, March 27, 2008
By Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“At first we kind of didn’t take things too seriously,” says singer-guitarist Adam Rousseau. “We had all sort of gotten out of ‘bad relationships,’ so to speak, with our previous bands and I, at least, was really just thinking of Triggers as something to do just for fun. I mean, I thought we played well and had some decent tunes, but it wasn’t until we played our first show and got such a positive reaction from the audience and our friends that I thought, ‘We might be on to something here.’ “
read the rest of the article here
New Book of Photography on Pittsburgh
Local photographer Mark Bolster has recently published a book filled with elegant and poignant photos of places in and around Pittsburgh. The book is available in digital format online, or physical format from bookstores, or you can buy it directly from the artist himself. For more information, click on the image of the cover in order to view samples from the book:
New Records for the Radio Station
Seeing as I missed Mixel Pixel two nights in a row, I decided to hit them up for a 12 inch of “Coming Up X’s” last night; the song is one of my favorites off their 2006 album Music for Plants. Very exciting. Rob Corradetti, who does the art for the band, was also nice enough to slip in the 7 inch of “Kind of Girl.” Definitely am going to spin those next time I am at the station, maybe even make some mp3 files to share. Mixel Pixel = quite an affable band.
Filed under: aaron jentzen, bands, events, interviews, news links, pittsburgh
Dying is fine, to Ra Ra Riot
by aaron jentzen
The song, from the band’s melodious yet melancholy self-titled 2007 EP, was one of the first written by the group. Inspired in part by a poet forever popular on college campuses, e.e. cummings, it features the sprightly chorus, “You know that dying is fine, but maybe / I wouldn’t like death if death were good / not even if death were good.”
Pretty good article, once again by Pittsburgh City Paper’s Aaron Jentzen. He seems to interview most bands of interest to me, so I created a tag for him. How special. If you haven’t gotten your ticket to this show next Tuesday, it’s 7 bucks. If you don’t have a ride, take the bus. That’s what I’m doing. NO EXCUSES!! A very nice person is lending me their flash, I will be there taking pictures probably around 9 PM. Come say hi!
LISTEN (to what you’re missing):
Filed under: aaron jentzen, bands, events, interviews, news links, pittsburgh
A Conversation with Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene
BY AARON JENTZEN
NOVEMBER 8, 2007
“I suspect Drew is actually fairly shrewd. Witness his first solo album, Spirit If … released under the moniker, “Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew.” Not only does that name trade in the brand recognition and goodwill the Toronto collective has amassed over the years, but the album also features many of the Social Scene’s members and musical trademarks: lush indie-pop orchestration matched with cacophonous fury, tender moments contrasted with unintelligible yelps, sweet nothings marred with expletives.”
