This summer, Weezer has taken the festival/state fair route rather than a full-blown arena tour as one might expect they would have undertaken. Perhaps it’s the state of the touring economy, where tour after tour is either being scaled back or flat out canceled. No doubt, there will be a healthy-sized crowd tonight – present company included – at the Celeste Center on the Ohio State Fairgrounds, all of whom will have paid in the neighborhood of $36 per ticket. Motion City Soundtrack opens the show which is scheduled to start around 7pm.
Perhaps the biggest Weezer fan in attendance tonight will be my 5-year-old Piper who, if given the opportunity, would probably hop on stage to lend her vocals to “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To”.
Andrew Graham & Swarming Branch played the Rumba last night, and Philip Kim shot some video that captures the band’s live vibe pretty well. Says Graham, “This is a leaner, meaner swarming branch that practices every day. The lineup is Dane Terry, Chris Burney [ex-The Sun], and Flagships-era RTFO Bandwagon drummer Sean Leary, recently re-transplanted from Boone, NC.”
You can catch Graham solo tomorrow night (Saturday, 7/31) at Rumba and with his Branch on Tuesday, August 3rd, at Skully’s in Columbus opening for Cults ($5 18+). From there they’ll head out on a late-summer tour. Dates & venues on myspace.
Andrew Graham’s Good Word is out now on Mexican Summer.
While doing some intense MP3 shopping last night, I stumbled upon the fact that Amazon MP3 is currently offering Shafiq Husayn’s 2009 release, Shafiq En’ A-Free-Ka, for free download. Husayn is a member of the futuristic soul collective Sa-Ra Creative Partners, whose releases have been semi appealing to me but never really connected. However, Husayn’s explosion of soul of every genre and dimension (and beyond!) really hit home. Fans of Sa-Ra, Erykah Badu, and other forms of tripped-out R&B should love this. I have no idea how long this deal will last, so I would get to the gettin’ if I were you.
For Columbus folks who missed out on the Bill Fox show at the Treehouse last Saturday, or if you were there and just want to relive, it, the technologically talented Scott Johnson managed to record a few songs from the set. Enjoy.
In other Fox news… a pdf of that legend-furtheringBeliever piece by Joe Hagan can now be downloaded at Hagan’s website here. Fox had previously requested it not be on the Internet. In the piece, you’ll see Hagan reference an archive of a radio show with Fox. I dug around and found it here. It’s a gem. On a 1998 episode of KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic hosted by Nic Harcourt, you can hear Fox play a few untitled and/or unreleased songs (like “Ode to Charlie Rose”), “Pastures of Plenty” by Woody Guthrie, “My Baby Crying” off Transit Byzantium and “Junked Lot Serenade” off Shelter from the Smoke.
Doing original video on the site is something I’ve wanted to do for a long, long, long, while. Never could find the spare time or assemble the right people to put it together… But with Joel running things in Columbus and James @ Electraplay managing these sessions, it looks like dreams really do come true.
This session featuring Langhorne Slim is definitely my favorite. Not only are the videos great, but this amazing version of “Diamonds and Gold” can be downloaded as an MP3. Listening to this MP3 for like the tenth time and it’s bringing me so much happiness. If you don’t have the new album, Be Set Free, get it pronto.
Keep reading for all the videos and credits for the session. More →
Tomorrow Morning, the new record from the recently prolific E, is out 8/24 on Vagrant. So far it sounds almost giddy compared to the bleary-eyed introspection of End Times. Also, in E’s world spectacular girls are closet snipers.
Ghost Shirt: “This song is the culminating product of 4 months of heartache, loss, elation, grief and learning. We would like to thank our Columbus fans and bands we love and respect, Buffalo crew and the folks from Postcards from Hell for listening and keeping us going. I’m not even sure if it’s a good song but it was something that needed to be written for me to get my head straight. Again, we miss you Andy and thank you for all that you did.”
This one also features Nate Rothacker (Trainwreck, Tenacious D) on drums. 52 Singles in 52 Weeks
RJD2 dropped the Inversions of the Colossus a few weeks ago. It has unreleased joints, as well as remixes, and instrumentals off of the Colossus.
RJD2 announced a remix contest for his song “the Glow”. The winner will be a b-side to a digital single alongside a Flosstradamus remix. You can get the stems and enter the contest at RJD2Remix.com.
Duffy note: We’re really excited that Ahmed Gallab aka Sinkane aka currently performing with Yeasayer aka the coolest dude you’ll never be is going to be blogging for us.
I’ve posted one of these videos before on the Sinkane blog but I think it deserves another post.
Tonight at the Summit, ex-Columbusite Brad Caulkins (The Sun, Jive Turkeys, etc.) brings his sax back to town as a member of Fool’s Gold, a Los Angeles Afropop-inspired collective. The band’s self-titled debut is eight tracks of meditative and mostly joyous tunes led by the vocals of Luke Top, who sings predominantly in Hebrew. This unique combination provides for a sound that is much more reverent and humble than other current bands of their ilk. They share the stage with Brooklyn’s Tony Castles and locals You’re So Bossy, led by Sam Brown, Caulkins’ ex-bandmate in The Sun.
On Sunday night, John Waite will be opening for Huey Lewis & The News (trivia fact: my first concert was Huey Lewis & The News at Blossom Music Center during the Sports tour) at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, Ohio (1.5 hrs. west of Columbus).
Waite started his recording career as a member of The Babys (“Everytime I Think of You”, “Back on My Feet Again”) in 1977, enjoyed a hit-filled solo career in the ’80s (“Missing You”, “Change”), joined the supergroup Bad English (“When I See You Smile”, “Price of Love”) in the early ’90s, and did some work with Alison Krauss in the ’00s, including an incredibly intoxicating remake of “Missing You”.
For the past few years, he’s been touring and giving what fans really want … the hits. Waite is almost finished with a new album, as you’ll read, and is happy to still be performing in front of fans 30+ years after he first started out.
The singer recently answered some questions I sent via email.
You’ve been able to sustain a 30-year career based primarily on songs that you wrote 20+ years ago. And you tend to tour with your peers from the ’80s. Would you rather be considered a contemporary artist or are you happy with the ’80s tag as long as people still remember you and the songs you’ve written?
The Babys’ last year together was 1980 and we had quite a bit of success. Those songs were already considered part of the 70′s. Then came “Change” and “Missing You” in the 80′s and “When I See You Smile” in the early 90′s, etc. I don’t think I’ve ever been part of any one decade. I’ve never considered myself mainstream although I’ve had some pretty big hits. The longer you stick around, the more likely you are to pigeonhole. Personally, I think the last couple of albums are my best, but what do I know?
(could’nt find an official video for the primo remix of success. )
Yeah Fat Joe made it rain with Weezy, and also made y’all lean back. But he also used to flow, joe was with DITC and he also wrote graffiti under the name . Crack TAT
I still remember reading an interview with him in On The Go back in the day, and Fat Joe talking about beating up people that shoplift from his store Halftime in the Bronx.
I ain’t saying money is the key to sex despite what the above video states. I ain’t saying beating people up is right.
But Fat Joe definately plays Hip Hop by rules of the Bronx and the fact he has lasted so long despite losing friends Big L, and Big Pun, as well as beefing with 50 is a pretty good study in money,power and respect within Hip Hop.
Or how hip hop starts with your block.
Anyway, the Bronx vet will be on BET’s the Deal tonight at 300 am.
, get it pronto.
