Author Archives: robert duffy

Nash Kato, known to many as 1/2 of Urge Overkill, made a rainy day return to the world of music in Chicago the other night and our very own Tankboy was there. Read his review and feel good.

Me and Chip both wrote reviews of Saturday night’s We Want Action/Relay Recording CD release party. My review is here and Chip’s review is there.

Read one or both.

Dear Friends,

I’m writing to say that I’ve officially left Phantom Planet. I love the guys more than anything and I’ve had some of the most amazing memories with them, but it’s just not right for me to be in the band anymore. It’s time for me to pursue other things. I want to thank each and every one of you for your love, support, and devotion through the years. You’ve made so much possible and it’s meant a lot to me. See you soon, hopefully at the next Phantom Planet show.

Love,
Jason Schwartzman

I really liked the last Phantom Planet record. Catchy, jangly, all those sort of adjectives.

[found via themodernage]

Right now, all new hip hop bores me except Northern State.

Does BBC’s Radio 1 prefer American music artists over UK artists? Could be.

More importantly, does Steve Miller, donewaiting.com’s UK music writer, prefer American bands over UK bands? You be the judge.

I thought the show was gonna be good, really I did. Little did I know Bright Eyes would whine throughout the whole concert.

Will the Columbus emo population ever be the same? Read the review and decide for yourself.

We have been loving The Decemberists for quite some time. So it put a smile the size of Arizona on our faces when we got an e-mail from Kill Rock Stars saying that there was a new MP3 from their forthcoming album. Download “The Soldiering Life” now and forever hold your peace.

Megan Duffy, also known as my wee little sister, decided she wanted a piece of the donewaiting.com pie and has written up a review of a Springsteen show @ Giants Stadium. When Megan is not living large with the Boss she is making many friends via Friendster

It Doesn’t Get More Jersey Than This
By Megan Duffy

Last night two of my close friends and I packed up the ole SUV and headed to Giants Stadium for what promised to be an eventful night- we scored fantastic seats for one of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s 10 scheduled concerts in New Jersey. As we pulled into the parking lot, I couldn’t help but notice the incredibly eclectic group of people surrounding me; young and old, cool and uncool, hardcore fans that seemingly had been wearing their Greetings from Asbury Park shirt since 1973 and fresh-faced youngsters who were excited to get their hands on a brand spankin new Summer 2003 tour shirt. As you looked into the faces of these fans, you could see that they all shared one commonality- they were ready to rock the night away.

At 8:30pm, Giants Stadium was filled to maximum capacity as the crowd was anxiously awaiting the arrival of The Boss. Suddenly, the screens set up on either side of the stage showed live footage of Bruce and the E Street Band walking toward the stage. The crowd ROARED.

Skeptics who feared that Springsteen was getting too old to rock as hard as he did thirty years ago had their worries swept away almost immediately, of this much I’m certain. For three straight hours, Springsteen put out more energy than any artist I’ve ever seen. He danced across the stage throughout the entire performance, dangled upside down on his microphone stand (while in the middle of performing “Waiting on a Sunny Day”), and every so often would run from one end of the stage to the other and slide on his knees. How rock ‘n roll can this guy get?

Springsteen performed songs off of most of his albums, with particular attention placed on his 2002 release, The Rising. As anticipated, crowd pleasers like “Badlands” and “Born to Run” also held a special place within the concert. Admittedly, there was an undeniable feeling of unity with those around me as we shouted out the words to songs that had been a part of our lives for so many years.

About three quarters of the way through the concert, Springsteen made mention of the War in Iraq, “People of all kinds of political beliefs come to see us. I like that. We welcome them all.. It’s not a Republican or Democratic question, it’s not a liberal or conservative question, it’s an American question, protecting a democracy we ask our sons and daughters to die for.” As those last words were spoken, the E Street Band broke into “Land of Hopes and Dreams.” I don’t think that anyone else could’ve made a political statement with as much class as Springsteen did last night.

Concluding their second encore with “Dancing in the Dark,” Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band brought their thousands of fans to their feet once last time.

I left that concert being more proud of my New Jersey heritage than I had ever been before. Let out-of-staters call my hometown the armpit of America, I couldn’t care less, because I know that Jersey’s got the Boss, and it doesn’t get any better than that, folks. — Megan Duffy

Yo, Boston, Supergrass represented:

Supergrass has aged since they were the teen hooligans of the mid-’90s British rock invasion. But they still fly by the seat of their pants with impudent cool, as they showed during a career-spanning set of kinetic rock at the Paradise Sunday night. The first of two Boston shows, which kicked off a US tour, was plenty sloppy. But it was also as clever and contagious as ever, full of soaring harmonies, sawing rock riffs, and brake-screeching tempo changes. (full review)

I saw Supergrass a few years ago when they opened for Pearl Jam. I wasn’t a fan then, but these days I am.

Steve Miller clocks into his England donewaiting.com column with a look at The Auteurs new release:

Misanthropic, churlish, arrogant. If Luke Haines didn?t exist, we?d have to invent him. As Britpop ruled the roost, Haines and his band, The Auteurs knocked out four superb albums of witheringly sarcastic guitar pop to an ever-diminishing audience. He?s decided that the time is ripe for re-evaluation and he?s going to do it himself. ?The artist is always the best judge of their own work, ? he says in his sleeve notes. So, instead of a straightforward compilation, the contrary old sod has gone and re-recorded eleven of his more sterling moments, with a bloody orchestra. (full story)

I love it when Steve says bloody.