Los Lobos were the first to do it and now there is a large slew of names adding themselves to the list of bands refusing to play shows in Arizona in response to the state's immigration bill. This group of bands are boycotting Arizona as part of the Sound Strike protest. Big names include My Morning Jacket, Nine Inch Nails, Ben Harper, Maroon 5, Gogol Bordello, Pitbull, and Steve Earle. For a complete list of Sound Strike artists, click here. Now for the opinion section. Do you think this is the proper approach? I've never had too much issue with a connection between politics and music, as a matter of fact, it can really have an influence in many situations. In this situation, however, I think there are ways to impact the bill without shunning a whole state's worth of fans. The fans weren't the ones who passed this bill, the Governor was. Don't you think a better solution would be to organize a concert in Arizona to raise money for organizations fighting the immigration bill? That would ensure your audience would be against the bill and it would be doing something proactive rather than just talking about how bad the situation is. Just my 2 cents.
Here is a video of Rage Against the Machine's Zach De La Rocha explaining the protest:
This Tuesday I get to look into the collection of one of my all-time favorites: The Talking Heads. It would be a severe understatement to classify this band as vastly ahead of their time. Whether picking up the electronic funk in bands like Passion Pit, the artsy weirdness in artists like Bjork, the global purcussion heard in the styles of Vampire Weekend, or the current collaborations with the Dirty Projectors, their influence has been undeniable and widespread throughout music's current state. I could give a brief history lesson on the band, but what I'd rather do is make a few points of conversation that pertain to the Heads. First off, I think that Tina Weymouth is one of the most underrated bass players of all time. David Byrne is seen as the face of the Talking Heads because he did the singing and songwriting, but Weymouth had very fast fingers and was extraordinary in formulating complicated bass lines to compliment Byrne's rhythm guitar (check out "Found a Job," "Cities," "Making Flippy Floppy," etc). She's also responsible for some of the more recognizable bass lines of the time ("Take Me to the River" comes to mind). Secondly, to me, the Talking Heads were a band of singles, not a band of albums. I know this is a stubborn way to look at it, but despite how big and influential the Heads are, they don't have an album that sticks out as one of the best of all time. On the other hand, they have singles that could occupy multiple best-of albums. This is not a bad thing, just interesting in that not many bands have seen popularity with such an approach. Lastly, no matter how much anybody wants them to, the Talking Heads will never reform. I may be a pessimist, but I just cannot see these guys getting back together. Byrne has had solo success, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz are married and have gone on to form Tom Tom Club, and their creative energies have all parted ways. This is both a blessing and a curse. It would be awesome to see them take the stage as a full band once again, but at the same time, they always strived to be hip, new, and cutting edge with their music- it would make no sense for a group of 50-somethings to begrudgingly reunite and play songs that were popular 25+ years ago. Regardless, their sound is timeless, their influence is endless, and they are clearly four of the funkiest white folks to ever come together.
First up is the frenzy of percussion known as "I Zimbra." This may be one of the hardest songs to sing along to, but it's a fair trade being one of the easiest tunes to dance to. Just follow David Byrne's lead!
The Local Natives are one of the hottest bands on the rise right now. Let's see how they do with "Warning Sign."
It's clear to see the creative influence that RISD had on the Talking Heads. This influence was seen not only in their music, but in their costumes, their stage antics, and their music videos. Check out this classic video for "Burning Down the House."
"Cities" is a great example of the Talking Heads combining artistic zaniness with pure upbeat dance grooves. Tina absolutely cooks on this one, but it's really taken to a new level with the guests on percussion. And no, even though they do a great cover, it is not a Phish song.
This last video is one of my current favorites. The children at PS22 in New York do a terrific rendition of "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)." I wish music classes were like this when I was in elementary school. I don't know who this teacher is, but he deserves some kind of award not only for conjuring up such a spectacular arrangement, but for exposing these kids to such awesome tunes. If you ignore the cheesy hand motions, this version is nothing short of beautiful.
This whole electronic scene is really getting bigger than I ever imagined. It has transgressed its way into just about all of the popular genres from pop to indie to jambands. Whether you like it or not, we are certainly in the heat of a trend, but as with any type of music, it is fun to watch different bands grow, evolve, and come onto the scene. Boston seems to be one of the hotbeds for indie-electro music and one of the bands leading the charge is Mystery Roar. With a style that sounds as though it emanated from a single laptop, but a live set up similar to any other rock band, Mystery Roar brings an energy that is both funky and frenetic. Shunning any "disco is dead" mentality, these Boston boys bring a bass-heavy groove with a keyboard savvy that benefits the vocals as well the overall sound. Unlike favorites such as MGMT and Passion Pit, Mystery Roar takes a more techno approach, stacking several layers above a simple beat to create a style more comparable to Daft Punk or LCD Soundsystem. Similar to Passion Pit, however, Mystery Roar is tackling the nation's biggest college city, and come next fall, they will be the band that all of the cool kids are listening to. Sleigh Bells and the Bodega Girls may have the sweaty, drum n bass, girl-power danceoff thing working, but Mystery Roar is their male counterpart. It may not sound appealing, but it won't be long until you know what I mean.
It's been almost a year since the birth of The Concert Buzz, and while posts have decreased a bit(I know, I'm sorry), I hope to once again ramp it up, and with that, I need some style brotha! I have decided to launch the first Concert Buzz Contest! The rules are as follows:
Task: Design me a totally balls logo to put at the top of my blog! This logo should include the title, but otherwise it is up to you and where your creative juices decide to take you (but keep the juices to yourself please, thanks). Submissions can be made from your computer using Paint, KidPix, etc. or just done by hand and scanned to your computer. All submissions should be sent to peaton@bu.edu for consideration!
Prizes: Winner gets any and all of the following: -A ticket to Phish at Hersheypark Stadium on 6/13 -A ticket to Phish at the Comcast Theatre on 6/18 -A Concert Buzz mix CD (numbered 1/1) -A firm handshake and a look in the eye!
Deadline: If you want the good prizes, you'll probably want to get your submission in before their particular date (not to say that the other prizes aren't good). If you want to submit something just for the pride of seeing your artwork grace the world's most kickass music blog, then you receive an indefinite extension.
Get into artsy-mode and create me the most breathtaking masterpiece that the blogoshpere has ever witnessed. I give you my 2 cents, now I want your 10 in return.
A new festival has been announced for the 2010 season and this time it is incredibly convenient for Bostonians like myself. The first annual Life Is Good Festival will take place September 11th and 12th on Prowse Farm at Blue Hills in Canton, MA. The ticket prices as of now are 50$ for single day and 90$ for a two-day pass. This festival will feature a main stage as well as a kids stage, so bring the whole family and close out the summer with some tasty jams! Main Stage Jason Mraz, Ben Harper & Relentless7, Guster, Ziggy Marley, Corinne Bailey Rae, Galactic, Ozomatli, Dr. Dog, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, OK Go, Brett Dennen, Mavis Staples, Donavon Frankenreiter, Sierra Leone Refugee Allstars, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Toubab Krewe
Good Kids Stage The Laurie Berkner Band, Dan Zanes and Friends, They Might Be Giants, Big Apple Circus, The Sippy Cups
Indie pioneers Belle and Sebastian are taking their mellow-rock on the road this fall for a short North American tour. This will be Belle and Sebastian's first tour in over four years as they currently work on their seventh studio album.
Belle and Sebastian 2010 Dates: 09/30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Williamsburg Waterfront & 10/03 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium # 10/07 – Guadalajara, MX @ Teatro Estudio Cavaret 10/09 – Mexico City, MX @ TBA 10/11 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre 10/12 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall 10/14 – Washington, DC @ DAR Constitution Hall 10/15 – Boston, MA @ Wang Theatre 10/17 – San Francisco, CA @ TBA
San Francisco's finest annual gathering of the tribes, Outside Lands, has announced their full lineup for this year's fest. The event, which will take place August 14th and 15th at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, is known to attract a very diverse lineup. With the exception of a few spotty headliners, it looks like they have outdone themselves once again and scrapped together their most solid lineup to date. It should be fun experiencing Furthur back in the Dead's old stomping grounds. This is a must-attend for any Californian music buffs.
Outside Lands 2010 Lineup Kings of Leon Furthur featuring Phil Lesh & Bob Weir The Strokes My Morning Jacket Phoenix Social Distortion Al Green Gogol Bordello Nas & Damian Marley Levon Helm Band Cat Power Empire of the Sun Wolfmother Bassnectar Chromeo Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zeros The Temper Trap Pretty Lights Janelle Monae Amos Lee The Devil Makes Three Tokyo Police Club Beats Antique Rebirth Brass Band Wild Beasts Sierre Leone's Refugee All-Stars Daniel Lanois' Black Dub The Budos Band Aterciopelados Garage A Trois feat. Stanton Moore, Marco Benevento, Skerik & Mike Dillon Mayer Hawthorne & The Country Langhorne Slim The Pimps of Joytime People Under The Stairs Electric Six Vieux Farka Toure Dawes Nneka The Soft Pack The Whigs Little Wings
