iamserio.us

You know how when you’re listening to a really awesome song and your body gets all chilly like a ghost just passed through your body? And you know how awesome that feels? And you know how there is even one step beyond the “all over tinglies” where your stomach sort of tenses up for a split second almost to the point of being painful?

Imagine being in that state for five or ten minutes at a time. When Caspian finishes a set, my body quite literally aches from the state they put me in. This isn’t hyperbole and this isn’t me trying to be all artsy fartsy with fancy words and similes. It’s just the plain truth. They are simply that amazingly awesome.

The first night took place at the Bellevue teen center “Ground Zero”. While I was initially disappointed that they didn’t get a proper Seattle gig, it turned out to be a grand affair anyway. All of the bands were on point and ready to shred faces into a million pieces and everyone in attendance was ready to be shredded. There were people driving up from Portland and flying in from Canada and Florida just for this show. That’s the kind of draw Caspian has. That’s how bad people want to be rocked by them.

Local post-rockers Joy Wants Eternity opened the show and tore the place up. I didn’t get a chance to record them because they started so early but rest assured, it was awesome.

Los Angeles instrumental band Beware Of Safety played next and colored me all kinds of impressed. They have this one song called Kaura that just can’t be appreciated fully until you hear it live. On the EP it’s a good song, but once you are experiencing that huge crashing kick drum sound at a ridiculous volume, you know how they meant for you to hear it.

You.May.Die.In.The.Desert was supposed to play earlier but they decided to play last so that the touring bands could get more crowd action (which was very cool). So Caspian went on next and played for about 35 minutes of sheer elation. Starting off with Brombie and leading into Crawlspace then straight into The Trilogy from their first EP, they closed with a new song that just makes you want to die right there and ascend to whatever afterlife you may believe in.

After Caspian, You.May.Die.In.The.Desert went on and did what they do best: get all math-rocky and shred nonstop. I just love watching their guitarist, Brian, play. He reminds me so much of my buddy Colin from high school in so many ways that it’s nice to know that there are other hyperactive, amazing guitar players out there who just don’t quit. These guys have a split coming out with Japanese post-rock group Te’ (pronounced “Tay”) so make sure you get a copy of that when it comes out.

THE SAGA CONTINUES…

Yesterday afternoon I got a call from my buddy Woody. He told me he got in a car accident and that the barbecue that was planned for the afternoon would have to be postponed. Once I was certain that he was not injured and that he didn’t need/want me to do anything to help out, I looked at The Girlfriend and said “Now I can go to that show!”

She asked me, “What show?”

And I said “Caspian in Portland!”

She kind of looked at me funny then she realized that I was serious and that I really really wanted to go. I only mention this because I don’t own a car but she does. If I want to go to a show, I have to borrow her car and if I want to go to a show in another state, I kind of have to run it by her first.

Because The Lady loves me, she obliged my request and I started driving to Portland.

Here is one thing I will say: If you are ever in Portland and you need a bar in which to “kick it”, The Someday Lounge is where you want to be doing that. Everyone who works there is mega-helpful, the place is very classy and clean, the food is great, the beer is great, and the room sounds amazing.

Here is another thing I will say: Both Caspian and Beware Of Safety obliterated the place last night. Just destroyed everyone. I saw an old man walk by the venue when Caspian was mid-set and his hip shattered just being within earshot of their sonic presence.

Caspian played first and ran through Moksha, The Trilogy, ASA and Some Are White Light. Then they blazed right into Brombie followed immediately by the new song (replete with seven person drumming action to close it out). It was fucking AWESOME.

Beware Of Safety played last and rocked some different songs than they had the previous evening. Two of the guitar players had issues with their amps which made them feel that the performance was less than stellar but I thought it was great. Even so, they asked me not to post it online until they hear it to see how it sounds. And that’s how things will be done.

The drive back to Seattle at 12:30 was redonkulous. I got home at about 3:15 (from venue to my doorstep) without getting pulled over or in an accident. I saw at least a dozen highway cops with their laser guns out trying to catch speeders (I wasn’t really speeding, Rachel, I promise) but I never got pulled over. I resorted to singing a capella classic rock tunes at ridiculous volumes in order to entertain and alert myself. These are the kinds of things I’m glad aren’t being recorded.

NIGHT ONE:

Caspian – 2007-04-28 Ground Zero – Bellevue, WA
Download: caspian2007-04-28.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
Download @ Archive.org: caspian2007-04-28.akgc1000s.flac16
MP3 Sample: caspian2007-04-28sample.mp3

Beware Of Safety – 2007-04-28 Ground Zero – Bellevue, WA
Download: bos2007-04-28.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: bos2007-04-28sample.mp3

You.May.Die.In.The.Desert – 2007-04-28 Ground Zero – Bellevue, WA
Download: ymditd2007-04-28.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: ymditd2007-04-28sample.mp3

NIGHT TWO:

Caspian – 2007-04-29 Someday Lounge – Portland, OR
Download: caspian2007-04-29.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16.zip
Download @ Archive.org: caspian2007-04-29.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16
MP3 Sample: caspian2007-04-29sample.mp3

Kudos to The Books for attracting a Seattle crowd that isn’t full of douchenozzles and assholes. It’s not often that a 21+ crowd is quiet enough that you can actually hear the opening act’s set; especially when that act consists of one guy playing the violin (The opening act, Todd Reynolds, is amazing and I highly recommend him if you get a chance to see him play).

The problems I had with Neumo’s at the Mono show were not present last night at The Books’ show for a few reasons. One of those reasons is that I didn’t bring my full recording rig so I wasn’t in anyone’s way. I stealthed the show, but with permission from both Paul and Nick and I made sure that the venue knew I was recording and that I had explicit permission from both band members. I really didn’t expect to be able to record but I brought my stealth gear just in case I was feeling up to the task (FYI: I really hate stealthing but I always seem to forget that until 15 minutes into a set when my knees start to ache and my heels are numb).

As a bonus, I am also posting my recording of The Books that I did last year with permission from Nick. I had a short talk with him at the merch table and asked him if I should refrain from posting the evening’s performance on the Internet and he sheepishly replied “Yeah… I don’t really care so much about that anymore. It’s not a big deal if you post it online.” which made me super excited since the recording I did last year is one of my most favorite tapes to listen to.

So here you go. Two recordings of The Books in one delicious post. I also have video of the show from last year that I have yet to put on DVD so maybe I’ll get around to doing that soon.

The Books – 2007-04-26 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: books2007-04-26.at943.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: books2007-04-26sample.mp3

The Books – 2006-04-21 UW HUB – Seattle, WA
Download: books2006-04-21.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: books2006-04-21sample.mp3

DISCLAIMER: I have no sense of entitlement about taping shows. I do not feel that I deserve to be able to tape every show I attend nor do I feel that I have any more rights than anyone else who attends a show. I’m not some asshole taper who shows up at a show and expects everyone to bow to my whim. I’m just a guy who likes to tape shows.

I hate being treated like a jerkbag by venue staff when I’m just trying to archive a performance from a band that allows taping. I hate that they try to make me feel bad for doing something that, to me, is very important and worthwhile. I guess, in a sense, I understand because it’s not their job to deal with tapers and if they want to they can disallow taping altogether. Different priorities for different people I suppose.

Last night at the show, I showed up with my taping bag, my mic stand, my camcorder bag, and a tripod. There was no hiding the fact that I was there to tape the show. I got into the venue without a hitch and no one said a thing to me (I assumed because Mono has a very liberal taping policy and informed the venue that taping is fine). I figured I was in the clear until the house management gal came over to ask me who I was with, what I was recording for, and what I was going to do with it.

I informed her that I’m not with anyone, I’m recording for posterity, and I plan to put it online for free so everyone can listen to it. That seemed to be ok with her in a certain sense but she informed me that Mono had a clause in their contract with the venue that there would be no audio or video recording at the show. I informed her of Mono’s taping policy and asked if she could double-check with the band to see if I could still record (or, at the very least, if I could still tape the openers). She obliged my request and after about five minutes, a security staff member informed me that I was fine to record and that no one would hassle me about it.

Immediately following that, the head of security pulled me aside (actually, he pulled me outside) to talk to me real quick. He wasn’t a dick or anything, but he told me that I could no longer show up at Neumo’s to record unless I had explicit, written permission from every band that I wanted to record. He also told me that if I didn’t have said permission, I would be ejected from the venue. He didn’t seem to care about “taping policies” or anything like that either so even if I want to tape a band that is perfectly fine with taping (like, say, Explosions In The Sky), I’ll still have to bother the band about getting written permission if I want to tape at Neumo’s anymore. That’s certainly a downer.

I’ll say this: I really don’t care if the venue disallows taping at a show because of some contractual clause. Like the Isis/Jesu show that I couldn’t open tape… I wasn’t really that upset. It was annoying, sure, but it’s not like I cried myself to sleep or anything. I’m perfectly fine with leaving the rig in the car, buying a few beers, and enjoying myself like any other patron.

What bothers me, though, is that they pulled this stunt on me without having any clearly posted signs that audio and video taping was disallowed for the evening. The whole thing could have been avoided if they had just made the policy known from the get-go instead of pulling some sort of bait-and-switch tactic and making me feel like a dickhole in the process.

I didn’t want the venue staff thinking I was a dickhole, though, so at the end of the night I found the head of security and apologized (again) that I caused him any grief and asked him to apologize to the management girl as well. There’s no harm in trying to smooth things over and he seemed to be appreciative of my efforts to do so.

Look at all that writing I did and I didn’t say a damn thing about the show!

I came in a little bit too late to tape The Drift (and all the problems with the venue made it so that my rig didn’t start flying until halfway through their set) but they were really good. That guy sure can play the trumpet.

World’s End Girlfriend was just amazing and great. It didn’t even bother me that he was using a laptop because his music is so entrancing and good.

Kinski is a band that I hadn’t seen play a show in a few years (the last time was when they opened for Do Make Say Think) and I really enjoyed them this time around. Last time I saw them there were some technical difficulties and they were a little off, but tonight they were on like Donkey Kong. The first track in this set is face-numbingly amazing.

Mono never fails to impress, shatter, and move me. They just have so much power and so much grace. They can take a song from a lullaby to a nightmarish dreamscape within seconds and you’ll never see it coming. They played for well over an hour and the crowd still shouted for more (but they got no more, sadly). I was feeling really tired and groggy yesterday afternoon, but I’m really glad I went to this show. Especially considering Mono isn’t going to tour the states again for another year or two.

Mono – 2007-04-25 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: mono2007-04-25.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: mono2007-04-25sample.mp3

Kinski – 2007-04-25 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: kinski2007-04-25.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: kinski2007-04-25sample.mp3

World’s End Girlfriend – 2007-04-25 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: weg2007-04-25.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: weg2007-04-25sample.mp3

I held out on buying a ticket for this show in hopes that Live Eye TV would pick it up and get me in on the cheap (RE: free). Turns out that’s what happened and off to the show I went.

Black Taj were very jammy/bluesy rock that I could get into. Toe tappin’ you might say. They verged on becoming noodly but maintained enough composure not to fall into the dark side of, well, you know… jam bands.

Zombi, whom I have seen and taped twice before, were as awesome as always. It’s always cool to see them get such a great response from the crowd as an opening band who plays what can only be describe as “80’s action movie music”. And I love it. I love it so.

Trans Am was something else to be sure. I had never heard them before but I had certainly heard of them. They’re fairly prolific as far as their discography goes (reaching all the way back to 1996) so it’s kind of hard to miss their presence if you listen to enough music. They proceeded to melt faces and shake asses all across the venue. The crowd wasn’t that huge (they didn’t even open up the mezzanine) but it was still a good time for everyone involved. It sort of felt like a “fans only” affair since everyone was so into it and getting jiggy and whatnot. Hoo-boy I said jiggy.

Update: Zombi set now included!

Trans Am – 2007-04-23 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: transam2007-04-23.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: transam2007-04-23sample.mp3

Black Taj – 2007-04-23 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: bt2007-04-23.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: bt2007-04-23sample.mp3

Zombi – 2007-04-23 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: zombi2007-04-23.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: zombi2007-04-23sample.mp3

Last year when I taped the Suicide Squeeze 10th Anniversary shows (three nights in late June/early July), a comedian by the name of Eugene Mirman MC’d the festivities. He mostly offered up banter in between bands and introduced them with his own brand of charm.

On the first two nights, however, Eugene volunteered two five minute segments of comedy that still make me laugh as much as they did when he told them the first time.

The first bit he did took a few jabs at Myspace and made fun of shitty amateur musicians (as well as dispelling myths about bears). His second bit was a makeshift quiz show where he made fun of audience members who willingly participated in his shenanigans and good fun was had by all.

Technical Note: the clip from 2006-06-29 is just an AUD source and the clip from 2006-06-30 is an AUD/SBD matrix. Just an FYI there.

Eugene Mirman – 2006-06-29 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
FLAC Download: emirman2006-06-29d1t01.flac
MP3 Download: emirman2006-06-29d1t01.mp3

Eugene Mirman – 2006-06-30 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
FLAC Download: emirman2006-06-30d1t01.flac
MP3 Download: emirman2006-06-30d1t01.mp3

I like it when a band can calm people down and make them pay attention. Tonight at The Crocodile, The Six Parts Seven did exactly that.

As they began their set, the crowd was chatty. Throughout the modest beginnings of the set they kept talking. But then the songs got heavy and complex and catchy and slowly everyone was paying attention to the music they paid to see. It was awesome.

Recording turned out pretty nice too. They played every song from their new album Casually Smashed To Pieces except for Night Behind The Stars.

The good news is that they played Night Behind The Stars when I saw them in May of 2006. I taped that show too but this was before the new album was out so they asked me not to post it. And here we are with the new album on store shelves (go buy it!) and I can finally post that show! So here you go!

The Six Parts Seven – 2007-04-10 Crocodile Cafe – Seattle, WA
Download: sps2007-04-10.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: sps2007-04-10sample.mp3

The Six Parts Seven – 2006-05-21 Crocodile Cafe – Seattle, WA
Download: sps2006-05-21.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: sps2006-05-21sample.mp3

I love going to see bands that you know are going to make the place go nuts. It’s weird how that happens… like a band’s reputation for making a crowd dance and move perpetuates itself to a point where people go to their shows just because they heard how crazy things get. And then they go to the show and get crazy themselves.

Lightning Bolt is that kind of band.

Like always, they set up on the floor in the corner of the venue. Stack of amps and speaker cabs tall as the shoulders of gods. Their amps are so loud that they don’t even mic them into the venue’s PA system.

They rock and jam and shred for an hour straight. They really know how to entertain for $7.

Opening acts were pretty good too. I didn’t tape the two first bands because I hadn’t yet set up my gear by the time they played but Teeth And Hair was really good dancey rock music (much like Q And Not U) and Bug Sized Mind was face-melting sound textures that peeled your eyes back for twenty solid minutes.

Teeth And Hair – 2007-04-07 The Vera Project – Seattle, WA
Download: tah2007-04-07.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: tah2007-04-07sample.mp3

Bug Sized Mind – 2007-04-07 The Vera Project – Seattle, WA
Download: bsm2007-04-07.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: None

Lightning Bolt – 2007-04-07 The Vera Project – Seattle, WA
Download: lb2007-04-07.akgc1000s.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: lb2007-04-07sample.mp3

I hate being forced to stealth when the band in question is an open-taping band. The times when this happens are when there is some film crew doing a big production at a show and I really don’t have a problem with that except for the fact that I never see anything come of these filming projects. Think about it. When was the last time you were at a show and there were five or six guys with high-end cameras and when was the last time you ever saw a finished product from those people?

Yeah, I haven’t seen one live DVD be produced from one of these things. I don’t care if you want exclusivity rights over a show but at least publish something that people can watch/listen to.

Oh yeah: Jesu blew me away.

Jesu – 2007-04-03 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
Download: jesu2007-04-03.at943.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: jesu2007-04-03sample.mp3

Well shit. I’ve heard so much hype about Genghis Tron for the last year or so but I’ve never actually had a chance to listen to them. I heard a lot of people comparing them to Lightning Bolt but that seems a little elementary to me. They sound more like Ratatat riding The Locust bareback. And that is a good thing.

There is some shredding going on. There is some screaming going on. All kinds of digital drumming and then even more shredding. And I mean shredding. Just ripping the thing to pieces. To fucking pieces. Also, LiveEyeTV did a four-cam recording of this show so I’ll try and get a copy of the final DVD from them and torrent it on the Internet. THE INTERNET.

So go ahead and download this crap because you know you want to.

Genghis Tron – 2007-03-30 The Vera Project – Seattle, WA
Download: gt2007-03-30.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: gt2007-03-30sample.mp3

I wasn’t planning on going to this show but John from Live Eye TV asked me if I would record audio for him.

So I went and it was a fun time. The opening acts were less than good but they were interesting nonetheless. I’d never heard OOIOO before this show but they really impressed me. Very cool proggy pop music.

OOIOO – 2007-03-23 Chop Suey – Seattle, WA
Download: ooioo2007-03-23.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: ooioo2007-03-23sample.mp3

UPDATE: Sets from the openers for those who requested it:

Eyvind Kang – 2007-03-23 Chop Suey – Seattle, WA
Download: ek2007-03-23.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: ek2007-03-23sample.mp3

Kinski’s Bukkake Climax – 2007-03-23 Chop Suey – Seattle, WA
Download: kbc2007-03-23.akgc1000s.sbd.matrix.flac16.zip
MP3 Sample: kbc2007-03-23sample.mp3