MOG - ZZTodd's Posts

It's got some funk to it

ZZTodd — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:31:28 GMT

and the video references Cool Hand Luke, so it's good enough for me

http://www.spike.com/video/where-s-at-beck/2786746

The sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane numbs my brain...

ZZTodd — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:19:01 GMT

Geez it's been a bit since I made a real post. Sorry 'bout that. I've been busy as hell these past couple weeks. As a results I haven't had the chance to listen to much, but I have been digging a few things.

Most notably this new compilation cd called When Blues Met Rock. My mom picked it up at Starbucks (I know, I know. Unfortunately she's addicted to that place) and remembering that I was a fan of the genre got it for me.

Here's the description on the cd:

"The blues had a baby and they called it rock 'n' roll. So sang Muddy Waters, one of the patriarchs who amplified their music in the 1950s, mapping the way for musical offspring who in the ensuing decades gathered at the crossroads where fierce traditional blues intersected with fiery rock. Here are the masterworks from the heyday of the blues-rock nexus."

The case is pretty cool, too. In addition to the scetches of artists on the front, the whole thing is actually designed to be like a giant matchbook, from how it unfolds to the striking strip on the back. I thought that was pretty creative. Much better than a jewelcase, anyway.

There are some fantastic songs on here that I'd never heard before, such as The Yardbirds' "I Ain't Done Wrong" and Johnny Winter's "Be Careful with a Fool", but far and away the standout track for me has been T.B. Sheets. Maybe it's because I haven't heard many Van Morrison songs or something, but for whatever reason this song has been on repeat in my car and in my head. And it's just the same thing over and over music-wise. I think one of the things I like most about it is the way it matches up the chillin' groove with lyrically horrid imagery, and it's that clash that makes the song haunting.

Go here to listen to the entire thing: http://podblanc.com/node/17657

Anyway I'm not usually a compilation guy, but this is definitely a great one.

Here's the entire track list:

Elmore James - Dust My Broom

Fleetwood Mac - Black Magic Woman

The Animals - Bring It On Home To Me

Canned Heat - On The Road Again

The Yardbirds - I Ain't Done Wrong

Van Morrison - T.B. Sheets

Sonny Boy Williamson - Bring It On Home

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Pride And Joy

Paul Butterfield Blues Band - One More Heartache

Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper - Albert's Shuffle

The Allman Brothers Band - Trouble No More

Jethro Tull - A Song For Jeffrey

B.B. King - The Thrill Is Gone

Taj Mahal - Statesboro Blues

Chicken Shack - I'd Rather Go Blind

Johnny Winter - Be Careful With A Fool

Well I was in the kitchen...

ZZTodd — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:04:32 GMT

Time won't save our souls...

ZZTodd — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:52:20 GMT

Young man ain't got nothin' in the world these days...

ZZTodd — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:48:21 GMT

Pure awesomeness

A random find

ZZTodd — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 00:30:55 GMT

Came across this earlier today (in all places on facebook embarrassingly enough) and thought I might share it on here. Never heard of this person before, and I don't know what it is about it but I really like it. It has this very laid back funky blues vibe to it, and the vocals have shades of Janis Joplin in them. Give it a listen and tell me what you think:

Slipping and sliding Like a weasel on the run...

ZZTodd — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:18:03 GMT

God this album is good: 6sk&hl=en">6sk&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344">

Austin City Limits schedule released today

ZZTodd — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:33:57 GMT

Schedule

And as with any festival there are some potential scheduling conflicts between stages for me.

Friday: -Louis XIV and Jakob Dylan, although I'll probably go with Louis since I don't know that much by Jake

-The Swell Season and The Mars Volta. I really wanted to see the Swell Season because everyone has said great things about them, but it's the Volta, and I want a premium spot for them.

Saturday: -John Fogerty and The Black Keys. Sorry John, but it looks like you loss this one, as much as I want to hear some Credence tunes.

Sunday: -Nicole Atkins & The Sea, Scott H. Biram, and The Kills. Looks like this is going to turn out to be a half, half, and half.

-The Raconteurs & Galactic. I was really looking forward to seeing Galactic again after their awesome show at Voodoo in November, but since these are at the same time that's not happening.

So those are my problems thus far. Damn festivals...

Have you heard Come Together like this?

ZZTodd — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:26:51 GMT

I now have this on vinyl

ZZTodd — Fri, 30 May 2008 07:25:17 GMT

Some comedy for your night/morning

ZZTodd — Sun, 25 May 2008 04:13:55 GMT

5/9/08: The Sword/Torche/Stinking Lizaveta

ZZTodd — Sat, 24 May 2008 16:53:30 GMT

Been a couple weeks since this show, but it's always been a very busy couple weeks for me. But alas, now I finally have a little time to recap it.

Venue was Lola's Saloon in Fort Worth (the "FW" part of the D/FW Metroplex). It's a tiny little bar on the outskirts of downtown. I don't venture over there very often, so I definitely needed directions. It proved to be a good place for a show.

We walked in during opening band Stinking Lizaveta's set. Pretty cool little band in my opinion. The three band members all looked to be in their late 30s or 40s, but they like to play the metal. The bassist had an upright fretless electric bass; something you don't see everyday. They all looked to be having fun up there, too. At one point during the middle of the song the guitarist handed his distorted axe to a 14-year old kid at the front and told him to play (the kid actually layed down a decent solo considering it was completely improvised). Not bad for openers.

Next band was Torche. They had a very good drummer, and they like to play fast most of the time. They didn't really fit in with the bill though. It wasn't quite as heavy as the first band or the headliner. Their guitarist was enjoyable to watch though. He doned an old yellow KISS tour shirt and looked like the bassist from Spinal Tap, and he could play a little bit. During their last song he used part of his solo to slide his fretboard on the heads of people in the front, which made for some interesting noise. Unfortunately their set was okay at best.

Enter The Sword to the rescue. Four guys in jeans and t-shirts bringing you the glorious sound of a modern-day Sabbath. And as if they didn't sound awesome enough on record, it's just as good if not better live. The best is when their two guitarists trade off licks during a solo or melody (allmusic.com says their music features lots of "guitarmonies", which I really get a kick out of). Don't forget about the rhythm section either. Their drummer may have a small kit, but he plays it with fury. In the midst of this we were standing in the second row of people towards the left of center stage. I somehow ended up about a foot and a half from one of the speakers, which proved to be a mistake. Definitely took a couple days to get the hearing back in my left ear, with the singer seemingly yelling into my ear the song lyrics. There set list was pretty evenly distributed between their two albums, ending, of course, with their Guitar Hero hit "Freya", which took a sudden b-line during the middle of it to "Bring It On Home" (pretty much made my night).

Afterwards they shook hands with us as we cheered. These guys are the future of metal in my opinion. Check 'em out.

It may not be Sunday yet, but oh well

ZZTodd — Fri, 23 May 2008 15:57:44 GMT

Some Ted

ZZTodd — Thu, 22 May 2008 08:12:23 GMT

So....

ZZTodd — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:13:58 GMT

I made three posts on here last night and as of now they are mysteriously gone...

New NIN album available now

ZZTodd — Mon, 05 May 2008 08:02:24 GMT

Go to nin.com to download the new Nine Inch Nails album The Slip for free. I just got my mp3s and look forward to repeated listens.

Cover of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

ZZTodd — Sun, 04 May 2008 22:12:06 GMT

And I actually think I may like it better than the original...

Looking to the sky and down...

ZZTodd — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:26:34 GMT

Someday you'll find everything you're looking for...

ZZTodd — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:17:34 GMT

I picked up this album last week and I still can't get it out of my head. I didn't get it back when it came out a few years ago because it got mixed reviews, but listening to it now it's absolutely amazing to me. I could see where the long drawn out songs and sometimes rambling narrative could be a turn off for some, but I guess it suits me just right. The music is really really good.

This is one of the softer, and best, moments of the album:

Motorhead plays the blues

ZZTodd — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:53:57 GMT

Well you may never have his money But you won't miss no rich man's fun

ZZTodd — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:21:05 GMT

This is a demo/rarity track that Skynyrd did back in the day which I love:

Return to Zilker Park

ZZTodd — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:21:58 GMT

Now that the lineup has been announced, I went ahead and decided to get a 3-day pass for this year's Austin City Limits Festival. Definitely excited to see a little of this:

And this:

Okay I'll stop, although there's still many more.

Austin City Limits Lineup Mash-up

ZZTodd — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:40:43 GMT

Go to http://www.aclfestival.com/mashup to listen to a mash-up track of 29 of the 130 bands playing this September (full lineup will be announced on the 15th). So far I've only been able to identify the Silversun Pickups and The Raconteurs (I suck at these kind of things). Listen to the track and see if you can identify more. You can go to a forum and see who everyone else has heard, but that would be cheating, and no one wants to cheat, right?

3/28/08: Fu Manchu/Burning Brides/Max Cady

ZZTodd — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:46:09 GMT

This is kind of late but I have to atleast mention this show on here.

It was at the House of Blues in Dallas a couple weeks ago. Pretty neat place. I don't know how any of the other ones look, but it had some cool decor and such.

Local band Max Cady came out and placed some great stoner rock. I had never heard of them before but they were quite good. My ears were already ringing after their set. I bought both of their cds after the show and meet a couple of the guys.

Burning Brides was next. Lots of energy from them, especially their bass player. I had heard a couple of their songs before but never realized how heavy they were. I thought beforehand that they might not quite fit the bill but I was happily proven wrong.

We got to the front rail for Fu Manchu. I was headbanging to all of their songs. Their drummer was amazing (and wore a CoC shirt), and their frontman would often come over in front on top of us, shred, and sweat on us (there was basically no gap between the stage and the crowd). There was probably about 45 seconds between their set and encore, upon which they took some requests from the crowd. Very good stuff.

Overall it was probably one of the better shows I've been to. Definitely one of the most rockin'.

Here's some videos:

Max Cady:

Burning Brides:

Fu Manchu: (This is actually from the show. The guy who video-ed this was a couple people to my right.)

\m/

This song rocks so hard

ZZTodd — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:05:17 GMT

That is all.

If you're heading to the grave you don't blame the hearse...

ZZTodd — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:47:58 GMT

Give me champagne when I'm thirsty..

ZZTodd — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:29:05 GMT

Saw Shine A Light this weekend. Pretty good show, and definitely worth the extra couple dollars to see it at the IMAX. This was my favorite song by far:

And now for something completely different

ZZTodd — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:28:46 GMT

Gods Of The Earth

ZZTodd — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:03:14 GMT

The Sword's new album came out today. Like their debut, it is extremely rockin'. They are one of favorite up and coming metal bands of the day, so it's good to hear new stuff from them.

Here is the second track from the album:

Blast!

ZZTodd — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:28:59 GMT

Last night I saw a little show called Blast! It's kind of a presentation of musical combined with a lot of visuals from choreography, lights and what not. It was pretty cool too watch, and the musicianship was outstanding too. Anyways, might be something worth checking out if it comes near you. Here's a couple clips.

Who doesn't love cool drumming:

Some jazziness:

How 'bout a bluesy cover for Sunday?

ZZTodd — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 05:10:30 GMT

Check out this version of the Hendrix classic from a blues great.

Moon Woman II

ZZTodd — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 04:58:17 GMT

A nice to go to sleep to, or wake up to.

Goodbye Blues

ZZTodd — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:07:06 GMT

The Hush Sound's new album came out today. After listening to it one and a half times I think it's pretty decent. Not sure if it's better than Like Vines, but it's got some good stuff. This is the first single of the album, and a good example of how they sound their best when the piano and guitar both receive ample attention:

Little Lover's So Polite

ZZTodd — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:34:12 GMT

New music video directed by Joaquin Phoenix:

3/09/08: El Paso Hot Button

ZZTodd — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:38:05 GMT

Went to a show last night at this tiny little venue in Dallas. So small that we almost couldn't find it. Once we got there they had some "interesting" dance mix music playing for a while (coincidently we knew the djs). But after an hour and a half the reason we came took the stage.

El Paso Hot Button is not technically a band; it's just one guy. But that one guy plays guitar, drums, and sings at the same time. And he sounds really good and clear doing it, almost the same as on his albums. As far as the music goes, its very White Stripes-ish except heavier and more bluesy. Good stuff.

It was kind of a short set; pretty much exactly 30 minutes. But I guess when one guy is doing all the work it wears you down quickly. He started of with the a couple tracks of his latest cd, "They Invented It Stupid" and "Rubies and Pearls". Don't remember what he played after that. Anyways, if EPHB is coming near you, I suggest you check it out.

Music video "They Invented It Stupid":

"Rubies and Pearls":

"Beat on the Drums" (this one may take a while to load):

Warpaint

ZZTodd — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 09:05:57 GMT

I want to go to a church that has music like this:

Time Fades Away

ZZTodd — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:25:52 GMT

I finally got a copy of this classic Neil Young album. Found it at this massive music store I had never been to before that a friend took me to the other day. I was so surprised to see it, and so immediately I listened to the first song and then bought it. This album is important for many reasons. It was recorded and released during the height of his early popularity. Neil was on tour following the successful releases of After The Gold Rush and Harvest. Two of his friends and fellow players died of drug overdoses, and because of that Neil immersed himself in substance abuse and depression. He also infuriated his huge audiences expecting to hear "Heart of Gold" and "Old Man" by instead playing unheard of songs with massively different moods. He also angered some of his bandmates because of how difficult it was to play with him. This album is the result of live cuts from that tour. It started what is commonly called the "Ditch Trilogy", a series of 3 albums that were noncommercial, relatively unsuccessful, and critically unclaimed in the 70s, but today are considered among his best albums. Unlike the other two in the trilogy, however, this one was never re-released in another format after it's vinyl pressing, and so it's become somewhat hard to find today.

I so psyched to have this. Can't wait to listen to the rest of it.

Is it my imagination, or have we finally found something worth living for?

ZZTodd — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 07:03:18 GMT

This song sounds like such a cross of the Rolling Stones and the Sex Pistols.

Thee Michelle Gun Elephant

ZZTodd — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:50:46 GMT

They're pretty cool. And they're Japanese.

Radio Moscow

ZZTodd — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:17:45 GMT

Fans of The Black Keys and other blues-rock, listen up. This is a little band called Radio Moscow, and they are pretty damn good. I've been jammin' to the album for a few weeks now. Check 'em out:

I See You Hearin' Me

ZZTodd — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:32:15 GMT

Fans of Queens probably already know all about the Desert Sessions, Homme's recurring get-together jam sessions. The last one released, which I guess was a few years ago now, is one of the few to have a non-Palm Desert Scene artist featured on it. PJ Harvey is on most of the tracks, including this sweet one:

Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine..

ZZTodd — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:11:04 GMT

If you can't be with the one you love...

ZZTodd — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 05:59:22 GMT

Love the one you're with

The echoes in my eyes of all I used to see...

ZZTodd — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:29:16 GMT

this song is just amazing:

greatest cover song ever

ZZTodd — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 20:46:38 GMT

you haven't heard "Hells Bells" until you've heard this:

Showbiz

ZZTodd — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:14:29 GMT

Listened to this old Muse album today. Some great stuff on it. I wish I would have gotten into them before Absolution.

Peace Love Death Metal

ZZTodd — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:48:55 GMT

FINALLY got this album

I wanna be Jackie Onassis I wanna wear a pair of dark sunglasses

ZZTodd — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:21:31 GMT

We're already dead

Reason Is Treason

ZZTodd — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:16:39 GMT

Apartment Story

ZZTodd — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:09:34 GMT

I found a song by The National that I actually like.

2008 albums I'm waiting for

ZZTodd — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:03:57 GMT

So far these are the bands with albums scheduled to be released this upcoming year that I am keeping an eye out for:

Kasabian The Sword The Hush Sound Alice In Chains (hopefully with a different name) The Von Bondies Eagles Of Death Metal Secret Machines

Anyone know of any other new albums I should be looking for?

1/19/08: Reverend Horton Heat/Nashville Pussy

ZZTodd — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:27:57 GMT

Concert on Saturday was awesome. I'm not gonna say much because goodmusiconly's post a couple days ago was a pretty good description of it. The venue was the Granada Theater over in Dallas. Very nice place to see a show. This local band called Slowride opened the night. They were okay at best. Then Nashville Pussy came on and completely rocked the place. They have so much attitude it's unbelievable. And of course the Reverend Horton Heat was as good live as everyone says. So much heavier then they sound on albums, too.

I've got a couple videos from the night that other people have posted on Youtube.

Here is Nashville Pussy performing "High As Hell". Watch the lead guitarist on the right. She really shreds.

During Reverend Horton Heat's little History of Rock set, they surprised everyone with a cover of "Paranoid" (they did "Ace of Spades" to open the encore, which was equally as rocking). The drummer sings here, and Jim Heath nails Tony Iommi.

I took the city 'bout 1 A.M.

ZZTodd — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 07:18:10 GMT

Loaded

damn it

ZZTodd — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 04:39:01 GMT

Feist got me again

Keep your eyes on the prize hold on to the gospel plow

ZZTodd — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 11:22:20 GMT

All of the following are versions of a song called "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize". It was an old folk song that later became a protest song during the civil rights movement. According to Wikipedia the song is has also been known as "Gospel Plow", "Hold On", and "Keep Your Hand on the Plow".

This is a folk version of it from Union Boys in 1944. The words are different, though, but the tune is the same.

Mavis Staples with a soulful take of the song.

Here is Screaming Trees with the song (the reason I researched about it in the first place). They use the more traditional tune to start as an intro and then completely take off from it. You may recognize a familiar face helping them out on guitar.

This is Bruce Springsteen performing the song with some jazzy horns mixed in. Anyone know who the second guy that sings is?

A bluegrass cover from Old Crow Medicine Show.

Don't say I never warned you when your train gets lost

ZZTodd — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 18:55:19 GMT

How good this song is just amazes me

The Black Keys reveal Danger Mouse-produced album

ZZTodd — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 06:50:26 GMT

Sounds interesting. Can't wait for it to come out.

Full link here-

"..while in theory, the thought of a Danger Mouse-produced Black Keys record brings to mind a bunch of electronic beats and sound pastiches slapped on stripped-down garage rawk, it's a credit to Danger Mouse as a producer that he manages mostly to stay out of the way of the jams, except for a few little flourishes here and there."

sex sleep eat drink dream

ZZTodd — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:24:25 GMT

I don't really know that much about King Crimson, but I got my hands on this cd recently and what an album it is.

Purple

ZZTodd — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:10:07 GMT

I have momentarily decided that this is my favorite STP album (despite it not having my favorite song by the Pilots). Not because of the hits it contains, though. I love songs like "Meatplow", "Pretty Penny", and this little rockin' tune.

In case you need to get the led out...

ZZTodd — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:53:41 GMT

We're so pretty oh so pretty...

ZZTodd — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 08:31:44 GMT

We're va-cant

Can you find it in yourself to please stand back?..

ZZTodd — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 07:19:41 GMT

You ain't gonna rule me

(Video is not really what I wanted, but it's the best I could find)

Big Strides

ZZTodd — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 07:04:23 GMT

I found this band about a month or so ago. They kind of remind me of a rockabilly version of the Arctic Monkeys or something. It's groovy.

Tago Mago

ZZTodd — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:48:00 GMT

Apparently there's been a few people who have mogged about CAN in the past, but for whatever reason I never noticed them until Groon's krautrock post. I was finally able to find a cd of theirs at Half Priced Books of all places. It's pretty amazing. Hopefully I'll be able to obtain some more (if I'm not too busy buying vinyl. Quadrophenia: Great condition: $13!)

Here is track 1:

a CCR style cover

ZZTodd — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 07:42:30 GMT

It's technically not Sunday anymore, but I'll just post this as a late submission.

do you like American music?

ZZTodd — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 05:01:58 GMT

Talk about an awesome Christmas gift...

ZZTodd — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:54:40 GMT

Me and my fam got a record player today. I was so so excited. I've had a few vinyl records that I obtained here and there and have been dying to listen to, and my mom has a bunch as well.

These are selections from the three albums we listened to:

Going to California for a week, so I don't know how often I'll get on a computer or anything. I'll try to get on here when I can.

Oh mama, can this really be the end..

ZZTodd — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 13:41:48 GMT

Finally got to see I'm Not There a couple days ago. It's good. Confusing at times, but good. Cate Blancett's performance really stands out. It's definitely something fans would want to check out.

This is the song during the opening credits, and also one of my favorites of Dylan.

And don't you ever come down...

ZZTodd — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:42:47 GMT

This song is completely in my head right now. Don't know why. Perhaps it's the "La Grange" style riff. Or that B.R.M.C. just rocks that much.

7 AM wake-up-for-finals music

ZZTodd — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:24:45 GMT

Here is my brief playlist that I listened to get some adrenaline flowing on the way to my test:

1) "Just Got Paid" - ZZ Top 2) "Suffragette City" - David Bowie 3) "Fashion" - Earl Greyhound 4) "Highway Star" - Deep Purple 5) "Helter Skelter" - The Beatles 6) "T.N.T." AC/DC

I liked it.

and I only get my rocks off while I'm dreaming...

ZZTodd — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:56:47 GMT

This is just too perfect of a rock song.

favorite silversun pickups song

ZZTodd — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 07:48:01 GMT

I've been lacking in the mog department lately. My fault. Just trying to get through finals. Or atleast that's the excuse I'm going to use. But here's some SSPU.

No thoughts, just rock

ZZTodd — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:16:55 GMT

I do need to get some of this band's albums, though. They actually write their name "sHEAVY", but mog won't let me do it that way. They look really out of place on whatever show this is, but this video had the best audio quality, and the song rocks.

I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth...

ZZTodd — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:09:35 GMT

Black Diamond Heavies

ZZTodd — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:00:01 GMT

Found this band yesterday. Good blues rock.

11/17/07: Tool

ZZTodd — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 09:38:48 GMT

Sorry it took me so long to get around to writing this. Past week has been pretty busy.

Last Friday was awesome. A Tool show may cost a lot of money, but it's worth every penny.

We went down to Houston and got to the Toyota Center (where the Rockets play) as soon as we could. For whatever reason the traffic on the freeways going into downtown was terrible. At 7 PM. Maybe it was just the roads I was on, but it sucked.

The arena was so crowded. You couldn't walk anywhere. We got there when the supporting band, Trans Am, was in the middle of their set. And by the time we got situated and to our seats they were done, so that kind of sucked. We heard a lot of it, though, and from what I could tell they rock.

Tool came out to loud cheers. Before they were about to start rockin' it, Maynard leans into the mike and exclaims a comedic "woo-hoo!". Then straight into Jambi. Adam and Justin pound their guitars at opposite sides of the front of the stage, while Danny beats on the drums with Maynard next to him in the back. Most of the time you can just see Maynard's silouette, which is of course the way he wants it, were as the other members were lit up at one point or another. Music was so loud even we were sitting. Great to headbang to. They mostly played stuff off 10,000 Days, but they had selections from all their other albums as well.

Now what really made this show great was the visuals. By far the best visuals I've ever seen. The stage was white, so lights and images could be projected onto it from these three mini flying saucer-looking things above it (which at one point moved to face the crowd). Behind each of the band members and on either side of the stage were large video screens that would play images or clips from music videos to accompany the appropriate song. And above the stage there was a backdrop that stuff would be projected on as well. All these working in combination was amazing. It really takes a concert to the next level.

After a brief intermission following the first hour of the set, the band quietly returns to launch into "Wings For Marie (Part 1)" and "10,000 Days (Wings Part 2)" back to back. That song is simply a progressive rock gem. I think it's amazing how well that song is arranged. Anyway, it was then that they brought out the lasers, which were in the middle of the front of the stage as well as on the floor behind the sound booth (with smoke of course). Trippy trippy trippy. At one point the lasers stopped moving and were just layered on three different levels right at us. It was like staring into another dimension or something. Trans Am's drummer came out during the middle of "Lateralus" for a sweet little drum off between him and Danny, and the boys ended hour 2 with "Vicarious". After many bows and cheers they left. There was no encore, because no encore was necessary.

If definitely hope to see Tool again, which at the rate they tour and record will probably be in 4 years, but the wait, as with anything they do, will be well worth it.

Shuffle Survey

ZZTodd — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:00:18 GMT

I think these are fun, plus it's music related. Some of them don't make any sense, but it's cool:

1.Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle. 2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer. 3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.

1.) Are you a male or female?

2.) Describe yourself?

3.) How do you feel about yourself?

4.) Describe your ex boyfriend/girlfriend:

5.) How do you feel about your crush?

6.) Describe your current location:

7.) Describe what you want to be:

8) Describe your best friend:

9.) Your favorite color is:

10.) You know that:

11.) What is the weather like?

12.) If your life was a television show, what would it be called?

13) What is life to you?

14.) What is the best advice you have to give?

15.) Describe your love life:

16.) How are you going to die?

17.) If you could change your name, what would you change it to?

18) What do your friends think of you?

19) What is your funeral song going to be?

20) What will be the song you dance to at your wedding?

21) What is your mood at this moment?

22) What are you going to repost this as?

I'll put mine in the comments...

you heartless bastard...

ZZTodd — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:54:06 GMT

Friend told me about this band last week. Listened to them. Dug them. Here you go.

My heart is beating louder than a big bass drum...

ZZTodd — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:31:11 GMT

Blues for Monday

ZZTodd — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:44:48 GMT

Here are a couple covers of the Elmore James classic.

First, the legendary Howlin' Wolf:

This one's probably my favorite, though :)

Fear The Voices

ZZTodd — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 19:35:15 GMT

I'm not much of a fan of some of the unreleased AIC material (demos and such that were included in the Music Bank collection), but this song happens to rock a lot. This video is set to clips from Reqieum For A Dream (the editing and selection of scenes is not very good in my opinion, but oh well).

11/1/07: ZZ Top

ZZTodd — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 23:38:31 GMT

I finally got to see a band that I've been waiting a long time to see. A band not from this era but from the period I know and love called classic rock. That band is ZZ Top.

If you couldn't tell from my screenname, I like ZZ Top a lot. I have all of their albums from their debut up to Eliminator. I got into them from hearing them back in the day from riding in car with my dad and listening to the local classic rock station, which will play a lot of them since we're in Texas. So when we saw that they had announced a special show in my hometown for only $25 bucks a ticket, I had to take the opportunity (now-a-days most of their ticket prices range from $70 to $100).

We were able to pick up our tickets and get into the venue just before the show was supposed to start (although they didn't take the stage until about 30 minutes later). A lot of the t-shirts and swag were alreadly sold our, and I had to get a size smaller than normal. There was a lot of excitement in the air, from people my age and the many older rock veterans present. And there were cameras around filming some of the fans (the show was being taped for a DVD, hence the last minute annoucement I guess).

That little ol' band came out and the place was rockin'. They wore clothes similar to those in the "Gimme All Your Lovin'" music video (I believe); dusty grey suits and cowboy hats. They had six huge white amps stacked on either side of Frank's set that they would project videos onto. And behind everything was a huge stagewide lightboard that would have all sorts of stuff going on. Of course what kept it going was the music. The Reverend Willie G was amazing on the guitar. I've seen Slash and Tom Morello this year, but Billy still beats them both. He mainly played his custom Grestch, although they were having technical difficulties with it during some of the songs, so they brought out Pearly Gates before switching back. Billy also did a good job of entertaining the crowd in between songs with his funny little stories and thoughts.

I did have some grievences about the venue. Now I had seen a couple shows there (Nokia Theatre) before and had great experiences there with no issues at all. For some reason, though, on this night they chose to keep the overhead lights on (dimly) during a lot of the show. Now I don't know who was responsible for this, but it was very distracting. Also the speakers could have definitely been turned up more in my opinion. I mean, it's not like I couldn't hear, but this is a rock show; let's get some noise going. We also had to sit up in the second deck of the place (I believe it seats a few thousand, so it's so a huge venue), but that was our fault for not getting tickets a few days earlier. Seeing wasn't the issue there. Everyone else around us, however, was sitting most of the time, though. It's just kind of ackward to be really into it while sitting down.

The band played pretty much everything off of Eliminator, as well as a lot of stuff from their earlier albums. All the rockers and some bluesy stuff as well. They pretty much stayed away from anything from their later albums. One highlight of the night was when they went into a cover of "Foxey Lady", which sounded just plain awesome. You'd be suprised how much that song is suited for ZZ Top. Billy brought out his Dean Z and they ended with "Legs". The sound booth was having a lot of trouble with that guitar until the solo, for whatever reason. Of course after leaving the stage they returned for the standard 3-song encore. I'll post the set list in the comments, but I'll bet you can guess what they saved for last.

Had a lot of fun at the show. I definitely want to see them again in the future (if it's financially possible of course). ZZ Top still rocks the place.

A haw, haw, haw, haw...

Now I don't know but I've been told...

ZZTodd — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 21:37:24 GMT

..It's hard to run with the weight of gold

can't wait to hear this live..

ZZTodd — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 21:30:57 GMT

10/26/07: Voodoo Music Experience (Part 2: The Battle of New Orleans)

ZZTodd — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 06:07:32 GMT

So BRMC leaves the stage, and the people really start to pour in more. There had been a few of us that had been there all day, but now it's starting to get pretty full down in front of the stage. Keep in mind we still have 3 hours until the headlining band comes out, but we all know what's gonna go on, and yet we don't.

Like I said a few days ago. I had really wanted to see Porcupine Tree. Unfortunately they were over at the second stage across the track/field, and with all these people now behind me I was not gonna give up my front row spot. I could pretty much hear most of their set and watch them on the big tv screen they had set up, so I still got to see them in a way. Pretty awesome stuff. Here I was on the complete opposite side of the way banging my head.

Kings of Leon takes the stage. Apparently they have a pretty big following that I was not aware of. A few girls were able to make their way up to the front to see their favorite band. The singer likes to throw guitar picks into the crowd during/after songs. A lot of times he didn't make it and they would fall in front of us, where upon people would beg security guards to pick them up for them. The actual music was alright. I liked it when they played some of their more heavier/louder stuff, but the rest of it I could have skipped. Many of the other people around felt the same way.

Once KOL is finished, it starts to get pretty tight in the crowd. We watch with excitement as the stage crew wheels out equipment boxes with Che and red stars. Security briefs the photographers of where they are supposed to be and such, then tells us to expect lots of pushing and shoving during the show (no shit). For a few minutes the mounted police department comes out on their horses in front of the crowd, too which of course they are booed. Probably just brought out as an intimidation factor or something. We are all waiting for M.I.A. to stop playing so that our show can go on. The big red star background is raised. Chants ensue. 9:10 passes (the official start time). More chants ensue. We probably waited for 15 more minutes after that, allowing more excitement to brew. And then they took the stage.

I can't tell you how I felt when Tom, Zack, Tim, and Brad came out. I had been expecting and waiting for this moment all day, and yet seeing them for the first time I almost didn't believe it was happening. It felt unreal. They lead off with "Testify" (which I correctly predicted). It was so loud and amazing, and we were just going absolutely crazy. Tom is jumping around, sometimes of the drum stand, and slashing his guitar down with fury. Zack is screaming and bouncing around. Tim looks like he is just having a blast. And Brad keeps controlled yet intense composure the whole time; the eye of the storm. The band, the crowd, the speakers, the lights. Everything was just a perfect, continuous explosion. And of course every single song was that way (I don't remember the exact order, but I'll put the ones I remember in the comments).

Being in the front row of a Rage show was like nothing I've ever experienced. It was absolute chaos. It was practically physical combat. There are thousands of people pushing you against the rail from behind, to which I used my legs and knees to help brace myself from being sandwiched and pushed back (it worked for a while). And of course people are coming at you from the sides too. Me and bassguitarhero were able to close the gap between us and push off each other in order to help keep our ground. People are crowd surfing to the front only to be promptly removed by security guards. Also, people near the front were being asked to be removed because they were exhausted or beaten up, which was quite understandable. There was so much heat in the crowd, too. I was sweating quite a bit, and you could see the steam rising above some people's heads. It could have been a below freezing out there and I wouldn't have known it. Sometime during the middle part of the set this dude got his shoulder in front on mine, and as the show goes on he's being pushed into my chest and my arm is being bent unnaturally from trying to maintain a hold of the rail.

Toward the end of the set I just gave up. I let go of my hold and just let the crowd push me around. I was still in the first couple rows of people though. And it's really cool to jump and headbang all most on top of somebody. The last song of the set was "Wake Up", which included an interlude where Zack talked about New Orleans, the government, etc. Then he all of a sudden runs up to the front row and is on top of the the crowd as he's being held back by security. I am pushed, almost carried, over to where I am only a few feet away from him as he is grabbing people's hands. You can see the fire in his eyes. He returns to the stage, and the song explosively ends. We're screaming for an encore. The chant: "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!". Of course they come back for a three song encore, starting with "Freedom". More madness ensues. They saved their most popular song for last, "Killing In The Name". At the end of it they come together for a bow and fists in air. As they leave the stage Tom and Zack hug and smile. They're clearly enjoying playing together again.

We just stand there afterwards. The show is over and the crew is clearing the stage, but we're pretty much motionless. My body is pretty much exhausted like I just played a football game, and my brain is trying to comprehend what just happened. The ground is completely torn up and littered with all sorts of crap. Glasses, shirts, sandals, and other miscellaneos items that people are trying to scavenge. A battle had just taken place. Even right now my body is still sore. My joints hurt when I move and my knees have bruises on them. The ringing in my ears has stopped, but my head is still a little bit heavy. But all of that was so worth it.

Check out bassguitarhero for pics.

10/26/07: Voodoo Music Experience (Part 1)

ZZTodd — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 17:22:22 GMT

Wow. What a day. The Friday I had at the Voodoo Music Experience was pretty amazing. So amazing in fact that I'm cutting this review into two parts, mainly because they last band I saw was an experience unto its own.

We (me and bassguitarhero) departed for the 7 hour drive at 4 AM. The drive actually wasn't that bad going there. We took turns picking albums and listening to them all the way through. Stopped at a Hardees for a quick breakfast. Neither one of us had been to Louisiana before, so it was cool looking around and stuff.

Got to New Orleans a little after 11. We didn't really see much of the really devastated area because we got off right near City Park (the neighborhood on the east side of the park was pretty damaged, though, and the park wasn't in particularly good shape either). Once we found a good place to park, we entered the festival and walked around for a bit. Picked up our shirts. Lots of tents to browse around at. The cajun food they had was absolutely delicious as well.

We made our way to the far end of the park. This band called Meriweather was in the middle of their set on the second stage (they were okay. I liked their sound but their singer annoyed me). The main and second stages were positioned right across from each other on this track, so when we went over to the main stage to get our first row spots you could clearly hear the bands across the way.

Earl Greyhound came out on stage to a small crowd and rocked it. I've posted about them on here before, but I will recap. They are a band with a sound almost straight out of the early 70s, so if you dig that type of stuff you'll love them. They played most of the songs off of their album Soft Targets, and they were loud and fantastic the whole way. Their problem was that most of the people there didn't know who they were, but they completely ignored that. Their hippie-looking guitarist can make his way around the fretboard, and even did some Hendrix-esque moves with the amplifier behind him. Their bassist is the real personality of the band. She has a wicked 'fro and struts around to all the notes she is playing. And the drummer is pretty much a badass with shades (he has some huge arms), and is probably the best out of the three. They ended their set with "S.O.S." and "Fashion", which included a long jam/solo on the guitar in the middle. I'm a big fan of these guys, but you should really check them out if you get the chance.

We were gonna leave afterwards and walk around the park so more, but it's a good thing we didn't for two reasons, the first being the next band that came on. We had never heard of them before, but they were awesome. Galactic is a group of 5 middle aged white guys from New Orleans that play with soul, blues, and a whole lotta funk. They got the whole crowd going with their grooves. And the sound booth turned the speakers up for them, so the beat was pretty much dictating my heartbeat. Their lead player is the saxophonist, who also does some harmonica duties as well. With them they had some MC's to do the vocal duties for different songs: Boots Riley, Lyrics Born, and a dude from Jurrasic 5 (and his brother). Boots Riley was our favorite. He was rocking a 'fro and sideburns and had the most energy on stage. Though all the bands we saw that day were really good, I was most suprisingly impressed with them. I definitely want to dive into their catalog to see what they have.

Next was Black Rebel Motorcycle club. With them I can't name very many of their songs, but I have heard a lot of them and have liked pretty much everything I heard. They came out cool and cocky dressed in all black, but they had the rock to back it up. The speakers were even louder now, so everytime the bass drum was hit it felt like getting punched in the chest. They played "Weapon of Choice" pretty early in their set, and of course "Ain't No Easy Way" came a little later on. They threw a tamborine into the crowd like 6 feet away from me (that was actually a theme of the day. Seems like all the bands were throwing stuff into my general area, and yet it was just out of my reach.) I like the guy who plays bass for most of their songs. All three of them play almost expression-less, but he plays with the most feeling it seems. Kinda hard to describe. The set ended with "What Happened To Our Rock 'N' Roll". It was a good hour of pure unfiltered rock.

Part 2 will be on its way. Pictures should be up on bassguitarhero's mog in a little bit.

Porcupine Tree

ZZTodd — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:13:05 GMT

You guys were right about this band. They're frickin' awesome. Definitely hope to see them in a couple days.

a little punk blues

ZZTodd — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 02:44:44 GMT

We Must Obey

ZZTodd — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 02:39:02 GMT

So apparently Fu Manchu came out with a new album...

...back in May.

I don't know why I didn't know about this, or how come nobody told me, but it is what it is.

Saw it and picked it up at the store on Saturday. Like all their albums, it rocks a lot.

good stuff

ZZTodd — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 02:33:00 GMT

Japanese garage rock

ZZTodd — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 05:28:07 GMT

These guys are just plain awesome. My favorite Japanese garage rock band (though I can't say I really know many bands in that category), pretty much all of their songs just bring it. One thing I like about them is that they (seemingly) purposely make their studio albums sound like they were produced or recorded with very poor quality equipment, but this is in order to have a more pure authentic garage sound. I think that's pretty sweet. Enjoy.

Everybody on the whole cell block...

ZZTodd — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 05:16:28 GMT

were dancin' to the jailhouse rock

Some sludge...

ZZTodd — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 05:11:54 GMT

You can't hear the vocals that well, but then again you can't really hear them on the record, so it's all good.

Vol. 4

ZZTodd — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 21:36:39 GMT

That's why I'm waiting for my ruca..

ZZTodd — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:38:48 GMT

So throw a party 'til the cops come in and bust it up...

ZZTodd — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:06:03 GMT

I'm not a big fan of LCD Soundsystem or anything. They're not my usual particular style. However, this song is too damn catchy: