We're Off To See The Wolf Parade

A few weeks back, I was lucky enough to see one of my new favorite bands, some shmoes from Canada that call themselves Wolf Parade. I've been listening to their stellar debut Apologies to the Queen Mary pretty much non-stop for the past six months, and in the process have spread some of my obsession to my co-authors. Unfortunately, they were unable to make the trip to the Crystal Ballroom to see the dudes, due to obligations female (Joe) or otherwise (Zhuangy). But you know, sucks to them.

Since I was unsure of the number of our party, I left tickets for the last minute and so had to wait in line for them. While standing in the queue, I met a guy asking if anyone needed tickets. Since there seemed to be little point in talking to a scalper when there were apparently tickets still available at the box office, nobody answered him but me. Once I got his attention, he handed me a ticket, and left before I could get my wallet out to pay him. So, not only was I going to see a kickass band, but I was seeing them for free. Let me feel your envy now.



The show began with a mediocre opening act, who I best described in a text-message that went unsent to Joe as "oh my god, the hippies have discovered electricity". Loops and clapping and repetition were key parts of their sound, so count me out as a fan. The only band that can do loops is Portlanders Menomena, who made a half-appearance of sorts when "Air Aid" came up on the PA in between sets. And really, that was pretty much the highlight of the pre-main act part of the night.

Wolf Parade then hit the stage to thunderous applause from a filled-to-the-brim crowd, which made me wonder how in the hell the show was not sold out. The band was suitably impressed, as guitarist/vocalist Dan kept saying "Wow" as a reaction to the enthusiasm. Then the super-heavy drumbeat of "You Are A Runner And I Am My Father's Son" filled the air, and the night truly began. The band effortlessly mixed songs from their latest album (At Mount Zoomer) and their aforementioned debut, and switched between the "Dan songs" and the "Spencer songs" seamlessly. Spencer songs were especially enjoyable, since he bears a striking resemblance to a friend of the blog, who I will now call "Patches O'Hoolihan", so I had the pleasure of seeing my friend sing all these great songs. It makes sense, since a guy that writes so many songs about ghosts would also be the co-creator of the comic Zombie Force Presidents.

The set was tight and energetic, with the band eschewing only the slow ballads of "Same Ghost Every Night" and "Dinner Bells" in favor of keeping up the pace. "Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts" was a highlight early in the show, as the crowd sang along with some of the best lyrics you'll hear these days. Dan kept the crowd entertained, paying us compliments and alerting us to the presence of his girlfriend's parents in the audience. Shortly after presenting us with that news, he had a quick makeout session with his Spiritual Advisor Dude, to the delight of everybody. We were also informed that "their good friend Isaac" was in the audience, and I quickly tried to find what was surely Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock in the crowd (he produced their first album), but dammit I was unsuccessful.



I only had a few problems with the show, and they prevented me from fully enjoying the night. One understandable problem was Spencer's vocals--on the album, they're at least triple-tracked, so choosing only one melody and style in performing took out some of the joy from the songs. However, the most disappointing performance was done in by the drummer. Oh, he played his parts just fine, but when you're playing such fun and easy parts, I want to see some theatrics, some emotion. You play the big hits of "You Are A Runner" and "I'll Believe Anything", you better bash the shit out of your drums with huge hits. His careful playing ended up being kind of a distraction.

The night ended in a triumph, as the band finished with their two closers, the rocking ballad "This Heart's On Fire" and the epic "Kissing the Beehive", the latter of which they managed to fully perform a 10 minute song in about 7. We then were treated to a fantastic encore, with the one-two punch of "Shine A Light" and "I'll Believe in Anything". That one was punctuated with what was certainly the only time in Wolf Parade history that that song was met with numerous stage divers from the crowd. The night ended surprisingly with the goofy "Fancy Claps", and while I would have preferred "We Built Another World", they played that one so fast it made me think I was at a Minor Threat show. Which is not a bad way to end a show at all.

Don't Mess With Dex -- Live With Local H

What does one do when you've just flown for 18 hours halfway across the globe? Well, I know what I would do--hop in a car and drive an hour away to some dive bar to catch a band whose heyday was over a decade ago. And you do not regret this decision, though you do remain confused by your continuously shifting verb tenses.

I had heard for years that Local H were one of those bands that just brought a ferocious live show, so when the opportunity came to see them for only ten bucks, I had the inevitable reaction of "Sure, why not?" It's not like we had something better to do in ol' Salem Towne. And hey, who doesn't love "Bound For The Floor"?

We had two opening bands that night, with one a promising new local band, and the other being a serviceable, well, opening act. I'll be keeping my eye out for Sharpening Markers, who had a great mix of punk energy and dissonant rock chords, with the vocal stylings reminiscent of Steve Bays of Hot Hot Heat (though for one song it shifted to Hutch Harris of The Thermals, and if you're reading this Sharpening Markers, keep doing this--it works well). My only complaint was the total lack of showmanship from the guitars--put some life into your performance, guys! As for The Photo Atlas, they had some of the better qualities of the indie/screamo movement, but they were noteworthy for the band members resemblance to people we know--the rhythm section looked like two goofballs we knew from high school, the singer like Trent Reznor's kid, and what was clearly Judd Apatow handling the guitar. We loved The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Judd!



Local H lived up to all expectations, as the two-man wrecking crew knocked through a blistering set, mixing in with the old and new. I myself was most intrigued to see how Scott Lucas's super guitar/bass combo actually worked--I had my doubts to the AllMusic story that he had installed a bass pickup in his guitar, but lo and behold, something on the internet was true. The group effectively mixed the old and new, showcasing cuts from the new album that fit in effortlessly with older classics, such as "California Songs", which brought the house down mid-show.

Perhaps the highlight of the show was the monologues from Scott. Sure, there were only a couple, but they were instantly memorable. As Scott's liquor began to take hold, he began to take issue with some audience member's idiotic requests:

"So you think you're old school, huh? You're about as old school as Will Ferrell?"
"Who the fuck do you think I am, Ian Mackaye?"
"If you keep this up, we'll just play M. Ward songs all night."
"Not even the good M. Ward songs, the ones with Zooey Deschanellanksd [unintelligible rambling]. Just the shitty ones."

Scott gets bonus points for the local reference, as M. Ward is a prominent fixture of the Portland music scene. As the drinks kept flowing (Scott: "It's her birthday, so I'm taking a shot!"), we heard the tale of a ruckus a few days ago in California.

"So I nearly got in a fight down in California a couple of days ago. Some guy had a problem with me, and as he gets more into it, asks me, "Do you know who I am?!?"
"I'm Dex!!!"

As for the music itself, well, the ending was spectacular. "Bound for the Floor" of course led to a massive audience response, but the mid-song shift into Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" was genius, even if it left 99% of the audience clueless. It wasn't wholly out of character--they covered the song on their No Fun EP--but I ate it up, singing the missing horn parts in Joe Reefer's ear (thank you, pep band!). And wasting no time, Scott began a blistering cover of "Wolf Like Me" to close the set, proving what I had mentioned to Joe earlier that very afternoon: "I can tell you this at least: Wolf Like Me fucking rocks".

Too Much of a Good Thing

The Perils of Music Licensing

It's safe to say that all the co-authors are rather big fans of the band Spoon. And what's not to like? We can all get behind well-crafted songs with spastic guitar solos, I imagine. If one of us was to throw on a record like Kill The Moonlight in the car, not one of us would raise an objection--we'd sit there and nod, congratulating the fine choice. Spoon was even one of the better concerts I saw last year, even if they didn't play "Sister Jack" (I mean, how can you not enjoy a song that starts out "Always on the outside, always looking in/I was in this drop-D metal band we called Requiem"). But dammit if Spoon hasn't begun getting on my nerves.

That's because I'm beginning to hear Spoon everywhere these days. And oversaturation kills even the greatest creativity.



It started out innocently enough. Promos for the movie Stranger Than Fiction would feature occasional instrumental snippets, which made sense since Portlander Britt Daniel did the score to the movie. Plus, it helps that in retrospect that the it was a damn good (if overlooked) film. However, marketing executives seemed to pick up on the band, and began using their music in countless ads, most notably "My Mathematical Mind". If anything was in any way tangentially related to "math" or "science", you were going to hear that song as backing music, as it was done (most obnoxiously) for that recent shitfest, 21. I thought I was done being tormented by a formerly-loved song, but alas, it is now the background music to a nationwide car commercial.


The thing is, it's not even totally Spoon's fault. At this point, there are apparently session players that are being told by Marketing Execs to "give my that 'Spoon' sound", resulting in car commercials with music that sounds suspiciously like "I Turn My Camera On". I also can't fault Spoon for looking to get a little extra money through licensing--I'm not even sure if they've had a gold record, so I'm not going to hold it against a consistently artistically brilliant band to earn some well-deserved compensation for their efforts.

So I write this in order to just ask for a moratorium on the use of Spoon in commercials for the next 18 months, so I can go back to enjoying a band I love in the manner that it was meant to--through the album. But since I'm sure my request will fall on deaf ears, I'll just put a smile on the viewer's face with this 90's nostalgia throwback:

WDR Reunites!

This week will mark the reunion of the entirety of the WDR team for the first time since our epic Road Trip in August. Much has changed since then. Mr. Zhuang has taken up the sport of Jai Alai, using his skills to earn a living as he explores the epic territory that is Upper-Northwest Nebraska. Joe Reefer has become a vital member of the group Puppetry Of The Penis, showing that he can make productive use of his organ beyond leaving a litter of kids everywhere he lands.

As for myself, I have taken up and quit several jobs as I've attempted to find myself, but I have to admit it's taken me to some pretty weird places. As it stands, I'm now interning for a law firm that is taking depositions for a potential class-action lawsuit by Santa's elves. At least I was told they were Santa's elves...they could have been Malaysian sweatshop workers. I'm not really paying attention. I'm more concerned about catching the next repeat of "120 Minutes" on VH1 Classic, to tell you the truth.

But enough with the past. Here's to the future, as we will commence with the festivities on Wednesday night as we make an appearance at the Dandy Warhols annual Hometown Christmas Concert Spectacular. We are prepared to hear the best version of "Little Drummer Boy" we'll hear all year, and then go out drinking.

Because that's what we do. We're totally original like that.

Hump Day Helper--Completely Unoriginal Edition

Because it's Wednesday, and we all need a pick-me-up to make it through the rest of the week in our respective hells, WDR is providing some fun.

Continuing our Best of 2007 theme, we present to you a choice that's sure to be on everyone's top 10 list--at least the ones that you might pay attention to. But just because people seem to agree, especially snot-nosed critics, doesn't mean that you shouldn't turn away in disgust automatically. Such is the case with Spoon.

Initially I was a bit lukewarm about Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga for reasons beyond the ridiculous title--sure it's a great album, but it felt too much like a compromise between Gimme Fiction and Kill The Moonlight, two albums that get considerable rotation attention around here. But sure enough, I've been grabbing for this one more and more, as I can't get tired of listening to the twitchy-soul that marks the Spoon sound. Plus, this song's got a nifty horn section!

Oh you cut out the middleman,
get free from the middleman!...

Monday Melancholia

The reason why Nic Ouzo has been on SuicideWatch since Friday afternoon.

Anyway, I never would have had the chance to post this video, so I'm taking advantage of it.


Enjoy.

Hump Day Helper--Patriotic Edition

Because it's Wednesday, and we all need a pick-me-up to make it through the rest of the week in our respective hells, WDR is providing some fun.

Since Veterans Day was this week, we felt it was appropriate to have a video that at least had some connection to the holiday, however tenuous that connection may be. And if it has to be a band that was called-out for their brand of "hyper-literate prog-rock", so be it. It never hurt anyone that I know.

So this week we have a group of Portlanders helping out, with this tale of sacrifice and a pretty funny video. Of course, any band that was associated with The Colbert Report's classic "Guitar-Off" gets our respect. Sanctions abound!

And the anchorperson on TV goes la-di-da-di-da...

Hump Day Helper

Because it's Wednesday, and we all need a pick-me-up to make it through the rest of the week in our respective hells, WDR is providing some fun.

This week it is courtesy of most-righteous Port Land Punks, The Thermals, with their fantastic video "A Pillar of Salt". Enjoy the lure of the Chicken Dance!

Spoon Talks (to someone else)

If you're bored this weekend (or still hungover from the Anniversary party from Friday night (frankly, we're not sure if Mr. Zhuang is still alive at this point, but Joe and I are too lazy to check)), check out this interview with Britt Daniel from Spoon. We always give love to our Portland rockstars, and we accept transplants just as much as our homegrown talent. Here's an example why you should read it:

AVC: For the longest time, the press has referred to you as "underrated" and "criminally overlooked." Do you still feel that way?

BD: No. The press has been pretty good to us ever since Girls Can Tell. I think we're one of the best bands making records today, and do I think we should be selling more records than Maroon 5? Yeah, because I think we're better. That's if it were a just world. It's not a just world. Actually, why don't we put The Bravery in there instead? No, let's not use The Bravery. Who's a good band to use?

AVC: Linkin Park?

BD: Yeah! You can't get any worse than Linkin Park. Let's use that.

See? You got to love a musician who goes right out and proclaims the crapulence of Linkin Park. In other news, Linkin Park inexplicably continues to have the number 1 song on Alternative Radio. Yaaaaaargh, to all you idiot MDs.

Oh, and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is worth listening, if you're into the whole "music" thing.