Monolith sound pretty interesting from your description.

Yeah, they were good. I think they need to get a little bit tighter, and when they do, they have the potential to move from being a good band to being a great band.

I think City of Ships was the best band of the night though. I just synced them to my iPod, so I'll be listening to them tonight.

Ok, I just had one of the best concert experiences ever. So sit back and get ready for a long bloggxorz (which, by the way, I'm writing for the second time since my goddamn browser froze up and I lost everything I typed).

The band: Kayo Dot. The place: Monkey Town, Brooklyn, NY. I knew from the very beginning this was going to be a special and amazing show, mainly because it was a purposely intimate show, at a place that only seats 32 people under reservation. And I got in. There were actually two showings, one at 7:30pm and another at 10pm.

So a train and two subways later, I get to Monkey Town, after roaming the streets of Brooklyn hoping to see Peter Steele hanging around somewhere. I get there early, mainly to make sure I could find the place, considering I've only been to Brooklyn once before. But I did find it pretty easily. So I helped myself to a lobster eggroll and a couple glasses of Maredsous Tripel. Time goes by, and I hear a familiar voice behind me. I turn to see a familiar hairstyle. "Colin Marston!" I exclaim, who was apparently present helping out with some roadie duties. (I felt kind of guilty with lobster on my plate, as he's a vigilant vegan, but hey, I'm not. Anyway, it's a lobster, what the fuck else are they good for other than tasting great in an eggroll. So bite me! )A few minutes later, who comes in but Mike Lerner. So now I'm hanging at the bar with two prehistoric creatures, an indricothere and a direwolf. (By now I'm sure you people have no clue what I'm talking about.)

Showtime comes, and the small crowd starts making its way into the back room where the band plays. Let me give you an idea of how awesome this place was. In this small room, were four walls lined with white couches, a few wicker chairs, wooden tables with glass water bottles on them. Above the couches were four enormous projection screens. In the center of the room in an area of about 4 or 5 square meters, is a cluster of instruments: guitars, keys, a drumkit, saxes, clarinets, and of course Mia's violins. I take a seat on a couch and lounge back as the crowd settles in. I gotta say, not since Opeth on the Damnation tour have I been to such a laid back show--despite the intensity of the music that would ensue. I sit there, an Imperial Manhattan in my right hand, looking around, thinking: these are my people. I and these 31 other people, well, I have to say it...we're an elite group. We don't know each other, but we all share a common purpose tonight. We all have a common outlook. We all have a musical savvy that has gathered us--and not anyone else--together in this place at this time. We all know this is going to be a transcendent experience. Nothing else in the world matters now except what is going on in the little back room of this obscure New York City restaurant.

The opening act starts. It's Kevin Hufnagel, mainman and guitarist for Dysrhythmia. Now, I'm familiar with Dysrhythmia's material, but I didn't really know what to expect from Kevin as a solo act. All I saw was him and his acoustic guitars. Would this be some kind of weird unplugged tech metal spin off? What he gave us was 30-45 minutes of really great, original, acoustic, quasi-classical guitarwork. It really threw me off guard how different it was from his other work.

Next up: Kayo Dot themselves. With them is special guest Yuko Sueta, in charge of the visual effects. Toby comes out. Mia comes out. (And by the way, Mia is my love goddess. I get frisky if I sense her within a five mile radius. And here she was like 2 feet from me.) The rest of the band is a new lineup. (And I was fortunate enough to see the old lineup a few years back.) The lights go out, the visuals start, the music starts. The new band is really tight, and even though they've only been together a short while, there's an amazing chemistry between them. I watch them interact; they watch Toby closely anticipating the direction of the song. As I watch Toby and listen to the music coming from him and his group, I can't help but think what I've been trying to admit to myself for years now: I'm witnessing a genius in action. They play about 5 or 6 songs, and it's all new material from the as-of-yet unreleased album, which has been quite successfully protected from leaks. So we in that little room are among the first people to hear these songs.

The set ends, and the crowd starts to vacate making way for the next show at 10. I walk reluctantly to the door, and I run into Mia. I chat with her for a little bit, and Yuko is nice enough to take our picture together. As I stand there next to this tiny little--yet still strangely dominating... Seriously, if I had one wish in the world... I just wanted to lift her up onto my shoulders and walk with her thus carefree into a perpetual sunset. But alas...

I got a grip on myself, and said, the hell with it...I'm staying. So as the crowd dispersed, I went back in to get another dose (which is why I'll be listing this as Concerts #176 & 7 on my list). It was deja vu essentially, as they didn't really change the set up. But the magic didn't change either. It's like watching a really good movie for the second time. You always miss something you didn't catch the first time.

Afterwards, I sat on the train back home, in a state of rapture, knowing for sure this was a unique experience that would never be repeated.

This show reminded me why Toby Driver is among the most important musicians in existence today, and why, to me, his music embodies everything that modern music should be. And everyone in the music scene who is smart enough to know it, does know it. He defies convention, he defies expectation. His creations are beautiful and horrific--often simultaneously. He can mish-mash styles and not make it SOUND like he's mish-mashing styles. He surrounds himself with exceptional musicians who continue to breathe life into his work. Most importantly, he goes far beyond the boundaries that the "music industry" wants you to believe exist. He proves that they don't exist.

Some pics:











My concept of heaven:

So officially:

176. 3/18 - Kayo Dot, Kevin Hufnagel @ Monkey Town, Brooklyn, NY (first show)
177. 3/18 - Kayo Dot, Kevin Hufnagel @ Monkey Town, Brooklyn, NY (second show)

Ah, great story, Rif!  I love intimate shows like that.

I recently experienced a show like that with one of my favorites....... Mike Farris.  One of those once in a lifetime things..... glad you had a good time.

I just have one question.  WHERE'S THE PIC OF YOU AND YOUR GIRL??????????

PunkyLunky:

I just have one question.  WHERE'S THE PIC OF YOU AND YOUR GIRL??????????

 

A little diversion from the norm here (whatever that means).

A local radio station sends me a music survey every once in a while. It contains thirty 10-20 second clips of what I guess are the big radio hits at the time. They don't tell you what the song is or who performs it, you just click on choices of how much you like or dislike the song (based on the clip), and then on how often you'd like to hear the song on the radio. Well, I don't listen to the radio at all, so I just assume they overplay all of these songs, so I always vote to hear them less often.

Anyway, here are the songs I got in the last survey and how I voted, followed by a short explanation if necessary. Remember...I didn't know who performed the songs until AFTER I voted. Some I knew, some I didn't, some I kind of recognized just from passing radios at work.

1      Love Reign O'er Me - PEARL JAM       It's ok. I didn't find it necessary for PJ to do this song, and I definitely wouldn't want to hear it more than once or twice.
2     Long Road To Ruin - FOO FIGHTERS     I like it. Good song, good album, good band.
3     Psycho - PUDDLE OF MUDD         I hate it.*
4     Icky Thump - WHITE STRIPES         I hate it. Never heard it, but I can recognize that annoying voice and lifeless music anywhere.
5     The Diary Of Jane - BREAKING BENJAMIN     I hate it.*
6     I'm Alive - HOOTERS             It's ok. Not a huge fan of this band, but they have their moments. Never heard this song before, so I'm kind of interested.
7     Black Widow - JEALOSY CURVE     I hate it.* Never heard. Not interested.
8     Forever - PAPA ROACH         I hate it.*
9     Supernatural Superserious - R.E.M.     I hate it. Bad song, bad band.
10     Paralyzer - FINGER ELEVEN         I hate it.*
11     Pain - THREE DAYS GRACE         I hate it.*
12     The Kill (Bury Me) - 30 SECONDS TO MARS     I hate it.* I recognize it. Now I know who it is so I can hate them properly.
13     Fake It - SEETHER             I hate it.*
14     Through Glass - STONE SOUR         It's ok. Not a big fan. This song sounds ok from the clip. Might check out. Maybe not.
15     It's Not My Time - 3 DOORS DOWN     I hate it.*
16     Breath - BREAKING BENJAMIN         I hate it.*
17     Speak - GODSMACK             I hate it.* Yeah, another asinine sound I can detect a mile away having never heard it before.
18     You Know My Name - CHRIS CORNELL     It's ok.
19     Never Too Late - THREE DAYS GRACE     I hate it.*
20     The Stone - ASHES DIVIDE        It's ok. Never heard of them, but again, the clip sounded POSSIBLY interesting. Sounds like a mediocre project.
21      Animal I Have Become - THREE DAYS GRACE   I hate it.*
22     What I've Done - LINKIN PARK         I hate it.*
23     Rise Above This - SEETHER         I hate it.*
24     Bleed It Out - LINKIN PARK         I hate it.*
25     Life Is Beautiful - SIXX AM         I hate it.* I guess this is that new Nikki Sixx shit. And it is shit.
26     The Pot - TOOL        I hate it. Worst Tool song ever. And apparently the most popular if it's still on this list. Figures.
27     The Pretender - FOO FIGHTERS     I like it. Good song, good album, good band.
28     Land Of Confusion - DISTURBED     I hate it.*
29     Dig - INCUBUS                 It's ok.
30     My World - SICK PUPPIES        I hate it.*

*All starred bands are everything wrong with new music. How do bands that only know 3 chords ever make it big? If it was one band, maybe I could understand it. BUT ALL THESE BANDS SOUND THE SAME, and people actually support them. Damn kids and your music.

Other thoughts. All else aside, how did a shitty band like Three Days Grace ever get popular? Popular enough to warrant consuming 10% of this list? God help me. So my opinion overall...well I think my votes speak for themselves.
 

Rif, you crack me up.

I agree with 99% of what you have to say about these songs, but I actually like a couple of the *'d ones...... you can guess which ones......   And I like Seether a lot.  And a couple of 3DG songs.

Glad you like all of the Foo Fighters songs.  That kinda surprises me.

Anyway, I like to read your critiques because you put so much thought (*exhausting*) into it.

^^^ That's how I'd probably rate the list. That's exactly why I don't listen to the radio, except for the classic rock station. All the songs souns shitty and exactly the same. Along with them playing bad songs by good bands, ie. The Pot. Then again, if a song like Right in Two was the single, no one would request it.

As for Ashes Divide, I want to check that song out. It's Billy Howerdel's, of A Perfect Circle, new project, featuring Josh Freese and Devo Keenan. I like his work with APC, so I wanna give them a listen.

The diligent workers of Holland's most listened to radio stations (Radio 538 & Radio 3fm) update their sites 24/7 concerning their playlists (new additions) and what's popular.

This is their combined playlist (ranked in popularity):

1. Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love (Idols winner )
2. Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse - Valerie
3. Rihanna ft. Neyo - I Hate That I Love You
4. Lenny Kravitz - I'll Be Waiting
5. Timbaland ft. One Republic - Apologize
6. One Republic - Stop And Stare
7. Mika - Happy Ending
8. Alicia Keys - No One
9. Timbaland ft. Pussycat Dolls - Scream
10. Gavin Degraw - In Love With A Girl
11. Alicia Keys - Like You''ll Never See Me Again
12. Chris Brown - With You
13. Kylie Minogue - In My Arms
14. Kanye West ft. Chris Martin - Homecoming
15. Kelly Rowland - Work
16. Rihanna - Don't Stop The Music
17. The Wombats - Let's Dance To Joy Division
18. RHCP - Snow (Hey Oh)
19. R.E.M. - Supernatural Superserious
20. Nickelback - Rockstar
21. Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby
22. Snow Patrol - Shut Your Eyes
23. Within Temptation - Running Up That Hill
24. White Stripes - Icky Thump
25. Silkstone - Here In Your World

 
And that's taking out all the dutch crap too.
Fucking dismal.

At first I was planning to rate the songs too....but....there's nothing to rate really.
 

Wow, that's pretty bad. Except for Within Temptation because I like that band. When did they do a Kate Bush cover? And second question, what was that released on?

Also, why does it surprise you, PL, that I like the FF songs? I've always been a fan of the Foo Fighters. Their last album ranked #13 on my best of '07 list, and _In Your Honor_ ranked #5 for '05.

I don't know........ Now, don't get me wrong, I'm GLAD they're on your list!  But they don't seem like your type of music.

I love them!!!!

p.s.  you gotta give BB a chance..... I love their vocals. 

Rifugium:

Wow, that's pretty bad. Except for Within Temptation because I like that band. When did they do a Kate Bush cover? And second question, what was that released on?

From the "Running Up That Hill" EP.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_Up_That_Hill_%28EP%29

It's from 2003 and it's a hitsingle today, even with our own bands we're trailing behind for miles.
 

PunkyLunky:

p.s.  you gotta give BB a chance..... I love their vocals.