Sunday, March 25, 2012

lynnguppy's God Street Monday presents: DEAD CLOWNS!


Yah, it's fucked up.

And now presenting: a short list of songs that GSW didn't play in 2010 and should seriously consider playing in 2012:

New Eyes
Miss Leonardo
Hungry Again
Seein' Yer Meaning
Funny Kinda Love
Chop!
Dark Hollow
I Dig A Pony
A Day In The Life
Whatcha Gonna Do About It?
Twitchin'
Stone House

I'm sure this will grow. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments section, below. Just make sure they don't suck.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

God Street Wine Announce 3 West Coast Dates & New Music Videos On Hidden Track Blog!!!

Let's catch you fine people up, shall we?

If you've been paying attention, you would already know that the fantastic Rock Band God Street Wine, have just announced 3 West Coast dates (8/9, 10, & 11), in addition to the 3 NYC dates that were announced last week (8/16, 17, & 18).

GSW are Drivin' West!

You can purchase tickets for all of these shows (except the TRI show, which will be a free live webcast performed in a high tech studio that is hopefully rainproof) via godstreetwine.com.

In addition to all that goodness, Hidden Track, who honor God Street Wine on the weekly with their feature God Street Wednesdays, is proud to announce they will be hosting brand new GSW music videos, shot and cut by Mike Wren, from the 2010 Gramercy shows (tentatively scheduled for) every other Wednesday. Today's first installment is the fantastic Dirty Little Secret. One of my very favorites! A song about love, lust, crazy people, magical elixirs, and loud fucking birds. Something for everyone! Hop on over to Hidden Track and enjoy! Happy God Street Wednesday!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Todd Snider, 3/8/12, Irving Plaza, NYC

Todd Snider, 3/8/12, Irving Plaza, NYC


It would be impossible to review Todd Snider's Irving Plaza show without mentioning the magnitude of how fantastic his new album is. If Todd Snider is not nominated for at least 1 Grammy for "Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables", we are all living a horrible lie. On it, he's backed by a full Rock band that are like, the fucking BALLS of this record, and includes Amanda "Pearl" Shires on a haunting violin and backup vocals that tie a perfect bow on the sound. Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables is a down and dirty Blues Rock Alt Country record that is kind of an absurdist's look at living life in the dying American Dream.

The introduction, In The Beginning, is a Preacher pulling you into a sermon about Religion and the division between and struggle for control amongst The Have's & Have Nots, the narration is backed by a building Rock beat. It sets the tone. Think the Prince Intro on Let's Go Crazy, but without all the eye makeup. By the end of the second song, New York Banker, you will find your blood boiling and your hands clenching into involuntarily fists. Snider chants, "good things happen to bad people!" TELL IT, Todd! There's a great cover of Jimmy Buffett's West Nashville Ballroom. Precious Little Miracles is a lovely little ditty about those crazy kids today, and how they wear their pants low, their hats crooked, and walk around trying to kill people for the thrill of it. The Very Last Time is an adorable little tune about heartbreak. In Between Jobs is my new Theme Song. It's dark, truthful, soulful, and it definitely speaks to me (I'm a Freelancer). He captures the frustration perfectly. "I know how mad I'm getting just knowin' how much more you got than me, I'm thinking, what's keeping me from killin' this guy… taking his shit." I can dig it. Brenda, is a catchy song about true love. More specifically, it's about the true love between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Too Soon To Tell is a lyrical masterpiece that dives right back deep into the haunting darkness. "They say living well is the best revenge, I say bullshit, the best revenge is revenge. This isn't over, we're going to meet again.", "I want to trust you buddy, but you're clearly keeping secrets from me.", "You too will wake up one morning with a lot more memories than dreams", "Don't give up on me baby, I think I could be losing my mind." It's so good I could bathe in it. Digger Dave's Crazy Woman Blues is about Todd's good friend Digger Dave, from Homer, Alaska, who made the mistake of letting a crazy woman named Christine into his house. Todd calls it the truest song he's ever written and says that he never did approve of that woman. Big Finish, takes stock of one's place. "It ain't the despair that gets you, it's the hope" (a quote apparently from music industry pioneer Bob Mercer who may have stolen it from Oscar Wilde).

And the reason the Irving Plaza show could not be reviewed without first taking a look at this brilliant album, is because the tone and energy of the album carried itself all the way to Irving Plaza and exploded inside it. I've only ever seen Snider solo-acoustic before, and after hearing the album, I had hoped there would be a band at this show so I could experience that awesome magic live. Well, there WAS a full band, all night, and it was way louder and awesomer than I thought was even possible. Todd Snider, dripping in sweat, spent much of the night on an electric guitar and absolutely BROUGHT IT as a Frontman. The show was gritty, passionate, and from the fucking gut.


All of the stuff from the new album translated beautifully and was incredibly exciting to hear live. The torture in his voice was cathartic and delicious. Whatever else he had imbibed in certainly gave it that friendly and personal touch that Todd Snider brings into every room. He invites you in-- pull up a chair if you'd like. He's just there to "ease his mind about everything", and hopefully he can entertain you along the way. Todd looked like he was having a blast and I can assure you that the crowd was too.




Hearing the classic tunes with the full band was an awesome treat. Highlights of those: The Devil You Know, Stuck On the Corner (Prelude To a Heart Attack), Alright Guy, and Conservative, Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males.

It was a triumphant show. That album is insanely good. He deserves some Grammies. I would recommend he put them on his amp, next to his collection of generic sporting trophies (I noticed one surfboard) that look like they were picked up at Goodwill or have been sacrificed by fans over the years, and all have the name "TODD" crudely scratched into their faux-marble bases.

Gritty, Passionate, Honest. He ELECTRIFIED that room. WOW! Todd Snider, 3/8/12, Irving Plaza, NYC: 9.9 HUZZAHS!!!! AMAZING.

SETLIST
In The Beginning
Too Soon to Tell
The Devil You Know
Precious Little Miracles
Lookin’ for a Job
Play a Train Song
Happy New Year
Digger Dave’s Crazy Woman Blues
In Between Jobs
Stuck On The Corner (Prelude to a Heart Attack)
The Ballad of Cape Henry
Alright Guy
45 Miles
Brenda
The Ballad of Kingsmen
Conservative, Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males

ENCORE
Big Finish
Mission Accomplished (Because You Gotta Have Faith)

** DOWNLOAD THE SHOW: http://www.toddsniderlive.com/?p=3217 **

HI-RES & SLIDESHOW!

Monday, March 12, 2012

God Street Wine Announce 3 NYC Shows In 2012!

Much like chumming for sharks, 90's NYC Rock Kings, God Street Wine, have spent the past week baiting their fans (Winos) into a feeding frenzy. Though it had been dormant for a while, a new message appeared on godstreetwine.com every day last week. Messages included song lyrics, history lessons, and general silliness to help conjure up a bloodthirsty kind of excitement-- so, just what in the hell was GSW up to?





Today we learn (via a clip of the now legendary Waiting For the Tide moment from the Gramercy in 2010 that reminds us how pants-shittingly awesome those shows were, and a cordial invite -- "hey man, it's purple!"), that:
GSW will be playing 3 shows this summer at the Gramercy Theater in NYC. *insert squeals of delight here*

I do remember it, and it WAS quite fun.

Always with the etiquette...

All three shows go on sale this Wednesday, 3/14/12, at 10AM. Please note: the last time GSW played the Gramercy Theater, tickets sold out in mere minutes. So, if you want tickets to any of these shows, it is absolutely imperative that you have your shit together for presale this Wednesday. Most importantly-- here are each of the ticketmaster links you will need to purchase said presale tickets:
2nd most importantly, the presale password is: Toonces

You know-- Toonces, the driving cat. The cat who could drive a car.


I repeat, YOUR WINO PRESALE PASSWORD IS: Toonces

Let's recap:
  • THIS WEDNESDAY
  • 10AM
  • Toonces
And in Haiku form:
Wednesday is Presale,
at 10AM type: Toonces
Don't fuck up, people.

Buy early, buy often (but not if you're a scalper), and bring your friends! Come one, come all! Old and new Winos alike! These shows are gonna ROCK! Fer fack's sake, Tomo's been practicing for months!


And if you don't know who God Street Wine are and for some reason you are still reading this-- head over to the archive and check out some GSW right now-- follow this link, press play, and stream one of my favorite shows!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Jane's Addiction, 3/6/12, Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ

Jane's Addiction, 3/6/12, Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ


OMG, with the fast turnaround! The fuck? Jane's Addiction played an intimate show to a Sold Out Wellmont Theatre in Jersey on Super Tuesday, and if I can describe it in one word, it would be: Badass. Then why is this review so long? Fuck you, keep reading.

The opening band was a Hard Rock duo from Belgium. Black Box Revelation were very loud. There were some interesting ideas scattered in there, somewhere. Maybe. I took a strategic pee-break in the middle of their set and missed their hit single. More importantly, and where I'm going with this is: does the NJ Department of Labor know that the bathroom attendants in the Wellmont Theatre are, according the signs in the bathroom, "working for tips"? Is this legal? Or just a lie? Shouldn't they be earning an hourly rate + tips? I feel guilted into paying $1 every time I pee. Phooey.

JANE'S ADDICTION. Badass. How detailed do you need me to get? Badass Motherfucking Rock Show. That's how they roll. Perry Farrell is one of the best Frontmen alive, and part of the reason is just that: the man is still alive. All that shit he put in himself-- and it didn't kill him. That alone gives him some Major Frontman Cred. Now, put aside surviving all that legendary drug abuse. Perry Farrell is onstage next to someone, like, I don't know-- say, the swarthy, shirtless, tattooed, and leather pants clad, Citi Bank Commercial starring, Dave Navarro, who spends the entire night striking Rock God Poses, while shredding the fuck out of sick guitar solo after sick guitar solo, making every one of them look seemingly effortless, with each change in the light show reflecting off of his nipple rings-- and Perry Farrell's natural stage presence still makes him the sexiest guy up there. He's just that good. Scrawny Magical Rockstar Frontman. Perry Farrell is the 90's Mick Jagger.

Highlights: all the awesome shit I liked.

The crowd was fun. Some people were tall and in my way. Mostly, people were enjoying themselves and on fairly good behavior. There was a lot of fist pumping and excitement from males approximately 28-46 years of age. There were some kids (girls, approximately 7-10 years of age) in the VIP section who looked utterly confused when Farrell explained that he liked jumping into the crowd because women grab his cock and that feels awesome. Either they haven't picked up on the OOZING SEX ROCKSTAR FRONTMAN vibe from him yet and found it slightly questionable, or they don't know what the word "cock" means. Well, maybe now they do. It was a learning experience, no doubt. Did I mention the S&M Burlesque theme to the show? It's Jane's Addiction, so the dancing/whipping/tied up chicks are pretty much a given. The dude who hung a baby doll from a noose, then ripped apart another, and tossed it's appendages into the audience was a nice touch. Oh, to be a fly-on-the-wall at that Show & Tell presentation next Monday.





There's a reason these guys are still around and still kicking this much ass. They are BADASS MOTHERFUCKING ROCKSTARS. It was very cool seeing them in such a small venue and there was a similar sentiment and excitement amongst the crowd. It was a totally badass show, but I did miss all the fantastic Super Tuesday Coverage, which I'm sure was entertaining in an entirely different way. I would like to bring Rick Santorum to a Jane's Addiction show. Eventually I would get to tell him that Perry Farrell is a Jew. Jane's Addiction, 3/6/12, Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ: 9 HUZZAHS!!!

SETLIST
Underground
Mountain Song
Just Because
Been Caught Stealing
Ain't No Right
Ted, Just Admit It...
Broken People
Classic Girl#
Jane Says#
Chip Away#
End To The Lies
Three Days
Stop!

ENCORE
Words Right Out Of My Mouth
Ocean Size

# acoustic