Vox’s posts tagged concert

/Passenger. at The Hollow in Minneapolis 08/07/08

nobody@vox.com(W♥M) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:47:04 +0000

08/08/2008 00:44:08 ♥ written by vu ()

/Passenger. ♥ photo by vu
Tour Dates

08/09/08 Meadowlark Bar Denver, CO
08/11/08 Hotel Cafe Los Angeles, CA
08/12/08 House Of Blues San Diego, CA
08/13/08 Swedish American Hall SF CA
08/16/08 V-Festival, Weston Park, Staffordshire
08/17/08 V-Festival, Chelmsford
08/30/08 Hydro Connect Festival Scotland

/Passenger. - Night Vision Binoculars

Passenger

/Passenger. - Wicked Man's Rest

http://weheartmus...

Long before I received Wicked Man's Rest album for review, people were already asking me about th...

Set List ♥ Hollow at the Local, Minneapolis (08/07/08)
Discography

[Sep 2007] Wicked Man's Rest (UK)

[Aug 2008] Wicked Man's Rest (US)

I had a little trouble finding The Hollow venue. First of all, I've never heard of this venue, but apparently it's a tiny little place inside an Irish bar called The Local. Once inside, you noticed that the venue is an elongated dining room - quite small and intimate.

Warming up for /Passenger. is miss Breanne Düren, a quiet girl with her Casio keyboard. Her songs sounds really introspective and very calming.

After a solo Mike Rosenberg on the first two songs, Andrew Phillips and Alon Cohen joins him on stage. They are normally a five-piece band (complete with bass and keys), but for these stripped down shows it's all-acoustic-all-the-way.

It works well, especially for this tiny venue (I was told it was only 70 persons capacity), because the smallest sound can be carried across the room. Songs like "Do What You Like" and "Playstation" were especially effective as the songs are fast and frantic.

They had a nice break with their love song, "For You", once again, solo-Mike, singing his heart out: "For you, dear, I would lose my legs to walk, dear.". Kind of creepy and weird, if you ask me.

Although it's listed "Stupid" as the encore, there were no encore given. It's not a surprise because "Night Vision Binoculars" was such a powerful song that they couldn't follow up on that song.

It looks like they'll be hitting California's coast for a week, so be sure to check them out if you're on the West coast. I was very glad to have caught them this early in their career in such an intimate setting.

Links: passengerofficial.com myspace.com/passengerofficial myspace.com/breanneduren

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Chicago, pizza & architecture part II

nobody@vox.com(Tracy) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:06:42 +0000

So you've read the transcript from yesterday right? I thought so!! After hearing Stephenie explain the book it made more sense than it did before. There were definitely a lot of ah ha moments, even though I liked the book before she explained. As they were having people line up to get their book signed some lady with the publishing company decided to let people show everyone their shirts they made. This boy sitting by us had one that said, "I went gay for Edward Cullen" and apparently everyone thought it was the best thing they'd ever seen and had to have their picture taken with him. Which I thought was kinda funny, it's a shirt girls calm down. Any who, here's my pictures of Stephenie and Justin from Tuesday night.

We were one of the last people to get our book signed and she was as sweet as ever. What really surprised me is that she had four bodyguards around her. I don't know if the venue provided them or what happened but she didn't have any with her in May in Kansas City. They were menacing too, the one to her left we immediately named Demetri ;) We almost asked for his autograph but he was too scary. We scampered off, walked a mile to the hotel, snapping pictures along the way and had a blast yammering about all that happened. It was definitely a night to remember.

Ciao!!

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singfest 08

nobody@vox.com(kazumano) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:28:30 +0000

I honestly wasn't planning on attending SingFest because it's so expensive. Prices were going for $150 for Sat, $200 for Sunday and $300 for a weekend pass. Although I admit the lineup was really good but I only had Travis and Jason Mraz on my list to see and they both played on different days. Pay $300 for not even a full concert? I don't think so.

However, thanks to Heineken, who gave me ONE complimentary weekend pass, I still managed to attend the festival for free. I wish I had more too, it's not my fault!! Is it too late to apologise....too late.....

Saturday crowd

I have to say, I always enjoy attending Heine events because a) They're always music-related and fun and b) They always do their best to make things comfortable (whether it's the folks from Bates 141 or APB). Anyway basically, I had a media pass for the weekend, and Din, my art director, also got himself a pass. They even gave us a complimentary draught keg which was awesome cos we had free beer and didn't have to trudge up the hill just to get some liquid refreshments. I've actually sort of quit alcohol but I deemed it a special enough event to break the rule. We contemplated sellin a cup for $5 each to our neighbors (the official stands were selling a cup for $10 heh).

Oh anyway yes, the acts. First day was basically rock out w ya cock out lineup with among others, Lost Prophets, Melee (who were decent I thought), New Found Glory, Simple Plan and of course Travis. I only reached there at 6ish plus being at the presscon to meet Simple Plan and Travis also meant I missed some other acts but well, didn't matter. Seeing the Travis guys, my first thoughts were - damn they're old now haha. I watched them here in 2001 during their double bill with Coldplay (before Chris Martin et al were famous) and that remains one of the top concerts I've ever seen so far. Waiting the entire night to see Fran Healy and gang dish out their hits old and new was awesome and they really stood out from

Travis!

the rest of the acts for their melody, attention to sound quality and rapport. I got to shake his Fran's hand after the presscon too so that was cool heh. They played an hour-plus set, it was a nice and chill way to end the night, also because the weather at night was a welcome respite from the BBQ temperature of the day.

Second day I came about 5ish because well, I only wanted to see Jason Mraz. I missed his presscon but managed to catch One Republic instead. Their set was awesome. But the thing that struck me was how packed Fort Canning was. I mean even from the top of the hill, there were just masses of people, I couldn't even see the grass!! It was that crazy. I think there was an estimated 10,000 pax there, compared to the 5,000 the previous day. Even when I was meeting the Heineken PR rep at the gate, there was a long queue to get in.Mr A-Z had the girls swooning all the way to the back and everyone was singing along too which was like, wow. Yeah ok so people were singing along to Panic at the Disco also but like Mraz had the ladies eatin out of his hands. I counted 4 girls being carried to the first aid booth during his set.

I left shortly after, during Rick Astley's set. Yup. Mr rickroll himself. He opened with 'Together Forever' which had everyone dancing along and doing the mambo dance moves.

mad sunday crowd

Then he started his second song 'Dance with Me'(?) which kinda shut them up a lot haha. I was actually worried the old geezer would collapse on stage because he was in a full suit! He actually lied down on stage after his first song. Somehow, he kept talking like Austin Powers ("yeah baby yeah") I didn't get it. And a lot of women were throwin him panties and bras. I have to say he aged quite well. Still pasty white but hair and face maintain. I gave Pussycat Dolls and Alicia Keys a miss but I heard Alicia's set was really good though. I was rather tired by the entire weekend and had to bring out some new-found friends, Ariff and his gf, from KL who were covering SingFest for their mag. Plus there was the small issue of work on Monday morning.

All in all, the international line-up was impressive but a lot of things could have been improved especially showcasing the local acts. Local bands played at a separate stage which was all the way up on the other side of the hill. Meaning noone really watched them play. At one point in time, there was noone watching the band play which was sad la. They should seriously consider mixing up the lineups so local bands get the airtime too and segregate the genre of music perhaps. Didn't help that the local sets clashed with the main headliners and since it was a bitch to move around, I can't blame people for skipping the top

more mad crowd

stage.

Getting food and drinks was also a bitch. Price aside, you had to again, go up to the other side of the hill, exchange money for coupons and then buy the food. Then with your hands full, negotiate back down the hill to find your place on the grass. First day was fine because it wasn't as bad but Sunday was mad jammed.

But gripes aside, it was nice to head back to Fort Canning and chill, esp on Saturday, with the Johnny Shameless dudes, smoking and drinking and getting to know our KL visitors. We introduced them to Mustafa Centre which they loved haha. That place is truly legend.

I hope next year's fest would be better, and hopefully cheaper! haha. Now to look forward to Deathcab next week!! Yay!!!

Plus I hear something about Kanye West yo... Ending off with the encore performance by the Travis boys. 'Flowers in the Window'

Travis - Flowers in the Window at Singfest 2008

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Why I am cool today

nobody@vox.com(Armchair News) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:29:20 +0000

Message in a laminate

Though, admittedly, it's probably just for today.

Squee!

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Bumbershoot is coming

nobody@vox.com(VirtualSound) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:19:51 +0000

Bumbershoot is at the end of the month in Seattle, anybody planning on going?

I'm experimenting with audio blogging, I plan on trying to do some simple stuff from the festival and getting it posted in near real time. Videos and photos will take a little longer.

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Experimental audio blog via Unity Connection

nobody@vox.com(VirtualSound) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:43:47 +0000

Since I'm an employee of Cisco and I'm using and mentioning Cisco products, I should be clear: the views, comments and (hopefully) insights found here are purely mine, not Cisco's. No official or corporate views or policies will be expressed here, only my personal opinions.

Bumbershoot is coming and I want to do something creative or productive. Last year I took a notebook and occasionally scribbled some notes while at the Seattle Center (laying on the ground in Memorial Stadium twice) so it didn't work out all that well. I eventually blogged about it later, but many details were gone by then - I always end up seeing so many bands that by the end of it I forget what they sounded like and what I enjoyed for the majority of them.

Cisco has encouraged us to look at web 2.0 and be creative, so here's what I've come up with. It's mostly nearly web 1.0, at least so far, but I envision eventually linking this to other web 2 apps such as the user editable maps, perhaps get a GPS with path recording, if we can adorn the path with links to the audio blogs, pictures and videos on a map of the center it could get interesting.

I'm experimenting with audio blogging by leaving voice mails on my corporate phone and grabbing the .wav file using Outlook in Windows. It took me some fiddling to figure out the server and password, but it works.

VoiceMessageTest

Pretty slick. I'm using IMAP to connect Outlook into Unity Connection, the voice messaging product from Cisco that I work on. The voice message account just looks like another e-mail account in-box, it's sea-alpha-cuc in this example:

UC Inbox

The inbox shows my voice mail messages with the message attached as a .wav file for each message. I left one using my cell phone sitting at home with my lap-top using VPN over wifi/cable modem with Outlook running and the cuc-install-49 folder selected as shown. The message appeared (and Outlook beeped) in a fraction of a second. Under load it may get slower, but I expect load to be low on Labor Day weekend during Bumbershoot so we should be OK.

The VoiceMessage.wav file can be saved by right clicking on it and selecting Save As. In this example the wav file is 103 KB, just short of 13 seconds of 8 KB/sec audio.

UC Inbox Detail

The sound was better than I had expected, if not spectacular. I added it to this blog as VoiceMessageTest above to the right so you can see - or should I say hear - for yourself.

Uploading it into Vox was mildly trivial. I think from now on I'll use small rather than medium sound icons, but otherwise we're pretty much good to go.

Hmm, sheer genius - I need to go somewhere with live music this weekend to do a dry run, I want to see what a 15 second bit of a song sounds like. Also I want to try talking or perhaps screaming over the music and seeing if we end up with anything intelligible. A job related excuse to hit the bars and drink some beer - I mean listen to some music and audio blog. What'll I think up next!

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a reason to celebrate!

nobody@vox.com(goobers18) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:50:28 +0000

Ben Folds is coming back to Kansas City in October! I just purchased my tickets :-)

01_Hiroshima ben

This will be the 8th time I've seen Ben Folds.

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Two Nights of The Young Republic

nobody@vox.com(W♥M) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:06:57 +0000

08/05/2008 13:00:22 ♥ written by ryan ()

The Young Republic - Girl From The Northern States

The Young Republic

Tour Dates

08/16/08 J.J.s Market Nashville, TN
09/11/08 Westgarth Social Middlesbrough
09/12/08 End of the Road Festival
09/13/08 End of the Road Festival
09/15/08 ULU London
09/16/08 100 Club London

http://sites.goog...

The Young Republic return to the UK in September They impressed fans on their last dalliance over...

Sometimes bands are so good you just have to see them twice; in fact you have to see them on a Wednesday and then the following Thursday, which is exactly what I did this May when I saw the Young Republic in Barfly in Liverpool and then the small little folk bar at the end of my road in Manchester

It is a decision I do not regret because I am fairly confident that The Young Republic are a band of great talent and skill. By all accounts, they are still surprisingly young! The voice of lead singer, Julians, is misleading. His voice suggested warily old-timer, or at least somebody in his early thirties. However his physically appearance led me to conclude that I should never judge a voice by it's singer...or something along those lines.

The Young Republic have it all; skilled musicians, great lyrics and the ability to perform. I will never forget the amazing Tom Waits cover I bore witness too (two nights in a row). I do not exaggerated. It was very impressive.

Having heard their debut album I was expecting to enjoy a night of good music but in the end I just had to settle for two nights of awesome entertainment.

The Liverpool show was a shared event. I went to see the excellent Port O'Brien, however I was humming The Young Republic as I left the venue. It was their heavier, plugged in set.

The Manchester show was in a folk bar, which The Young Republic didn't realise until the night. Quick on their feet, they decided to play their Paris set. It was supposedly played in a lower key, but it remained an impressive performance.

The only disappointing news was the absence of their new and irreplaceable drummer, Dustin Jensen.

Do not despair if you are worried about missing their May tour as a reliable source informs me that The Young Republic are due to return to the UK this September for gigs that included the ever wonderful End of the Road festival (Once again, the best line up of the UK Summer Festivals). This time they should have their band too!

More excitingly, I am told they are working on their follow up album. If they capture the energy they display on stage then rest assured this album will be something very special indeed; it may even solve the global energy crisis!

Links: theyoungrepublic.net myspace.com/theyoungrepublic

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Rage Against The Machine Coming To The Target Center During The RNC

nobody@vox.com(Erik T.) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:20:06 +0000

RATM

The weeks leading up to and including the Republican National Convention in St. Paul was already going to be contentious and volatile. Add Rage Against The Machine to the mix, and there are the makings for a true powder keg of outspoken energy and misdirected ire. There are many people that think the message and rap/rock method of Rage has outworn it's welcome, and now seems tired and stale, while there are others (as evidenced by the 75,000 people at Lolla this weekend to see them play) that find their message just as applicable and timely as it was when the songs were written. Whatever side of the fence you are on, there is no denying that their songs are politically charged explosions of angst and rebellion. And they are bringing that devisive spirit to Minneapolis during the RNC, playing the Target Center on September 3rd. Tickets (which are $60) go on-sale on Saturday @ 10 a.m. After seeing the tumultuous free-for-all that their Lolla set turned in to, add the RNC into the equation, and this truly could become a volatile clash between political parties/classes/and the masses. Or, it could just be a kick ass rock n' roll concert. I'm hoping for the latter. But rest assured, there will be an air of combativeness in the Target Center that evening, and it will be a polically charged evening no matter what.

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Skybombers at the Triple Rock, Minneapolis (08/04/08)

nobody@vox.com(W♥M) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:37:16 +0000

08/05/2008 02:30:32 ♥ written by vu ()

Skybombers - Reason to Live

Skybombers

Tour Dates

08/06/08 Bottom Lounge Chicago, IL
08/07/08 Val Air Ballroom Des Moines, IA**
08/08/08 Rave with WLUM Milwaukee, WI
08/09/08 Majestic Theatre Madison, WI
08/10/08 Outdoor Fest for KIWR Omaha, NE**
08/12/08 Magic Bag Detroit, MI*
08/13/08 Tatoo Toronto, ON*
08/14/08 Live Lounge Ottawa, ON*
08/15/08 Quai D’ Brumes Montreal, QB*
08/16/08 Casbah Quebec City, QB*
08/17/08 The Asylum Portland, ME
08/20/08 Mid East Boston, MA*
08/21/08 Revolution Hall Albany, NY
08/22/08 Mill Creek Philadelphia, PA*
08/23/08 Saint Asbury Park, NJ*
08/24/08 dc9 Washington DC*
08/25/08 Mercury Lounge New York

* with PIP
** with Flogging Molly

Discography

[Nov 2007] Sirens EP

[Jun 2008] Take Me To Town

[Jun 2008] Always Complaining - Single

Sounds Like

Skybombers

http://weheartmus...

Skybombers are a hot new rock band from Melbourne, Australia. If their debut single, Sirens (on s...

Set List ♥ Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis (08/04/08)

Hugh ♥ photo by vu

To be honest, I wasn't supposed to be at this show, but already having missed Skybombers the first time around when they opened up for X, I felt I had to turn up to support these guys this time around at The Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis. Usually these Triple Rock shows have at least three bands (hence: triple), but Monday night, they were overbooked with FIVE bands.

Each set was pretty short, about 6 songs per band, and I was in and out and didn't catch much of the opening bands. The first band, for sure, was Total Fucking Blood (a band's non-offensive name that's guarantee to be carried at your favorite Best Buy) was a thrash metal band with an emphasis on two drummers. There was also Paint Me a Sky, which, I think, had a keyboardist, and there was one additional band that was not listed on the bill. I think they were the hardcore screamo band - either way, the metal bands didn't quite mix well with Darkos or Skybombers. I don't know what they were hoping when they do these cross-platform shows, perhaps they are hoping to steal some of the audience from other genres?

Clearly, Skybombers shows us why people regard them as one of the best live bands, as the band stomp and jump around. It's a real workout as no one could understand any banters that singer Hugh huffs and puffs out (it probably doesn't help that he has an Australian accent or that the sound system sounds distorted).

They're very good at playing live, including improvised chords and using random things, like a glass of beer, to play their guitar. It's really too bad that they cut their set list short, due to a broken Orange "head" (they had to borrow another band's cabinet).

Skybombers - It Goes Off

I have their latest full length album, Take Me To Town, released June 6th, 2008, so hopefully when I have a little more time, I will do a decent write up on it. Just quickly, I did notice that the "6AM" on the EP is either a different mix or recording on their LP. This is kind of nice, since fans of the EP will have new versions on the album.

Being on constant touring have crafted the band. They are simply amazing to watch, much like the first time you saw The Hives doing chaotic things. I hope you catch them on tour, their next date is in Chicago, then Iowa - where they are playing alongside the great Flogging Molly.

UPDATE: New photos of the show, courtesy of Brody at Britishisalwaystop:

Skybombers ♥ photograph by Brody

Links: skybombers.com myspace.com/skybombers darkosrock paintmeasky totalfuckingblood

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陪我歌唱

nobody@vox.com(keitsu) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:57:03 +0000

Sodagreen Sing With Me Tour

去年和今年的演唱會有什麼不同？
表演者「蘇打綠」還是一樣棒，
只是表演場地變大了，
反而失去那份親切感。

演唱會開場是小不點非常喜歡的「無與倫比的美麗」。
小不點期待，結尾會不會又是「我的未來不是夢」。
結果沒有，是有點小失望，
可是演唱會就是這樣，時間有限啦。

小不點很喜歡清唱的「小情歌」，
就只有青峰的聲音和阿龔的鋼琴伴奏，
很令人陶醉。

仍然有超出原定的ｅｎｃｏｒｅ曲，
我想這已經是他們在新加坡的特色了。
希望將來的演唱會都能繼續這樣。

一向喜歡青峰的小不點，
經過了這場演唱會，有了另一個蘇打綠的支持對像。
就是．．．阿龔！
拉小提琴的男人就是特別帥。
加上手指迅速的在鋼琴鍵盤上穿梭，認真的神情，
更是帥暴了。
只是跳舞的舞姿真的是醜了點，
不過也是阿龔的另一面。
（參了，我怎麼把整個團里，比較不帥的阿龔
形容到如此．．．）

至於青峰，仍然不改他那３８的個性，
有的沒的說了一堆，
把我們惹的大笑。
從他企圖用英文點餐，到前面那些有心事的人，
真的有點受不了。

期待他們還會有機會來到新加坡開唱。
也期待他們快些發新專輯。

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