BIG JAPAN/BIG CITY ROCK/LANDON PIGG

May 30, 2006
BIG JAPAN/BIG CITY ROCK/LANDON PIGG/BRIGHTWOOD/LIGHTBREAK
The Underground $10
Roseville, CA

Ok, so Lightbreak and Brightwood did not really amaze me much. I hear way too much of this kind of music already at the Underground and The Boardwalk. And I've heard better. The sound is not that great at the Underground either. You can barely hear most of the vocalists besides Nate Bott only because I guess the vocalists suck with the volume.

Landon Pigg were great. They reminded me of Rufus Wainwright and their stage presence reminded me of a more happy version of Devendra Banhart. Their songs were well written and different from the other bands.

Big City Rock rocked the Underground. Nate was being intimidating again, which I noticed, but the show was awesome still. No one cannot not dance to them. It's hard not to. And for all those who didn't, you're boring. It was nice to have BCR back in town since October 2005. They have kickass stage presence too! It's great watching each one of them performing on stage especially Frankie and his killer dance moves. If you touch his hair, it will bring you good luck for 7 years! And some new facts have risen since I interviewed them back in Oct. and got some info: Nate and Kaumyar does NOT watch Desperate Housewives (like I thought from the interview) because Kaumyar does not watch the tele unless it's basketball. Kaumyar did not like the Sacramento Kings cowbell idea nor does he like Chris Webber. He does like Peja Stojakovic and Jason Williams.

Big Japan was lovely. They're so indie. I love their sound and music, and there's some cute little parts in some of the songs too. Haha. The vocalist could've been louder like how Nate Bott was. And Brad Babinski (the bassist) who has been in the band since January, and was previously in a jazz band and also played the bass, was awesome and he had some little moves himself on stage that reminded me of Jared's moves from Augustana who coincidentally is a bassist as well. Everyone loves Brad. And oh yes Adam! Poor Adam. How shy and scared he must be. If only the screaming teenyboppers weren't all jumpy and screaming their heads off I'm sure maybe Adam might've been nice enough to stick around afterwards to take pictures with his fans or Big Japan fans. Anyways, Adam was a great drummer! Although he could've been a bit more sneaky about his escape plan because he was highly noticeable as he was planning his escape out of the building for the end of the show on stage with the guitarist while the lad singer was performing a song solo. I had no time to go over to their merch and see if anything was for sale, but go and buy their CD! And buy Big City Rock's self-titled debut album as well in stores everywhere!

Big City Rock

It's About Time...

I didn't really watch them for too long at Coachella. And Sofia was there? Aww.

Sofia Coppola Expecting

Polaris

Sofia Coppola is expecting her first child with boyfriend Thomas Mars. The director of such acclaimed films as The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation is three months along, Coppola’s rep confirms to Us. The couple announced their pregnancy at the Cannes Film Festival where Coppola’s latest film, Marie Antoinette, premiered last week. Mars is the lead singer of the French band Phoenix, which makes a cameo serenading the French queen in Coppola’s film.

Last month, the pair enjoyed a romantic weekend together in Palm Springs when Mars was in town to play at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California. Coppola, 35, was seen beaming from the side of the stage as her man’s band performed.

“She seemed so into it. She went everywhere with him. They never left each other’s side!” an eyewitness told Us at the time. The parents-to-be spent the rest of the weekend poolside at the Parker hotel, strolling hand-in-hand outdoors while enjoying the desert sun.

Coppola was married for four years to director Spike Jonze. They divorced in 2003 and had no children together.

Source: http://www.usmagazine.com/blog/2006/05/30/sofia-coppola-expecting/

GET 'LOST' AGAIN

The season finale of 'Lost' was so fucking amazing!!! The ending was the best part of the show of course. It's pretty shocking. If you weren't planning on reading Bad Twin by Gary Troup, I'd advise you to do so because it has a lot to do with the ending of the Season 2 Finale.

The Season 2 Disc will be in stores October 3, 2006...

Lost - The Complete Second Season (2004)

September 22, 2004 - The U.S. Theatrical Release Date as well as the day that Oceanic Flight 815 crashed because of... *ahem*

I WANTS ONE

These characters are toying with us

By William Keck, USA TODAY

"I'm going to be an action figure!!??"

That's what Malcolm David Kelley (Lost's Walt) exclaimed after the 14-year-old learned from his TV dad, Harold Perrineau (Michael), that the cast is getting plastic mini-me replicas.

Comics legend Todd McFarlane scanned the faces of Lost cast members and videotaped their bodies to help create their 6-inch versions.

Or more accurately in Malcolm's case, 4 inches, max.

"When you're doing a kid, there's less plastic, so Walt will probably come with Vincent, the dog, so people don't think we're cheating them," explains McFarlane, who created action figures for Kiss, The Simpsons, Napoleon Dynamite and Spawn.

Series 1, due this fall, will feature six original Lost characters: Jack, Kate, Locke, Charlie, Hurley and Shannon. Walt and Michael will come later.

As will Sawyer.

"Ideally, we want to have multiple series," McFarlane says. "But you want to get out of the gate strong. You've got to have the top two — Kate and Jack — but then I don't want to burn off all the top people. I'll probably do Sawyer with his shirt off for Series 2."

Some cast members were more excited about the prospect of becoming toys than others. "You have those that get it and those that don't," says McFarlane, who spent an hour with each actor. "Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Dominic Monaghan (Charlie) and Michelle Rodriguez (Ana Lucia) were real geeks who got it."

The one who didn't get it: Terry O'Quinn (Locke).

"He has that kind of anti-commercial thing," McFarlane says.

Maggie Grace (Shannon) had been killed off the show when McFarlane visited the Oahu set to do the scans. Grace met with the artist in Los Angeles to have her measurements taken for a bikini-clad version of Shannon, as seen in the pilot. (Figures of other dead characters including Boone, Libby and Ethan also are in the works.)

Each figure, with a suggested retail price of $15 to $20, will come with a prop, such as Kate's toy airplane, Charlie's Drive Shaft band ring and Hurley's lottery ticket.

"We're going to do our action figures in a slightly outside-the-box fashion," says show producer Damon Lindelof.

Case in point: The figures will speak sound bites that reflect their personalities and back stories. Press a button and bratty Shannon will say: "What's a four-letter word for 'I don't care'?" And Hurley repeats his infamous: "Stop. Wait. The numbers are bad!"

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-05-23-lost-toys_x.htm

Get Well Soon Andy

Exclusive - Arctic Monkeys lose a member

Star out on eve of North American tour

Arctic Monkeys bassist Andy Nicholson is out of the band.

The group are expected to tour North America later this month and throughout June without the bassist.

"Owing to fatigue following an intensive period of touring, Andy Nicholson shall be taking a rest and will not be accompanying Arctic Monkeys on their forthcoming tour of North America," the band explained in a statement.

They added: "Nick O'Malley shall be standing in for Andy on the tour which begins in Vancouver on May 27th. We all wish Andy a speedy recovery."

The band are due to return to Europe in July for festivals, including T In The Park (July 9).

Also this summer there's a planned visit to Australia and Japan, before coming back to play the Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds Festivals at the end of August.

Source: http://www.nme.com/news/arctic-monkeys/23130

'The Da Vinci Code' Film

Paul Bettany


Audrey Tautou & Tom Hanks

So I never finished the book, but it's fine, otherwise I wouldn't have been as interested as I was watching the film in my highly uncomfortable seat. It was definitely suspenseful for people who don't know the book too well as they try to uncover a huge secret. The film could've been better and it is missing a couple of points in the film from the book that is probably important. The film features some of my favorite actors like Paul Bettany and Sir Ian McKellen. Even though I never finished reading the book, I knew the ending of the story while watching the movie before they even revealed it. Tom Hanks was brilliant as usual. His haircut was not as bad as I thought it would be until the wind started blowing in his hair. And it was strange seeing Audrey Tautou in a different role since I only knew her as Amelie. Paul Bettany was hot like always, but scary of course as the albino. Pretty much the only nudity in this film is Bettany's ass, which is shown a lot in many of his films like A Knight's Tale and Wimbledon. Sir Ian McKellen was hilarious, but his role is definitely the opposite of the role of Gandalf. It was hard to keep a straight face during many of McKellen's scenes.

MUSIC WAS GOOD, ONLY DUE TO BRENT

This incident (if true) just further proves what some assholes some bands can be and shows how much they're all in it for the money. Fuckin' sell-outs! This isn't shocking since Panic! At The Disco is affiliated with Fall Out Boy.


Source: http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/6804544.html

Farewell Grandaddy... Jason Lytle In-Store Performances!

Jason Lytle from the now dead Grandaddy will be doing a few acoustic in-store performances at a city near you!

May 17, 2006
Other Music
8pm
New York, NY

May 19, 2006
Easy Street (Queen Anne)
7pm
Seattle, WA

May 20, 2006
Amoeba Music
6pm
San Francisco, CA

May 21, 2006
The Beat
4pm
Sacramento, CA

For more info, http://www.myspace.com/grandaddy

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE!!! What? Bloc Party?

From Pitchfork:

Bloc Party Schedule North American Shows

Caroline Bermudez reports:
The summer concert season is not quite upon us and our index fingers are already tired. Between the hordes of festivals (especially here in our neck of the woods) and certain tours that inexplicably sell out in two minutes, the redial button on our phone and the refresh button on our browser have become our best friends.

Bloc Party are definitely not make things any easier, having just announced a string of North American dates with the likes of the Secret Machines and Broken Social Scene. Oh, and the Brooklyn show takes place in an empty public pool.

Ticketbastard, here we come:

06-24 Toronto, Ontario - Olympic Island *@
06-25 Chicago, IL - Intonation Festival
07-28 Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion #%
07-29 Brooklyn, NY - McCarran Pool #%
08-01 Anaheim, CA - The Grove #
08-03 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre *#
08-04 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre *#$
08-05 San Diego, CA - Street Scene Festival #
08-08 Mexico City, Mexico - TBA #
08-09 Houston, TX - Warehouse Live #
08-10 Austin, TX - Stubb's BBQ #
08-19 Chelmsford, England - Hylands Park (V Festival)
08-20 Staffordshire, England - Weston Park (V Festival)

* with Broken Social Scene
@ with Feist, Raising the Fawn, J Mascis
# with Mew
% with Secret Machines
$ with Two Gallants

As previously reported, Bloc Party is working on a new album in London with producer Jacknife Lee. Track titles include "Hunting for Witches", "Waiting for the 7.18", "Kreuzberg", "Cruel", "Merge on the Freeway", "Into the Blue", "Kids", "The Present", and "Machines". No word on when the new album will come out, but it is expected late this year.

To hear a live version of "Waiting for the 7.18" recorded at Coachella, head over to the Bloc Party blog, the awesomely monikered Blog Party.

* Pitchfork Review: Bloc Party: Silent Alarm Remixed
* Pitchfork News: Bloc Party Get to Work on New Record
* Pitchfork Feature: Interview: Bloc Party
* Pitchfork Feature: Live: Bloc Party
* Bloc Party: http://www.blocparty.com/
* Blog Party: http://bloc-party.blogspot.com/

Source

I'm The One That Picked The Apple Tree! "Woolf MOTHEER!"

You've seen this advertised everywhere from Myspace to Late Night with Conan. This is one of the best fucking albums I've ever heard. It's lively for one thing. And it's hard not to rock out to this even in your own home or while driving. This Australian band, Wolfmother, is hot. The album has been out since May 2nd so go pick it up in stores if you have not. Highlights include "Dimension", "Woman", "Apple Tree", "Joker and the Thief", "Mind's Eye", "Love Train", and pretty much the rest of the album.

Phenomena. COACHELLA 2006 (DAY 2) Review

Sunday was definitely going to be crazy. I saw Youth Group and luckily they played "Shadowland" and "Skeleton Jar" when I was there back to back because those are my favorite songs from them. Right after, I headed over to Giant Drag. Annie Hardy is hilarious! Giant Drag played "Kevin Is Gay", "This Isn't It", "My Dick Sux", and "Slayer".

Giant Drag

I stayed for Mates of State. I wasn't too excited for them. Their performance was okay, but the most exciting performance that afternoon was TED LEO AND THE PHARMACISTS. They were greater than my expectations. Ted is fucking awesome. They literally put a smile on my face and I have to say that was a rare moment considering me feeling like shit that day. They played old and new songs including "Walking To Do", "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone", and "Me and Mia".

Mates of State

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

It's too bad I missed James Blunt and his Willy Wonka sunglasses, but I tried to catch Metric. I only watched two songs from them including "The Police and the Private" from afar. Metric was one of the other bands that I really didn't want to miss, but it was hard to enjoy the show from so far. Before watching Metric, I saw a bit of Phoenix. They're great as usual. Afterwards I decided to try and meet Editors, but unfortunately I came too late for their signing.

I headed straight towards the Outdoor Stage to catch Bloc Party. I saw a little bit of Minus the Bear before heading straight for the front for Bloc Party. The boys from Bloc Party were beautiful and I enjoyed the show very much. Kele has such a beautiful smile. It's hard not to notice! The highlight of the show was near the end when Kele stood on top of all the speakers on my side while checking out the scenery, crowd, and playing his guitar. It was one of the few shows that I really enjoyed.

Bloc Party

Afterwards, I went straight for Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I had a bad view of Karen O the entire time, but I was up in the front of the crowd off to the side. I loved YYYs. Tool fans weren't enjoying the show very much until Karen O screamed while eating her mic during the choruses of a song. That was seriously the best moment of their set and everyone just got crazy over that. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were crazy, but not as weird as I thought they were. Some folks got bored from their set and left, but there were plenty of fans who enjoyed it and got what they expected.
Right after their set I went straight for Madonna, but she was taking way too long to get on stage as scheduled and the tent was too packed, so I went to Editors show. I got bored and then I went back to check out Madonna. I saw her perform her first song. Luckily there was a giant screen outside the tent so everyone who can't see her in the tent can just watch the screen. She's a great performer on stage with all her backup dancers, but her singing sucks! And of course lip singing sucks too.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Editors

I skipped the rest of Madonna's set and saw the end of Mogwai's set, which seemed to have never ended. I was bored as hell. To tell you the truth, I'm not that interested in some instrumental music and Mogwai is one of them, but there were Mogwai fans in the crowd who thought they were 'sick'.

Madonna

I saw The Go! Team who were horrible live. They were fun to watch and were upbeat. They got the crowd going, but if you're not a BIG fan of their music, then you're not going to enjoy the show. I was a fan of The Go! Team, but I'm definitely not a fan of their live shows. I wouldn't pay any price over $12 to see them headlining a show unless I want to see the opening act.

The Go! Team

Scissor Sisters were so fun to watch! I was creeped out as first, but that was expected. I loved the gold attire. I'm not a big fan of their music since I only like a few songs, but I loved watching them. I left early and saw a little bit of Tool for a couple seconds, and that was the end of my Coachella experience. It felt good leaving at the end of a long day, but now that I think about it, I miss Coachella and I'm glad I tried to experience it to the fullest.

Scissor Sisters

Clap Your Hands! COACHELLA 2006 (DAY 1) Review

Saturday, the first day of Coachella, we were in heavy traffic, but we still made it up to the front row for one of the first bands to play, The Like. I was hoping to see Head Automatica, who played first on the outdoor stage right before The Like, but we didn't make it there for their set. Since I always missed Head Automatica when coming to town, it made no difference. The Like was good live as was expected. They sounded beautiful. They're such sweet girls when I met them at the Virgin signing and people should definitely not pay attention to the opinions of some haters becuase they're just jealous that they're not as talented as them. Matt Costa was wonderful, but there isn't much to say about him since I was never a huge fan. I haven't heard enough from him and I still haven't heard enough from him.

Z Berg of The Like

Matt Costa

The next band that I went to see were The Walkmen. They were decent live. It was hard to enjoy their show from afar so I went straight for The Zutons. They're very very lively onstage presence and their saxophonist is awesome, but I only watched the first two or three songs from them because I was dieing of heat exhaustion so I decided to head over to the tents early to squeeze my way to the front for TV on the Radio later in the day.

The Walkmen


The Zutons

First band I saw in the Mojave Tent was Wolfmother. I've heard one song from them before, but I didn't think much of them until seeing them live. They are incredible. Probably one of my favorite performances I've seen at Coachella. It's hard not to rock out to them. I wasn't surprised to find that Danny Masterson was a fan as he was watching Wolfmother as well.

Wolfmother

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was another band that I wanted to watch, but didn't feel too excited for it. I was surprised. I was never a big fan of their album especially since I never had the interest in listening to it in its entirety and I only liked one of their songs, but I've had a change of heart after their performance. Their set included "Let The Cool Goddess Rust Away", "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth", and the favorite "In This Home On Ice". Their live performances are so much better than their recordings. I think the album has grown on me since then and I'm starting to appreciate it more.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

The band that I've looked forward to all day was TV on the Radio. I've always been a fan of their music and I've been interested in seeing how their live shows were. They have a unique way of blending rock, blues, soul, and they're very experimental I should say. They played old and new songs including favorites like "Staring at the Sun", "Dreams", and "Ambulance". I've heard from people that TV on the Radio are horrible live and some would rather listen to their recordings, but I must say that they are incredible live and their live sound is so much better than their recordings. Actually, live IS always better unless you're Ashlee Simpson.

TV on the Radio

So I saw a bit of Sigur Ros, Ladytron, Cat Power, Devendra Banhart, Franz Ferdinand (until the screen went blank), and Depeche Mode. Sigur Ros played my favorite song "Hoppipolla". Ladytron was interesting, but it bored me. Cat Power opened up with "The Greatest", which was fitting. Devendra Banhart was, well Devendra Banhart. I'm not really a fan of his so there's nothing to say. Franz Ferdinand was enjoyable, but seeing them before already and being front row I didn't want to waste my time. Between one of those sets I was in the SBC tent resting my ass off. And then I went into the next tent with the fake snow, which stunk like hell. I saw Depeche Mode, but for a brief moment. Afterwards, I watched a little bit of The Juan Maclean and then headed over to Atmosphere. Great great group! And then saw She Wants Revenge right after that, who are pretty good. I only remembered later that night that I wanted to see Daft Punk, but I forgot about their performance and my lazy ass wanted to sit down so I missed their spectacular, most talked about performance of Coachella.