Recording review - King Tuff, Black Moon Spell (2014)

Arch humor from a garage glam creepster

Here’s the pitch: We’ll raise T. Rex’s Marc Bolan from the dead and partner him up with the Cramps, then polish the act to create the perfect bubblegum pop band for a Saturday morning kids’ cartoon series. Call it “So King Tuff!” What makes the act so irresistible is that Kyle Thomas, King Tuff’s alter ego, has found an ideal balance point between tongue in cheek irony, lo-fi garage glam, and creep-show trappings. Thickly distorted guitars and pounding drums provide a battle-axe edge to Black Moon Spell that grounds his lilting vocals and occasional forays into psychedelic excess. Or maybe it’s the other way around and arch humor and goofy lyrics keep the walls of noisy rock jams from sinking into the sludge. Either way, the combination results in an intense but fun listening experience, where the songs themselves aren’t necessarily that impressive, but they’re thoroughly entertaining. For example, “Headbanger” follows its croaking, demonic intro with tight, eighth note chunks of guitar just to set up the poppy, teenage love song lyrics, “Me and you, we got a true connection/ I knew it when I saw your record collection.” A shared love of Black Sabbath and Judas Priest is the only sign King Tuff needs to recognize his soulmate. The smooth, pop hook chorus repetition, “Bang your little head,” is propelled by a metalloid guitar riff that summons a sweet tang of cognitive dissonance. It’s simultaneously fluffy and visceral, and it’s also completely silly. With lines like,”Shaking off our clothes on the grave, where rock and roll was buried/ Making out to ‘Make Me Shout,’ in the back of a cemetery,” it’s impossible to take it seriously. Except the music is so compelling…

Of course, King Tuff doesn’t jump straight to the punch line. Black Moon Spell opens with a run of less campy tracks. First, the title tune includes a solid instrumental section that establishes his hard rock credentials. Then he tosses out a low budget, entry level rocker and some acid-soaked garage psychedelia to soften the listeners so “Headbangers” will hit all the harder. That sensibility rescues the album from pure parody; King Tuff has the discipline to tone down the wink and nod for enough of the songs so that when he drops the subtlety, the listener is primed for it. It also helps that the oddball songs don’t follow a strict formula. On the one hand, “I Love You Ugly” sounds like a T. Rex interpretation of Tuff Darts’ “(Your Love Is Like) Nuclear Waste” that bleeds off all of the bile to leave behind a residue of simple non-judgmental love and left-handed compliments. By contrast, the raw rocker “Madness” leads with a ridiculous boast, “King Tuff is my name/ I got madness in my brain/ Pleased to meet ya/ I’m gonna eat ya/ Cause I’m batshit insane,” which turns out to be his idea of a pickup line.

While the humor forms the core of Black Moon Spell‘s attraction, the camouflage tunes have their appeal as well. Probably the best track on the album is “Black Holes In Stereo”, which cleverly repurposes record album spindle holes as a pathway to transcendence. The verses are wordy, backed with a poppy, up-tempo beat, but the chorus kicks it into overdrive with a single line mission statement, “There’s a black hole on your stereo/ And all you gotta do is go, go, go…” The echoed mayhem of that last word repeats like stars slipping away from a rocket hitting warp speed.

Near the end of the album, King Tuff loses some of his focus with a couple of sun-dappled psychedelic tunes that call back to his earlier releases, but don’t quite fit here, despite being quite pleasant. He also chose to close out the record with a straight ahead retro rocker rather than going for the laugh one last time. Regardless, the essentially weird mix on the album isn’t diminished by either of these decisions. If this were a cartoon, I’d be tuning in just to see where King Tuff would go next.

(This review first appeared on Spectrum Culture)

Concert review - Tenacious D with The Sights

26 July 2012 (Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison CO)

The show contrasted a serious young band full of nervous energy and a well practiced, experienced headliner. Both acts gave fair value with strong sets.

Red Rocks is a large venue. I had good seats with great sound, but a bit far back for good photos.

The Sights

The Sights were out of their element. This tour is certainly exposing them to some large audiences and Red Rocks is long way from the Michigan bars back home. Where a lesser band might have been cowed, The Sights stepped up with their incredible bar band energy and played large enough to own the stage.

Eddie Baranek's manic stage presence comes through in The Sights' YouTube clips, but he was even more amped as he strutted the stage here. The whole band was hyped as they pounded through the relatively short set.

They mostly favored the new album, Left Over Right (review), but they pulled out some older cuts, too. I loved Baranek's wicked guitar jam kicking off the bluesy rocker, (Nose to the) Grindstone.

The Sights emphasized their rocker side, which was appropriate for a Tenacious D crowd. So, they toned down some of their soul sound. Still, their tight pop harmonies sweetened the mix.

They wrapped up the set with an amazing version of Fool (I Can't Stop Making Out With You). Baranek set his guitar down on the edge of the stage and let it feedback in an extended version of the album track's tease intro. Then, he took the mic with his harp and threw down against Dean Tartaglia's wailing sax. The vocals still reminded me of Eric Burdon and the Animals, but with the band off their leashes. Tartaglia doubled down on free jazz sax riffs, playing two saxes at the same time. Kyle Schanta's heavy bass lines anchored the tune.

Sweaty and spent, the band took their bows at the end. They seemed a little shell-shocked. Eddie Baranek looked dazed as he thanked us for the "Best night ever". No, Eddie. Thank you.

Tenacious D

Tenacious D are touring behind their new album, Rize of the Fenix (review). Rather than mix up the set, interspersing older song with the new songs, Tenacious D split the set into two halves. In the first section, they played many of the new songs. Then they laid out a tongue in cheek jam, showcasing a "new direction" for The D -- Jazz. It was an amusing send up of pretentious free jazz, complete with Jack Black's scat vocals. After that, the second half of the set hit a bunch of favorite songs from their earlier albums.

Rize of the Fenix isn't Tenacious D's strongest album, but the live energy kicked ass. They started out the set with a theatrical version of the title track. The dynamics of the song were bigger and the stage set (a giant Fenix/cock) was exactly the kind of excess that Tenacious D does so well.

While Kyle Gass stayed quiet and serious in his straight man persona, Jack Black dominated the show with his over-the-top acting. Black's funniest acting roles are rooted in his ability throw himself into a silly part, selling even the goofiest character (Nacho Libre, etc). This was part of the magic of the Tenacious D show on HBO that launched the franchise. The Red Rocks set was fairly scripted, but Black was so invested with his role, that it took on a kind of sincerity. Whether he was playing prima donna between songs and ordering his roadies around or pushing his campy Neil Diamond impression on 39, Black kept us laughing as we rocked.

That balance between humor and catharsis makes Tenacious D such a great band. If Black handled the bulk of the funny, Kyle Gass and the band drove the music. Longtime backing musician John Konesky was incredibly versatile on guitar, effortlessly bouncing from classical lines to shredding leads. Bass player John Spiker played some solid lines, but his solo during the band introductions was jaw-dropping. Brooks Wackerman showed off his agility with kick drum rolls and tasteful fills. KG's guitar work was a nice contrast to Konesky's. On the new material, his playing was more subtle, but he had plenty of chances to show off during the older songs.

Tenacious D kept up a pace chock full of peak moments. With Konesky "possessed" by Satan, the band ran through the skit/song of Beelzeboss (The Final Solution). Without giving us much time to savor the big finish, Gass sauntered to the full front center of the stage and kicked off a rousing medley of the Who's Tommy. Starting with Pinball Wizard, he nailed Townshend's speedy rhythmic strum. The band transitioned from Pinball Wizard to There's a Doctor before finishing out with Go To The Mirror!

Tenacious D wrapped up the set with an extended version of Double Team that detoured out to band introductions before the inevitable climax from the Fenix spewed confetti into the audience. We didn't have to wait long for the three song encore, which wrapped up with a crowd singalong of Fuck Her Gently.

More photos on my Flickr.

Setlist

• Rize of the Fenix
• Low Hangin' Fruit
• Señorita
• Deth Starr
• The Roadie
• Throw Down
• 39
• "Jazz"
• Kielbasa
• Kickapoo
• Dude (I Totally Miss You)
• Kyle Quit the Band
• Friendship
• The Metal
• Wonderboy
• Beelzeboss (The Final Countdown)
• Tommy medley
• Pinball Wizard
• There's a Doctor
• Go To The Mirror!
• Tribute
• Double Team
• with band intros & solos
  

Encore:

• Baby
• Jesus Ranch
• Fuck Her Gently

Recording review - Tenacious D, Rize of the Fenix (2012)

Going through the motions isn't enough to save the D

The short review (if you want to save some reading) is that Rize of the Fenix has a few decent songs and Tenacious D has expanded their musical approach beyond acoustic metal, but the comedy isn't up to par with their earlier work. In general, it feels like Kyle Gass and Jack Black are going through the motions -- occasionally it clicks but, too often, it misses.

I've been a fan of the D for years. Sure, the humor could be juvenile, but a fun, transgressive comedy flowed out of their balance of real love of metal and satire for the genre. Their first album, Tenacious D, was brilliantly funny and its skits have held up well to repeated listenings. JB and KG could milk a goofy idea like Inward Singing or expand on their characters with Friendship Test and commit so strongly, that the skits still get a chuckle.

Rize of the Fenix only has two skits and neither measures up to their earlier work. Classical Teacher starts out with promise as they discuss how to be the best band in the world. But this leads nowhere except for Black to pretend to be a kinky classical guitar teacher and then reveal himself to Kage.

That's still much better than Flutes and Trombones, which limps on like a failed improv exercise. If this was the best they could come up with, I'm not sure why they bothered. Weaker musical tracks like 39 don't help either. If JB had just improvised these lyrics onstage or in the rehearsal room, it might have been funny enough at the time, but leaving the track in its unpolished state seems like they couldn't be bothered. And Black's huskiest Neil Diamond impression isn't enough to sell it.

Fortunately, there are a couple of stronger tracks to carry the album and remind us what Tenacious D can do. The title cut and The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage catch us up on the Tenacious D mythos. Rize of the Fenix acknowledges the failure of The Pick of Destiny, but asserts that overcoming that obstacle was necessary to prove the band's mettle. The music is hard rocking. The tension builds in a section that borrows from the Who's 5:15 to resolve into soft acoustic sweetness. This trademark interlude give Black the room to worry about their fans if the D can't make it: namely that they'll have to laser off their Tenacious D tattoos. No one wants that on their conscience!

Later, The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage lays out another version of the larger Tenacious D story. In this one, KG descends into jealous insanity while JB succeeds but loses his cred. The alt rock ballad never moves toward a harder metal crunch, but the flute solo adds a sweet layer of pathos. Fortunately, JB comes to his senses and saves KG (and thereby Tenacious D and the rest of us).

My favorite track is Roadie. Over a relentless beat like Bob Seger's Turn the Page, they resurrect Jack Black's roadie character from Brütal Legend and lionize the unseen masters that "make the rock go". The lyrical flow meshes with the beat:

Cause the rockers rock, but the roadies roll
Gotta take the mic, I guess I take control
Gotta get that shit up on that fucking stage

Because, the roadie knows what the roadie knows
And the roadie knows that he wears black clothes
And he hides off in the shadows of the stage

Jack Black's delivery is full of the over emoting self-importance that makes this a solid Tenacious D song.

I'm standing at the threshold of your dreams
Without me, there'd be no sound from those amps
Without me, there'd be no lights on the stage
But you don't applaud for me!

If the rest of Rize of the Fenix lived up to this moment, it would have been perfect.

CD review - Bill Hicks, 12/16/61 (2011)

The rant artist as a young man...

Last month, Ryko released 12/16/61 as a teaser for the new box set, Bill Hicks Essential Collection, which drops on January 18. This is a long overdue recognition for Bill Hicks, who passed away in 1994, well before his time. The box set includes some of Hicks' music, which was going to be my angle to justify writing about comedian in my music blog.

Of course, 12/16/61's brief five tracks focuses on Hicks' early standup bits and doesn't cover his songs, like Chicks Dig Jerks. Despite that, I'm happy to start the year with a detour to get a reminder of Bill Hicks' wicked sense of humor and sharp mind.

The bits here are very early Bill Hicks, from 1982. He hadn't yet settled into his scathing social commentary, although the roots are there in his Reagan references. Listening to his casual delivery and soft southern drawl, it seems almost like a harbinger of Jeff Foxworthy. Except Jeff Foxworthy never started a bit with, "I figured this out on acid; I'm not making it up!"

Hicks talks about Mick Jagger ("a little effeminate billionaire elf"), Keith Richards, and his sarcastic admiration for punks:

I like punk rock. I don't like the music, but I like the people in it. I respect them. Most people are like "I don't like Reagan, but that's life". They got no spine. Punk rockers are like "Yeah, I don't like Reagan, so I think I'll stick a bone up me ass"

Still, Hicks' growth as a comedian did parallel other cultural trends. Middle class pop dreams were overrun by punk's anger and frustration. Then, new wave would polish that anti-establishment edge and trade some anger for biting cleverness. Hicks would grow beyond his observational humor and anecdotes to develop into his anti-corporate/anti-bullshit punk phase.

From Jon Stewart to Doug Stanhope, Hicks' spirit is alive and well in our culture, even though he's gone. Pick up 12/16/61 from iTunes and spring for the box set later this month.

CD review - Garfunkel and Oates, All Over Your Face (2011)

Since you're reading this on the interwebs, you should already be familiar with the musical comedy duo of Garfunkel and Oates (Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci). You don't need me to tell you how funny they are; you've already seen their self-produced videos.

If Garfunkel and Oates aren't already on your radar, they should be: sweet voiced harmonies, folk guitar and ukulele, and two women who personify a clever naivete. Of course, their stage personas are the perfect delivery vehicle for their bawdy humor. Their earthy shtick cuts both ways. Plenty of people love them, but it makes them easy to dismiss. Hearing these cute voices say "fuck" or cheerfully refer to oral sex is an amusing gimmick, but the titillating shock value fades fairly quickly.

Garfunkel and Oates are polarizing like Sarah Silverman, because their comedy pushes people's buttons and the boundaries of taste. It's true, the deliberate vulgarity leads to plenty of cheap shot laughs, but there's a fine comedic sense driving them. Even though some may pan Garfunkel and Oates for crassness, the pair pull it off because their material is very funny.

Much of the humor is sex and relationship based, like You, Me, and Steve and Gay Boyfriend. Garfunkel and Oates use the frank simplicity of these songs to mock modern relationships and sex roles while hitting at deeper truths. But they also branch out into larger cultural topics with the guido-bashing This Party Took A Turn For the Douche and the medical marijuana sendup, Weed Card. The pro-gay marriage ballad, Sex With Ducks, takes on Pat Robertson's crazy rhetoric and embraces it.

Of course, mere jokes wear thin after a while, but musical comedy can have longer staying power. Jonathan Coulton's songs like Re: Your Brains remain just as fun even beyond the life of the basic joke. Like Coulton, Garfunkel and Oates have a knack for catchy tunes and good songwriting. With a poppy bounce, their folky arrangements become immediate ear worms. Pregnant Women Are Smug is a great example: well after appreciating lines like, "This zen world you're enjoying, makes you really annoying", the music will be rolling through your brain over and over.

The whimsical mix of clever, quirky humor that's sugar coated with nice musical framing reminds me of early Barenaked Ladies. They've polished the arrangements to move beyond the bare bones self-released versions, but All Over Your Face remains true to the band's simple musical vision.

With regular shows in L.A., periodic appearances on the late night circuit, making a pilot for HBO, and finally getting an album out, Garfunkel and Oates have garnered a lot of attention over the last couple of years. Go ahead and get an official copy of All Over Your Face to support them. Even though most of the tunes have made the rounds already, you'll still get a good laugh.

Concert review - Jonathan Coulton with Paul and Storm

22 January 2011 (Soiled Dove Underground, Denver CO)

Jonathan Coulton and his perpetual openers, Paul and Storm, have stumbled onto a perfect chemistry. Paul and Storm create the wise cracking, comedy shtick that loosens the crowd. Then Coulton comes out and adds depth with his technical playing ability and thoughtful lyrics. The balance is perfect.

The Soiled Dove seems to be Coulton's favorite venue in Colorado. It's an intimate venue, with reserved seating and an old style cabaret feel. This room is another factor in what makes Jonathan Coulton's show work so well.

Paul and Storm

Paul and Storm are regular contributors to the Bob and Tom Show and a host of other internet and radio outlets. Comedy is a tough business. Once someone has heard the joke, it's harder to get a good laugh out of them again. Musical comedy seems even tougher: it's either stretching out a single joke or creating a related series of jokes. Paul and Storm have thrived in this world for a some time, as part of a capella wonders, Da Vinci's Notebook, and now as a duo.

Last time JoCo was here, Paul and Storm opened and were hysterical. Even with many of the same songs and jokes, they killed again. Part of this was that much of the crowd was already primed to participate. So, during their usual opening song, Opening Band, the crowd was prepared to throw panties (and one pack of 'tan peas') on cue (see 1:46).

They breezed through favorites, like the Gregorian chanted Nun Fight and a set of one sentence songs. They also pulled out a couple of newer pieces, including I Will Sing a Lullabye and Frogger! The Frogger Musical. Throughout their set, they kept a loose, improv feel, riffing off the audience and pushing what turned out to be their new catchphrase, "_____ is the name of my ___________cover band". So, in response to the Opening Band panties, one commented that "this is like Panty Christmas for us", prompting the response, "Panty Christmas is the name of my Spice Girls cover band."

They closed with the perennial favorite, The Captain's Wife's Lament. That it's just an extended setup for a juvenile punchline didn't matter. The crowd's pirate participation took it over the top.

Jonathan Coulton

Jonathan Coulton's first job when he came out was to battle the remaining pirates in the audience to take control of the show. Within a couple of songs, (Millionaire Girlfriend, Shop-Vac, and IKEA), he had us on board. Part of the difference from Paul and Storm is that Coulton creates a more personal connection with the audience. His humor is more sardonic, but he can also mix in deeper themes with the laughs.

His flow of songs smoothly moved the audience through a set of moods. His version of Code Monkey was more wistful, emphasizing the pathos at its heart. This led into Big Bad World, continuing the focus on socially inept characters. Just as that mood started to inch towards being too heavy, he riffed on the idea of celebrities suffering from the horrible crushing burden of fame to set up Tom Cruise Crazy.

Aside from all the favorites, JoCo pulled out some songs from was an upcoming album (produced by They Might Be Giant's John Flansburgh). Coulton was apologetic about sharing new songs instead of playing more of the older material, but the crowd was eager to hear the new tunes. They ranged from the passive aggressive Alone at Home to the poignant Now I am an Arsonist. Down Today featured Coulton playing the ukulele, but getting a blues guitar feel.

Another treat was Soft Rocked By Me, from his old Thing a Week set. The subtle humor was nice, but the treat was the medley of songs referenced by Paul and Storm, from Gordon Lightfoot to Alanis Morissette. We all learned that Bob Seger is the eye at the center of the soft rock storm: everything kept coming back to Like a Rock. The sing along ending was priceless, ending on Hey Jude: "Na-na-na na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na like a rock!"

This was my second time catching Jonathan Coulton live and this show had a different vibe from the last one. Not better or worse, just a different flavor from the range that he can offer. Sip a homebrewed beer and revel in the taste you got this time.

More photos on my Flickr.

CD review - Beatallica, Masterful Mystery Tour (2009)

Better late than never. Somehow, I missed the first album from Beatallica, Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band. Fortunately, I recently crossed paths with their latest release, Masterful Mystery Tour.

Beatallica lies somewhere between the straight-on mash ups of the Kleptones (Down on Bennies from 24) and the humorous genre blending of Dread Zepplin (Immigrant Song). They perform original mashups that mix Beatles melodic elements with a Metallica musical approach, while the lyrics come from both bands. The cover of Masterful Mystery Tour references Master of Puppets and Magical Mystery Tour.

It's campy fun, but it's also good music. Maybe the joke is wearing thin for everyone who's already heard it too often, but Masterful Mystery Tour has some brilliant moments. The opening notes of Everybody's Got a Ticket to Ride Except For Me and My Lightning echo Metallica's Ride the Lightning before sliding into a reworking of the Beatles' Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except For Me and My Monkey. Later, the melody slides over into Ticket to Ride, while the lyrics refer to Ride the Lightning. It's an odd combo, but it still rocks.

Throughout Masterful Mystery Tour, the energy is high. Beatallica captures a lot of the Metallica sound, from James Hetfield's vocal style to Lars Ulrich's frantic kick drum work.

The Thing That Should Not Let It Be starts off with a riff similar to Metallica's One (thanks, Eric for pointing that out) before sliding into the music from Let It Be. Lyrically, it works through chunks of The Thing That Should Not Be, which mesh nicely from the opening lines:

When I find myself in tidal trouble
Hybrid children come for me
Pray for father roaming, roaming free

A final favorite track is I Want to Choke Your Band, which sets an anti-glam metal manifesto to the tune of I Want to Hold Your Hand. With this, Beatallica steps more firmly into parody music, but it's all pretty entertaining.

This isn't the greatest album of 2009, but despite being a one-joke concept, it holds up to repeated listenings. I'll raise a glass of Duvel, a deceptively strong Belgian golden ale. The name even fits ("devil").

Interview - Trainwreck

(Daryl Donald, John Shredman, Dennis St. Bernard, Boy Johnny)

Technology is frustrating. I was lucky enough to meet with Trainwreck before their Denver show for an interview. Unfortunately, my recording got trashed, so I don't have all the detail I'd like to have. Which is a shame, because it was a great conversation. Still, I can give you a sense of what we discussed and what the band is like.

First of all, they were a bit late getting in, but they still had plenty of time to get set up. Klip Calhoun (Kyle Gass) is more of a celebrity, so he wasn't there to load in; he came later when it was closer to show time. Still, it was fun to hang out with John Shredman (John Konesky), Boy Johnny (John Spiker), Daryl Donald (Jason Reed), and Dallas St. Bernard (Nate Rothacker). After they got their equipment in, we talked for a while before their sound check.

Denver is the last show on the tour, and the boys seemed a little road weary. While the band is ready for a break, they're lining up more dates starting in May. They're also planning to play a Tenacious D gig at Bonnaroo (June). This tour has gone fairly well. They had good crowds in the Midwest, but the South was a lot sparser, with only a dozen people showing up for one Alabama show. They blamed the low attendance on the economic slowdown.

Since humor is a key part of their music, I was curious to understand how much of their showis improvised vs. scripted. Daryl said that about half is more or less improvised, but that they reuse bits that work from previous gigs. While they're playing characters in Trainwreck, the roles are similar to their real personas. So, it's fairly natural to just riff in character. Daryl compared some of what Trainwreck does to Spinal Tap: that having some clear characters sets up a lot of the humor.

I asked about the use of flute in the band (Rock Boulder Mountain in particular). I joked about it being a bit of a phallic symbol. They brought up KG's long experience with the instrument, which he also played a bit in Tenacious D. We talked about the Jethro Tull angle that it added to their music. When I mentioned Jethro Tull's Grammy for heavy metal, Shredman pointed out that the flute is a very heavy metal instrument, that it was powerful and moving.

I asked about the song, TV Theme, wondering whether they had ever made a pilot or what the show might be about. Daryl immediately went into his pitch of a show like Jersey Shore meets Scooby Doo. It features the band, more or less playing themselves, traveling from town to town. Solving crimes. While they haven't quite sold the idea, they held open the possibility of self-producing something for the web that might act as more of a pilot. They riffed on the TV show during the concert as well.

I asked the group about their favorite songs. Boy Johnny and Dallas both picked The Drummer as their favorite song. Dallas said he really enjoyed getting the chance to step out from behind the drums and dance around a bit. He also likes seeing Boy Johnny switch to cover the drums while Daryl plays the bass. They talked about the inherently funny idea of a drummer's lament. Shredman and Dallas co-wrote the piece, starting the lyrical fragment of rhyming "drummer" and "bummer". Shredman said that many of their songs started out as lyrics, pointing out that it's easier to develop a humorous song with that approach. Shredman picked Brodeo as his current fave, but said he changes his mind all of the time.

Daryl's favorite song was Rock Boulder Mountain, which he developed based on his experience spending time in the mountains. He brought the rough sketch of the song to the band and they fleshed it out as a group. R.B.M. isn't quite as funny as some of the songs on the album (although the "glory hole" line was a bit amusing), which adds to the musical credibility of The Wreckoning.

I asked about Tim Blankenship and whether it was based on a real person. Daryl said that the song was based on several people, but they've met plenty of Tims since they wrote it, with people coming up and claiming that it fits them perfectly. They joked about keeping "Tim Blankenship" on their guest list, in case he really shows up.

In person, the guys of Trainwreck were really nice and laid back. They weren't quite as over the top or campy as they sometimes came across in other interviews, but they blamed that a bit on phone interviews getting a little wilder. I wish I could share a full transcript, because I'm sure I'm leaving bits out. Thanks to Daryl, Boy Johnny, Shredman, and Dallas for their time and cool attitude. They're a great group of guys I'd really enjoy hanging out with again.

See the show review here.

Me and Trainwreck

Concert review - Sweatpants in Public, Magic Cyclops, Trainwreck

18 March 2010 (Larimer Lounge, Denver CO)
When I reviewed Trainwreck's album, The Wreckoning, I knew that they would give a live show worth catching. I was excited when I found out they were coming to Denver. The Larimer Lounge seems to pull in a number of interesting indie bands, but I was ready to get 'Wrecked. I didn't know the opening acts until we got there. Magic Cyclops was familiar, but I had never heard of Sweatpants in Public.

Sweatpants in Public

Bottom line, if South Park's Eric Cartman had a band, it would be Sweatpants in Public. Dave Harper's raspy vocal calls Cartman to mind, but the lyrical themes are what really hit the mark. Matter of fact and plain spoken, Sweatpants in Public tackle sex, drugs, and other adolescent obsessions with sophomoric humor and tight musical chops.

They kicked off with the...shall we say, anticipatory celebration of Penistown. By the time they got to the smooth rock groove of Porno Collection, my inner 14 year old was their biggest fan. This song graphically describes Harper's extensive porn collection and he offers to marry his girlfriend, if she'll only impose some order for him.

They moved onto other topics, like Marijuana Saved My Life and my personal favorite, Maury Povich Happens Everyday. They called their genre "Comfort rock", but the music bounced between country/southern rock to metal tinged punk. Near the end, they summed up their set perfectly:

You're a wonderful audience, but you couldn't have done it without us. You're welcome.

Sweatpants in Public were an excellent opener for Trainwreck. My only gripe is that they didn't have a CD available yet.

Magic Cyclops

Magic Cyclops, on the other hand, was not quite the right fit. He's still doing the same shock style performance art I saw last year with Har Mar Superstar. He did a shorter set this time, with many of the same songs. Early in the set, the crowd was with him, but low energy and some technical difficulties sapped his momentum.

The schtick didn't mesh musically or stylistically with the rock of Sweatpants in Public or Trainwreck. That said, I still enjoyed his opener, Rainbow of Pain, an ode to that time of the month. The big closing cover song this time, Stone Temple Pilot's Plush, wasn't as campy or funny as last time's Total Eclipse of the Heart.

Trainwreck

The evening got off to a great start when I got to interview most of the guys in Trainwreck. This show was their last stop on this tour, so they could be forgiven for being a little tired...but they were wide awake when they hit the stage. Daryl Donald (Jason Reed) was an excellent front man. He had all kinds of funny moves that were a sort of an interpretive dance for whatever song they were playing at the time. In between songs, he posed and preened.The band was incredibly tight. John Shredman (John Konesky) is an amazing guitarist. We were a few feet away from stadium quality shredding. But that's typical of this band. All of them are master musicians who can flow through a tight set of changes and not even break a sweat.

They started out with T.W. Theme from their album, The Wreckoning. They went on to play many of the favorites, like Tim Blankenship, Rock Boulder Mountain, and Brodeo. Klip Calhoun (Kyle Gass) channeled his inner Ian Anderson to play some epic flute.

The setlist also included a few special cuts, like Tenacious D's Lee and Eastbound and Down (the Smokey and the Bandit Theme). Jerry Reed would have been proud of that last one.

While there were plenty of laughs during the main set (the hand gestures for Milk the Cobra were quite the treat), the encore was the most fun. They kicked off with a Chinese fire drill, letting Dallas St. Bernard (Nate Rothaker) to step out from behind his kit to sing The Drummer.

Boy Johnny (John Spiker) surrendered his bass to Daryl so he could cover the drums. The music still stayed just as tight as Dallas danced and sang his way through the song. Then, Boy Johnny took center stage as "American Idol's bubble winner" to sing Irene Cara's Flashdance...What a Feeling. They wrapped up with a speedy cover of AC/CD's Whole Lotta Rosie.
Trainwreck gave a great show. I'll raise a shot of Jack in tribute.

More photos on my Flickr.

CD review - Trainwreck, The Wreckoning (2010)

"Going off the rails on a crazy train"? I guess Ozzy was psychic about Trainwreck's upcoming album, The Wreckoning (releasing March 2). Trainwreck is Kyle Gass (KG from Tenacious D) along with several of the guys who backed the D. But they're not just Tenacious D minus Jack Black; they've got their own flavor going on, with some Southern fried rock and judicious use of flute. Still, they have the same twisted humor and hard rock licks and many of the vocals seem designed for JB's voice. And the love comes through, even while they're mocking a host of musical and cultural cliches. The band has fleshed out stage personas for each member, but I'm still not sure what's up with KG's toupee.

Often, when a band is built around a satirical concept, the jokes wear thin after a listen or two. But, like Spinal Tap or the D, Trainwreck has crafted tight, riff-heavy songs worthy of repetition. I was hooked from the moment I caught the video for Brodeo. This manthem is Trainwreck's Boys Just Want to Have Fun with a (barely) latent gay sub-text:

And when the BROdeo begins
We'll be hangin' with our friends
All of whom are men
And when the BROverload occurs,
We can all take off our shirts
And wrestle in the dirt.

It's goofy fun, but it rocks and the chorus hook is guaranteed to have a crowd singing along at the show.

Another funny one is Tim Blankenship:

I'm gonna roll up in my Z-28
Gonna start a fire with the love we create
I'm Tim Blankenship...

This rocker is reminiscent of the Rolling Stones' When the Whip Comes Down and could spawn a whole episode on Trailer Park Boys.

While both of those are over the top, songs like Rock Boulder Mountain (listen on their MySpace page) are more subtle. This one kicks off with a flute noodling to a mellow, Moody Blues vibe but then dives into Black Sabbath metal groove. The flute comes back over the metal, rocking it Jethro Tull style. It's easy to imagine Jack Black prancing to this, but Daryl Lee Donald (Jason Reed) does just fine.

Whiskey with a beer chaser should start you down the rails. Pick up The Wreckoning when it comes out and catch Trainwreck if they hit your part of the world.

CD review - Everybody is in the French Resistance...NOW!, Fixin' the Charts Volume 1 (2009)

Eddie Argos (Art Brut) and Dyan Valdés (The Blood Arm) have partnered on a side project, Everybody is in the French Resistance...NOW! The band's premise is based on writing response songs and Fixin' the Charts riffs on everyone from Kanye (Coal Digger) to the Archies ((I'm So) Waldo P Emerson Jones). The humor is broad but generally pretty amusing. The music has a sort of retro Brit feel, with tinges of Carnaby Street. It's so, so mod. Eddie proclaims the lyrics more than he sings them and Dyan add some nice backing vocals.

Billie's Genes is probably the strongest piece, written from the perspective of Michael Jackson's love child (Billie Jean). It kicks off with a keyboard-synth horn riff, then the beat comes in. It's a clever turnaround on the original: the kid is fairly glad not to have grown up as Michael Jackson's kid. Aside from the MJ context, this song works. The arrangement is smooth with tight backing vocals.

Think Twice (It's Not Alright) is another strong number, with it's needy version of Bob Dylan. The harpsichord keys riff off the original melody. This is truly the anti-Dylan.

Think and then think again
Before you say it's too late for us
Think and then think again
I don't believe your mind is fully made up.

The image of Dylan singing this one is hilarious.

There are plenty of other great targets here: Avril Lavigne, Martha Reeves, the aforementioned Kanye West, and Frank Sinatra. Sit down with a pint of lager and have a laugh.

Concert review - Magic Cyclops, Har Mar Superstar

13 October 2009 (Hi Dive, Denver CO)
Things started late at the Hi Dive, not getting underway until 10:20pm. So, there was a lot of time to kill before the show. I ran into Har Mar Superstar next door at Sputnik and said hi, but didn't really interrupt him.

Magic Cyclops

Magic Cyclops is originally from Iowa, but lately, he's been performing up and down the Front Range. His act is as much performance art as it is music or comedy or anything else. Kicking things off with, "The show is, thus, started..." in an abominable English accent, he performed rap and other vocals over prerecorded songs. The songs were short and usually funny (but always odd), embracing an amateur aesthetic. Song titles included Teen Pregnancy: Don't do it, Online Predator, and I am the Sex. The music was synthesizer driven and simple, sometimes with vocals already dubbed in. Most of his vocals were fairly processed to shift pitch etc.

Make no mistake, though, this act was not really about the music. It was really about the character he played: "the future of music in one man's father's basement". Self-deprecating, yet convinced of his own animal magnetism, the effect was campy. With gyrations to work the remote control for his laptop, nailing his crotch with the mike, and his accent slipping in and out, it was a crazy show, like Flight of the Conchords with lower quality music. The show ended covering Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart to great effect.


Magic Cyclops was silly, fun, and worth catching if you know what to expect. He'll be playing again at Hodi's Halfnote (Ft. Collins) this Thursday (October 14 2009), and presumably other shows around.

Har Mar Superstar

My preview more or less sets the stage. The short version is that Har Mar Superstar performs R&B/funk/dance club music, playing a much sexier version of himself than is immediately visible. He's serious about the music, which is well written, arranged, and performed, but he has a great sense of humor when it comes to his lyrics and his stage show. For this show, he had a backing band (Jeff Quinn on guitar, Will Scott on drums, and Denver Dalley on bass) whose primary job was to accent the pre-recorded tracks for the songs.

Har Mar's CD, Dark Touches, was also released on Tuesday and he played a lot of songs off the album. Don't Ask, Don't Tell was a funky R&B number with heavy club beats. He sang Girls Only, written for the Cheetah Girls, pumping up GRRL power with absolute sincerity and no self consciousness.

That sincerity is key to his show. The character he plays is sexy, confident, powerful, and attractive. Har Mar is quite comfortable within the skin of this character and this frees him to shake his booty, strip down, and work the crowd while ignoring what anyone may think about his physique or how hokey it might look. The result is completely the opposite of Magic Cyclops: it's not campy, it's great fun, and girls are convinced that he is sexy and attractive. As hard as that might be to believe from these pictures.


A couple of other great songs were a rap number, Creative Juices (wonderful name checking: "streetcar named Desire-a Glass"), and an older number, Power Lunch (exposing his business woman fetish). The lyrics were clever and the beats were infectious. He wrapped up with a cover of Boyz II Men's It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday, which moved the audience to sing along. A perfect ending to a great show.


Har Mar Superstar deserves his own drink, but in the meantime I'll go with gin and tonic, with a splash of of OJ.

More pictures on my Flickr.

CD Review - The Squirrels, The Not-So-Bright Side of the Moon

Thank you, Cheesus. No, really. After I posted my entry about covers, Cheesus recommended this to me. He had already written his review at the Electric Lounge of Aural Ecstacy, where he compared three different covers of Dark Side. Anyway, I gave this a listen and now you can get my take, too.

The Squirrels are a band out of Seattle that make what I'd call "blender rock". They pull together a number of disparate pieces and mix and match them until it's art. Their myspace page has a wonderful stream of consciousness description of the band with great lines like, "It is what it is, and BOY what an 'IS' it is am be ARE". I'm going to have to get some more of their music. Should I Stay or Let it Snow? Brilliant.

So, let's move on to the actual review. The cover art alone should give you an idea of the band's sensibility. This is a warped, humorous take on a classic that's more of a tribute than just a cover version. And it begins with a hiccup. Instead of the heartbeat that begins the original version of Speak to Me, this version has various odd sounds to set up a similar but different loop. Between the hiccups, the mooing, and the Tickle-Me-Elmo impression that provides most of the conversational snippets from the original, you know that you're going to be taking quite the strange little jaunt.

The music flits along from style to style, with a nice upbeat jazzy groove for Breath, R&B funk for Us and Them, and bluegrass, disco, Zappa-like jams for Brain Damage. This is all well crafted music, too, although some sections are a little grating. The vocals in many parts remind me of Stan Ridgeway from Wall of Voodoo (although my guess is that it's Tortelvis from Dread Zepplin).

There's all kinds of inspired madness, from looking behind the curtain for the synthesizer reboot on On the Run and the missing singer reference for The Great Gig in the Sky ("Okay, let's get the girl in there" "The girl didn't show up" "Ahh, sh*t. Well...okay, hey Joey, give it a shot") to the great sound effects. They blend it up good, too. Money uses music from the old Motown hit, Money (That's What I Want), with the original Pink Floyd lyrics. The Great Gig in the Sky includes a chunk of Zappa's The Torture Never Stops.

Bottom line, if you're a Pink Floyd purist who hates the idea of messing with greatness, then this album is a direct poke in your eye. You need to listen with a full sense of humor and appreciation of the odd to get the most out of this.

Pair this with some Nyquil and absinthe and strap yourself down. Headphones are encouraged.

Thanks again for the recommendation, Cheesus.

CD Review - Paul and Storm, Opening Band, News to Us, Gumbo Pants

I've already written about Paul and Storm opening for Jonathan Coulton last month, so I'll keep the rehash part of this short: they were part of a humorous a capella group called Davinci's Notebook and they currently do music and comedy. They were hysterical live, so see them if you get the chance. This review is for the three CDs I got at the show.

But before I get underway with that, I need to talk about comedy albums. As I was thinking about this, I thought I'd look through my discs and see what I had that was "comedy". It turns out that I have quite a few sort of humorous music artists, such as the Bobs, Tenacious D, The Austin Lounge Lizards, Flight of the Conchords, Three Dead Troll in a Baggie, and Shel Silverstein. Plus all kinds of funny songs. But actual comedy albums or groups? It's a very short list. Firesign Theatre. And I used to have some Richard Pryor on vinyl, back in the day. The problem is that most straight comedy doesn't bear up well to repeated listening. The music works for me because it's got a little more going on. Firesign Theatre works because it's very layered with stuff. And it's real funny. Now I can still watch Monty Python and laugh even though I know every word...so it can be worth having. But it ain't easy.

If I were a fancy-pants writer, I'd call that last paragraph foreshadowing. The short summary for this review is that there are some funny moments here, but my favorite bits are the more "song-like" songs. Let's step through these discs and you'll see, okay?


First up, Opening Band (2005). This disc has 4 types of material. They have a number of funny songs, a repeating comedy bit, rejected ad jingles, and commentary. The funny songs get a mixed grade: Opening Band is quite funny and holds up well to repeated listenings, but Six Guys, Ten Teeth or the Ballad of Eddie Praeger are fairly weak. Buffett Night and Find the Words are somewhere in between. The repeating comedy bit is a series of movie themes as written by Randy Newman, such as Seabiscuit, Passion of the Christ, and Citizen Kane. It's amusing but it gets a little old. The jingles are funny on the first listen, especially for Cheetos and Kleenex. Now that I've heard them, I don't really need to again, though. The commentary is mildly interesting. Once. So, the score here: reasonably funny on first play, 3-4 decent songs on later sessions.


Next up, News to Us (2006). So, the boys perform a lot on the Bob and Tom show. This show supports some great comedy and music, like Todd Snider and Kinky Friedman. This disc is a collection of material that Paul and Storm created for the show, all packaged up. This makes the first big mistake of recorded comedy: do a bit with a couple of guys there to laugh at it so we'll know how funny it is. The premise for a lot of these is that they were going to do songs inspired by the news. In practice, there are a lot of in-jokes, including their obsession with Kristi from the show. Hmm...if you can't say something nice...well, the song, Your Love is (Love Song with Metaphor) is actually pretty decent. And I did laugh a little at Hip-Shop, which is a barber shop medley of popular hip-hop and pop songs. Score: 3 (of 10) + cheese.


Okay, last up, Gumbo Pants (2008) takes us back to the earlier format: some funny songs, a little schtick, and more rejected jingles. The high points for songs: Your Town, which is similar to Opening Band, and A Better Version of You are both pretty funny (and I still listen to them). The Captain's Wife's Lament is really funny live and decent for a listen or two on the disc. The schtick is a little more interesting: some comedy impressions (If James Taylor Were on Fire) and one line songs (Very Two Best Friends) are pretty good and don't get beat to death like the Randy Newman thing. The jingles are similar to Opening Band's examples: funny once, but not much more with Olive Garden probably being my favorite. Final score: Opening Band +2.

So, this review is probably more about my tolerance for hitting the same comedy bits repeatedly than about Paul and Storm's collective sense of humor. Net result? I'd say see them live if you ever get the chance and go to their downloads page and listen to the stuff and pick the songs you really want to buy.

For a pairing here, I'll have to go for the cheap laugh and suggest Long Island Ice Tea with a side of nitrous oxide.