retroblog.net

For those not able to attend the world premiere live performance of A Wizard a True Star in person, you can still have a chance to see all the action as it happens via the internet!! That’s right, Todd Rundgren has agreed to allow multi-camera pay-per-view access to his shows in Akron as well as Chicago through the TodoCast video streaming service. The pay-per-view package for Akron (both shows) is just $20. Or wait a couple days and watch the Chicago shows for 20 bucks as well. All in the comfort of your own home. No worrying about transportation, hotels, standing in line and dealing with rude, inebriated fans. Just simply log-in to the todocast.tv site and voilà, you’re there!

Here are the links to the PPV online webcast sites:
package 1 – live PPV of both Akron, OH shows (06-Sep-09 and 07-Sep-09) for $20
package 2 – live PPV of both Chicago shows (12-Sep-09 and 13-Sep-09) for $20

But if you want to get the FULL live experience, the good news is that there’s still time left to get your butt over to one of these shows -

Sun 09/06/09 Akron, OH at the Akron Civic Theatre
Mon 09/07/09 Akron, OH at the Akron Civic Theatre
Wed 09/09/09 Stamford, CT at the Palace Theatre
Thu 9/10/09 Bethesda, MD at The Strathmore
Sat 9/12/09 Chicago, IL at Park West
Sun 9/13/09 Chicago, IL at Park West
Tue 9/15/09 Minneapolis, at the State Theater

From what I’ve heard, these 7 dates are the *only* U.S. AWATS dates planned at this time. So don’t miss out on seeing one of these special performances. Also there has been some rumors of a “special secret surprise opening act” at these shows. I’m not sure if this pertains to Rundgren’s opening set of songs before his performance of the AWATS album in its entirety or if it’s a totally separate performing act altogether. I’m hoping for some sort of Utopia-related set (they’ve already got 3/4 of the band in the AWATS lineup) for the opening but no confirmation either way at this point.

for ticket info, check out AWATSLive.com

the AWATS live band features: Todd Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, Roger Powell, Prairie Prince, Jesse Gress, Greg Hawkes and Bobby Strickland
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Even though I miss the experimentation that Wilco was known for before 2007’s “Sky Blue Sky”, I have to say that their latest release, Wilco (the Album), is still pretty enjoyable to listen to. One may wonder what really goes on inside Jeff Tweedy’s head but it seems pretty clear that Tweedy & company wanted to focus more on songcraft than the production or the performance end of things this time around. In other words, there are no extended guitar solos or complex layering of instrumentation on this record. It’s “back to basics” for the band and it definitely does place the focus back on the song itself rather than on a jarring guitar solo or a dissonant instrumental jam. and thankfully for the most part, the songs here are strong enough to bear the scrutiny. I do have to say though that there are a few moments on the album that are a bit too relaxed or underdone at times but overall the good definitely outweigh the few misses here. The highlight for me is the song “Bull Black Nova” which is more complex in arrangement than the other songs and features some interesting guitar work by Nels Cline. The song is a dark and twisted snapshot of a murderer. “It’s in my hair, there’s blood in the sink. I can’t calm down, I cannot think. I keep calling, there’s blood in the trunk, I can’t calm down. Pick up! oh pick up!” It’s disturbing and full of tension and it’s simply Tweedy at his best.

RetroGrade: B

Wilco (The Album)
label: Nonesuch Records
released: June 2009

TrackList:
1 Wilco (The Song) 2:59
2 Deeper Down 2:59
3 One Wing 3:42
4 Bull Black Nova 5:39
5 You and I 3:26
6 You Never Know 4:21
7 Country Disappeared 4:02
8 Solitaire 3:04
9 I’ll Fight 4:23
10 Sonny Feeling 4:13
11 Everlasting Everything 4:00
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Here’s Wilco’s performance of “You and I” (with Feist) at the David Letterman Show:

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Now that it has been a couple years since the changeover from Court TV to truTV, the network has proven beyond any doubt that it had made the right decision. I, for one, have been very impressed with how much the programming has improved since the switch. Their current primetime lineup is increasingly drawing viewers away from the other major networks by broadcasting quite an assortment of entertaining and compelling shows like Black Gold, Forensic Files, The Smoking Gun Presents and Party Heat. One of TruTV’s specialties is showing intense and dramatic real-life video clips through shows like Speeders and one of my personal favorites, Most Daring. Most Daring is probably the ultimate in “caught on tape” shows featuring the most incredible, life-threatening moments involving ordinary citizens. These are the moments that gets your heart-pounding and your jaw-dropping. the videos range from daring rescues to freak accidents to inspiring moments of bravery.

Here’s a video clip from the show that took place at a dirt bike racing event. The “holy crap” moment arrives pretty quickly when a biker plows straight into another biker at top speed. The moment happens in a flash and the video has to be slowed down and replayed several times in order for the viewer to full grasp what just happened.

Thankfully the crash wasn’t fatal but as you can see from the video, the outcome could’ve just as easily went the other way. What’s even more amazing to me is the fact that these moments were even captured on video. Most of these incidents happen at a blink of an eye and to have someone witness the event AND have the camera rolling is a major feat in itself.

The dirt bike video is just one of thousands that have been shown on the TruTv series. I love watching the show and I sometime catch myself with my mouth ajar or sitting at the edge of my couch while viewing some of this stuff. It’s THAT good. In fact, these types of visceral reactions among viewers of TruTV are pretty typical nowadays. They call it the “TruTV effect” and the network even has to caution its viewers due to some reacting too severely to these dramatic videos. And it’s not hard to realize the greater impact these videos have on people just for the simple fact that they’re from real-life events. The network slogan sums it all up pretty clearly – when the stories are real, the effect is actual. very true, indeed.

Journey fans in and around New York City should head over to 59th and 5th Avenue on Friday, August 28th to see the band perform for the Early Show. The concert will be taped on that day and a select number of songs will be shown on the September 4th edition of the Early Show on CBS. The band will be playing an abbreviated set but as a treat for the live audience there, they’ll be playing more than what will be shown on air.

Here’s the lowdown:
Journey at the Early Show
when: Friday, August 28th 2009 at 11:30AM
where: 59th and 5th Avenue NEXT to the Apple Store, New York City
if you need more info, contact the Early Show at BRGuest @ cbsnews.com with the subject line: JOURNEY QUESTION

This is a great opportunity for the band to get some exposure so be sure to get on out there to show your support for the guys!

for more info on the current summer tour, see my previous post.

and while we’re on the subject of the band, here’s a recent youtube clip of Journey performing “Only the Young” in Memphis (08Aug09 – Mud Island Amphitheatre)

I recently came across a mysterious website called Red Chair Confessions. The site doesn’t contain a whole lot of information at this time but its got the blogosphere a buzz with theories. Currently the site features a youtube video titled “Forgive Me Father” and not much else. I have to say that the video clip is very well done with some pretty decent production values which seems to indicate that there’s more to all of this than just a simple promo for a website. So what’s this all about? and what’s with all the secrecy? I suppose it’s a way to garner attention and from the look of things, it’s definitely working. The storyline in the video doesn’t really give us much in terms of clues. Obviously there’s another part to the story which will probably appear in the next week or so. I’m intrigued on what drove the lead character in the story to seek out the confessional at church. Could it be something sinister like some sort of noir-ish murder mystery? or maybe they’re planning on a comedic punchline involving watermelon and a sledgehammer. Maybe she’ll fess up to an addiction to watching the Wendy Williams show. oh the horror! but who can blame her, Wendy Williams is such a trainwreck. anyway, I can’t wait for the next installment of Red Chair Confessions. stay tuned.

Feel free to share the video with your friends as well as post your own theory about this whole thing!

You have to admire Mandy Moore for sticking to her guns and creating the music she wants to make. I’m pretty sure Moore had some opposition when she decided to turn her back on being a “Britney-clone” to immerse herself in the retro-realm of 70’s singer/songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Harry Nilsson. You could just imagine all of her advisors setting up meetings with pie-charts and graphs displaying the vast decrease in media exposure by not going the pop-princess route. I personally thought it was some sort of gimmick when she released her Coverage album back in 2003. I really couldn’t fathom someone who sang the pop tune “Candy” would be so into the works of Todd Rundgren, Joe Jackson and Elton John. But after Wild Hope in 2007 and now her most recent album, Amanda Leigh, she has proven to me that she has been pretty sincere about her influences.

I’ve been listening to Amanda Leigh for a month now and I’m taken by how effortlessly melodic the songs are. I believe a lot of the credit has to go to Mike Viola. The melodies, the chord progressions and instrumentation are very well done here. The album is a full-on homage to all those 70’s artists Moore seems to love so much, right down to the sound of the recordings and even the use of the harpsichord (which you don’t hear much on recordings these days). The album opens with what I’d consider the best song in the set, “Merrimack River”. The song is so strong, Viola and Moore decided to include a reprise of the melody later on in the album. It’s good to hear Moore’s voice having more depth and nuance than in previous efforts. She still doesn’t have the vocal chops of others in her field but I’m glad to see the development nonetheless. As a big Todd Rundgren fan, I can hear the Todd influences (intentional or not) in songs like “I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week” and “Indian Summer”. Other highlights include “Fern Dell” and her collaboration with Lori Mckenna, “Everblue”.

RetroGrade: B+

Amanda Leigh by Mandy Moore
released: May 2009
label: Storefront

TrackList:
1 Merrimack River (Moore, Viola) 4:26
2 Fern Dell (Moore, Viola) 3:02
3 I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week (Moore, Viola) 2:50
4 Pocket Philosopher (Moore, Viola) 3:15
5 Song About Home (George, Moore, Viola) 3:57
6 Everblue (Mckenna, Moore) 4:13
7 Merrimack River (Reprise) (Viola) 0:58
8 Love to Love Me Back (George, Moore, Viola) 4:14
9 Indian Summer (George, Moore, Viola) 2:23
10 Nothing Everything (Moore, Viola) 4:23
11 Bug (Moore, Viola) 2:16

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Merrimack River live for Walmart Soundcheck

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The second season of truTV’s Black Gold kicked off last night with a lot of changes. The first season featured three competing rigs vying to be the first among the group to hit oil. But this time around, the show focuses solely on the crew of Rig 28 with a huge dilemma. They need to find oil in 50 days or end up losing the lease on their plot of land. Basically, if they don’t hit crude, the crew will lose their jobs and cost the company millions of dollars. The pressure is definitely on and viewers will be riveted in watching to see if the hardworking roughnecks will make the deadline. I like the fact that the new season will be focusing on one rig this time around since it’ll allow us to get to know the crew members and dig a little deeper into what makes these men tick. I mean, really, can you imagine CHOOSING to be out in the 110 degree heat, working on a 15-story rig and getting all muddy like that?

The new season’s opener which premiered August 19th, introduced a newbie to the rig named Cheston. Cheston is a great addition to the show since viewers can see through his eyes how hard it is to learn this job. The veterans really don’t want to be bothered with a new trainee or “worm” as they call ‘em and so we get to see Cheston having a real tough time figuring out what he’s supposed to be doing. Check out this video clip of his on the job training.

To make matters worse, daytime driller Pee-Wee doesn’t want the newbie around and is actually gunning for him to get fired. Hopefully Cheston will be able to survive this trial by fire especially since viewers will be drawn to this underdog. I, for one, can identify with Cheston because we’ve all been there at some point in our lives. Whether we’re a new kid at school or working our way up the corporate latter, we know how it feels to be the lowly peon. So Cheston should hang in there and not take all the abuse personally. I don’t think it matters who it is, every worm on the rig would have to go through this “rite of passage”. They’ve obviously got to earn their right to be on the rig. Not everyone is cut out for this type of work. It’s labor intensive, physically draining, hot, dirty and I’m pretty sure it’s smelly too. I can’t imagine going through what Cheston’s going through on the job but I could see myself getting the same expletive-filled “employee review” that he got in the following video clip.

But beyond all the in-fighting and name calling, the show should be an eye-opener for the nation. As a country filled with gas-guzzling SUVs and minivans, most folks don’t think twice about the fuel that they pump at their local gas station. The show gives us all a rare glimpse beyond the gas pump and into the lives of these roughnecks that are simply trying to provide for their families while helping supply our nation with some crude.

Oh, and one other neat little tidbit I’d like to point out is concerning the pipe supplier on the show. His name is Michael Patrick McConaughey who happens to be Matthew McConaughey brother. The two even appeared together in a movie titled “The Newton Boys” back in 1998.

Anyway, Black Gold is definitely a “must see” in my book. And when a show like this is run by the geniuses behind “Deadliest Catch” and “Ice Road Truckers”, you just know there’ll be some heart-pounding drama on hand. To get a taste of what the show is about, be sure to check out the truTV’s Black Gold trailer up on youtube.
Watch for new episodes of Black Gold every wednesday night at 10pm on TruTV.

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It really boggles the mind why Hot Leg’s Red Light Fever never got an official release in the United States. This is probably one of my favorite albums of the year and from what I can tell, you can’t purchase the CD anywhere in the U.S. except as an import. WTF? The album is a great comeback effort by Justin Hawkins and the songs are pretty much an extension of what he was doing with his former group the Darkness. All the hard rockin’ elements from the Darkness are present here – crunchy guitar riffs, catchy hooks and Hawkins’ trademark falsetto. Thankfully fans outside the U.K. can at least purchase mp3 downloads from the band’s website. But it’s sad to see that the band never got the promotional backing they certainly deserve here in the States. According to their website, the band is planning on recording their second album and then releasing it in early 2010. Hopefully they’ll find a U.S. record label to back them this time around. Come on, this is *Man-Rock* at its finest!

RetroGrade: A

personal favorites off the album include: Trojan Guitar (fantastically epic!!), Whichever Way You Wanna Give It (reminds me of the Darkness’ “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” ), You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore and Ashamed (love Hawkins’ take on reality TV)

Artist: Hot Leg
Album: Red Light Fever
Released in the U.K.: February 2009
Label: Universal UK
official website: Team Hot Leg

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My niece’s birthday is coming up and I’ve been scrambling to find something unique for her. I recently learned through my son that she has been re-discovering old school hip-hop music which I thought was pretty amusing. This is the stuff that I grew up with in junior high with artists like Run-DMC, De La Soul and LL Cool J. They all bring back memories of my younger days with me lugging around that old Panasonic Boombox with the five-band equalizer and dolby cassette deck. man, those were the days! Anyway, I found a cool online retailer called Hip Hop Bling that offers some great jewelry that my niece would absolutely love especially now with her new found obsession. They’ve got a wide range of styles and designs from the tasteful and restrained to the all out bold and eye-catching “Bling Bling” including some outrageous diamond encrusted Grillz. I just can’t wait to see her face when she opens up her gift that I got for her this coming weekend!

As a music enthusiast, it has been frustrating dealing with these loudness war issues that has been plaguing CDs over the last decade. If you haven’t heard about the issue, it all originates from record companies wanting their CDs as “loud” as possible so that their songs, when placed in “shuffle mode”, would be able to compete with all the other pop records that have been mastered in this manner. And in order to make the songs as loud as possible, mastering engineers have to digitally limit those transient audio peaks (like cymbal crashes and snare drum hits) to avoid sonic distortion. But when they do that, the dynamic range in the music is lost and what you end up with is what is known as the brickwalled effect. And without natural dynamics in music, the human ear gets fatigued much more easily. So essentially the enjoyment of the musical experience is lost because of this. and ironically the record companies are inadvertently hurting their industry by producing music that are excruciating to listen to!! go figure!

This problem has become so pervasive that I tend to avoid “remastered” CDs of classic albums altogether. More often than not the original release of a classic album will sound better than the newer remastered version.

For those that aren’t that familiar with the loudness debacle, watch world-renowned mastering engineer Greg Calbi speak on this subject in this youtube clip:

So, keep all your pre-1995 CDs if you can. and avoid remastered versions of your old favorites unless for some reason you like experiencing ear fatigue.