One day, back in the summer of 2010, I found myself strolling through the streets of Midtown Sacramento, taking part in a monthly affair known as the Second Saturday Art Walk. Paintings, sculptures, wine… not necessarily a high class affair, but an affair nonetheless. Anyway, as I made my way through the crowded streets, a lamppost cluttered with papers caught my eye. Packed in with ads for numerous bands I’d never heard of, I thought I saw The Smashing Pumpkins...
If one were to only study the mountain of tattered and yellowing newsprint which has buil up around the Seattle rock scene of the Nineties over the last twenty years, it would be very easy to assume that the scene was an enormous sausage factory. Everyone can instantly recall images of Kurt Cobain spinning on his head while playing guitar and Eddie Vedder climbing up into the rafters of some venue during the bridge of “Even Flow” and Chris Cornell...
While he doesn’t want to admit it for fear of jinxing the whole thing and watching it go down the tubes, singer/guitarist Jesse Elliott knows that something is about to happen to his band, These United States. He doesn’t know what, but anyone who speaks with him knows he can feel it coming; something’s going to happen. “Something about this record – God – where do I start,” beams the singer breathlessly. “I mean, with each one we’ve made, every...
While he doesn't want to admit it for fear of jinxing the whole thing and watching it go down the tubes, singer/guitarist Jesse Elliott knows that something is about to happen to his band, These United States. He doesn't know what, but anyone who speaks with him knows he can feel it coming; something's going to happen. “Something about this record – God – where do I start,” beams the singer breathlessly. “I mean, with each one we've made, every...
After an illuminating and enlightening reissue endeavor undertaken in 2010 which saw The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion get heavy again in their re-examinations of albums like Now I Got Worry, Orange, Acme and Extra Width, the band has elected to go in the polar opposite direction for Meat And Bone – their newest effort and first offering of new material in eight years. "We still have that psychic glue that allows us to create music together,” says Spencer boldly of...
Is there any band with as distinctive a sound as Rush? They are instantly recognizable. And it's not just Geddy Lee's vocals, unique as they are. Every member contributes, often at the same time, because the identifying characteristic of Rush is how they fill every available bit of space with sound. It is amazing how much noise they produce for just a trio, and those of us who have seen the band live that the music they make doesn't sound...
While nothing the band has done during its eighteen-year career has ever gone totally unnoticed, there's no doubt that 2012 has been a red letter year for Useless ID. The going got good early on the calendar when the Haifa, Israel-based band released Symptoms – their seventh album and first for Fat Wreck Chords – to thunderous applause and appreciation but, even better, that interest hasn't waned since; Useless ID launched on a touring regimen that saw the band hitting...
Out of left field comes an Austrailian duo circa 2011. You may know them from “Antidote” or “Internet Friends,” and those are the songs that you should really stick to when it comes to Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen’s work. These two gentlemen have worked with some large names like Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex and Nero. Their second release as Knife Party, Rage Valley, dishes out four tracks; the same number as was on the free EP they released in...
UK sisters Colette and Hannah Thurlow, a.k.a. 2:54, already had a tall order to fill when they appeared on the radar as one of this year’s breakthrough buzz bands. Getting featured as one of the must-see acts by NXNE itself when the festival boasted about 650 groups on the bill this year is saying something all on its own – so it was odd that 2:54 were the 9:00pm opening slot at the Lee's Palace showcase. The house was full...
Every year, more stuff piggybacks onto NXNE weekend. Whether it’s more shitty corporate booths blocking sight lines at Dundas Square (which is why doing a show review for Flaming Lips proved to be impossible), or invite-only parties that have nothing to do with music. This year if you RSVP’d to Jansport knapsack’s Bonfire sessions, you were rewarded with a trip to Toronto Island to drink for free while the Smith Westerns played. It sounded like a pretty good deal, so...