Monday, March 26, 2007

SLINT News

Slint released this statement on Touch and Go Records’ website:

"People are starting to ask us about a new album from Slint. Here's the deal. Slint has been preparing for shows this summer. They want to play music together and have decided to work on new material. Once they find a rehearsal space (in Louisville, KY), they can begin this process. Please do not start rumors about an impending Slint recording. Anything new will take a while. With a little luck, Touch and Go will have something to release in the next few years."

Monday, March 19, 2007

Guns blazin’

Shooter Jennings
Johnny Berry & the Outliers
The Ladybirds
Saturday, March 10
Headliners Music Hall

BY CHRISTINE LYLE

The name Shooter Jennings does not immediately spur recognition in most people, but his reputation preceded him at the nearly sold-out show at Headliners March 10.
The show opened with The Ladybirds, who showcased songs from their debut album Whiskey and Wine, and Johnny Berry and the Outliers, who were promoting their newest album, Fegenbush Farm.
The Ladybirds did not hit the stage until after 9:30, but all was forgiven when lead singer Sarah Teeple stepped up to the mic and serenaded the rowdy crowd to fast-paced, table-thumpin’ rockabilly with a heavy 1950s influence. Initially it didn’t seem like the unique mixture of 50s pop and modern day rock ’n’ roll that The Ladybirds delivered was the right fit for the restless honky-tonkers in the crowd, but ultimately, the audience was won over with the band’s tightly executed performances of songs such as “Billy, Billy, Billy” and “Whiskey and Wine.” However “Dreamboat,” The ’Birds’ twist on a 50s-like serenade, seemed lost on the crowd.
Johnny Berry and the Outliers were a step closer to what the crowd had come to hear. The group is seasoned, and it showed in its performance. The audience responded appropriately to the brand of good old-fashioned country that the Outliers delivered. Songs such as “Roanoke on the Run” and “Last of a Dying Breed” elicited whooping and a sea of raised beer bottles from the crowd. The band closed with a John Anderson cover that appropriately set the stage for Shooter.
Shooter and his band, the .357’s, took the stage to the “Imperial March” from Star Wars trilogy. The crowd roared appreciatively, and the boys kicked off the show with the title track off of their last studio release, Electric Rodeo. Afterward they went straight into “Gone to Carolina,” the first release off of Rodeo that saw some minor rotation at radio stations across the country, as well as CMT.
The crowd sang along word for word to “Solid Country Gold,” a tongue-in-cheek lament about the state of country music today, and “4th of July,” a minor radio-hit for Jennings that reached no. 26 on the country charts in 2005. Jennings and the .357’s paid respect to their roots with covers of Waylon’s (yes, Shooter’s father) “Lonesome, On’Ry, and Mean,” and Hank Williams Jr.’s “Outlaw Women.”
They also dedicated “It Ain’t Easy” to the late Denny Doherty of The Mamas and the Papas, who’s former L.A. home Shooter now lives in. Jennings and the .357’s played the entire show with a tenacity and dedication only seen in musicians twice their age and with twice their experience.
During “Daddy’s Farm,” bassist Ted Russell Kamp (who just released his fourth solo album, Divisadero) snapped a string on his bass during an instrumental solo but continued playing without missing a beat or acknowledging the mishap. The band’s passion and focus for re-capturing the lost novelty of what country music used to be drives their success. It won’t be long before they transcend small dance halls and set up shop in stadiums and arenas.

Seen a show you’d like to write about? Contact Music Editor Mat Herron at mherron@leoweekly.com, or call (502) 895-9770 ext. 224.

THE POLICE @ CHURCHILL!!

From Sting’s website:

Home of the Kentucky Derby, historic Churchill Downs racetrack to host The Police...

With sell-out performances throughout North America and Europe, The Police have now confirmed a very special performance at Churchill Downs, home of America's premier horse race, the Kentucky Derby. The Police will perform under Churchill Downs' famed Twin Spires the evening of Saturday, July 14.

"Churchill Downs is pleased to welcome The Police to perform at the home of the Kentucky Derby," said Churchill Downs President Steve Sexton. "Last September, we hosted our first major concert and were thrilled with the reaction from concert-goers and the community. We are delighted to again play host to a major concert event that will bring economic benefit to the city and surrounding communities and possibly establish another major event tradition in Louisville. We are also excited to be working with Live Nation and SMG again, and believe this will be another incredible musical experience set against the backdrop of our world-famous Twin Spires."

Friday, March 16, 2007

Check out 37 Flood

37 Flood is awesome, and if you know what's good for you, You need to check out their blog, 37flood.blogspot.com. It features pics and writeups from local shows as well as national shows, like My Morning jacket and Follow the Train's Prom night in Athens, Ga.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Sharp as ever

Wax Fang
Follow the Train
The Features
Saturday, Feb. 24
Headliners Music Hall
Louisville, Ky.

There were no suits this time. No spinning lights slicing through the air. Not even a pair of angel wings.
Except for a few careening beach balls, Wax Fang stripped most of its spectacle to bare its spectacular rock repertoire with a blistering live set at Headliners Music Hall.
The night’s bill was tailor-made to deliver. For starters, the Fang hasn’t played at home since November, when it opened for you-know-who at Louisville Gardens. Match that with a reconstituted, supercharged Follow the Train and the romp-and-stomp acumen of The Features, and …
Damn.
Those who hadn’t yet heard The Features’ Matt Pelham in action can now consider themselves informed. The man stands two feet back from the microphone, toting a guitar big enough to beat him in a fair fight, and you can still hear him switch between sweet crooner and primeval rock god with astonishing ease. Drummer Rollum Haas lobbed a wad of spit as a sign of his enthusiasm as he bashed away, but I didn’t hear anyone complain as the group tore through a menu of new and old before the stage went dark. The group has a new EP out, Contrast, and a full-length, Exhibit A, released in 2004 on Universal.
The Academy Award for Stage Presence went to Follow the Train. Kicking off the set with clips from 1984 Cold War propaganda flick Red Dawn, the Train’s conductors donned pseudo-military face paint and headbands to go with their renewed sense of purpose. Leading off with “The Original Disconnect,” off A Breath of Sigh, ringleader Dennis Sheridan wasted no time in letting himself go while second guitarist and beard master Mike Sabo and percussion player Brandon Jones kept the party rolling.
And then there was the song: Jones announced that the Train was going to take the crowd “Swayz-deep” before launching into Patrick Swayze’s “She’s Like the Wind,” made famous by Dirty Dancing. Sheridan handled the vocals ably, but the star of this rendition was Brian Schreck, nailing the “Wind’s” sax solo note-for-note. It was truly special, and not even in an ironic, humorous way.
To borrow a phrase from Glengarry Glen Ross, Wax Fang knows how to close.
Backed by an evocative pastiche of short films, guitarist Scott Carney wasted little time elevating listeners with the bombshell instrumental, “Avant Guardian Angel Dust.” Most of the set was new-ish material that the band has played live for more than a year, yet never fails to mesmerize.
No stranger to covers either, the Fang invited D.W. Box and One Long Song up to sing a ball-rocking rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain,” but the original stuff was more fun to chew off of.
Where “Oh, Recklessness,” showed the band’s tender side, “Black and Endless Night Revisited” bubbled over with dramatic crescendos and eerie vocals. The surf-rock force of “Bi-Polar Bear” brings the house down every time, as does the carousel breakdown of “The Doctor Will See You Now.”
The sweetest moment of the evening belonged to “Majestic.” As the song died out, Carney broke into a high lonesome whistle, adding a tuneful ending to the show’s drunken revelry. With chops like this, world domination could be just around the corner.

Contact the writer at mherron@leoweekly.com

De La Soul @ Forecastle

From the desk of organizer J.K. McKnight:

“I’m proud to announce that legendary, grammy-award winning hip-hop trio De La Soul has been confirmed to headline the opening night of the sixth annual Forecastle Festival, the Midwest's largest gathering of musicians, artists, and environmental activists. The festival will be held July 27th-28th at The Belvedere in Louisville.

The 2007 festival will feature dual national headliners, multiple stages, 40 independent bands, a regionally-curated art exhibition, 40 environmental organizations, speakers, panels, films, an expanded extreme sports park, outdoor industry product demos, and plenty more along the mighty Ohio River.”