R.E.M., Modest Mouse, The National Setlists - Merriweather Post (6/11/08)

Man, talk about a great evening. Beautiful weather, 3 good bands, good friends... fantastic. This is one of the few outdoor outings in the last month that didn't get torrential downpours.

It was so nice, in fact, that we missed the first couple The National songs. I asked around at the show, and most people had never heard of them before (nerds) or told me that they played "Sorry," which isn't even a song of theirs that I know of. One person told me that they started off with "Start A War," which sounds plausible. Can anyone help us with the others?

Modest Mouse was good. I left the setlist generating to Allison for that show. She loves them...

R.E.M. was superb. Michael Stipe rearranged the lyrics in "Drive," which threw me for a loop (yes, I sing along... leave me alone). During "The One I Love," disaster was averted. Stipe stumbled off an amp, almost biting it. He brushed it off, but kind of seemed perturbed; not even a smirk on his face. I was kind of disappointed that Stipe didn't perform the narrative during the bridge of Orange Crush, but I'm probably grasping at straws.

The encore was quite political. Mr. Richards was dedicated to Dick (the attempted murderer quail hunter, not Tricky). After the song, he said they partnered with Amnesty International and Environmental Action before putting on an Obama button and declaring Barack would be the next president (to many cheers, of course).

R.E.M.
Finest Worksong / Living Well Is The Best Revenge / Bad Day / What's The Frequency Kenneth / Drive / Ignoreland / Man-Sized Wreath / Little America / Hollow Man / Walk Unafraid / Houston / Electrolite / Don't Go Back To Rockville / Pop Song '89 / Horse To Water / The One I Love / Driver 8 / Until The Day Is Done / Let Me In (Acoustic) / These Days / Orange Crush / I'm Gonna DJ // Supernatural Superserious / Losing My Religion / Mr. Richards / Fall On Me (w/ Johnny Marr) / Man On The Moon

Modest Mouse*
Invisible / Satin In A Coffin / I Came As A Rat / Fly Trapped In A Jar / Trucker's Atlas / Out Of Gas / Dance Hall / Float On / King Rat / The View / Dashboard

The National
Start A War / ??? / ??? / Baby We'll Be Fine / Slow Show / Mistaken For Strangers / Squalor Victoria / Racing Like A Pro / Fake Empire / Mr. November

*Thanks to Allison for the Modest Mouse assignment.

Stay Positive, Dude

Leave it to our good friends at DC Rock Club to totally scoop us on this one, but better them than anyone else, I suppose. Anyway, The Hold Steady are currently streaming their latest album, Stay Positive, in its entirety. I haven't had a chance to make it all the way through the album yet, but I know that when we posted "Sequestered in Memphis" all three of us kinda had the same reaction - that it was positively 'meh'. I mean, we always knew there was a distinct Hold Steady formula, but now it's like they're not even trying. Oh well. Their first two albums were great and the third was decent - what more can you ask for really? Take a listen and let us know what you think in the comments.

The Rockist Society Officially Loves RnR Hotel, June

This June kinda rules. First off, Euro 2008 starts tomorrow, which for the uninitiated is like the World Cup, but a total upgrade since it's only European squads (translation: no crappy Asian and Central American teams ruining things). And then, since this is a music blog, there are a lot of pretty badass, Rockist-approved shows, all of which are taking place at the Rock and Roll Hotel. If only the RnR Hotel weren't so annoying to get to and if their drinks were cheaper, it'd probably be our fave venue. They serve Sparks, after all. Without further ado, this is where you can find me when I'm not at Lucky Bar:

Sunday, June 15: The Grand Archives. Pretty melodic rock, a bit on the softer side. Share similar influences as The Pernice Brothers. Frontman is former Carissa's Wierd/Band of Horses guitarist, Mat Brooke.

Wednesday, June 18: Superb double bill with Centro-matic and The M's. Really excited about this one, as any self-respecting Rockist would be. I've seen Centromatic open up for Drive-By Truckers, so it'll be cool to see them stretch out a bit more as the headliner. Haven't heard The M's new album yet, but if it's half as good as the retro-y and glammy Future Women, then we're in for a treat.

Wednesday, June 25: This might be the show I'm most excited about. Times New Viking bring their brand of, um, shitgaze (I swear I didn't make that up) to the Hotel and it'll be a sweaty affair, I'm sure. Put your Schlitz (Schlitzes?) in the fridge now.

*Times New Viking photo courtesy of Matador Records

Prince Still Wears His Purple Suit?

So my boss came back from the AIHce '08 Expo in Minneapolis today and announced that Prince played a song in the opening ceremonies. I was pretty surprised that Prince would actually give a hoot about industrial hygiene, so I had to find a video. And I did...

That's not Prince.

I'm embarrassed to be in the industry.

This Week in Video: Once, Twice, Three Tiiiimes a Kanye Edition

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Kanye West - "Flashing Lights"


Kanye West - "Flashing Lights"


Kanye West - "Flashing Lights"

Shout!

Regular readers may recall that a while ago I posted a few excerpts from the really awesome book, Revolution in the Head: The Beatles Records and the 1960s by Ian MacDonald. I gave the book to my dad originally, and upon reading it, he said, "Have you read Shout! ?" I said I hadn't, and he promptly sent it to me a month later for my birthday. It's a pretty well-known book, and for good reason. You can't possibly imagine how exhaustive Phil Norman's portrayal is. I'm only on page 110 (a fifth of the way through), and they haven't even recorded a song yet but it's still fascinating reading about the comedy of errors that was the Quarry Men, then Johnny and the Moondogs, then the Quarry Men again, then the Silver Beatles, then the Beatles. Their living conditions during their residency on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg make for a great read, but I also really enjoy the anecdotes about their family. One of my favorites:

"Paul's father, Jim McCartney, was the first of their parents to investigate
this new epoch [the band's gigs at the Cavern Club in Liverpool]. He had
noticed the state in which Paul came home from the Cavern, with clothes stinking
of mold and a shirt so drenched it could be wrung out over the kitchen
sink. Jim was still in the cotton business, working at the Cotton Exchange
just around the corner from Mathew Street. Venturing into the Cavern on
his own lunch hour, Jim could not get near enough to the stage to speak to
Paul. When he came after that it would usually be to drop in some meat he
had bought to cook for Paul and Michael that evening. Above the din in the
band room he would give Paul careful instructions about when, and at what
number, to switch on the electric cooker."

The book is great at showing you how amateurish the greatest pop band of all time were in their formative years -- hell, they got kicked out of Hamburg because George was only 17 and couldn't play past the midnight curfew. Anyway, I highly recommend reading this book and I plan to post more excerpts as I go.

Rocker Falls Off Bike; Teaches TRS A Lesson

Not sure if you all had heard, but earlier this month David Byrne, of Talking Heads fame, was BUIing and broke a few ribs. From his blog (or as he calls it, a "Journal," which is online, also known as a blog...):

“You drank too much and fell off your bike” could be the title of a drawing by David Shrigley. But in this case, it actually happened to me after meeting Shrigley for dinner and drinks. While riding home, C and I were briefly separated. Upon reuniting, my tire slipped on the cobblestones of West 14th St., and I remember lying in the street, looking at oncoming headlights and rolling towards the curb so they wouldn’t run me over. Two cops approached and looked down at me. “Have you been drinking?” they asked. Probably a typical question in that neighborhood at that time of night. “Yes, I’ve had a few drinks,” I replied. “But I’m hurt.” I managed to get up by myself and retrieve my bike (no help from the NYPD, though one of them asked if I was David Byrne) and it wasn’t until later, when I was in bed, that the pain made itself truly known. I wondered how I would ever even get out of bed. The next day I went to the hospital and x-rays revealed two broken ribs — numbers 3 and 5, way up high. They're healing now, little by little, and I was told that in 3 weeks I should be OK.

I have been known to imbibe a little and hop on a bike. Let's not delve into things, but there have been a couple rides to Bolis that I don't remember. It's a sobering when you discover rock stars aren't infallible. Let's all learn from this...