• Old School

    Old School Friday

    September 28, 2007 /

    Tomorrow, I will try my luck on Ticketmaster.com for some decent seats to see the Boss at the L.A. Sports Arena on October 29th. Did you see him on the Today show Friday morning? My original idea was to record it and get to work on time, but “The Promised Land” pulled me in, and Plan B was swiftly put into action (stare intently at the TV screen for the next 35 minutes or so, then walk late into work like I own the place). Check out some Today action here (thanks Krup for the link).

    Naturally, this segues effortlessly into an Old School Friday, featuring our friend Georgio. Where is Georgio these days? He directed and appeared in a movie with Coolio: 2003’s Tapped Out (oh, don’t make me Netflix it, I will). I had to share this review snippet from Netflix:

    “I applaud Giorgio’s effort in getting this movie completed. The plot is as loose as a $10 hooker on Figueroa. The beginning scene of the movie has virtually nothing to do with the rest of the flick. Lots of good eye candy in the soft porn scenes though! I give Georgio 5 stars for the supporting females casting.”

    Consider it Netflixed.

    Georgio – Sex Appeal (mp3)

    Buy Sex Appeal.

  • Rock

    Ickmusic @ Genesis “Turn It On Again 2007”

    September 28, 2007 /

    Genesis

    I’ll try very hard to avoid the cliché of saying Genesis “turned it on again” last night at Giants Stadium, but I’ll be damned if I can find a better metaphor at the moment. From the opening blast of “Duke’s Intro (Behind The Lines)” to the last bit of “Invisible Touch” (we skipped the encore in favor of not sitting in the nightmare that is Giants Stadium traffic) the group delivered a dynamic and energetic set of hits, classics and rarities spanning their 40 year career.

    There are very few times that I can say that I was actually glad to be in ‘nose-bleed’ section. This is one of them as it really allowed us to take in the massive stage and light show. The band performed while dwarfed by the enormous backdrop and flanked by high definition video screens. I’d venture to say the experience was on par with Pink Floyd or U2’s Popmart tour. While the band performed, video and images danced across the stage reflecting the band’s 70’s art-rock leanings.

    Set highlights for me are almost too many too mention but standout performances of “No Son Of Mine”, the once again relevant “Land Of Confusion” and haunting “Firth Of Fifth” / “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” through “Mama” (complete with Phil scaring the crap out of the crowd during his “Ha-Ha”) all come to the forefront. While I could complain that favorites like “Misunderstanding”, “That’s All” and “Illegal Alien” were not included, I found that I really did not miss them. I walked away feeling fully satisfied and with a giant smile on my face.

    Oh, also of note is the fact that each of the North American shows are going to be made available to purchase at TheMusic.com. If you did not have the chance to catch the show and want to hear it, you can order any of the 22 shows.

    Here’s the setlist:

    “Duke’s Intro (Behind The Lines)”
    “Turn It On Again”
    “No Son Of Mine”
    “Land Of Confusion”
    “In The Cage” / “The Cinema Show” / “Duke’s Travels” / “Afterglow”
    “Hold On My Heart”
    “Home By The Sea” / “Second Home By The Sea”
    “Follow You, Follow Me”
    “Firth Of Fifth” / “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)”
    “Mama”
    “Ripples”
    “Throwing It All Away”
    “Domino”
    “Drum Duet”
    “Los Endos”
    “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight”
    “Invisible Touch”
    “I Can’t Dance”
    “The Carpet Crawlers”

  • Acoustic,  Rock

    Pearl’s Favorite Great-Grandson

    September 26, 2007 /

    Into The Wild

    If you could find a picture of me in ’92 (though I doubt any exist) you’d see a young, scruffy, ‘musician-type’ wearing flannel shirts, drinking too much coffee and very likely listening to Pearl Jam. They were one of ‘my’ bands. You know the bands that you find long before everyone else does. I’ve had a long string of such bands in my lifetime but Pearl Jam is by far the one that started it all.

    Somewhere between “No Code” and “Binaural” I lost touch with the group, and with last year’s self titled record they drew me back in. While I love the songwriting and band itself, the real draw was always Eddie Vedder and his voice, his passion, his vision. So I was giddy when I read over at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends that he was producing a soundtrack worth of solo material. I’ve had a week to listen to the record over and over and I have to say it far exceeded any unrealistic expectation I may have put on it. The tunes range from the dirge and strum of “Society” to the hope of the uplifting track “Hard Sun”, which is a cover of an obscure track by the group Indio and which I’ve provided below for everyone to sample. Have a listen and see how hard it is to not be singing along by the end of the tune.

    Eddie Vedder – Hard Sun (MP3)

    Buy Into The Wild: Amazon |

    Into The Wild (Movie): Official Site

  • Indie,  Rock

    Ickmusic Inbox: Intensive Care

    September 26, 2007 /

    Intensive Care

    Montreal based quartet Intensive Care show a great deal of promise in their debut EP 2805. While the recording itself lacks a certain depth you can see past it for the clarity of the group’s vision in songwriting. Complex and moving, the band clearly knows its identity and has little difficulty sharing it. The multi-layered vocal crescendo of the epic 7 minute-plus “K” builds to quite the satisfying resolution with vocalist Philippe Manasseh pleading in earnest with an unseen spirit looking into his soul. There are missteps along the way, but this band appears to be at its best when they’re at their most epic and glorious. I’d recommend this to fans of Radiohead or Sigur Rós. I look forward to hearing more from this group.

    Intensive Care – Break Me Up, Machine (MP3)

    Purchase 2805: CD Baby |

    Link: Official Site | MySpace

  • Bruce Springsteen

    Magic’s Vinyl Release Day and a Review

    September 25, 2007 /

     

    I’m off to a local record store today to pick up Magic on vinyl. The CD will be released one week from today.

    For a very well written (and spot on) review of Bruce’s new album, check out Ben’s review at A Deeper Shade of Soul.

    Buy Magic on Amazon.

    UPDATE: Bruce and the band kicked off their Asbury Park rehearsal shows last night (Monday night). Here’s the set list:

    Asbury Park Convention Hall
    September 24th, 2007

    Setlist:

    Radio Nowhere
    No Surrender
    Gypsy Biker
    Empty Sky
    Something in the Night
    Girls in Their Summer Clothes
    Night
    The Promised Land
    Livin’ in the Future
    Devil’s Arcade
    Candy’s Room
    She’s the One
    Lonesome Day
    My Hometown
    The Rising
    Last to Die
    Long Walk Home

    Encore:
    Thundercrack
    Born to Run
    Darlington County
    American Land

    See Backstreets for a review.

    ANOTHER UPDATE (or, Life as a Music Geek):

    Tuesday night, home with the vinyl!