Ryan Adams Has Another Shit-Fit In Minneapolis

Download:Ryan Adams - "Come Pick Me Up"

Read more about it on Yahoo. Apparently, Adams was complaining about the sound all-night at his show at the State Theatre. After 70 minutes of playing, he walked off after the "Last Song" and the fans started booing. Not as bad as last time, mind you, but still not good either.

So it goes.

(Jonathan Graef)

The Donnas - Bitchin'

The Donnas
Bitchin' (Purple Feather, 2007)
Grade: A

Download: The Donnas - "Don't Wait Up For Me"

"So, what happened?" was the first question I asked Donnas lead-singer Brett Anderson over the phone as she was trying to get into a taxi. Caught off guard, she asked me to repeat myself, I think she was expecting an insult. I clarified: "This album kicks so much ass, what happened to make you guys wanna make a record like this?"

She laughed, asked me to repeat what I just said and handed the phone to drummer Torry Castellano. I did what I was told.

"Well," Anderson said. "We just had time to follow through on all of our ideas on this record ... We started with the angle that we were going straight to pop, but we are a rock band and wanted to make a rock record. We wanted to make a huge arena rock album."

And holy crap they did. All of the previous Donnas releases have been great rock records, but "Bitchin'" is different. Granted, if you are an Animal Collective or Pavement disciple, this record won't do it for you. But it's not supposed to. This record is for the elite few who actually own KISS on vinyl and wear Van Halen shirts without irony.

"The rock thing just makes sense to us, and we wanted to polish that," Anderson said. "We can still evolve and change and grow, but the genre doesn't change ... This isn't the same record we put out before, none of them are."

Furthermore, the Donnas put out this record on their own Purple Feather Records, which is unquestionably cool -- they even clocked in at #89 on Billboard on their own fuel. "We can't help but wonder what it would be like with a big label," Anderson said. "But we're also proud that we did it on your own ... It was easier to make a straightforward album on our own."

In short, the guitars a big, the hooks are great and there is always cowbell somewhere. "We are a rock band," Anderson said. "And rock bands should make rock records."

***The Donnas are playing an all ages show tonight at the Varsity Theater, doors at 6pm. Tell your friends.

Buy the record here from Amazon.com
The Donnas on MySpace
(Ian Anderson)

Oakley Hall w/The 1900s: Tonight At 7th Street

(Oakley Hall)



(The 1900s)



(The Magic Castles)

Download: Oakley Hall - "Living In Sin"
Download: Oakley Hall - "Landlord"
Download: The 1900s - "Bring The Good Boys Home"

Just a friendly little reminder (as opposed to a hostile one?) that Oakley Hall will be playing the 7th Street Entry tonight. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show is at 9 p.m. Opening for Oakley Hall? This little band called The 1900s. We may have mentioned them once or twice.

A band we haven't mentioned before is The Magic Castles, an unsigned band from the Twin Cities. They too will be opening for Oakley Hall. I took a listen to a few of their demos posted on their MySpace Page (they have the coolest Music Player, by the way) and I liked what I heard. The best song on there is "Golden Bird". It sounds like a more psychedelic version of "Cinnamon Girl", as sung by a male version of Nico. The other tracks are quite good as well, but are obviously indebted to The Velvet Underground.

Buy tickets to the show here for eight dollars, or get them for 10 at the door.

Oakley Hall Website
Oakley Hall MySpace

The 1900s Website
The 1900s MySpace

The Magic Castles MySpace

Read our feature on The 1900s here

(Jonathan Graef)

Ela Tour Journal #3

Day Something - Monday September 23

Early ass drive back in the other direction from Spokane. It's nice to get one good show in Spokane under the belt because Heiruspecs has never had one. I often thought that Heiruspecs might have met "fuck those dudes" in local slang with how few people showed up. We are losing an hour going to Missoula but we have plenty of time. We arrived on time but soundchecks and things are running behind. The club is going to be really full and the stage looks like the puppet stage from "being john malkovich". it's just hopelessly tiny. We load our stuff in and mill around doing nothing. I helped move a ton of couches out of the way with some dudes from the club and we figured out how to make our merch as small as possible between the three bands. Minus the Bear's merch guy, Steve, is great. If I didn't have a real brother named Steve, I'd call him brother Steve. But I do. He drinks whiskey diet cokes and beers. He talks about girls. We're both chunky but super suave (that means smooth in portuguesa or something).

Both the other bands on tour have their own soundguys but we get to work with the houseguys everynight. And this house guy was just not into the deal and was arguing with the traveling sound guys but then they started broing out and talking about whatever sound guys talk about. I try to hang with jokes with these dudes but I have not a fucking clue what a crossover is or why it's called a cardiod? I don't even really know how to play bass. We had a soundcheck after doors opened but tonight it was count the 19 year olds because it was an 18+ show. Our set turned out to just be wonderful. Small stages can really help. We played our asses off and I had some very strange moments of just being so close to people and looking at each other. Not in a rock star/fan way but in a very "it's hot in here, I bet those drums are loud for you too, I like tuning my bass between songs, have you noticed?" type of way. After the show we loaded out while drunk people walked past our equipment and tried to knock it over. A sold out show in Montana is not like a sold out show elsewhere. Because the town drunk who orders a double shot of Jameson but claims he ordered a single somehow still gets in. And the dudes running shit at the fake ass digital casino next door don't give a fuck if your "fuckin' skynrd", get the fuck out of the way.

I attempted to hit on a girl that was nice to me working behind the bar after she got cut from her shift. Hitting on in this sense means talking and going "really?" when if it was a dude I would go "sure, yup, sure". She was actually super nice and dropped the boyfriend line within the third paragraph. But she added in a nice way that he is in a hardcore band and is working the door right now and is eight feet away from me. More turtle dick. But the dude was super nice and when a very drugged out dude tried to sit behind our merch the dude got even more drugged out of the club by hardcore bf and another door guy.

I ended up getting the number of a girl towards the end of the show who was staying in the area cause her and her girls didn't want to drive back to Helena (the sham capital of Montana). They picked my drunk ass up from the Ela hotel and brought me to their hotel. We sat their alcohol-less while we talked about random shit that appeared on the TV. It never materialized into a conversation and I could not figure out what these three girls that didn't go to high school together and were different ages were doing together. I was getting pre-hungover and towards out of it. They mentioned it was one of the girls' birthdays recently. Small talk me asked what they did to celebrate. Big talk them mentioned the old Jehovah's Witness deal. They were all Jehovah's Witnesses dude. Forgive my dude talk but I've never like socially ran into a Witness, just the typical knockety knock type meetings. I would like to thank the author Zadie Smith for giving me half a leg to stand on in regards to knowing what their whole deal is. I asked some acceptable questions, cracked no jokes (people deserve respect for their religion and a hang out is not a comedy routine). But, I'm plagued by that indecision when you find out an interesting fact about someone, do you ignore it, or delve deep or try to quasi natural bring shit up. Such as: "oh weird, that door's made out of wood. Do you guys knock on doors made out of wood to proselytize about the second coming and the doomsday scenarios I've read about in your pamphlets?"

A dude friend of one of the girls came over and I was downright excited to see another guy. I mean, I had no idea how to hang with three girls, all witnesses, with no liquor talking about shit on TV and everytime I want to say fuck or shit or even anus bubbles I sort of put like an extra half second before and after of considering not swearing, and then still swear. I am waiting for the dude to bring some liquor in from his car so I can remember how not to act like an idiot but he's got jack shit. But, he's not a Witness and we talk about smoking pot in high school (i feign coolness and experience) and other shit and suddenly people are talking. But, nothing is remotely popping off in any sort of coupling up mode. So they drive me back to my hotel but we stop at Denny's. I see an insane girl I remember from the show who bought about 150 dollars worth of merch total from all the bands and wanted it all signed and didn't seem totally on her rocker. She is grabbing two boxes of to-go food and heading home. I drunkenly imagine an alternate universe where I'm eating hash browns with a plastic fork in a 90s taurus listening to the new subtle CD and passing gas on the Minus the Bear tote bag I'm accidentally sitting on. But, I am actually in the form of reality where I am ordering an appetizer sampler extra ranch with two Witnesses from Helena, MT. I mean shit.

The Denny's food is decent and I'm done being annoying flirty now that it's 4:30 and the thing they most look for in a man is "faithfulness, decency and a commitment to morals". At this point something comes through my nose. But I actually get a really interesting picture of life in Helena for these girls and they are certainly not preaching anything to me, we are just sharing things and I realize that you really do learn a lot hanging out and talking to people at shows and at anywhere that's comfortable to talk. They voluntarily dis-spell a lot of rumors regarding Witnesses. They mention that a lot of people think they don't believe in Jesus. I never thought that and I tell them so. I think people think that Witnesses do these things: think the world will end sooner than most of us do, knock on doors and talk about this stuff, and count Michael Jackson amongst their faithful. I guess Michael actually is not himself a member and not everybody knocks et cetera. So, we iron out all the details, pay our bills and they drop me off.
Knol lets me in after Bill doesn't answer. I sleep on the floor with a hoodie for a blanket (it's 6x, so don't feel too bad for me, plus I'm still a bit drunk). I sleep through "Blood Diamond" which I put on on my computer with my headphones on. We have to drive a lot tomorrow.
--
ela on tour with minus the bear/subtle

Sept 28 -- Cleveland, OH -- Grog Shop (Early)
Sept 28 -- Cleveland, OH -- Grog Shop (Late)
Sept 29 -- Pittsburgh, PA -- Diesel
Sept 30 -- Buffalo, NY -- Tralf Music Hall
Oct 1 -- Toronto, ON -- Opera House
Oct 3 -- Cambridge, MA -- Middle East Downstairs
Oct 4 -- Cambridge, MA -- Middle East Downstairs
Oct 5 -- Brooklyn, NY -- Warsaw
Oct 6 -- New York, NY -- Irving Plaza
Oct 7 -- Sayreville, NJ -- Starland Ballroom
Oct 8 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Theatre of Living Arts
Oct 10 -- Washington, DC -- Black Cat
Oct 11 -- Norfolk, VA -- The Norva

Hotel Chevalier: Part 1 of The Darjeeling Limited

Download: Peter Sarstedt - "Where Do You Go To, My Lovely?"

So, today marks the release of The Darjeerling Limited, the new Wes Anderson film starring Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman. Oh, and the pinnacle of male hotness, Adrien Brody. I almost forgot about him.

In case you can't get out to see the film today, Hotel Chevalier the 13-minute short that airs before it can be downloaded for free from iTunes. It stars Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman as a former couple sharing a hot, depressing hookup in Paris. And, since no one does hot and depressing quite like Wes Anderson (except maybe Alfonso Cuarón - that depends on whether or not I feel like reading), you know it's good stuff.

At the top of the post, you can find the song that was prominently featured in the short film, "Where Do You Go To, My Lovely?" by Peter Sarstedt.

(April Wright)

Dreamy Shoegazers From Ireland "Turn In You"

Butterfly Explosion (terrible band name, I know, but hear me out) are an Irish shoegaze/post-rock quintet who have been described as a "loved-up Radiohead". As you can probably imagine, they make music with ethereal, spacey keyboard soundscapes; echoing, cascading waves of guitar; and a rhythm section which slowly and steadily rumbles in the distance, but can come back at roaring moment's notice. It's the instrumental ambition of post-rock combined with the ecstatic warmth of shoegaze. I, of course, have been eating all this up with a spoon.

The group convened in 2004, and have put out two EPs so far: 2005's Vision and last year's (literally, Sept. 2006) Turn The Sky. The latter EP garnered them favorable notices and airplay on XFM Scotland and XFM London. In addition, Butterfly Explosion have been praised by the likes of Mojo Magazine (I thought they only did repetitive retrospectives of old albums), who put the song "CarPark" in their top ten playlist for June 2006.

The band's been a little quiet as of late, no doubt due to the fact that they've been recording new material. Whether its for a full-length or another EP is one thing, but the band has put up a rough demo on its MySpace page for a song called "Turn In You". It's a slow, pretty number with a dreamy ambience that makes the song the perfect soundtrack for staring at the stars.

Click here to listen to "Turn In You". Below you will find tracks from both Vision and Turn The Sky.

From Turn The Sky:

Download: Butterfly Explosion - "Score"
Download:Butterfly Explosion - "Sophia"
Download: Butterfly Explosion - "Chemistry"

From Vision:

Download:Butterfly Explosion - "Comfort Of The Dark"
Download: Butterfly Explosion - "Vision"

MySpace Page
Band Website

(Jonathan Graef)

The National On Late, Late Show With Craig Ferguson

Man alive, no one can build to a cathartic crescendo like The National can, and no other song of theirs does that like "Apartment Story" from Boxer. Watch the band perform it on "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson." I really like the subdued, almost-acapella way that the song is started off.

(Jonathan Graef)

Ela Tour Journal #2

Sunday September 23.

Ela wakes up in Billings, MT. It is early ass in the morning and I decided I'm done with using the fake ass present tense. So at 6:30 when I woke up we had some continental breakfast. I used some cream cheese, low carb bread and bananas. I like to call it the albino elvis. check one out. they suck. I had two.

After continental, we drove for a long ass time. Peter was our first driver. I was our first sleeper. Lots of sleep. I was woken up when the rest of Ela crafted a long text edit file that they played through the "computer voice" guy thing on Macs. I think no one should be allowed to use the word "asshole" in Montana for the next three days just to make sure it still has meaning. Soon after I woke up I started driving. Billings to Spokane is a long time. Me and Knol listened to disc 2 and 3 of Dwight D. Eisenhower's insane life. Let me just tell you this, that guy made some big missteps as a President. He should have kicked the living shit out of McCarthy ASAP. Hey Ike, if you can fuck up Hitler, I think you can knock down the Red Hunter. But it's great. I drove the last two hours of the drive in full turtle dick mode as we drove on slippery roads across mountainous ranges. It was just me, Knol and Ike to get us through as Bill and Peter were deposed in deep art convos.

We arrived for our first show with Minus the Bear and Subtle. Minus the Bear's merch weighs more than the sum weight of all the people of all the bands I'm in. If Minus the Bear fails they will be able to clothe all of Myanmar in shirts with smart indie design and the brand appeal of American Apparel. Maybe Minus the Bear will be the first band accused of exporting their t-shirts to impoverished nations, as opposed to vice versa. no promo.

So while standing in a sea of merch I met most of the gentlemen from Minus the Bear and Subtle. I had actually met Jel and Dose-One when I was a senior in high school on New Year's Eve from 98-99. Heiruspecs was playing the Rhymesayers "Soundset '99" at First Avenue. We talked briefly and fake "caught up" since we certainly didn't really know each other then. But, you know, rap waters run deep.

Minus the Bear soundchecked on their beautiful gear. I walked around the semi christian coffee shop/huge venue as if I had a fucking clue what to do. I try to stay real far out of backstages, just to give the people who really need them to relax space. I sat around at the coffeeshop and would get the non-news that opening acts always tell to each other. Bill walked up to me and said "we're going to put our stage on stuff after Subtle is done soundchecking" and I said "I bet we will sell our merch right next to where the other bands sell merch". Just typical talk talk talk while trying to get into the rhythm of playing with bands that have tour managers and soundguys and always wear their ipods et cetera.

Our soundcheck turned into our "stand on stage and count twelve year olds" while sound dudes who are competent but arguing can't decide whose job it is to plug in my bass direct out. fantastic. Turns out one of the guys toured with Flip. Flip was a fun loving band with a smart attitude from Minneapolis. They also wore make-up and knew that rock was kind of a big masquerade and that they weren't really the greatest band ever. My dad always liked that about Huey Lewis and the News.

The show went well and we sold some merch afterwards. Subtle pretty much blew me away. The last time I saw Dose-One play live he was in front of a set of turntables talking about being a man of the 90s with big belt buckles. very good, but this is a step up. the best drummer in the world also isn't a drummer. it's jel live hitting samples. as they say in rap, "that's a spicy meatball". try it if you are ever hanging at D&D studios with Preemo. (no promo).

Minus the Bear came on and they put on a phenomenal rock show. Great endings. Great beginnings. Great songs. I saw Minus the Bear at the Triple Rock before, but this stage was big as shit and there was a fan blowing on their drummer (like a keep you cool type of fan you pervert sean). So it all seemed very much like they are a band that is on MTV, and guess what, they are now. After the show I used my automated merch sheets made on Excel (thank you U of M accounting 2050, p.s., cute girls go to Carlson). Counting out merch took 8 seconds. It was tight.
We went to the hotel and I think we just went to bed.
--
ela on tour with minus the bear/subtle
Sept 27 -- Detroit, MI -- St. Andrew's Hall
Sept 28 -- Cleveland, OH -- Grog Shop (Early)
Sept 28 -- Cleveland, OH -- Grog Shop (Late)
Sept 29 -- Pittsburgh, PA -- Diesel
Sept 30 -- Buffalo, NY -- Tralf Music Hall
Oct 1 -- Toronto, ON -- Opera House
Oct 3 -- Cambridge, MA -- Middle East Downstairs
Oct 4 -- Cambridge, MA -- Middle East Downstairs
Oct 5 -- Brooklyn, NY -- Warsaw
Oct 6 -- New York, NY -- Irving Plaza
Oct 7 -- Sayreville, NJ -- Starland Ballroom
Oct 8 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Theatre of Living Arts
Oct 10 -- Washington, DC -- Black Cat
Oct 11 -- Norfolk, VA -- The Norva

Bob Dylan - "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"

Download: Roger McGuinn - "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"

Yesterday, The Late Greats posted an interesting Compare And Contrast of Bob Dylan's "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding." You can click on the links previous to hear the original. Unless I totally nightmared this up, I thought that Courtney Love did a cover of Dylan's song as well. I didn't find it - maybe that's for the best -but I did find Roger McGuinn's (he formerly of The Birds) cover that was on the Easy Rider Soundtrack. You can listen to that track at the top of this post.

In addition, check out TLG's post about album enders from the ladies of '07. Feist is on it, and any mix that contains Feist ain't to shabby. Listen to that here.

(Jonathan Graef)

MPLS Studio Third Ear Closes Its Doors At The End Of The Month

Read more at City Pages

MySpace

(Jonathan Graef)

New Video: Celebration - "Evergreen"

Download: Celebration - "Evergreen"

We've written about Celebration before, so we are naturally excited by this. It is a video for their song "Evergreen." The video is a little too fantastical for me, but I like the song anyway. Thanks to Idolator for the tip.

Celebration play the 7th Entry on Nov. 21st.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

Download: Animal Collective - "Peacebone"
Download: Animal Collective- "Chores"

Animal Collective
Strawberry Jam (Domino, 2007)
Grade: A

So no one on this blog has said much about Animal Collective's Strawberry Jam yet. I was going to post something about it back when it would be, you know, relevant and all that. However, due to a very unfortunate two weeks, the album is just coming into my possession.

And it's fantastic.

Mark your calendars, dear readers, because this is one of the rare days that I actually like something. A lot.

Fellow MFRer Pete Farrell, our co-worker and I were talking yesterday. Pete remarked that the Animal Collective write songs that sound like campfire sing-alongs on acid. Agreed. The swaying, drunken swagger that most Animal Collective songs have a has always been one of my favorite things about them. I love mayhem, and Strawberry Jam has loads of it.

I've always found it hard to talk about Animal Collective in terms of over-arching sound and style. I don't know if they're about that as a band. Their core instrumentation is built of repetitive guitar parts that have enough jangle and bounce to them so that they keep moving. But really, it's always the little flourishes that make the song. The well-timed spoon sound on the second verse of "Winter Wonder Land," the little '70's sci-fi keyboard clip at the beginning of "#1" and the intermittent whistle in "Peacebone" are the types of sounds that build this album. It's shambolic and cluttered, but we can still find something to grasp on to underneath it all.

Panda Bear has always been a great singer, but I think the Avey moments define the vocals on this record. I know he enrages some people, because I guess his voice sucks or something, but he's like the Matt Sharp of Animal Collective. A falsetto shriek here and there is like the punctuation in an e.e. cummings poem: Panda Bear yodels on and drags this way and that, and I really do think that if it wasn't for Avey bustin' on in, Animal Collective songs – on all their records, not just Jam – would lose a lot of forward momentum. His vox mark ends where ends need to be marked, stresses stretches of song that need stressing and I appreciate that.

The funny thing is, I looked at some reviews on other sites after writing this, and Pitchfork really like Avey on this record, too. Is this the coming of the Avey Empire? Yes. Yes it is.

The bottom line is that Strawberry Jam is a phenomenal record. It has the perfect blend of momentum, songwriting and unpredictable little flourishes and perfect little moments.

Now, maybe it's the fact that I can count the amount of sleep I've gotten in the past 3 days on one hand, but stay tuned for another rare "April Wright Loves Something Moment," because Iron & Wine have a pretty damn good new album out.

(April Wright)

New Rihanna Video - "Hate That I Love You"

(Ian Anderson)

The 1900s: Cool, Confident and in Control

Download: The 1900s - "Two Ways" (Via Stereogum)
Download: The 1900s - "When I Say Go"

During the recording of their debut LP Cold and Kind, the 1900s endured some serious mishaps. These included, but were not limited to, lost sessions, multiple recordings and re-recordings, and illness. But right now, the 1900s are nothing if not cool, confident and in control of their musical destiny.

"I really wasn’t sure if (the album) was good or not,” singer-guitarist Edward Anderson tells me as he leans forward in his chair in the VIP lounge for the Hideout Block Party. “But it seems to be getting a positive response. We’re taking a sigh of relief right now, like 'Alright, it wasn’t a disaster.'"

Drama has followed the 1900s everywhere they go, even before they went anywhere. The band’s brief history goes like this: high school friends Anderson, Tim Minnick (drums), and Mike Jasinski (keyboardist/guitarist) reunited in Chicago after college to form a band. They recruited bassist Charlie Ransford and violinist Andra Kulans. More importantly, singers Jeanine O’Toole and Caroline Donavon (who’d been singing together since high school) were also recruited.

A few weeks later, Donavon started dating Anderson and O’Toole starting dating Ransford. The latter couple broke up. Despite high tensions, the groups recorded an EP, Plume Delivery, before a live show was even played. At the first show the group played together, Parasol Records owner Geoff Merritt offered them a record deal. The band began touring and built a strong fanbase.

Which brings us back to Cold and Kind. It's a veritable melting pot of classic musical genres that range from Roy Harper-influenced folk-rock, to Belle and Sebastian-style chamber pop to the orchestral psychedelia of the ‘60s and ‘70s. What’s great about both band and album is that the music is done so in a way that is neither derivative nor ironic. It’s contemporary and retro, without the negative connotations of either. The music on Cold and Kind is accessible, but also ambitious in its orchestrations, and experimental in its lyrical content. For example, Cold and Kind’s atmospheric “Supernatural” and album opener “No Delay” comprise a fictional love story about the way that love can humanize us after traumatic events.

The group is also quite adept at combining Velvet Underground-style white noise in the context of a 3 minute pop song, as they do on first single “When I Say Go”.

“If we can bring those things together into a song and combine them, I think then that the song is better for it.” Minnick explains. “I think we want to experiment and flesh things out like that.”

"We all wanted to do a really vintage kind of record” Jasinski explains. “A lot of that inspiration really meshed well with our producer’s [Grame Gibson] style. In his downtime, he had Staples Singers playing and all of this old-school Motown stuff. We just knew that it was the right choice."

However, this being the 1900s, life-changing drama was inevitable, no matter how well-matched producer and group were. While the band was recording the album, a close friend of the band's died. Though Cold and Kind has a mournful feeling which permeates it, the album is not an eulogy.

"I wouldn’t say that (the friend's death) influenced the whole record or anything like that" Anderson states. "We make our music and I write songs that might be influenced by something that happens, but I just do it anyway."

Doing it, though, is a long, ambitious process. Before bringing a song to the band to arrange, Anderson will record one demo on his cell phone, then a second and third one using software such as Garage Band and Pro-Tools. Once the band has played and arranged the song, they’ll do a group demo of it. And then the recording starts.

Sometimes, though, the process is much more spontaneous, with jamming and rehearsals being the catalyst for songs. One might think that having so many people in a band where the songwriting process is elaborate would result in there being too many cooks in the kitchen. Not so, says Jasinski.

"I think a big part of having so many people involved is that you’ve got to give space to everyone…it takes a lot of stepping back and a lot of scaling any sort of your own ambitions to make a harmonious effort out of it."

Most of the harmonic joy in the 1900s music comes out when the band plays live. This may be due to an unsuspecting influence on the band’s sound: musical theater.

“That’s where I started singing” Donavon says. “I think that when we do shows, Jeanine and I get into it. We feel like we perform and that we just don’t stand on stage and deliver a song. We try to put on a show so that it’s something interesting to look at."

And the 1900s do put on a terrific show, filled with a vivacious energy that gives the recorded material even more punch. The band has fun, which they should be doing. Fun, it seems, is the glue that holds the 1900s together. When asked about what advice they’d give a band who is going through the Fleetwood Mac-style romantic hurdles that they did, Kulans replies, “You might fight a lot, but every time you get on stage it’s a lot of fun.”

Anderson elaborates: “You realize that you play music that’s supposed be fun and when it stops being fun…there’s complications and you have to work it out.” He pauses and then laughs: “Git-R-Done, man.”

Based on the rapturous response that Cold and Kind is getting from press and blogs alike, I’d say that they already have.

The 1900s open for Oakley Hall on Friday, Sept. 28th, at the 7th Street Entry. Show is 21+ and doors open at 8. Buy tickets here

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

More Streams Than You Can Shake A Stick At

Today is quite the day for indie releases, as you probably know. If, for whatever reason, you are hesitant about purchasing these albums and want to listen to the albums in whole before you buy them, you may stream the albums here:

Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War
Download: Stars - "Take Me To The Riot"

Stream at MySpace Page

Iron and Wine - The Shepard's Dog
Download: Iron and Wine - "Lovesong of the Buzzard"

Stream at MySpace Page

Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
Download: Devendra Banhart – “Seahorse”

Stream at MySpace Page

The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour
See previous post for MP3.

Stream at MySpace Page

Stream albums by Foo Fighters and Dethklok here.

(Jonathan Graef)

The Weakerthans - "Reunion Tour"

The Weakerthans
Reunion Tour (Anti)
Grade: A

Download: The Weakerthans - "Tournament of Hearts"
Download: The Weakerthans - "Civil Twilight"

Winnepeg-natives The Weakerthans are playing an all ages show at the Triple Rock tonight, it is completely sold out however. So, in case you don't have tickets, go out immediately and buy their new album "Reunion Tour." Go on, I'll wait.

In the meantime, for those of you who do have tickets, I had the good fortune of catching up with Weakerthans bass player Greg Smith over the phone on Friday and caught some good information.

"We're totally loving the new record," Smith said. ("Me too," I said). "I think it turned out great and I think we’re all really like it ... We just wanted to put some good songs and stories down, we had no real sorta desire to create a very specific kind of album. We did it a lot quicker than we thought we would, we went in to do a few tunes and ended up doing the whole record. And that lends itself to how the record sounds."

"Reunion Tour" completely delivers after leaving us with such a great record in "Reconstruction Site," it is bigger, better and possesses that urgent quality that really brings me into the records I will enjoy for not only this week, but for years down the road.

Lyrically, the album continues John Samson's compelling story-telling with well-developed characters, which trace a thematic thread through the album.

"Most of these are character songs," Smith said. "John’s the lyricist, he's just developed this style over the years. He's developed these characters."

The album is pretty much wall-to-wall with jams, but "Civil Twilight" and "Tournament of Hearts" are currently my favorites.

Buy "Reunion Tour" from Amazon Here

MySpace Page

(Ian Anderson)

Les Savy Fav Video - "Peggy Lee"

Les savy fav - patty lee
Uploaded by epb21

Saw this on Culture Bully and thought: "Ian!"

So here it is.

Click here to hear an MP3 of the song.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Andrew Bird To Play End-Of-The-Year Show(s) In MPLS

Download: Andrew Bird - "A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head To The Left"

In addition to opening Wilco for for a few dates (including one in Minneapolis), it looks like Andrew Bird will be playing one, or even multiple, show(s) in Minneapolis at the end of the year. According to the Andrew Bird newsletter, most of his next few solo shows will be exactly that - which is to say, that Bird will be playing with no band. However, for his Minneapolis show(s) scheduled for mid-December, Bird will have his full band. That's good news because he'll have the skills of one Martin Dosh (as well as, Jeremy Ylvisaker, who is no slouch) to help back him up.

Furthermore, having seen Bird both by his lonesome and with a full band, I have to say that the full band experience is much, much better. To be fair, I saw Bird by himself at Lollapalooza last year, where the sound crew somehow mistook his sound for that of Lil' Jon's. As a result, the bass was mixed way, way too loud. So the moral of this story is: definitely go to these shows.

Concrete information (that is, time/date/venue) will be announced in a couple of weeks, in the middle of October.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Burmese Monks, Aung Sang Suu Kyi "Walk On"

(From The New York Times)

Download: U2 - "Walk On"
Download: U2 - "Running To Stand Still"
Download: U2 - “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)”
Download: U2 -“Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”
Download: U2 -“One”
Download: U2 -“All I Want Is You”
Download: U2 -“Where The Streets Have No Name”

Now that you pervs are done watching the Meg White faux-sex tape like it was the Zapruder film, we can now move on to actual news. A huge, huge news story today is the march by 50,000 people, including 15,000 monks in Myanmar (formerly Burma) to protest the totalitarian policies of their government. This is the biggest demonstration that the country has had in 20 years. You can read more about the history of Myanmar/Burma here

One of the most well-known leaders of the democratic movement in Myanmar is Aung San Suu Kyi. She is the elected leader of the National League For Democracy, a Burmese political party. She has been under house arrest since 1990 due to her non-violent opposition to the dictatorship. As you can imagine, she is an inspiration to many of the monks who are marching today. The fact that they were allowed by the military to march past her house (which no one is allowed to do), where Kyi waved at them, means that there may be hope for democracy in Burma. Then again, maybe maybe not.

Here's where the music connection comes in: On their 2000 album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2 dedicated one of their songs, "Walk On", to her. So, in honor of this momentous occasion, we've posted "Walk On" plus a few more songs from U2.

Lastly, here is one of Kyi's most famous quotes: "It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it."

Ring any bells?

(Jonathan Graef)

Les Savy Fav Plays Bowery

Les Savy Fav is about to take the world by storm, partially because their live shows are rumored to be amazing. So, here is a link to Brooklyn Vegan who were at LSF's NYC show on Saturday. They took some great photos, including this one.

Yes, that is a magnifying glass magnifying Tim Harrington's index finger in his belly button. So cool.

(Ian Anderson)

Ela Tour Journal: Day 1 and Intro

Download: The Clash - "Lost In The Supermarket"
Download: Al Green - "Tired of Being Alone"

For those of you who have never met Ela, let us introduce you. They are a lovely indie-rock band from Minneapolis (that's where we're from too) and they have just headed out on tour with Minus the Bear (Suicide Squeeze, very cool). A couple of weeks ago, they approached us with the idea of running a mostly-daily tour journal featuring photos, videos, live tracks, mix tapes and crazy stories about the touring life that they are embarking upon with the rapidly-growing-in-popularity Minus the Bear, and we decided to party. Granted, we have a disclaimer in regards to the label they are on, which is also run by MFR editor Ian. But, in the end, we decided it was just too cool to pass up the chance to document a Mpls band who had this opportunity. And so, day one:

Ela is peter, bill, knol and me. i'm sean. this is my blog entry.

We left St. Paul at 2:30 after stopping at Ellis drums for sticky
sticks for Peter. The long drive to Bismarck, ND wasn't shit. I can
confirm that buying snacks for tour is just bullshit for me because it
just means I eat 8 lbs of granola and peanut butter the first day and
then eat whole chickens from grocery stores the rest of the tour.
Little people know that if you eat the chicken in the store it's free.
They also have to not notice you eating the chicken.
We listened to the new Kanye West record. It's all decent except
for "barry bonds", which is, as they say in rap slang, one spicy
meatball. Lil' Wayne for president. We listened to Dungen and also the
new Common record. We're going to keep it pretty rap on this here rock
tour. Heiruspecs often keeps it pretty rock on our rap tours, so it's
only fair.
We stopped at the absolutely wonderful store of WalMart in Fargo,
ND. WalMart creates the great democracy amongst people when someone is
all "I want Garth brooks CDs!, and tampons, and a water bottle, and
tylenol, and a gardening plot, and 3 new tires". It sucks. and what is
a gardening plot? A girl tried to clown me in the parking lot. Comedy
comedy. I am wearing a fully members only 5x black and white floral
design senior citizen shirt. The kind with form fitting bottoms and
sides. It looks tongue in cheek on a skinny rock guy and it looks
semi-special needs on those of us endowed with gorgeous man curves. I
walked past two female Fargits in the parking lot and gave them a
smile. The girl rocking a mustard stained Marilyn Manson t-shirt said
"I don't think you should wear that shirt anymore". I asked her if she
thought it was too old for me. She said yes. I told her that she
should wear her shirt everyday. Hizaa. Lame walmart justice is served.
but that's the whole deal.

When we got to the hotel me and Peter went swimming and hot tubbing.
It was completely hetero since you asked. And now I'm sitting my ass
on email in the lobby watching Carson Daly make an ass of himself. And
I'm still wearing the senior citizen shirt. I feel like I could kill
in shuffleboard and 4:30PM clambakes in this outfit of up high
sweatpants and black and white hawaiin. I don't think I can spell the
word Hawaian. fuck. Hawwwian. perfect. Tomorrow we play with Vampyre
Hands and Thunder in the Valley in Billings, MT. st. paul/minneapolis
rock stand up.

Pre-Order Fiery Furnaces' Widow City

Download:Fiery Furnaces - "Worry Worry" (from Gallowsbird Bark)
Download: Fiery Furnaces - "Evergreen" (from EP)
Download: Fiery Furnaces - "Slavin' Away" (from Rehearsing My Choir)
Download: Fiery Furnaces - "Chief Inspector Blancheflower" (from Blueberry Boat)
Download: Fiery Furnaces - "Nevers" (from Bitter Tea)
Download: Fiery Furnaces - "Japanese Sleepers" (from Widow City)

Widow City, the sixth album from the Fiery Furnaces, does not come out until Oct. 9th (on Thrill Jockey). However, if you want to be the first kid on your block to own Widow City - and, frankly, who doesn't? - you can pre-order the album here.

If you order the double LP, then you can receive the album with a gatefold tip-on jacket and a free MP3 download of Widow City.

At the top of this post, you'll find MP3's from all six of the Fiery Furnaces' albums...even Rehearsing My Choir.

The siblings Friedburger will be playing the Turf Club in St. Paul on Oct. 12th.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Stream Dethklok's DethAlbum

Download: Dethklok - "Duncan Hills Coffee Theme"
Download: Dethklok - "Awaken Mustakrakish"
Download:Dethklok: "Birthday Dethday"

The blackest, most brutal, most metal band of all - Dethklok - (and stars of Adult Swim's "Metalocalypse") will be holding an exclusive listening party for its new album,Dethalbum, on Sept. 25th at 12:01 AM. You can stream the new album - which will undoubtedly strike fear and darkness into all of our hopeless, barely beating hearts - here, when the time comes.

The new season of "Metalocalypse" doesn't start until January, but the album comes out tomorrow, with the DVD of season one to follow one week later (Oct. 2nd).

Brutal.

MySpace Page

Two more Dethklok MP3s here

(Jonathan Graef)

View Host Doesn't Know If World Is Round Or Flat

Download: Everything Now! - "The World Is Flat, This Is The Edge" (Via My Old Kentucky Home)

Watch this and hear the sound of April Wright's head exploding.

(Jonathan Graef)

Rogue Wave On "Late Night With Conan O'Brien"

Download: Rogue Wave - "Lake Michigan" (Via Spin)

Last Night, Rogue Wave performed their song "Lake Michigan", from the recently released Asleep At Heaven's Gate, on Conan. Checkit out.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Mr. E Makes A Movie

Download: Eels - "Fresh Feeling"
Download: Eels - "Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)"

Back in July, Mr. E. announced that he was writing a book about his life, entitled Things The Grandchildren Should Know. The book is due out in 2008.

Now, he has announced that the BBC has made a documentary about Mr. E, born Mark Oliver Everett, and his father, Hugh Everett III. The senior Everett, a physicist, was the mastermind behind the many worlds theory. I had no idea.

The film, Parallel Universes, Parallel Lives, will commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the famous theory, and will feature Mr. E. learning more about his father. There is no release date for the film yet.

(April Wright)

Tonight: The National at the Fine Line

Download: The National - "Fake Empire"

This is the only thing you need to know about today. We'll be there, all our friends will be there, you might as well be there -- especially if you're cool.

8pm at the Fine Line, 18+.

MySpace Page

(Ian Anderson)

Just Announced: Two Atmosphere Shows At First Ave.

Download: Atmosphere - "Sunshine"
New Mac Lethal! Download: Mac Lethal - "Pound That Beer"
Download: Grayskul - "Dope"
Download: Lucky I Am - "The Best I Can


Atmosphere will play two shows at First Avenue this November; one on Friday the 9th and the other on the next day, the 10th. Openers include Rhymesayers labelmates Mac Lethal, Grayskul and Living Legends' LuckyIAm.

The Saturday show is ALL AGES and starts at 6 p.m. (doors at 5), whereas the Friday show is 18+ and starts at 8 p.m.

No matter which show you attend, tickets will cost you sixteen dollars. They go on sale to the general public this Saturday (the 22nd) at 11 am. Buy them at the venue (yes) or through Ticketmaster (only if necessary).

Ticketmaster Link for Friday's show
Ticketmaster link for all-ages show

Atmosphere MySpace
LuckyIAm MySpace
Grayskul MySpace
Mac Lethal MySpace

(Jonathan Graef)

Stream Mannequin Men's Fresh Rot

Download: Mannequin Men - "Weekender"
Download: Mannequin Men - The Boys (They Don't Mind)
Download: Mannequin Men - "Grapefruit"

Chicago proto-punk revivialists Mannequin Men released their second album, entitled Fresh Rot, yesterday on Flameshovel. For those of you who are cautious consumers, or just like to listen to music for free over the interweb, the album is available for streaming. Just click here to listen away. If you like what you hear, then buy the album from Flameshovel here.

For those of you who like live music, you're in luck. Mannequin Men will play a show this coming Friday, the 21st, at the Triple Rock. Show is 21+ and costs ten dollars on the day of the show. Buy tickets for 8 dollars in advance here.

(Jonathan Graef)

Kanye Beats Fiddy Like A Red-Headed Stepchild

Download: Kanye West - "Can't Tell Me Nothing"

On the charts, if not in real life. Read more about it here. But to sum it up quickly, here are the final numbers:

Kanye West: 957,000 copies of Graduation sold.
Fiddy: 691,000 copies of Curtis sold.

So will Fiddy retire?

(Jonathan Graef)

City Pages Publishes "Picked to Click 2007"

Click here for a complete rundown on the happenings of Picked to Click, but here is basically what went down:

Band (# of Votes):

Mouthful of Bees (68)
Gay Witch Abortion (34)
First Communion Afterparty (29.5)
Skoal Kodiak (28)
Roma di Luna (27)
Dance Band (26)
MC/VL (23)
Baby Guts (20.5)
M.anifest (18)
His Mischief (17.5)

Online-only runner-ups:

Weaver at the Loom (17)
Black Audience (16)
City on the Make, Jeremy Messersmith, Private Dancer (15)
Big Quarters, Pandemonium (13)
Mystery Palace; Now, Now Every Children (12)
A Night in the Box, Dark Dark Dark, Switzerlind (11)
Bastard Saint, The Evening Rig (10)
Beatrix Jar (9)
Dessa, France Has the Bomb, Ghost in the Water, Joanna James, To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie (8)

More to come as the story develops.

(Ian Anderson)

New 1900s Track

Courtesy of Pitchfork. Listen to "Everybody's Got A Collection" (an outtake from Cold And Kind) here.

One of the the things that the band mentioned to me in our chat (which will be up here soon, I promise) was that there may have a seven-inch in the works that would consist of outtakes from Cold and Kind.

You can hear the final product of Cold and Kind when the album is released on Oct. 2nd.

(Jonathan Graef)

Stream Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon In Its Entirety

Download: Devendra Banhart - "Saved"
Download: Devendra Banhart - "Seaside"

Over at his MySpace Page. Check out two MP3s from the album at the top of the post.

(Jonathan Graef)

(Jonathan Graef)

Japan Cakes cover My Bloody Valentine

(From Pitchfork)

Ambient-Rock band Japan Cakes will release an entire album cover of My Bloody Valentine's landmark shoegaze album Loveless. Pitchfork posted the first track, "Only Shallow", on their website yesterday. The original is one of my favorite albums of all time. I realize that isn't the most brave or groundbreaking choice but, after all, some things become cliche because they happen to be true.

Needless to say, the Japan Cakes project is of great intrigue to me. I do like what the band has done with "Only Shallow." What is interesting to me about what Japan Cakes did with the song is that their approach is arguably just as layered as My Bloody Valentine's was; only the instrumentation is different.

The dreamy production is there (on a much smaller level, granted), but instead of stacks of swirling, looping guitar noise, there's pedal steel, cello and other orchestral instrumentation. Japan Cakes do entirely away with the vocals, which I think is wise because a). the vocals on Loveless are virtually indecipherable and b). Even though Kevin Shields is the early 90s Brian Wilson, he is actually a terrible lyricist. By replacing the vocals with cello, Japan Cakes redefine MBV's serenity and put it into an entirely different, and pleasing, context.

You can listen to Japan Cakes take on "Only Shallow" at the top of the post, then get their take on "Loomer" below. In addition, you'll find the original My Bloody Valentine tracks for the sake of comparison and some songs from Ecstasy And Wine and the Glider EP.

From Loveless

Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Only Shallow"
Download: Japan Cakes - "Loomer"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Loomer"

From Ecstasy And Wine:

Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Never Say Goodbye"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "The Things I Miss"

From Glider:

Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Glider"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Off Your Face"

(Jonathan Graef)

Flaming Lips On "Sound Opinions," Good Luck Chuck Soundtrack

Download: The Flaming Lips - "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots" (Live On "Sound Opinions")

The Flaming Lips were recent guests on NPR program "Sound Opinions" and they were gracious enough to do a performance of "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots" from the album of the same name. You can listen to it at the top of this post and listen to the show in its entirety here.

In addition, go to Twelve Major Chords to hear the new Flaming Lips song, from the Good Luck Chuck soundtrack, called "I Was Zapped By The Lucky Super Rainbow". At the very least, we have to give it up to the Lips for coming up with some very distinctive song titles.

(Jonathan Graef)

Live Review: The Editors at the Fineline

I have yet to bring my eyes across a press bit about the Editors that didn't mention Interpol. Both of their records may convey strong reasoning for this trend, however Wednesday night at the Fine Line Music Café, in support of their new album An End has a Start, the Editor’s stagnant fan base in Minneapolis was faced with a band that possesses something their post punk forefathers of 3 years seems to lack. Frontman Tom Smith had moments of floor kissing convulsions and acrobatic piano soaring which is something the stylish and boldly dressed Paul Banks is simply “too cool” to mimic.

Cranking out new tunes such as “The Weight of the World” and “Bones,” the old favorites “Munich” and “Bullets,” and encoring with a rather impressive performance of the new single “Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors,” the Editors set themselves apart from the four murky men from NYC, and left the people present feeling serene and composed.

(Ryan Jaroscak, Contributing Writer)

Steamy Video By Office

You may have seen this on or the Chicago Reader's Crickets blog, but I still think that this video by Chicago's pop-tastic Office (who have a album, A Night At The Ritz, that comes out a week from today) is still worth watching. Slightly NSFW.

Office will be at the 400 Bar on Oct. 2nd. Show starts at 8 p.m. and is 18+

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

They Might Be Giants at First Ave. - Tonight!

Download: They Might Be Giants - "I Got My T-Shirt Back"

Show is at 9 p.m. and is 18+. Tickets are 20 dollars in advance and 22 dollars at the door. Oppenheimer opens

In the meantime, check out the new video for The Else track "I'm Impressed" here.

(Jonathan Graef)

M.I.A Performing On Letterman

Check out this video of M.I.A bringing her power, power to "The Late Show With David Letterman". She performs the awesome Kala track "Paper Planes".

(Jonathan Graef)

Catfish Haven Session On Daytrotter

Download: Catfish Haven - "Let's Spend The Night Together" (Rolling Stones Cover; Via Daytrotter)
Download: Catfish Haven "Lion In Winter" (Bee Gees Cover; Via Daytrotter)

Catfish Haven recently stopped by the Daytrotter gang to do a session and a feature. The session was particularly special because not only did the Chicago-based indie/neo-soul group play two songs from its 2006 album Tell Me but they also did some tasty, never-before-released covers of songs by The Bee Gees and The Rolling Stones. You can listen to those songs at the top of this post.

Read the feature about Catfish Haven here and download the rest of the songs from their session here

(Jonathan Graef)

Arcade Fire cover "Maps"

Download: Arcade Fire - "Maps"

Here is a great cover that Arcade Fire just released of "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It sounds roughly live and some of the vocals are a bit off, but, c'mon, it's a great song.

(Ian Anderson)

Kanye West on Jimmy Kimmel

(Ian Anderson)

Live Review: Devendra Banhart

Download: Devendra Banhart - "This Beard Is For Siobhan"
Download: Devendra Banhart - "Bad Girl"

There are three kinds of opening bands in the world:

Category: Good band that happens to be opening for a bigger seller

Description: This well-respected group could have done a headlining show at the smaller venue down the street, but they aren't.
Your reaction: "I saw Sonic Youth with the Flaming Lips. It was so awesome that my brain melted and dripped out my ears!" Notice that Sonic Youth isn't opening for the Flaming Lips, I've given them a more colleague-colleague type relationship.

Category: "Opening" Opening Bands

Description: This band is OK. They eat up time before the set starts and keep everyone decently entertained. But you probably won't buy their CD and flaunt the new musical gem you found.
Your reaction: "Rio En Medio opened for Devendra Banhart Saturday and they did fine."

Category: Why Has This Band Been Inflicted Upon Me?

Description: Who booked these guys? Are they labelmates? Half the audience has gone out for a smoke, the other half is chit-chatting so loudly that you – thankfully – can't here the audio abomination on stage.
Your Reaction: "Why would The National do this to us?," followed by weeks, if not years, of denial that such a good band actually had such a terrible opener.


If you read carefully, you may have surmised that I went to the Devendra Banhart concert on Saturday.

Rio en Medio opened the show. I went in completely cold (as in, I had never heard of her) and left lukewarm. Musically, Rio (a side project of Danielle Stech-Homsy) was pretty middling. I really dig the whole electro-folk scene, but Rio en Medio was cut from pretty much the same cloth as every other electro folk artist on the market.

But there was this video playing in the background. It starred the multi-instrumentalist who was backing Stech-Homsy at the show. It featured said multi-instrumentalist digging in the sand. And then a shot of him having black stuff poured on his face. And some white pine cones beetles. And a dude wearing a big plush cat head and playing hopscotch. And…you get the idea. Rio en Medio is just "so arty".

And by "so arty," I mean so poorly planned-out, so poorly-made and so fucking pretentious.

Devendra Banhart was absolutely fantastic. He played mostly from the new album, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, out September 25th. The Latin-ized folk sound that permeates the whole album is exactly what his career needed at this point to keep from going stale, and it invigorates his live show awesomely. I especially liked "Shabop Shalom," the story of a boy who falls in love with a Rabbi's daughter. The song has a great sense of humor, as well as a robust, balanced sound.

And, I couldn't get away with not mentioning his back up band, Zpiritual Boner. According to Banhart, as many Zs as necessary can be added to the name. They were the best band I've ever seen backing a solo artist. Even Banhart's older material benefited from the full sound provided by Boner's folk prowess.

At every show, Banhart asks the audience if anyone has written any songs lately, and then brings a respondent on stage. Last night's lucky winner was Dina Ree. She ended up being a pretty good performer, especially considering as she went from being out in the crowd to onstage fairly suddenly.

The whole night was pretty magical. To quote the drunk girl behind me who spent the whole night ensuring that no one could enjoy the show in peace, "This is so beautiful. I'm dying." And later on, "I'm dead. I'm crying and I'm dead." I can assure you she was actually none of those things, but the sentiment holds, I think.

(April Wright)