tunes n goons

Geez Louise! With Halloween and all going on I almost forgot to tell you about all the cool music I have gotten to see lately! Not only have I gotten to hear some good choons, but I have even discovered some new venues to hear it in...
For starters, Black Lodge Video is actually a very happenin spot to catch a show, should you get the chance. Yes, the creepy little video place with all the pornos in the lobby and the wierd sign out front. Upstairs they have a studio space where I have seen quite a few interesting bands. Saturday was just such a show - coming off Halloween, I was in the mood for some wierd fun but minus the crowds and ruckus. Well, The New Intruders indeed forgot the crowd - but they sure brought the ruckus. Loud, fuzzy ruckus....with soundbytes and screechy electronic sounds. I don't really ever know quite what these guys are going for, but they sure have a good time going for it...and they definitely don't sound like anyone else around here that i know of! My friends who talked me into going wound up downstairs watching The 40 Year Old Virgin, but i had quite a good time - and was really surprised at the eclectic batch of people there I knew.

Sunday actually found me BACK at Black Lodge for yet another show...this one was a little less my speed, but was every bit as interesting. The Memphis Flyer did a big story about it and called this genre "anti-folk". Apparently this scene includes The Moldy Peaches, early Beck and any other wierd, half sung/half-talked, "I don't care what I am mumbling about"-style, folkish material. The main act was Jeffrey Lewis, a very talented individual who not only sang his songs, but also wrote and drew his own indie comix. The opening act was a trio of cute art-school chicks called The Scandaliz Vandaliztz (probably misspelled that). They had a low budget Luscious Jackson vibe going on with lite rapping, ooo-la-la's & quirky lyrics. I heard they do singing telegrams for twenty bucks - and write the song specially for the occasion! Havng a soft spot for quirky art school chicks, twenty bucks sounds like a steal. My birthday is coming up if anybody wants to send these gals on over to the vanwraps shop!

Next up was Jeffrey himself. You know, I do not generally like singer songwriter types. I find them long winded, self absorbed and a little annoying. But this guy was pretty damn cool! Probably the most memorable thing he did was a "low budget video" of the biography of Obama, which actually amounted to a big hand illustrated flip book that he sang about as he flipped through. It was really neat, though I was amazed at the awe the guy seemed to lavish on his candidate of choice. It involved Obama's worldly culture as a lad, his helping the sick and feeding the hungry...i was waiting for the part where he fed all the bums with a couple loaves of bread and a fish. But I digress.
Lastest and bestest was my personally favorite local band, Oracle & The Mountain. I have known most of these guys quite a while and I have to give them props for having the Defective Agency open their cd release party. Have you not heard them yet? Yooza fool! Many folks around here think Lucero is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Well, I defy you people. These guys are better and you are stupid. Duh! Thankfully there were quite a few people willing to stay up too late on a Sunday night and catch this show. It was great.
On a final and not quite so great tip, I went to the Desoto Civic Center to see Stone Temple Pilots on their attempt at a comeback tour. I have to say they were surprisingly tight - the ambulance that came pulling up preshow was NOT there to haul Weiland off to rehab, much to our surprise. They ran through so many songs that Iknew every word to....It blew my mind how prolific they were. But the place was waaay empty and the extended jazz odyssey jam sessions didn't help. Every time they launched into one, people streamed out the exits like a stink bomb had gone off!
I am told I need to check out Odessa on Broad....having become quite a fan of The Cove and its dranks n' oysters, I believe I will have to wander over there sooner rather than later. I also see that Tim & Eric will be in TX next week. With gas being so cheap, I could probably be convinced to say screw it and head down there...but i probably won't....
OH MY GOD! How could I forget!?!?!
I know it technically doesn't fall under recent music shows, but I got to see the all new Memphis Tigers in their debut exhibition game last night! All my fellow fans want to know: HOW ARE THEY? I will keep it short, but let me say this: We have a long hard road ahead of us. I saw good things: Pierre is in good shape and snagging rebonds. Sean can still hook over tall guys' heads and make it. Dozier is more dynamic than ever. But oh, the bad: Antonio, Tyreke and 3 others were benched with injuries. Roburt Sallie is not overly impressive and couldn't manage to score all night. Turnovers! Turnovers! There's one thing I HATE! All the turnovers! And we even picked up a walk-on white boy from Germantown...all in all, we will kick a lot of ass. But that well-oiled chemistry that Joey, CDR & D Rose brought to the table will take a while to reproduce. But I plan on having a blast watching and waiting! Also, I called a LOT of my friends to ask if they wanted to go last night. Dad & I sit less than 10 rows back from the court at the away free throw line. Dream seats. You know what I heard? "Gee, I gotta work...my girlfriend will kill me if i go without her...I am doing laundry...I dont answer my phone (OK, i didnt actuall hear that one, but you get my point)"....Whats up with you guys?!? I gotta upgrade my friend selection!