tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62767392024-03-06T22:39:35.750-08:00Catfish Vegas presents...A Tucson music blogCatfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.comBlogger673125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-14350341462952187202013-01-09T16:58:00.000-08:002013-01-09T16:58:21.070-08:00The End of a BlogI started this blog on Jan. 2, 2004, dragged just as I was into most technology/internet things by Mr. Chair, curious yet not really sure what I wanted to do with a blog or exactly why I should have one. But I do remember distinctly my impetus at least on that first day was to "publish" my own personal list of the top albums of 2003, capped unsurprisingly by Calexico's excellent Feast of Wire. MyCatfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-83597621388979383872013-01-09T16:51:00.001-08:002013-01-09T16:51:00.969-08:00Porch/LifeI haven't posted a mix in ages, but here goes.
Porch/Life
(sendspace is full of ads now - look for the blue box that says "click here to start download from sendspace)
Chuck Prophet - Play That Song Again
Restorations - Neighborhood Song
Nothington - Captive Audience
Japandroids - Fire's Highway
Superchunk - This Summer
Nada Surf - Clear Eye Clouded Mind
Traps - Ten Teardrops
Divine Fits - Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-18534074414298350432013-01-09T15:02:00.001-08:002013-01-09T15:02:21.889-08:00My favorite albums of 2012Here are, to my ears and in no particular order, the best and the next best of 2012:
Chuck Prophet, Temple Beautiful (Yep Roc)
A love song to San Francisco delivered on a hot plate of raucous rock 'n' roll, Temple Beautiful
is instantly catchy. From the churning chords of opener "Play That Song
Again" (which I did, again and again) to the celebratory "Willie Mays
Is Up at Bat," Prophet Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-13649664037763160212012-04-16T16:16:00.002-07:002012-04-16T17:39:06.358-07:0020,000 songsIt's been a little over four years since I got the sweet new Macbook and began converting all of my music into mp3 and m4a files, and my iTunes library just passed 20,000 songs played.The official 20,000th song was "Wreck on the Highway" by Roy Acuff (from the Essential Roy Acuff, 1936-1949 album). I played that song after hearing Megafaun's cover version, which is the b-side to the Kaufman's Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-40369238913064710992012-04-06T15:04:00.001-07:002012-04-06T15:05:28.193-07:00"I simply, boldly falsify..."The Ballad of Jesse Kelly, imbecile extraordinaire:Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-8713839903597652542012-04-06T14:49:00.001-07:002012-04-06T14:49:44.286-07:00How are ya?Today's song, in honor of the great Arlo Guthrie:Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-11316867306730127392012-04-05T14:47:00.000-07:002012-04-05T14:48:10.902-07:00This makes me happyCatfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-55356817776156799762012-01-13T17:38:00.001-08:002012-01-13T17:38:27.455-08:00The Ultimate Together ThingBen Folds headlines a concert for the Fund for Civility, Respect and UnderstandingBen Folds cleared his schedule, dropped all other projects and dedicated this month to focusing on writing songs for what will be the first Ben Folds Five record in 13 years.Then the call came from Ron Barber's Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding, requesting a benefit performance. Without hesitating, Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-68395807067401758472012-01-13T17:33:00.000-08:002012-01-13T17:34:43.967-08:00Live - Shawn Harris and Full Release, Big Meridox, WHSK, Mr. Head's, Jan. 7Live, Big Meridox is the "beast" he calls himself in rhyme, tense and confrontational as he roams the crowd and delivers lines with urgency and, at times, an edgy growl. Joined by DJ Bonus on turntables and a MacBook, Meridox performed 12 songs, produced by Gunky Knuckles.Sweating and swaggering like a boxer, Meridox gives a physical performance, stalking around the crowd to get in people'sCatfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-85327284223908950062012-01-10T15:05:00.001-08:002012-01-10T15:05:33.928-08:00A beautiful SundayCatfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-42926642962561956282012-01-07T14:04:00.001-08:002012-01-07T14:24:27.699-08:00Top albums of 20111. Tom Waits, Bad as Me (ANTI-)If you agree—in any way—that "Hell Broke Luce" in 2011, then Bad as Me is the record to turn to for some wisdom and advice amid the chaos. Dark, preposterous, incensed and confrontational, Bad as Me encapsulates a year that saw misery boil over into anger. The message Waits delivers, through stomps and shouts: This year's optimism is found in revolt.2. The War onCatfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-90286129391087429602012-01-07T14:00:00.000-08:002012-01-07T14:01:30.452-08:00Review: Noel Gallagher - Noel Gallagher's High Flying BirdsAs the more-thoughtful Oasis brother, Noel Gallagher's best moments tended to turn up on hit singles as well as around the band's fringes, like B-sides and the Noel-sung MTV Unplugged. Boastful and arrogant, Oasis was gunning for the highest peaks, and that often involved a certain sound and swagger that didn't incorporate the best of Noel's skills.Neither, exactly, does this first solo Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-31679326813094390662012-01-07T13:58:00.001-08:002012-01-07T13:58:45.009-08:00Review: The Roots - UndunThe Roots' Undun is a character study and album-length epitaph of the fictional Redford Stephens, whose short inner-city life of crime and consequence yields a meditation on fate, mortality and karmic justice.The band's first concept album arrives with vivid narrative details, moody instrumentals and a documentary-style detachment. Stephens' tragic arc (1974-1999) is presented through the Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-55097856953499431132012-01-07T03:01:00.000-08:002012-01-07T14:18:03.321-08:00Songs of the yearI'll be posting my list of the top albums of 2011 a bit later, but in the meantime here are 13 songs from other albums that really stood out for me this year.Mates of State - PalominoDum Dum Girls - Bedroom EyesThose Darlins - Be Your BroCentro-Matic - Only In My Double MindOkkervil River - Wake and Be FineWanda Jackson - Thunder on the MountainThe Black Lips - New DirectionThe Pains of Being Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-21645136723513102632011-12-19T16:58:00.000-08:002011-12-19T17:01:54.370-08:00Video: Murs - '67 CutlassDark humor rules in this new video of "'67 Cutlass" from Murs album Love & Rockets, Vol. 1: The Transformation. The video traces the narrative of the song, the ill-fated twists of a low-key drug run through the Arizona desert.Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-45982203138372782862011-11-26T15:52:00.000-08:002011-11-26T15:52:00.257-08:00Murs plays Club Congress tonightMurs concludes the Hip Hop and Love Tour with a hometown performanceInstead of a shout-out to his neighborhood or hometown, Murs opens his new record with an intergalactic greeting."I use my rocket fuel to travel through the infinite / and this is what I brought to you," raps Murs on "Epic Salutations," a rapid-fire and wildly imaginative lyrical journey into outer space.It's a song that Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-38062126018238339042011-11-26T15:12:00.000-08:002011-11-26T15:14:31.571-08:00Review: Dum Dum Girls - Only In DreamsThe first thing to notice about Dum Dum Girls is the attitude—that audacious, flirtatious cool, with their don't-follow-the-rules posturing. Debut album I Will Be was a musical exploration of that attitude, marking Dum Dum Girls as a fresh and intriguing buzz band.Only in Dreams takes that attitude and runs with it—in a few different directions. The band still brings a refreshing punk Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-76803181080718021032011-11-21T14:14:00.000-08:002011-11-26T14:52:12.259-08:00Tom Russell at Club Congress on WednesdayThe storytelling gifts that Tom Russell has brought to songs for 35 years have reached new peaks on Mesabi, another stunning album of Southwest-borderlands rock.Russell begins this wide-ranging collection with "Mesabi," a song named for the Minnesota iron range of Bob Dylan's childhood, imagining how strongly those early influences struck young ears. Singing of the "Bethlehem of the Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-81027978195640050212011-11-21T14:13:00.000-08:002011-11-21T14:14:17.832-08:00Centro-Matic - Dual IdentitiesThe versatile Will Johnson finds himself in a hard-driving, Centro-Matic phase these daysWill Johnson is a songwriter who works in bursts. He's also a songwriter who keeps multiple bands and projects alive at the same time.So what makes a song a Centro-Matic song?"I will get into certain sounds or certain type of songs for a stretch," he says. "These days, I'm writing more hard-driving music.Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-87902293997507617352011-11-14T10:15:00.000-08:002011-11-14T10:17:08.509-08:00Fall mix: Needle on a HillDownload my new mix, Needle on a Hill. 1. Sugar - If I Can't Change Your Mind2. Fiery Furnaces - Here Comes The Summer3. Built to Spill - Car4. Alejandro Escovedo - Last To Know5. Amy Rude And Heartbeast - Can You Hear Me Crying Throught The Walls? 6. Townes Van Zandt - No Lonesome Tune7. Delta Spirit - People Turn Around8. Luna - Tiger Lilly9. The Faces - Stay With Me10. Busted Hearts - Cold Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-71107312589767093542011-11-10T15:18:00.001-08:002011-11-10T15:24:13.066-08:00Does the U.S. know what to do with these French Bastards?Plush welcomes The Inspector Cluzo, the self-proclaimed 'original funk 'n' roll duo'When the bass player quit, The Inspector Cluzo marched onward as a two-piece.All the advice they received said otherwise, and the precedent said otherwise, but Mathieu Jourdain and Laurent Lacrouts felt they could play funk music as a duo. With no bass."We started with a bass player, but he wasn't good enough,Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-65878348568489649082011-11-09T15:28:00.000-08:002011-11-10T15:28:42.999-08:00Live Review: Mates of State & GenerationalsThe pairing of Mates of State and Generationals guarantees hooks and harmony galore—an abundant display of how to make pop songs shine.Both bands are built around a duo and the ever-present interplay between musical counterparts. In Mates of State, it's husband-wife duo Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner, while Generationals offer Grant Widmer and Ted Joyner, a songwriting duo with a friendship Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-59358908796512270602011-11-08T14:09:00.000-08:002011-11-08T14:16:40.599-08:00Damn does this song rule...I'll have a full review of last night's Mates of State & Generationals show in the Tucson Weekly on Thursday, but today I have to highlight "Palomino," the first song on Mates of State's new album, Mountaintops. "Palomino" is quickly becoming one of my favorite songs of 2011, and it's an amazing video, from director Jimi Patterson:And as a bonus, Mates of State covering Jackson Browne's "Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-24050485132148417172011-11-06T12:30:00.000-08:002011-11-06T12:30:00.415-08:00Mates of State with the Generationals at Plush on MondayEighteen seconds into "Palomino," what started as a toe-tapping song with an airy synthesizer bursts into a chorus of "oohs," and Mates of State's new album rushes off like a child at play."Palomino" is concentrated sweetness, an album and perhaps career highlight for Mates of State, a band that peddles bottled joy and sunshine.Mates of State has always been a band defined by the marriage/Catfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6276739.post-6443358444368220122011-11-04T12:28:00.000-07:002011-11-04T12:28:00.150-07:00Review: Tom Waits - Bad As MeDonning the mask of a fatalistic joker, Tom Waits gives 2011 its defining album, singing, stomping and wheezing in revolt against the bleak lows that mark this doomed age.A deep study of any of the 13 songs on Bad as Me would serve the same purpose, with nearly the same result: This is the soundtrack to an occupied nation, encapsulating the fear, anger and defiance coursing through a peopleCatfish Vegashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06891550844173350208noreply@blogger.com0