Catfish Vegas presents...

The Ultimate Together Thing

2012-01-13T17:38:00.001-08:00

Ben 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,

Live - Shawn Harris and Full Release, Big Meridox, WHSK, Mr. Head's, Jan. 7

2012-01-13T17:33:00.000-08:00

Live, 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's

A beautiful Sunday

2012-01-10T15:05:00.001-08:00

Top albums of 2011

2012-01-07T14:04:00.001-08:00

1. 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 on

Review: Noel Gallagher - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

2012-01-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

As 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

Review: The Roots - Undun

2012-01-07T13:58:00.001-08:00

The 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

Songs of the year

2012-01-07T03:01:00.000-08:00

I'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

Video: Murs - '67 Cutlass

2011-12-19T16:58:00.000-08:00

Dark 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.

Murs plays Club Congress tonight

2011-11-26T15:52:00.000-08:00

Murs 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

Review: Dum Dum Girls - Only In Dreams

2011-11-26T15:12:00.000-08:00

The 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

Tom Russell at Club Congress on Wednesday

2011-11-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

The 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

Centro-Matic - Dual Identities

2011-11-21T14:13:00.000-08:00

The 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.

Fall mix: Needle on a Hill

2011-11-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

Download 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

Does the U.S. know what to do with these French Bastards?

2011-11-10T15:18:00.001-08:00

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,

Live Review: Mates of State & Generationals

2011-11-09T15:28:00.000-08:00

The 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

Damn does this song rule...

2011-11-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

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 "These

Mates of State with the Generationals at Plush on Monday

2011-11-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

Eighteen 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/

Review: Tom Waits - Bad As Me

2011-11-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

Donning 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 people

Mr. Gnome at Plush tonight!

2011-11-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

Cleveland's Mr. Gnome is band that strips down to the basics, without ever sounding stripped down. Forget the convention of the power trio, this is a power duo.Nicole Barille on vocals and guitar and Sam Meister on drums, occasional piano and back-up vocals - that's it. Just as bombastic as the White Stripes, just as enigmatic as Wye Oak and just as crafty as the Black Keys, Mr. Gnome plays music

Review: We Were Promised Jetpacks - In the Pit of the Stomach

2011-10-20T12:34:00.001-07:00

As localized music scenes capture broader attention, the boundaries blur between the bands that count among the influential originals, and those that are mere copycats.In the Scottish scene—which is making waves on England's Fat Cat Records—the tendency for young bands making names for themselves is to make a sophomore album that's bigger, bolder and louder than the debut. It's a sure way

Riding Out the Storm - Crooked Fingers

2011-10-14T17:24:00.001-07:00

To wear armor at all is to need protection, to fear wounds beyond what the body can sustain. So when that armor begins to fail, the resulting vulnerability is so much worse than an unguarded safety. On his sixth album under the Crooked Fingers name, Eric Bachmann takes a songwriting trip into a state of such startling vulnerability that it’s hard to count all the wounds contained in its 11

The War On Drugs play Plush Oct. 20

2011-10-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

The War on Drugs' Adam Granduciel makes big music by starting with little snippetsAdam Granduciel describes his home studio as a playground for haphazard things.In his tinkerer's shop, with a minimalist analog setup, Granduciel labors to create an ethereal batch of sounds, experimenting with combinations. It's only after he's accumulated a solid bed of sounds, often from mere snippets, that

Reviwe: Lindsey Buckingham - Seeds We Sow

2011-10-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

Sounding reflective and emotionally raw, Lindsey Buckingham takes a bigger turn toward folk music on his latest solo effort.The album leads off with its strongest song, the title track, which is a gorgeous showcase for Buckingham's signature voice and virtuoso guitar style. Fast picking and a mournful wail blend together into a song as powerful as anything he's sung in the past.Though

Review: Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing

2011-10-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

Paring down some of the band's more-unhinged tendencies, Blitzen Trapper look backward on American Goldwing, an album about growing up that sounds like the music that guided those formative years.Often writing distinctly about his past, his upbringing and those distinctly rural characters of a generation-ago America, Eric Earley has hit a rich vein lyrically, writing with a rustic sincerity,

Cymbals Eat Guitars at Congress on Tuesday

2011-09-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

Tucson's ...music video? - with an excellent 2011 release on the heels of last year's Fort Lowell Records 7inch - open an excellent show on Tuesday night at Club Congress. Headlining are New York's Cymbals Eat Guitars. Below is my Tucson Weekly interview with the band:Cymbals Eat Guitars were eager to change things up for their much-anticipated sophomore releaseOpening a second album with a

Rad25

2011-09-29T05:54:00.000-07:00

Growing up, Rad was my favorite movie. It still is. So when I heard about the 25th anniversary celebration was scheduled for this August in Calgary, I had to go. I did, and subsequently wrote thousands of words about the extraordinary weekend, the film's strange and inspiring afterlife and the subculture it came to represent:I pedaled leisurely rather than furiously, making no quick turns,

Review: St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

2011-09-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

Annie Clark's music is a beautiful hybrid of folk, electronica and art rock—a tough combination to get right. But the multi-instrumentalist with the haunting voice has made waves with her pristine execution on Marry Me and Actor, two acclaimed albums that actually lose some luster in comparison to the new Strange Mercy.Clark drops the veil slightly to bring more passion and intensity to her

Friday's songs

2011-09-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

Review: Fruit Bats - Tripper

2011-09-07T15:34:00.001-07:00

Over the course of a decade, the Fruit Bats have quietly been dancing in and out of trends carried by fellow Sub Pop bands that have garnered much more attention. Folky, sunny, poppy and now slightly more psychedelic, the lineup-shifting band led by Eric D. Johnson has never jumped into the spotlight, but has asserted itself with quality albums.Working with producer Thom Monahan on the heels

Review: Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes

2011-09-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

Fountains of Wayne songwriters Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger are masters at peppering their songs with all sorts of slice-of-life details, and on Sky Full of Holes, the duo is sharper than ever at using those mundane observations to draw out a gallery full of familiar emotions.Fountains of Wayne's fifth album opens with the line: "She's been afraid of the Cuisinart since 1977,"

Introducing... Dead Western Plains

2011-09-01T11:21:00.000-07:00

Dead Western Plains refuse to get 'stuck' The colorful, shifting soundscapes of Dead Western Plains' songs are the fortunate result of what Johnnie Munger calls "too many cooks in the kitchen."The five members of Dead Western Plains piece together sounds like collage artists, with each musician adding his own distinct style and personality, until a song reaches its rich and layered

Outside Lands Festival - Interstitial Overdrive

2011-08-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

A three-day music festival like Outside Lands is hectic and exhausting no matter how you approach it. So, I try to pare down the wish list, not rush from stage to stage to see every single band I’m interested in, and let the festival vibe take care of whatever other decisions need to be made. Recapping the experience without running over the itinerary isn’t much easier. But paying attention

New Tom Waits!

2011-08-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

"What if you had a root canal and I asked you to gargle with raw sewage, would you be OK with that? Would it be safe to jump rope with a live electrical wire?"

HAIRSPRAYFIREANDGIRLS CD release on Saturday

2011-08-19T08:54:00.000-07:00

HAIRSPRAYFIREANDGIRLS is an entirely new adventure for these Tucson music veterans The operative word for HAIRSPRAYFIREANDGIRLS is different.When the band formed two years ago—with members from well-regarded Tucson bands Red Switch, Bombs for the Bored and Chango Malo—nobody wanted a simple retread. HAIRSPRAYFIREANDGIRLS was to be an entirely new adventure."I didn't want it to sound like any

Review: Gillian Welch - The Harrow and the Harvest

2011-08-06T12:56:00.000-07:00

The Harrow and the Harvest, Gillian Welch's first album in eight years, is 10 folk songs in the classic sense: tales of travelers, of everyday comforts and concerns—songs that work as still-life portraits of quiet, thoughtful moments.The album is Welch's true successor to Time (The Revelator), and though it has nothing as epic as "I Dream a Highway" or the two-part tale of "April the 14th"

Richard Buckner - Our Blood

2011-08-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

Mind the GapA master of negative spaceI first saw Richard Buckner perform a decade ago, at the now-defunct Nita’s Hideaway in Tempe, Ariz. Call it an intimate performance, or call it a half empty room; Buckner hadn’t really made a name for himself yet in Arizona. I was seated at a small table. I could’ve put my feet on the stage if I’d leaned back in my chair. Buckner was touring with a

Bob Dylan, live at AVA at Casino del Sol, July 19

2011-07-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

Now essentially an old bluesman, Bob Dylan continues his habit in recent years of leaning on the organ and harmonica during live performances. But in turning away from the guitar, he's taken a greater role in his band's sound.As the Never Ending Tour made its fourth Tucson stop in the last decade, the now 70-year-old Dylan delivered a 16-song set drawing broadly from his career. The newest

Cults at Club Congress on Saturday

2011-07-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

An 'accidental band' can barely keep up with its own successFor an accidental band, Cults found an incredibly quick path to success.A chance meeting, a quick romance, some at-home music playing, three songs posted online and boom—the band winds up on Columbia Records with one of the most buzzed-about debut albums of the year."I don't think we ever thought about having a band," says Brian

Review: Liam Finn - FOMO

2011-07-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

New Zealand's Liam Finn crafts a sort of quirky orchestral pop that just doesn't seem right coming from a one-man band. It's a full, layered sound that nonetheless shifts instrumental focus song to song, showing an array of skills.Finn, the son of Crowded House's Neil Finn, draws comparisons to Elliott Smith, Badly Drawn Boy and Jens Lekman, and at times sounds like an indie-pop update of

Summertime

2011-07-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

Crooked Fingers cover "Summertime" by George Gershwin on the Tribune Tower

Review: Roadside Graves - We Can Take Care of Ourselves

2011-07-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

Life on the OutsideThe rich Americana of Roadside Graves“If you’re lookin’ for me, you better look outside” sings John Gleason on the opening song of We Can Take Care of Ourselves, the fourth album from Roadside Graves. It’s a simple statement, a simple moment repeated in a song that’s anything but.A concept album of sorts, We Can Take Care of Ourselves is an exploration and meditation on

The new mix: Thundercrack

2011-07-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

DOWNLOAD1. Clem Snide - Walmart Parking Lot2. Deer Tick - Twenty Miles3. Generationals - Trust4. Andrew Collberg - Clouds of All Your Rain5. The Baseball Project - Panda and the Freak6. Superchunk - Digging for Something7. The Capstan Shafts - Versus the Sad Cold Eventually8. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Two Lovers9. Giant Sand - Fields of Green10. Sun Kil Moon - Admiral Fell Promises11. Smith

The Summer 13

2011-07-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

I'm not particularly happy about it, but there's no doubt that it's been summer for a while now. It's hot and steamy and, despite the rain, generally kind of miserable here in the desert. But it's the price to pay for 70-degree sunny days all winter.To celebrate the season, here are some of the best songs I've heard in the second quarter of 2011. Ladies, it's the Catfish Vegas Summer 13:• Bon

Review: The Rosebuds - Loud Planes Fly Low

2011-07-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

It's nothing new for a songwriter to turn a crumbling relationship into an album of cathartic reflection. But when the breakup involves both halves of one band, that album becomes a conversation. The Rosebuds—the once-married duo of Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp—trace the outlines of their breakup on Loud Planes Fly Low. The sound, poppy yet melancholy, is an apt setting for an excavation

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers - The Art of Escape

2011-07-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

Border crossing with the band “Green & Dumb,” any one of a dozen songs that could rightly serve as a calling card for Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers, came late in the band’s 2011 Circus Mexicus set and as their fans have come to do, I joined my friends arm-in-arm, all of us swaying in time with the ballad. I had somewhere south of six Dos Equis cans still dangling from plastic rings

The Generationals at Congress Tonight

2011-07-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

The Generationals play throwback pop of the best kind—bouncy and playful, melding a variety of vintage sounds together. The project of New Orleans songwriting duo Grant Widmer and Ted Joyner, who trade instruments and vocals throughout, the Generationals fit in with the quirky talents of current and former Park the Van label-mates like Dr. Dog, Tucson's Golden Boots and the Spinto Band.

Review: Bon Iver - Bon Iver

2011-06-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

The muse of that isolated winter is gone, replaced by a muse that’s on the run, loose in a wide world. Bon Iver, the band that had its phoenix-like beginning with the muted and hushed For Emma, Forever Ago, is now fully awakened. His recuperation complete, Justin Vernon is free to explore, reaching for a host of new sounds to adorn the band’s second record, Bon Iver. For Emma arrived

and now we return to our regularly scheduled music blogging...

2011-06-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

Wake And Be Fine:

The Economy

2011-06-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

Black Lips to play Plush on Tuesday

2011-06-16T12:00:00.001-07:00

Spin Magazine cover band the Black Lips are heading out this way, with a show Tuesday night at Plush, with the awesome Acorn Bcorn opening. I talked to the Black Lips Ian St. Pé a couple weeks back about the band's legendary live antics and what it was like for the Southern garage punks to hit the studio with multiple Grammy-winning producer Mark Ronson. Check it out:The Black Lips get just a

Review: Paul Simon - So Beautiful Or So What

2011-06-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

Paul Simon—69 and fearless—tackles spirituality, mortality and the endless, mysterious power of love on a stunning new record that eclipses all of his solo work since Graceland. With poetic directness and restless curiosity, Simon's lyrics are loaded with questions and pondering about the meaning of life, the nature of God and where precisely humanity fits in the vastness of eternity.

The Donkeys at Congress tonight

2011-06-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

The Donkeys hail from San Diego, sound like a mix between The Byrds, The Grateful Dead and Pavement, and are in Tucson tonight at Club Congress. Here's my review of the band's latest record, Born With Stripes, just out on Dead Oceans.California's rich musical history gives San Diego's The Donkeys plenty to draw from, and stylistically, Born With Stripes is a sampler plate, touching on sunny

The Old 97's at Plush on Tuesday

2011-06-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

The Old 97's was the first band I saw after moving to Tucson almost 14 years ago. I wasn't there to see them - it was a Social Distortion show - but the band made a hell of an impression. And from Fight Songs to Satellite Rides era, the Old 97's was one of my go-to bands. I was only 19, finished up with high school, at a state school, when the song "19" came out. It was a band that spoke to me

Happy 70th, Bob

2011-05-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

So, what did I do yesterday in honor of Bob Dylan's 70th birthday? Well, for one I had to move, which put a huge crunch on my music listening time. But I did put together a 200-song Bob Dylan playlist and managed to get through about a quarter of it. And just pondering things here, but aside from every other accomplishment, isn't the fact fact that Bob Dylan actually lived to 70 one of the

Review: Times New Viking - Dancer Equired

2011-05-20T15:43:00.000-07:00

As a term defining a certain recording style and general aesthetic, "lo-fi" includes the notion of energetic, frenzied performances recorded with a screw-the-details ambivalence. The flaws are the charms, and if one song happens to be a little weak, there are plenty more to record. As the aesthetic of lo-fi grew into its own sort of genre, what it took for a band to stand out started

RCPM hit the Rialto on Saturday

2011-05-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

Though I missed ever seeing Tempe greats The Refreshments play (and I had the chance, in late summer 1997, when they played on campus for free, but alas, I had a house party to go to...) I caught on with Roger Clyne's next band, The Peacemakers, right away.I've seen them play about a half dozen times, from tiny Fourth Ave. clubs with $5 cover charges, to the glad-it's-defunct East Side Backstage/

Low Anthem at Congress Friday

2011-05-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of the End of the Road Festival for me last summer in England was The Low Anthem, a neo-folk quartet from Delaware that has had me buzzing since I first heard the band's 2007 debut album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin.The Low Anthem is back with Smart Flesh, one of the best records I've heard yet this year. The album sounds like taking an afternoon long curious trip in some old

Jessica Lea Mayfield TONIGHT at Congress

2011-04-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

Ohio singer-songwriter Jessica Lea Mayfield is no doubt a young talent on the rise, and blessedly free from big record label meddling. Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys has produced both her debut album and her just-released sophomore effort. It's tempting to look down the list of song titles from 21-year-old Ohio singer-songwriter Jessica Lea Mayfield—"I'll Be the One You Want Someday," "Our

Birthday playlist

2011-04-20T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the songs I reached for this morning to set the proper tone for my 32nd birthday:Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon WheelOutKast - So Fresh, So CleanLCD Soundsystem - All My FriendsDamien Marley and Nas - Count Your BlessingsBob Dylan - Sooner Or Later (One Of Us Must Know)(YouTubing Dylan songs is impossible because of all the horrid self-recorded cover versions that are posted.)The

Those Darlins at Congress Wednesday

2011-04-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well, how's this for a birthday show? Tennessee's Those Darlins, who just released a sophomore album that stacks girl group harmonies, old soul and garage sounds on top of the country-punk of their debut. It should be a rowdy good time. Check out the story I wrote on the band for the Tucson Weekly:From Murfreesboro, Tenn., Those Darlins combine girl-group attitude with a garage-rock edge Jessi

Howe Gelb - Spiral

2011-04-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

"There's a lot of people out there having a hard time tonight," sings Howe Gelb, offering up a song of consolation in his own distinct way. And as 2011 opened with Tucson suffering through the city's worst ever tragedy, that sort of consolation is doing all it can, filling emptiness and soothing unspeakable pain.The song "Spiral" is itself a gorgeous piano ballad, and the understated choir

TOMORROW!

2011-04-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

Death Kit - Devadasi

2011-04-15T15:01:00.000-07:00

The booming drums that open "Devadasi" point to yet another direction for Fort Lowell Records, taking a turn toward the dance clubs with the label's fifth release."Devadasi" is dance rock, with an incessant beat, surging keyboards and a keen sense of melody, similar to the sounds of the Manchester scene captured in the film 24 Hour Party People.Sharing members with FLR mates Wet & Reckless,

Dead Western Plains - Alta

2011-04-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

"The house I’m in is surely moving" begins the remarkable first single from Tucson's Dead Western Plains. The ever-shifting collage that is “Alta” takes on so many different hues in its five and a half minutes that it's a challenge to follow at first, certainly a rewarding one. It's a heady bit of orchestration, but marvelously executed.The song opens with a soft organ, some whistling and

Wet & Reckless- New Guy / Tracy Shedd - Tear It Up

2011-04-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

I go back and forth about whether it’s that playful, catchy guitar hook or the “Oooh Yeah Yeah Yeah” chorus that really kills me about “New Guy.” It’s both elements in tandem that make the song so obviously a beach tune – an energetic ball of carefree pleasure that you might as well put on repeat for a little while. But like great pop songs since the early days, that party vibe carrying the

...music video? - I'm Afraid of Everything

2011-04-12T17:24:00.000-07:00

From the opening drum beat, it's clear that Fort Lowell Records' second single is nothing like it's inaugural release. ...music video? is electronic pop music that finds its roots in R&B and trip-hop, a combination that holds together remarkably well with Paul Jenkins' smooooooth vocals front and center."I'd take my own life, if I could try it out for 30 days," Jenkins sings on the downtempo

Young Mothers - Come On The Cross

2011-04-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

FLR's first single – released on my birthday, no less – is classic indie rock, opening with an easy mix of acoustic and electric guitars and then blossoming into its catchy chorus. Zach Toporek sings with conviction and a refreshing throwback sense of passion – far more Fogerty than his emo contemporaries.The power-pop burst of "Come On The Cross" is tempered by the B-side "Our

Rad!

2011-04-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

So stoked on this:25 Years Later: A RADrospective from Marc Dewey on Vimeo.I grew up on Rad and it's great to see the movie being celebrated. Maybe I can even make my way to Canada this summer...Check out more about the documentary at ESPN. And in case you ever wonder about what back-flip pioneer (and Arizona resident) Jose Yanez is up to, wonder no more.

Record Store Week

2011-04-11T17:21:00.001-07:00

Sure, Record Store Day is this coming Saturday. And sure, it's been one of my favorite days since it began in 2008 (witness my three Zia Records shirts, one from each from RSD). And sure, I'll certainly be there at the Speedway store for Tracy Shedd and Howe Gelb. But why just one day?So, it's Record Store Week here at Catfish Vegas presents.I see the whole idea of Record Store Day as a series of

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart at Congress on Wednesday

2011-04-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn's The Pains of Being Pure At Heart will play Tucson next week, touring in support of the band's second album, Belong. I interviewed the band a couple years ago, after their self-titled debut had burned up the blog scene and was about to land on hosts of year-end best-of lists. What struck me most was both how surprised they were at the success and how little it fazed them. It was all

Review: Faster Than Light - Moment of Chaos

2011-04-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

Moment of Chaos is a debut bursting with musical ideas, bright and brash but meticulously well executed, with enthusiasm that runs over the edges. The three-piece rock ‘n’ roll band brings such an impressive pallet that it’s a challenge just to keep up. It takes multiple listens to begin understanding just how much raw determination and talent is behind these songs. Though the title is

The Spring 13

2011-04-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

Now that it's officially spring - though oddly dreary in Tucson today - I thought I'd weigh in with some of the songs that have really grabbed me so far this year.So, without further ado, but with the greatest of pleasure, here are the Catfish Vegas Spring 13:Wye Oak - CivilianThis stripped-down simplicity of this acoustic version shows what a powerful song "Civilian" is, mesmerizing and

Akron/Family at Congress on Tuesday

2011-04-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

Akron/Family, touring in support of the wild and strange Akron/Family II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT, will headline at Club Congress tomorrow night.I talked to the band's singer/guitarist Seth Olinsky a couple weeks back about the new record's origins. Here's the story:Akron/Family creates multiple stories through multiple versions of its newest album Music bred in the parallel

Review: Naïm Amor - Dansons

2011-03-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

Naïm Amor's signature French-and-English mix of jazz, pop and rock shifts toward the tropical on his latest album, a 12-song set that conjures a long afternoon of breezy tranquility. Dansons is a relaxed record, with nimble guitar work, unhurried beats and flourishes of strings, piano, accordion and oboe. Amor sings in French about half the time, with several songs in English and a

Review: Sharon Van Etten - Epic

2011-03-16T19:16:00.001-07:00

Heartbreak can make prisoners of songwriters, trapping them in a whirlpool of doubt and misery. And whatever good intentions or poetic talent that existed at a song's inception can get swept away as the hard edges of truth are worn down by self-pity. Rarely can a songwriter tackle heartbreak with the sort of commanding embrace that marks Sharon Van Etten's second album. Epic is full of

Buckeye Knoll

2011-03-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Tucson gets plenty of bands coming through town right before and after SXSW, and unfortunatley most of them play to half-empty rooms since the shows happen to be on Sundays and Mondays during the UA's spring break. But that's no excuse for the music fans in town not to head out and catch some brand new bands.After Monday's Papercuts show, I headed over to Sky Bar for a couple of Bay Area bands. I

Papercuts tonight!

2011-03-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

I'm headed out in a bit to Solar Culture to catch Sub Pop's Papercuts, whose new record Fading Parade has been wearing out my iPod the last couple weeks. Dream pop is probably the best description, so any fans of Beach House, etc. would do well to give it a listen.I interviewed the band's frontman Jason Quever a couple weeks ago for the Tucson Weekly:For the new album, Papercuts moves out of the

Cumberland's Crumblin'

2011-03-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

My good friend Andrew Shemin - a poet, comedian and all-around Bob Dylan enthusiast during our days raging at The 505 - is a filmmaker now living in Paris. Somewhere along the way he befriended the Von Bondies and when the band's singer Jason Stollsteimer branched out with a new project, Andrew was asked to direct a video.Now The Hounds Below are headed to Austin for SXSW, and they're taking

Old Bisbee Records hits Sky Bar

2011-03-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

Since I had a bit of a hand in putting this show together, I'd be remiss if I didn't write about the Old Bisbee Records showcase this Friday at Sky Bar. It's billed as the "Jewels of the Southwest" show and each band shines with a different sort of light. And while the lineup is plenty impressive, the Old Bisbee folks are even promising surprise guests throughout the night...Rowdy folksters The

Jackson Browne headlining Thursday benefit

2011-03-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

The long nightmare in Tucson that was Jan. 8 is still a shock. It's a shock to me personally as a community member, but also as someone who shared a connection with several of the weekends.There is no end to people seeking to make a positive response or make something positive out of such senseless violence, and the benefit show this Thursday - with Jackson Browne and Alice Cooper among many,

Young the Giant hit Congress next week

2011-02-24T14:31:00.000-08:00

Youthful O.C. indie rockers Young the Giant are playing an early show at Club Congress on Wed., March 2. The all-ages show (with the stupid net) starts at 7 and is just 92 cents.I interviewed the band's singer Sameer Gadhia last week for a story that's published today in the Tucson Weekly.After writing and rehearsing for seven months in a shared beach house, and another nine months crammed

Inglorious!

2011-02-09T15:21:00.000-08:00

How four Tucson musicians out-partied the competition and found themselves headed for the pages of 'Rolling Stone' Walking slowly across the lobby of Caesars Palace, dejected at the tail end of a three-hour Las Vegas scavenger hunt, the Inglorious Budsters thought they'd arrived just a little too late. Nearing the finish line for the Gauntlet—the biggest and penultimate challenge in a

Amos Lee in Tucson on Sunday

2011-01-26T16:06:00.000-08:00

The first bit of work I did after the shooting in Tucson that left friends of mine dead and severely injured was an interview with Amos Lee, the folk-soul singer-songwriter on Blue Note Records.And as it happened, Lee's new album was recorded here in Tucson, with Gabrielle Giffords' friend and supporter Joey Burns of Calexico producing.I was ill-prepared for the interview, having listened to

Favorite Albums of 2010

2011-01-04T17:12:00.000-08:00

1. The Tallest Man on Earth, The Wild Hunt (Dead Oceans) Swedish folk firebrand Kristian Matsson plays as if the mainstream rock music of the past 50 years never existed. His songs are organic, elemental and timeless, and whether or not he intends the effect, those songs seem to have sprouted straight from the ground. Perhaps the best description of The Wild Hunt is in "Burden of

Hey Baby

2010-07-04T04:55:00.001-07:00

The Old Neighborhood

2010-06-28T16:49:00.000-07:00

Hey there everybody.I have a new mix ready to download, so check it out:The Old Neighborhood1. Joel Plaskett Emergency - Drunk Teenagers2. The Low Anthem - Champion Angel3. The Thermals - I Called Out Your Name4. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Counting Down the Hours5. Shout Out Louds - 19996. The Canon Logic - The System7. Nothington - A Mistake8. Bueno - The History Song9. Mos Def - Life In

Friday's songs

2010-06-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's Joel Plaskett day here at Catfish Vegas presents...I was introduced to Plaskett a few years ago by my brother, and just had one of those Eureka! moments last night when a conversation thrusts you back into the realm of a once-favorite musician. I wonder if this singer-songwriter from Halifax has any idea that he has such big fans out here in the Arizona desert...

Friday's song

2010-04-30T01:31:00.001-07:00

Monday's song

2010-04-19T01:40:00.001-07:00

Man, I'm on a definite folk kick right now...

Friday's songs

2010-04-16T12:10:00.001-07:00

First up is this gem from Old Crow Medicine Show. I haven't been able to get it out of my head at all in the past month, and it's been glorious:As far as the next one... hey, look who's coming to town next week: The Avett Brothers! Here's a clip from when the boys rolled through town last year:And by the way, why don't you join me in running across the street after the Avetts to check out

SwedeFest 2010 is booked!

2010-04-13T01:14:00.001-07:00

Oh shit, it's SwedeFest time again!

Friday's songs

2010-04-09T00:48:00.000-07:00

I think we'll have to go with two today:And next, to welcome the Guthrie Family to Tucson, where they'll play Centennial Hall later tonight, with me sitting in the audience, surely swept up in joy:

Review: Harlem - Hippies

2010-04-08T17:55:00.001-07:00

Published in the Tucson Weekly:Garage rock done right aches for the sort of unbridled enthusiasm at the core of Hippies, the first Matador record from Austin-via-Tucson trio Harlem. The band's bouncy, melodic garage rock is colored with flecks of soul and surf rock, but it's the fantastic songs that hold Hippies aloft. The record is an absolute powerhouse that opens with nine consecutive

Review: Miles Kurosky - The Desert of Shallow Effects

2010-04-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

Published in the East Bay Express:Occupying the idiosyncratic end of the pop-genius spectrum, Miles Kurosky led Beulah through four albums of catchy indie rock. Kurosky returns with a solo debut six years after Beulah's swan song, sounding more like he never took a hiatus than someone who labored endlessly chasing a sound just out of reach. A wide variety of instruments weave in and out of

Review: Beach House - Teen Dream

2010-04-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

Published in the East Bay Express:The comfort zone for Beach House is indeed comfortable, an ornate and delicate soundscape in which songs stay afloat with an airy serenity. Teen Dream takes a small step away from the band's dreamier aspects, but the basic elements are the same — shimmering, melodic pop built from piano, organ, and guitar, and hazy vocals that drape across the songs like

Wednesday's Song

2010-04-07T04:22:00.000-07:00

Friday's song

2010-04-02T01:34:00.001-07:00

Ted Leo and The Pharmacists @ Congress on Sunday!

2010-03-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

Touring in support of his excellent new album, the uncompromising Ted Leo will make his way to Tucson this Sunday for a gig at Club Congress. It's been about two and a half years since Leo last played in town, but that show stands out as one of the best of 2007 and few performers can bring such a combination of flat-out energy and professionalism.Check out my review of The Brutalist Bricks, Leo's

New Pornographers coming to Rialto

2010-03-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

Great shows in the dead of Tucson's dreadful summer heat are about the most welcome thing I can think of for those long, sweaty days. And some Canadian folks who've shown some love to Tucson in the past are headed this way.The New Pornographers, with a fresh new album, will play the Rialto Theatre on July 21, with The Dodos and Imaad Wasif.So, check out the first single, then join me in

Midlake playing Plush on Monday

2010-02-25T11:27:00.000-08:00

Denton, TX folk-rockers Midlake are hitting Tucson on Monday for a highly anticipated show at Plush. I have an interview with the band in today's Tucson Weekly:From Ancient DaysPerhaps it's easier to imagine the members of Midlake as cloaked druids performing secretive rituals than as a group of former jazz students from Texas. It's certainly by design that the band's new record weaves its spell