"I Got A, Shock Colla For My, Rottweiler"/"I Don't Want To Be Another Foot In Mouth Kid"

(that's just some random picture that I came across that I found interesting and cool. it's unrelated to the blog :))

OH EM GE I'm out of control with this whole "not blogging forever thing." Sorry, but on top of taking 3 insanely hard psych classes, jamming with numerous folks, and having a relatively active social life, the blog seems to be suffering. maybe if I change the format ... but that's a pondering for another day. Today, we blog:

I promised some words on a few artists whom I've recently saw (3oH!3, Captain Ahab, Mr. Pacman, Milton Melvin Croissant III, Yourchestra, and High Places), and here they are (short and sweet):

3OH!3 is a fun little duo that I can only describe as White-Boy Crunk. They're full of energy and embody the ideals behind "letting lose" more so than anyone else that I've ever witnessed. Their music is unabashedly outrageous, borrowing heavily from obvious inspirations such as Lil Jon ... and probably some other people too ... not gonna lie, I don't follow the Crunk biz all that closely. all I know is that it's fun as hell. See them live. Period.

3OH!3 - Chokechain
3OH!3 - Don't Dance
3OH!3 - Holler Til You Pass Out

Captain Ahab is also a duo. These two, however, seem to be a lot more comfortable around each other than not only 3OH!3 is, but, realistically, any two straight guys... Lets just say there was a lot of groping and mouthes in interesting places. Their music was okay at best, though fun to hear and dance around to live, with lyrics ranging from misogyny to STD's (Rock n' Roll STD's that is), none of which should be taken too seriously. These guys don't only know how to party, they probably were there to invent it.

Captain Ahab - (Check their myspace)

You know who was a let down? Mr. Pacman, that's who. There had always been so much hype around these fellas, and, with dance-yer-face-off openers like 3OH!3 and Captain Ahab, I was expecting the ultimate in videogame-dancery. With little driving force, Mr. Pacman's only real appeal to me was that they were quite the oddity, playing Mega-Man influenced songs at a less-than-break-neck/not-very-dancy speed. That and they had phenomenal stage presence, these guys were no stranger to performance. I'm sad to say that I probably would have liked them more if they had opened. But, really, it was worth it too see them once.

Mr. Pacman - (check their myspace)

My pal Milton Melvin Croissant III played a couple shows over the last few weeks, one of which I attended. I'll tell you one thing about this guy, and that he has the most haunting music I've ever heard. Hearing his music is similar to being lulled to sleep, not unlike a drug-enduced coma brought on by a friend who you don't entirely trust not to kill you for your own good while muttering words concerning how it's hurting him more than it's hurting you. Wow, super wordy, but I'm keeping it. Here he is singing Rock 'n' Roll funeral lullabies (by the way, he's a 1 man band, so he records something, loops it with a looper pedal, and builds off of it):

Milton Melvin Croissant III - The Spice of Life
Milton Melvin Croissant III - Coyote
Milton Melvin Croissant III - Untitled track from the Still Soft Recordings Compilation 2: "Denver"
(another mp3 in this blog) (also MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT HIS MYSPACE FOR SUPER NEW SONGS!)

Yourchestra, from Tempe, Arizona, is one of the most inventive bands I've seen in a long time. It was as though we were watching 3 guys recreate what it would be like to just be sitting around in the 30's listening to the radio play some of the current radio hits, except the station cuts out every once and a while, picking up random space noises, feedback, static, and government stations. I'm serious. Yourchestra would play these awesome war-time songs, and then fade out into noise, then back into war-time songs. Trust me (I don't know names of the songs or the album. The album had "Meow" written on it, so that's just what I called the album when I ripped it after I bought it at their show):

Yourchestra - Track 10
Yourchestra - Track 02
Yourchestra - Track 05
Yourchestra - Track 08

High Places is one of those kinds of bands that one would never expect to really go anywhere, and then bands like Psapp cut a record and are featured on cult-classic TV (Grey's Anatomy). A mix of tribal, noise, and straight-up Singer-Songwriter-style tunes, with a hint of whatever the heck "using a bunch of toys and bells and blocks" is called. Super fun and oddly entrancing. Also incredibly touching.

High Places - Hello
High Places - Sandy Feet
High Places - Shhh... Hide From The Shadow

Woot. There ya go. I'll keep up, I swarez.