Supergroup news!

• Them Crooked Vultures (the Zeppelin-Foo Fighters-Queen of the Stoneage supergroup) put their full album streaming on YouTube today.

For those interested, here it be:


I haven't decided if I like it or not. As usual, this supergroup is not as good as Zeppelin or the Foo Fighters (Point one: no one is as good as Zeppelin. Point two: I don't really like Queens of the Stoneage that much).

The album is out Nov. 17.

• Monsters of Folk (the Bright Eyes-My Morning Jacket-M. Ward supergroup) is still doing it's thang.

They were on Jimmy Fallon the other night:



I'm not a huge fan of that song and I question why the hell they'd play it on national television. You'd think they'd go for something up-tempo that might get viewers interested in the song instead of this goofy, Yim Yames slow jam. But whatever... I'm not involved in these decisions.

And I can't remember if I've posted it in this space or not, but they did a kickass version of Kiss' "Detroit Rock City" on Halloween. Dressed as Kiss. No joke. Watch it.

• In other supergroup news, Chickenfoot continues to be, well, Chickenfoot.

Never heard of them? Yeah, you're not alone. It's Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony from Van Halen, Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Joe Satriani.

Weird combo, right? They're alright. It basically sounds like Joe Satriani was hired as Sammy Hagar's backing guitarist. That's about it.

Shows this weekend: Capgun Coup and more

Lots of stuff going on this weekend. Top of my list is Capgun Coup's CD release show, which I actually didn't know about until this morning.

The show is at Orifice, the Faint's practice space (or former practice space... I can't remember), 2406 Leavenworth St.

Capgun will perform its new album, "Maudlin," in entirety at the show. $5 cover. "Maudlin" came out on Conor Oberst's Team Love label on Tuesday. Stream the whole album over at Spinner.

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Check out the Meat Puppets on Saturday at the Waiting Room (opening is Little Brazil, who is always a good time). Remember Nirvana playing "Lake of Fire" on MTV Unplugged? Yeah, that's actually a Meat Puppets song.

Curt and Cris Kirkwood sat in with Nirvana for "Lake of Fire" and two of their other tunesand played guitar. Curt is the one who plays those awesome guitar melodies during "Lake of Fire.

These guys also did the song "Backwater," which was a big hit in the 90s.

Anyway, they're still together and their music is better now that it was before, in my opinion. Their new album, "Sewn Together," is really good. Listen to the whole thing at their Myspace page.

You can also read the story I did for the World-Herald, wherein I interviewed Curt Kirkwood.

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Honey & Darling plays over at O'Leaver's tonight. I caught them open for Matt & Kim a month or so ago and missed out on their CD release show recently. If you missed either of those performances, go see them at O'Leaver's.

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If you're a blues person, John Dee Graham is at the Waiting Room on Sunday.

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Rap-rock guys Hollywood Undead are also on Sunday. They wear masks, I guess. I like the song "Undead," but it's probably because it's always playing at sporting events I'm attending and I get a little over-excited. Check 'em out at their MySpace.

Things NOT to do at a concert

There is a thing called concert etiquette.

In general, you just have to be a nice person and not mind getting bumped into a lot. Pretty basic stuff, mostly. But there are some no nos.

Earlier this week, Spin posted a selection of 10 things not to do at a concert from comedian Dane Cook. Cook goes to a lot of concerts, so I thought his list would be an interesting one. Turns out, he was mostly trying to be funny and most of it fell flat ("Don't use a bathroom stall if the prior occupant comes out covered head to toe in their own shit." Hi-larious stuff, right?)

I thought I'd augment his list and present my own.

So, when you're at a concert, DON'T...

... get annoyed when somebody bumps into you. It's a rock concert and there are between 100 and 15,000 people in the same room as you. Bodies are going to touch. There might even be a mosh pit.

... burn me with your cigarette. We're outdoors. You've lit up. Good times, eh? Sure is, until you find it necessary to forget that about 5,000 people are standing all around you and gesticulate wildly while describing how your new bong works and you poke me in the chest with a burning hot ember. Thanks for ruining my shirt and thanks for giving me something I'll always remember from this concert: a small, round burn scar.

... "try to cop a feel of the girl's tit crowd surfing over you." The only one from Cook that I like, although his reasoning is pretty awful. He follows that by saying it's because she'll kick you in the eye with her high heels. I'd say it's more because that's disrespectful and the girl came here to have a good time, not to get felt up by a bunch of meat-heads who don't have girlfriends.

... yell out "Free Bird." First, even if it's Lynyrd Skynyrd, they're probably not taking requests. Second, unless it's Skynyrd, there's no way they're going to play it. Third, it's not 1976 any more and you're not funny. That joke was barely funny then. (An aside: Comedian Stephen Lynch makes fun of his audience for doing it, which is pretty funny.)

... answer your phone and then scream loudly into it that "I'm at a concert. No, Becky... No... I'm at a concert." If this happens during an acoustic show (say, Bon Iver), audience members are within their rights to behead you. Better idea: Let it go to voicemail and then quietly text them to say you'll call them back.

... be one of those "I'm at a concert!!!!" people. We've all done it. We're all guilty. Those first handful of shows were so exciting because, look... that's them... right there! But that doesn't make it any less annoying when you're "woo"-ing and jumping up and down and screaming because "It's MY song!"

... get angry at the crowdsurfers. Yeah, it can be annoying, but your job is to help them not fall on their head/neck/junk. So please don't punch them or "miss" when they float on by. If you didn't want crowdsurfers, you shouldn't be standing within the first 25 feet of the stage.

... pick fights. The idea of mosh pit is to dance around and run into each other at full speed. If, accidentally, someone bumps you too hard, that sucks. But you got into the mosh pit in the first place, so it should be expected. Hitting the guy in the mouth as hard as you can isn't going to help at all and is probably going to stop the concert and get you thrown out.

... let your friend get that drunk. If he/she cannot stand, they are too drunk. If you're in the unfortunate situation of having a friend that gets that drunk, don't leave them on the floor of the venue/amphitheatre or crowdsurf them to the front. Pick them up (read: throw them over your shoulder) and carry them out. You're supposed to be their friend. Get 'em some help.

... throw your shoe/water bottle/cell phone/baby at the band. As it turns out, they don't like to dodge flying objects while they're trying to play live music. You and I can barely play guitar in our basements with no one else around. Think of how hard it is in front of a few hundred/thousand people with beer bottles coming at your head. (Corollary: Throwing a bra onstage is a different matter entirely.)

OEA Award Noms have been announced

The Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards nominees have been announced for the music categories.

It seems like they're getting the categories done right, which is nice. Rock bands in the rock categories, blues bands in the blues categories, etc. I know a complaint in the past has been that bands that don't fit certain categories were getting nominated (and winning) in them.

You can find all the noms over at the OEAA site (scroll down a bit, you'll find them).

The ones that I'm most interested are the categories for album of the year, artist of the year and new artist of the year.

Album Of The Year
Black Squirrels, Paying For Your Pleasure
Brad Hoshaw & The Seven Deadlies, self titled
Cursive, Mamma I’m Swollen
Matt Cox, My Last Dollar
Matt Whipkey, Instant Heart

Artist Of The Year
The Black Squirrels
Brad Hoshaw & The Seven Deadlies
Cursive
It’s True
Little Brazil

Best New Artist
El Genius
It’s True
Jes Winter Band
Little Black Stereo
Mitch Gettman

Each category has five good choices, so it will be hard for folks to pick. I believe I'm supposed to be part of "the academy" this year, so I actually get to vote (woohoo).

I liked all of the albums in album of the year and went to most of their respective CD release shows. I would place Little Brazil's "Son" in that category because it's damn good. One of my favorite albums this year, in fact.

Artist of the year is an interesting category. You have a lot of bands that did a lot of good things, although they did them in different ways. Honestly, it's kind of weird to compare Cursive and Brad Hoshaw, but that's the Omaha music scene for you.

As for best new artist, I think that's going to come down to It's True and Jes Winter Band. Both have been very buzzed about (albeit for completely different reasons) all year long.

We shall see.

Headlines! Conor show and more

Big news lately is the random Conor Oberst show that was very quietly posted over at One Percent Productions' site. Get your tickets to this one soon, kids, because it's going to sell out fast.

One Percent bills it as a holiday show. Don't know if that just means it will involve Conor singing Christmas songs (he did "Blue Christmas" with his dad at a show a few years ago) or what. Either way, it will prove to be a cool show at an intimate venue.

Onto some other headlines!

• Local fellas Little Brazil put up some live footage from their tour.

• Local group Anniversaire put up a bunch of live photos. They're playing Nov. 14 at the Waiting Room with a bunch of other folks.

• Kanye West gave a shout out to Land of Talk's video for "It's Okay" over at his blog.

• Yesterday, I mentioned Paste's list of 50 best albums of the decade. They have also posted the 50 best movies. (In case you're wondering, I think I'd have about the same to say about this list as I would the 50 albums list.)

• If you're like me, when you hear the song "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel, you can't help but think of "Say Anything" and it's protagonist, Lloyd Dobler. Well over the weekend, some Lloyds got together and held their blaring stereos over their heads.

• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Live came out on DVD today.

• A website is selling Beatles tracks (which you probably know aren't available for digital download anywhere), but it's probably not authorized to do so.

• I think I mentioned this once before, but Daniel Johnston has a game app for the iPhone. Blender takes a look at his and others'.

• Spin gets "inside" the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack. I have no idea what that means.

• Ever played an absolutely terrible video game, but noticed that the soundtrack was completely bitchin'? I have. Here are seven of them.

• A bunch of new discs are out today, including Nirvana reissue and Weezer's disc, "Raditude," plus a whole bunch more.

Today's Mail: Sinatra: New York, a four-CD, one-DVD set of live Sinatra shows. Hell yeah.

Incubus

I'm doing some research for a story and came across some interesting info regarding Incubus.

(Don't remember Incubus? Here's a refresher, their song "Stellar":)


Anyhoo, did you know Billboard named them the most successful band of the past decade?

It's weird. You'd think it would be someone else (let's say Jay-Z), who has put out albums to universal acclaim, sold millions, gone on tour, etc.

Nope. It's Incubus.

It is kind of odd. They've put out only 4 albums (one was a compilation/rarities double disc). Granted, each of those records has debuted in the No. 1 or 2 positions on the Billboard charts (the comp debuted at No. 5). For a modern recording artist, that's just ridiculous. No one is that consistent.

They have a rabid fan base who snatch up the records and their concert tickets like mad. Trust me. I know an Incubus-head (-ite? -ian?) very well.

Other bands that seem to be able to do the same thing? 311 comes to mind (I'm working on a story about them right now). Green Day, I think (though I'm not sure if they have a specific fan base so much as they're generally popular). Pearl Jam and Metallica have two of the most ridiculous groups of fans I've ever heard of.

Pearl Jam's albums are consistently top 5 material. So are Metallica's of late (though Metallica has only put out two records since 2000).

It's a weird phenomenon, really. Why Incubus? I'll have to ask that rabid fan I know, see what she says.

Costumes update

Perhaps you read my post about music-related Halloween costumes?

I was out on Halloween (and the night before) and I actually didn't see that many music-type costumes. (I didn't go music-related either. I went as a vampire. Old school-style, not Edward Cullen, wussy vampire.)

I did see a few Michael Jacksons and, to be honest, they weren't very well done. They were all obviously store-bought with very little flair. I would have preferred a zombie Michael Jackson or something like that.

My friend Pat did wear his Slash costume, which he has worn every year for as long as I can remember. I asked him about it and he said he did change his T-shirt. Nonetheless, it was pretty great to see it.

Did you wear a music costume? What was it? Share your posts and pictures in the comments.

Top 50 of the decade

Today, Paste Magazine posted its Top 50 Albums of the Decade list.

It's a decent list. And Paste has an interesting perspective considering that the decade they're covering pretty much includes all of Paste's existence. The magazine debuted in 2002, but they had a website before that.

I love to read lists like this because I always agree with parts while wildly disagreeing with other selections. I guess that's the fun of lists... everyone has their own opinion.

Notable news: Bright Eyes' "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" came in at No. 5. I love this pick because this album has some of the best songwriting I've ever heard. And I'm not a Bright Eyes homer. Conor Oberst has done plenty of stuff that I find abhorrent. But I love this record through and through and it gets spun in my CD player a whole lot.

Other things I like from the list:
• No. 46: Music from the movie "Once"
Fantastic movie and fantastic music from a fantastic duo. The fact that a soundtrack makes this list is astonishing, but the songs in that movie were original and do fit on an album.

• No. 42: Jay-Z's "The Blueprint"
Jay-Z is excellent. This album proved how excellent he could be. Next.

• No. 31: Death Cab's "Transatlanticism"
Paste said: "Indie rock’s biggest stars haven’t stopped making good records, but Transatlanticism was certainly their best." I couldn't say it better.

• No. 30: Damien Rice's "O"
The song "Blower's Daughter" gets me every time I put it in. Rice's haunted voice in that song always rings true for some reason.

• No. 29: Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago"
This album's 9 songs packs in more excellence than most bands do in 9 albums.

• No. 11: The Hold Steady's "Boys and Girls in America"
I loved their more recent effort, "Stay Positive," but this record is the Hold Steady's best so far, in my opinion. Still, I can't wait to hear what comes next.

• No. 2: Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"
Paste's entry tells the story of how the album was made and why it was important, blah blah blah, but it's the music on it that's more important to me. I like me some Wilco, but this album is packed with 11 songs of Wilco goodness. I can listen to "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," "Kamera," "Radio Cure," "War on War," "Jesus, etc.," "Ashes of American Flags," "Heavy Metal Drummer," "I'm the Man Who Loves You" and "Pot Kettle Black" over and over and over and over.

Things on the list I don't like so much:
• What is half of this stuff? Jens Lekman? Pedro the Lion? I mean, I think I've heard of The National before, but that's still pretty freaking random. Maybe it's stuff that went under my radar.

• You can honestly look me in the eye and tell me that the Avett Brothers' "I and Love and You" (which came out a month ago) is the 9th best album in the last 10 years? That is ludicrous. And I understand the hype from Animal Collective's "Merriweather Post Pavilion" (it was, after all, the first very good album to come out this year). But best of the decade? Again, I'm not convinced.

• Radiohead. I'm not a big Radiohead guy, but I get why they're popular. I'm fine as well with them having two albums on the list (the only group to do so, I believe). But why is "Kid A" about 40 spots above "In Rainbows?" Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

• It's cool to make fun of Coldplay, but I've actually started to like them. However, if we're going to put a Coldplay album on the list, why "A Rush of Blood to the Head?" I think "Viva La Vida" was an achievement (both musically and commercially) that went above and beyond what "Rush of Blood..." ever did.

• Amy Winehouse made the list. WTF? You can't be serious with Amy Winehouse. No way that's a better album than (off the top of my head) Jay-Z's "The Black Album," Fleet Foxes' self-titled disc or pretty much anything from Eminem during the same time period.

What do you think? Speak your mind in the comments.

Chats with 311

If you're from Omaha, you know about 311.

Even if you're not a fan, you probably know a lot about them. You also probably have a friend whose sister used to babysit for them. Or someone who went to Westside with Chad Sextion. Or a girlfriend whose sister dated Nick Hexum.

I'm a lifelong Omaha resident and I know my 311 - songs, history, trivia, etc. They've been one of my favorite bands for a long time. I think it's because I grew up with them. It's like mama's cooking: When it's all you consumed for so long, nothing else tastes quite as good.

I'm certainly not drinking the Kool-Aid, so to speak. I like them a lot, but I'll admit that their latest album, "Uplifter," isn't the best thing on the planet. It has producer Bob Rock's hands all over it, in good ways and bad, and I think it sometimes suffers from wanting to please a lot of people.

On the same token, I really like "Jackpot" and "Never Ending Summer," two jams that are destined to become classics in their live shows.

Anyway, I spoke to Nick Hexum (vocals, guitars) and Chad Sexton (drums) for a little while this afternoon.

They're both very down to earth, humble guys and say they owe a lot to their start in Omaha.

Hexum talked about having an "Omaha work ethic" that helped them work really hard on their band. Sexton said they used to sit at a table assembling CD packages for record labels and radio stations in an effort to get a record deal.

When they're back in town, the guys spend time with their friends and family. Sexton and Tim Mahoney find it necesarry to get some La Casa pizza (I can't blame them... it's sooooo good). Hexum likes to walk through his old neighborhood and look around.

One of my favorite parts was when Sexton talked about the smell of Omaha and the smell of Joe Voda's Drum City and how he really knows he's back.

One of his favorite places, Chu's, is gone now, though. Formerly near 64th and Center St., the place has been razed.

"I can't find a frickin place like that. I don't even think they have them in Omaha any more," he said.

My favorite part of my interview with Hexum was about 311 Day. If you don't know, the band has a huge concert every two years on March 11 (3-11, get it?). The last few have been 5 hours long, which is just a silly amount of music.

Anyway, Hexum said the first one was kind of on a lark when the band happened to be on tour in New Orleans on March 11 in 93 or 94. They charged $3.11 for admission and had a blast during the show.

"I remember that one in particular. We drank a lot of jagermesiter," he said. "Then Chad performed the encore with his pants off."

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The band performs at the Mid-America Center on Nov. 14. Look for more from the interviews in the next few weeks both here and in the World-Herald.

Review: Monsters’ marathon holds nothing back

Photo by Alyssa Schukar/The World-Herald

By Kevin Coffey
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Anyone curious should know: It was well worth it.

Before the Monsters of Folk’s Wednesday performance, some would-be concertgoers complained that tickets, at $47, were too expensive.

Far from it. The show was worth every penny.

Taking the stage in three-piece suits, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, singer-songwriter M. Ward and Jim James of My Morning Jacket were joined by a fifth member, drummer Will Johnson, to round out the Monsters.

Clocking in at a staggering three hours, the 35-song marathon set from the indie rock supergroup was remarkable.

“If you have to go to the bathroom, just go to the bathroom. If you have to get a beer, do it. We don’t mind,” Oberst said to laughs. “It was a choice between an intermission and no intermission, and we went with no intermission. You won’t hurt our feelings. Everyone’s got their needs.”

What did they play? Practically everything.

All 15 songs from the recent Monsters of Folk album made it into the set, as well as several songs from each member’s respective catalog. (Find the complete set list on Omaha.com.)

Kicking off with “Say Please,” the energy of the set ebbed and flowed between loud (“Soul Singer in a Session Band”) and soft (“Dear God [Sincerely M.O.F.]”) and slow (“Slow Down Jo”) and fast (“Losin Yo Head”).

The performers’ on-stage attitude was fun and nonchalant. They wandered on and off stage between songs, performing backup duties on vocals and guitars while their friends took the lead.

Egos were checked at the door, too. During songs from their own repertoires, they each let others sing full verses. Oberst, Ward and James are normally frontmen, but they didn’t mind standing out of the spotlights to play bass guitar or sing backup.

They had the most fun during their rendition of Bright Eyes’ “At the Bottom of Everything.” Oberst took the first verse, then let Ward, James and drummer Johnson sing the rest.

Not all five members were on stage most of the time, but they were most powerful when the whole band took the stage together.

And aside from the suits and some classic red theater curtains hanging down on the stage, the setup was sparse. But the songs were enough on their own.

Stunning vocal harmonies on “The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me,” dueling instruments on “Losin Yo Head” and the energy of “Another Travelin’ Song” were just a few highlights.

Oberst, Ward and James all gave nods to Omaha and the 1,400 in attendance at the Holland Performing Arts Center, mentioning how the city was instrumental in getting the group together.

“The year was 2004 when the Monsters of Folk met in this great town of Omaha. It’s very meaningful to be back here,” Ward said.

“We’ve spent many hundreds of hours here under the careful guidance of Mr. Oberst and Mr. Mogis,” James added later.

“You did a great job raising these boys.”