Skip The Dial

One Day As a Lion, are band members, and superstars in their own rights, Zach de la Rocha better know for Rage against the Machine, and Jon Theodore drummer for The Mars Volta.

It’s really hard to not listen to a band fronted by de la Rocha without thinking about Rage Against the Machine, this being both a good thing for RATM and a bad thing for de la Rocha. The voice and attitude is the same, the band backing him is not.

My fanatical views of Rage Against the Machine aside, I call this a buy, you can never go wrong with listening to Zach put his heart and soul ( and anger? ) into his song and Jon Theodore on the drums is just as amazing and doesn’t let the power of Zach overshadow him.

Links:

One Day as a Lion
Myspace

WE ARE EXCITED!! YAY TO RAGE – YAY TO NINE INCH NAILS – YAY TO WILCO – YAY TO RADIOHEAD – YAY TO THE RACONTEURS!!!!

Fortunately, there are a LOT of more-than-noteworthy acts to experience. Here are some of the others we are looking forward to, and some of the songs that grabbed our attention:

The Black Keys (Friday 8/1 4:15) - “Psychotic Girl” - Attack & Release

Battles (Saturday 8/2 6:30) - “Atlas” “Prismism”- Mirrored

MGMT (Saturday 8/2 3:30) - “Electric Feel” “Time To Pretend” - Oracular Spectacular

The Gutter Twins (Saturday 8/2 2:30) - “Idle Hands” - Saturnalia

Saul Williams (Sunday 8/3 5:00) - “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (yes, cover of the U2 classic) – but from an album called The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust…it definitely got our attention (in a good way).

Oh and YAY for the return of old musical friends!

Toadies ( Saturday 8/2 7:30)

Love and Rockets (Sunday 8/3 6:15)

Other acts we wish would be making an appearance:

Vampire Weekend

Grand Ole Party

She & Him

Rilo Kiley

The Bees

Peter Bjorn & John

I have to admit that for me, Beck Hansen can do no wrong. Every album he has ever put out has its own distinctive sound and intent, from the grinding, haunting Mellow Gold to dirty, gritty Midnite Vultures to the mellow, lonely and transcendent vibe of Sea Change. Hell, he even gave you groovy stickers to design your own album cover with The Information. (It did sound a bit like, “Yes, I know you can buy it online, but do you get stickers that way?!? I think not.)

My loyalty having been declared, I actually wasn’t sure how I felt about the first single I heard, “Gamma Ray” from this month’s Modern Guilt. Did it seem all that fresh? Different from the albums that came before it? Creepy? Boppy? Sappy? Snappy? I’ve come to expect a lot from Beck…maybe because I never know quite what to expect. (But I’ve been disappointed before, even in artists I fiercely believe in.) I snagged the album the next day and gave it a solid listen, to get the point of view, the theme, the style, the new invention. And…it fit just right *whew* - this new, modern Beck, somewhere right between Guero and The Information.

I don’t know if he’ll ever make another album with the raw energy of Mellow Gold, Mutations, and a few tracks from Odelay – there’s just something about those first albums that’s uniquely emotional and forcefully creative. Then again, I’ve been listening for what, 15 years now? He may not have quite the same edge to him now, but he makes up for it with sincerity and unfailing artistry. With albums as diverse as his influences, he’ll have my attention for as many as he cares to put out.

One last thing….have you ever seen the man move?!

*sigh*

He’s absolutely precious.

Concert Date: 10 June 2008
Location: Chicago Theater

Wordplay:

• Mediocre
• Yawn
• B-52’s should have headlined… Just like last year, Erasure should have headlined.
• God Bless Fred Schneider and his cowbell
• Carson? What? Nope
• Yawn again… My neck hurts from nodding off so much…
• Again - Thank God for the B-52’s…
• The Clicks are getting a little bit better - (A little..) that’s not saying much…
• But, but, overall — Mundane… Oh, to be a producer, juggle the line-up, kick some ass… Fire people… If only… If only…

Photos:

Concert Date: 09 June 2008
Location: United Center

Wordplay:

• A Sublime Controlled Chaos
• Loudest I’ve ever heard them (and that’s a good  thing)
• Fully Torqued (as in Red Barchetta)
• Neil
• The Doll of Neil and his drum kit in front of Geddy’s keyboard and microphone (timeless)
• Again, Neil
• Wascally, Wascals, All!
• Amazing, watching Neils kit completely shake during Tom Sawyer… Richter scale: 5.2… Honest!
• Neil
• God Bless you guys

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Concert Date: 23 May 2008
Location: United Center

Wordplay:

• A Vibrant Tour de Force
• Visionary
• Tons and Tons of bells and whistles
• A blast and a half of Hip-Hop
• Defend, Ambush and Annihilate
• Stands tall, Cocksure (and there’s the rub)

Photos:

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Concert Date: 06 June 2008
Location: United Center

Wordplay:

• Fighting Form
• Muscular and lanky at the same time
• Jolly Moods
• Polished
• Significant
• Inventive
• Brave

Photos:

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Concert Date: 17 May 2008
Location: Allstate Arena

Wordplay:

• Endearing
• Missed
• Loved
• Bittersweet
• Emotional
• Expressive
• Beautiful
• Misunderstood - (In other words, not just a mopey goth band, you idiots! )

Photos:

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Concert Date: 13 May 2008
Location: Rosemont Theater

Wordplay:

• Fierce
• Ambitious
• Demanding
• Exhilarating
• Imaginative
• Intricate
• Wonderful

Photos:

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An ordinance currently making its way through the city council circuit could potentially destroy the wonderful way music is heard here in Chicago.

The so called “Event Promoters” ordinance looks to require any event promoter to have a license with the city of Chicago and liability insurance of up to $300,000 for starters. The short of it is that the way this is worded it would require small, new, or out of town bands that want to promote their music and put on their own show to apply for the very expensive license to put on an event/show.

A new effort is afoot to stop the ordinance in its tracks, by getting digital signatures on a petition before the May 14th date ( thats a few days away now ). You can sign the petition here

You can read more about the ordinance:
@ the Jim DeRogatis - Chicago Sun Times Blog