Nashville Cream’s 3rd b-day/Avatar trailer/Stacy Fleeman
August 21, 2009
As I mentioned earlier this week, the biggest event you should be concerned about this weekend is the Nashville Cream’s 3rd birthday bash at Mercy Lounge. The Features are headlining and will be playing mostly, if not all, new songs. Also playing are Kindercastle and The Billy Goats. I’ll be doing a photobooth, there will be lots of prizes to be won, free screen-printed show posters, and there will be a limited amount of free food to be had. All this for a a measly $5? How could you possibly say no? The thing I’m most excited about is hearing new Features songs. Props to Boss Construction for the posters.
Speaking of the Scene, Tracy Moore has a cover story in this week’s issue on Caitlin Rose, Tristen, and Those Darlins. It’s a great read and I strongly suggest you pick up a copy if you haven’t.
This isn’t related to the rest of the items in this post, but definitely worth mentioning- James Cameron’s new 3D sci-fi/fantasy film Avatar will hit theaters this December, and the first trailer was released through Apple yesterday. Go watch it in HD at Apple website. Your eyes will thank you.
In some much more depressing news, I was extremely saddened Wednesday to find out that the End’s doorman Stacy Fleeman is in the hospital on life support. He was found unresponsive, then put into a medically-induced coma which he then came out of, but apparently has little to no brain activity. Stacy is one of the good ones. He’s one of the kindest people I’ve met in Nashville and is a tireless supporter of the music scene. His label Spat! Records is just now starting to become financially successful and now this… it’s absolutely tragic. Please keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. We should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
My 8 off 8th tonight/Moon & 500 Days of Summer/Beer
August 3, 2009
The most important thing for you to do/know about today is my 8 off 8th tonight. It’s the 3rd one I’ve done and I sincerely hope that if you’re in the Nashville area, you’ll come out tonight and check out these great bands. The flyer was designed by the awesome Cara Charlton. Click on each band to learn more about them. The Cream also gave me a shout-out.
Dixie Whiskey
Cody Blaine & the Whole Fam Damnly
The Comfies
Joel J. Dahl
Tristen
Pineapple Explode
Overzealous
Jug Huggers
While you’re at the Cream, please do checkout my photos from the Green Day show Friday. Those haven’t lost their touch and if the rest of the show was as awesome as the first 2 songs, then I’m really sad that I couldn’t stay for the whole thing. They made those 2 songs into a 20 minute spectacle that had me running around chasing BJA quite a bit, and I loved every minute of it.
In some other local news:
Nashvillest got voted best local blog in the Toast of Music City awards. Way to go!
Some local dudes started a beer review blog a year or so ago, and while they’ve been dormant for a few months, they’re back in business. Check out the Beer School Blog. They’ll try just about any beer and give it a score. They also talk about the bar itself sometimes, so if you like beer and want to find a new beer to check out, have a look through their archives.
Speaking of beer, I’m officially going to start brewing my own beer. After I get back from my vacation next week, I plan to hit up the two places I know of in town that sell brewing ingredients, and I’m gonna give it a try. I’ve found myself getting increasingly more interested in the multitude of beer styles so as I brew, I’m also going to expand my palette and try some of the more obscure styles out there, such as a Rauchbier, Biere de Garde, or Faro.
This past weekend we managed to see both Moon and 500 Days of Summer. I thoroughly enjoyed them both. Here’s a quick blurb on each-
500 Days of Summer: 6.5 out 0f 10. By all means go see this movie. I’m no film critic but here’s my two cents… It’s really just another one of those indie-cutesy-warm-fuzzy romantic movies, with a bittersweet twist. The acting is great- Zooey Deschanel is as beautiful as ever, and is the perfect fit for her character, as is Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I guess it’s a bit of guilty pleasure, because there have been many films of this variety to come out in the last few years and their target demographic is basically me. But as I said, there’s a bittersweet twist. They do a great job of really making you root for Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character throughout, and the tension is finally resolved, just not in the way most movies resolve it.
Moon: 7.5 our of 10. For a directorial debut, this is one heck of a film. And visually, it’s quite remarkable considering the budget. I never though a movie with so few characters could be so great. David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones deserves some sort of award for this one. The ending seemed a bit rushed to me, and it made me wish for more of a build-up somehow, but overall it came together well. Again, I am not by any means a film critic, so these are just my humble opinions.
Now, don’t forget to come to my 8 off 8th tonight! But before you do that, feast your eyes on this awesome poster by Monkey Ink Design for the upcoming Drive By Truckers/Glossary show at Cannery Ballroom.
First of all, please go check out the Nashville Cream review of last night’s Dead Weather show at War Memorial Auditorium. And look at my photos. I’m kinda proud of a few of them. Honestly, though, I did enjoy the show more than I thought I would. It was cool seeing 2/3 of Green Day walking around in the crowd. I may actually get the Dead Weather album now… I’d only heard “Treat Me Like Your Mother” up until the show. I think I just enjoyed the performance more than the songs though. Allison Mosshart is one of the best frontwomen I’ve ever seen and she really knows how to sell the show. Obviously she did a lot of limbo-ing when she was a kid, because she executed the steepest backbend of anyone I’ve ever seen. Go to the Cream review- they used the pic of her backbend to head up the post.
This is kind of old news now, but in case you’ve been away from the interwebs for a few days, Those Darlins are considered a “breaking band” by Rolling Stone. Way to go girls! If they keep going on their current track, they’ll be world-famous in another year or so.
Time Magazine is trying to define and pinpoint something that is undefinable and infinitely elusive: hipsterdom. When will people learn? (Via Brooklyn Vegan)
Local Honey owner Shea Steele has been kicking ass and doing all kinds of cool stuff lately, and she pretty much sums it all up in a blog post from yesterday. She and Amanda Valentine were both potential contestants on Project Runway, but they didn’t quite make the final cut to be on the show. Though when asked about it, they say they were just relieved to have the pressure off their chest. While it would have been really cool to see one or two Nashville local designers on the show, it would have probably consumed at least 6 months of their lives, and they have other things they’d probably rather be doing.
On the books for this weekend:
Photographing Green Day at Sommet Center tonight. Kinda wish I got to stay for the whole thing, but they don’t usually let photogs back in after shooting the first 2-3 songs. After that we’ll probaby just watch Eureka and chill for the rest of the night.
Saturday night I’m taking photos at the Annual Davidson County Democratic Party Honors Dinner, and after that I have no idea what to do.
The most important thing is that Monday is my 3rd 8 off 8th, and you should come. As always, it’s FREE, 21+, and starts at 9pm SHARP.
Last night’s 90’s cover night at Mercy Lounge was one of the funnest nights I’ve had in quite some time. It was every bit as awesome as the other decades cover nights, but a bit more nostalgic for me because most of my formative years occurred during the 90’s. Please go check out this Nashville Cream post for several video clips, and check out Simon’s youtube for a video of us playing Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” to close out the night. Be sure to watch all the way to the end and catch Brandon’s epic stage dive right into the camera. The official Spin review with pics by Tanya Wright (I didn’t shoot since I was playing) can be found here.
io9 has a post with tons of great imagery from Tron: Legacy.
The official trailer for Disney/Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland is now out. If there was ever a story that screamed for Tim Burton to direct its inevitable trip to the live-action big screen, it’s Alice In Wonderland. And of course Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter. Who else? Watch and get excited. Let’s hope it’s not a let-down. (Via Kottke)
90’s night/Jemina Pearl collabs w/ Iggy Pop
July 27, 2009
The biggest news this fine Monday is that tonight is the final night of decades cover nights sponsored by Nashville Cream at Mercy Lounge. Tonight’s theme is 90’s songs, and I’m playing drums in a hodge-podge band put together just for this show called Shit Sandwich. Don’t let the ridiculous name fool you, though. It’s gonna be awesome. As always, it’s FREE, starts at 9pm, and is 21+. You would be doing yourself a serious injustice if you didn’t come. More deets at the Cream.
While we’re on the topic of 8 off 8th, I must mention that exactly one week from today is my 3rd 8 off 8th. I’ve lined up The Comfies, Tristen, Dixie Whiskey, Pineapple Explode, Joel J. Dahl, Jug Huggers, Overzealous, and Cody Blaine & the Whole Fam Damnly for your listening pleasure. This awesome flyer was designed by my friend Cara Charlton.
Apparently Jemina Pearl has collaborated with Iggy Pop on a song for her upcoming solo album. Seriously WTF?!? I mean, she’s already collaborated with Thurston Moore on a Ramones cover, so I guess it’s not that big of leap….Free mp3 available for download at Stereogum. I’ve only listened to it once, but thus far it’s kinda meh…. He doesn’t sing any verses, just joins her on the chorus of “Oh I… I hate people…”
The first glimpses of Tron: Legacy can be seen here. The animation looks absolutely awesome, and I’m starting to think this will be a great film.
Sadly, Megan and I STILL didn’t get to see any of the movies on our current must-see list- Harry Potter, Moon, or 500 Days of Summer. (Though the last one technically doesn’t hit Nashville till this coming weekend…) ARGH.
Weekend activities/Darlings/New POBPAH on the horizon
July 24, 2009
Image via Pitchfork
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Their debut album earlier this year is sure to be on my top 10 list, if not top 5, of 2009. I was quite happy and somewhat surprised to see that they’re following it up rather quickly with another EP and single. The EP will be called Higher Than The Stars, and will be available on Sept. 22nd. This band is the real deal, and I have no doubt they’ve got at least a few more good albums in them. (Via Pitchfork)
While we’re talking about indie pop, I must mention a band that’s just popped up on my radar called Darlings. I received a promo copy of their album Yeah I Know the other day and I’ve had it on repeat almost nonstop ever since. Murfreesboro/Nashville peeps will no doubt compare them to local indie poppers Velcro Stars. It’s a bouncy, playful, honest sound that’s adorned with great melodies. It’s still very simple, however, and not overproduced. This track “Eviction Party” is easily a standout in my opinion.
Another new-ish band that I’ve enjoyed is The Blacks. If you can get past the name (we’re all pretty sick of bands that have “black” in their name by now, right?), I think this band has potential. I like the reverb-y drums and overall dark sound. One might initially group this band in with other girl-fronted groups such as Hole or the Donnas, but it’s not nearly as glammy/gimmicky. I need to hear more before I’m fully sold.
Ok enough mp3s. Here’s what’s going down in Nashville this weekend:
Tonight I have a photo gig right after Vandy work and then will be hi-tailing it to M’boro for the DCI show at MTSU. Yes, I still have a marching band geek inside of me. It comes out every summer when this show comes around.
Other stuff of interest tonight- The Whigs, Glossary, and Ascent of Everest at 527 Main St. Or whatever the hell that place is called now. Also, Heypenny, Caitlin Rose, and The Saps are at the Basement.
For Saturday, I’ll be photographing Neko Case at the Ryman. Also of interest- Chris Freeman makes a triumphant return to TN with a show at the Boro. He’ll be backed by Kelly Kerr’s Distractions. The Kindergarten Circus is releasing their debut self-titled album at the End. Joining them will be The Clutters, Denny & the Jets, and Daniel Pujol & Some Beaus. I may try to make it out to this after Neko Case, since End shows tend to go pretty late.
Then Sunday will be band rehearsal for the Cream 90’s cover night on Monday. Are you excited? Because you should be.
Have a great weekend!
Weekend shows/SyFy/Colbert covers guns in bars law
July 17, 2009
First of all, here’s what’s going down this weekend:
Photo by Lance Conzett
Tonight is the EP release show for The Comfies/Benjamin A. Harper. The actual EP is called The Comfies Present: Benjamin A. Harper in This Ship Is Going Down. You can grab the EP for however much you want to pay at their bandcamp page. Tonight’s show is at the End and also on the bill are The Nobility and Joel J. Dahl (from De Novo Dahl). In addition to the new Comfies material being awesome, The Nobility and Joel are both a perfect fit for the bill. I’ve been looking forward to this show ever since I heard about it and I highly suggest attending. I also hear that The Nobility have long overdue new material coming out soon in the form of a 7″ vinyl release.
Also of interest tonight:
Kindercastle, Pico vs. Island Trees, and the Winter Sounds at Mercy Lounge.
Overzealous, Millionaire Magicians, The Young, & The Icons at the 5 Spot.
Tomorrow night we will be partying in Murfreesboro with a friend who’s moving away soon, so we won’t really be out & about. But some good stuff to do would include:
Apparently there’s a bikini carwash at Halcyon Bike Shop featuring Heavy Cream, Caitlin Rose, and Natural Child. Whaaaa??? Kinda sad I’ll be missing this…
Also, Umbrella Tree will be doing an instore show at Grimey’s.
I’ve mentioned before that I don’t really like the Sci Fi channel’s re-branding as “SyFy,” but designer, photographer, and typographer Alfonso Gómez Arzola has posted a blog in defense of the new logo/name. Check it out here. He makes a decent case, but I still disagree with the overall decision. (Via i09)
Stephen Colbert unsurprisingly made fun of Tennessee, Nashville, and the dirty south in general because of the new “guns-in-bars” law that went into effect recently. You wanna know why people from other parts of the nation/world hate us and stereotype us as dumb, redneck, white-trash buffoons? This is why. See the video clip on Nashville Is Talking.
Attention bands everywhere: the Next Big Nashville deadline for entry was extended until this coming Friday. It was originally today, but last Friday they announced the extension. So get over to American Songspace and apply if you haven’t. It’s only ten bucks!
Those Darlins just keep making bigger and bigger news stories. This time they got a mention on CNN and the New York Times! Check out CNN.com and watch the video clip. They talk about Hannah Montana first, then mention the Darlins at about 2:50 into the clip. Then check out the NYT review here. They also got written up on Brooklyn Vegan for the 368th time….
Tonight is Nashville Cream’s 70’s cover night at Mercy Lounge. It’s like an 8 off 8th in that there’s 8 bands and they play about 3 songs each, but all bands are doing covers of songs from the 70’s. It’s totally free and 21+. It’ll be a blast so come on down.
Oddee posted a blog about 10 very strange bars. My favorite is the bar made of ice. Pretty awesome.
From the science world…
The launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour was scrubbed AGAIN yesterday due to storms in the vicinity of the launch area. They’re going to retry the launch at 6:51pm EDT tonight, but the forecast is still pretty iffy. Basically any afternoon/early evening launch time during the summer months is a shot in the dark because storms pop every afternoon in Florida due to the interaction between the hot/humid air over the land and the cooler seabreeze coming in off the ocean. Basically they’ll just have to get lucky.
In other NASA news, a really cool interactive flash application is up on their website. It’s a panoramic view made of images taken during the Apollo 11 moon landing (except for the image of the Eagle lander, which is obviously CG). You can scroll around from several different viewpoints. In case you didn’t know, this year is the 40th Anniversary of the moon landing.
New Brendan Benson/Jenny Lewis video/earthquakes
July 10, 2009
Brendan Benson wasn’t nearly as well-known prior to joining up with Jack White in The Raconteurs. He had out some solo albums that were great, but his new album is looking to be far beyond “great.” If the rest of the record is as good as this first track “Don’t Want To Talk,” then it could easily make its way into my top 5, maybe even 3 albums of 09. This song is just packed full of awesome. RCRD LBL posted it for download today, and you’d better go grab it. NOW.
Jenny Lewis has a new video out for the song “See Fernando” from her latest album Acid Tongue. Stereogum posted it yesterday. It’s very visually pleasing and let’s face it… Jenny Lewis is just pretty, though she doesn’t actually have as much screen time as one would hope… I got to see her at Bonnaroo and thoroughly enjoyed her set, especially when Elvis Costello joined her for “Carpetbaggers.”
As for this weekend… we’ll probably stay in tonight and catch the new episode of Eureka on SyFy. Saturday I’ll be doing a photobooth for the Miller Made Music/Lightning 100 free show at Exit/In with the Non-Commissioned Officers, Mean Tambourines, Perrin Lamb, and Mikky Echo. It’s a free show so you have no excuse not to come. Then on Monday be sure to check out the 2nd installment of the Nashville Cream decades 8 off 8th series. This one will cover the 70’s and I heard Caitlin Rose and Tristen’s covers are gonna be especially awesome.
I’ll the science to a minimum today. All I have to say is this:
The unusually nice weather we’ve been having lately is about to come to an end. These past few weeks have been a few degrees cooler than usual, and temps even stayed shy of 90 for a string of 8 days. But the biggest story was the humidity, or absence thereof. It’s been agreeably dry lately, which makes the heat MUCH more tolerable. The reason for this was that the Bermuda High Pressure System which normally dominates the summer weather in the southeast was relatively weak and further east than normal for this time of year. The clockwise circulation around the Bermuda High channels hot and humid air from the Gulf of Mexico right into the American southeast almost all summer long. This is what causes our typical “dog days of summer” weather, and sadly it’s about to return westward and re-establish itself over Bermuda. Also, El Nino is officially here, so get ready for a wet winter.
Have a great weekend!
Nashville’s own independent radio station WRLT (Lightning 100) has announced a new Thursday night concert series called “Live on the Green” that will include Ricky Young, Space Capone, Here Come the Mummies, among others. The events will be co-sponsored by the Mayor’s office and Team Green. It’s good to see outdoor live music events returning to downtown Nashville. Dancin’ in the District, River Stages, and Uptown Mix have been sorely missed these past few years. Kudos to the sponsors for making this happen. The first event will be Sept. 3rd. You can follow them on Twitter for more info.
Photo by James Gooding/Via Pitchfork
I really don’t know how this video clip is meant to be taken. It’s Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt redoing the famous apex scene from Sid & Nancy for a new web series called Cinemash. The sheer fact that the sexes are reversed and they didn’t even attempt to shave JGL’s scruffy chin makes me think it’s meant to be humorous, but it’s still odd. See the clip here. Via Nashville Cream/Pitchfork.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention former Titans quarterback Steve McNair’s death on here. I do follow the Titans (football is my biggest all-American guilty pleasure), and I was a huge fan of McNair. It’s hard to see through the PR spin surrounding professional athletes, but they guy seemed to be a genuinely good person, and he was one hell of a player. The Tennessean has posted a video clip of coach Jeff Fisher’s heartfelt remarks in a press conference yesterday. It deserves a look.
In what appears to be a move taken straight from the plot of I Am Legend, doctors have used the HIV virus to kill lung cancer in mice. This news is simultaneously exciting and terrifying to me. Yes, anything regarding a cure for cancer is awesome, but engineering a retrovirus to do exactly what you want is potentially one of the most dangerous pieces of technology ever created. It’s right up there with the H-bomb. It still has a long way to go before becoming a viable human treatment, though. Via io9.
steve cross loves music and science 