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Today is the last day you can buy a shirt from me and it get shipped out before I leave for SxSW. So, if you’ve been wanting one head here and buy one. And don’t forget; each shirt sold = 3 more whiskey drinks for me in Austin. 
Before Sunday night (March 07, 2010) I had missed every chance to see Tim Barry play live. Circumstances had aligned against me and I was either out of town, sick, without transportation, or possibly dead (I got better) every time he rolled through Houston. In a very short amount of time I realized what I had been missing. Before I talk about any of the specifics let me make clear that this was the most intense show I can remember seeing bar none. It takes that spot from some great shows with absolutely crazy stories attached to them, like waking up in New Orleans on a tour bus, that are now put to shame by a show where nothing really all that crazy went down. The only way to chalk it up is to the sheer intensity that Tim Barry radiates on and off the stage. Now lets get on to the story…
So me and my brother showed up way too early because I thought the show would sell out. (As a side note: Fuck you Houston for not selling this show out. You bunch of bitches!) So we stood outside smoking and talking while trying to stay out of the possible line of fire from some asshole calling himself “Pony” who was waving around what he referred to as “My nine”. I thought he was the manager or one of the owners which would make his asinine behavior legal so we didn’t call the cops on the jackoff. We should have. He’s not even employed by the club. And eventually decided to wander down the street and grab some food and hope that “Pony”, who actually said “Man fuck that book (The Outsiders) I’ve been going by Pony since before that asshole write that book”, didn’t kill anyone and ruin the show before we got back.
When we managed to wander back I caught up with Tim and, much to my surprise, was taken aback at his humility. We hung out for a while before the show and I got permission to shoot some pics of the show as well as met some pretty cool people including a dude who had bicycled from Tampa, FL to Houston, TX and had come to see the show. Tim deflected most of the compliments people had about his music preferring to talk about life and wander through random topics. It was more like meeting an old friend for the first time rather than meeting a rock star.
That all changed when Tim took the stage. “I’m Tim Barry and I’m from Richmond Virginia” While there was a lot of intensity about him before the show, especially when he talked about the incident where he broke his hand, that intensity took on a whole new form when he picked us guitar. It’s almost impossible to describe him on stage to someone who hasn’t seen him play. He obviously enjoys what he is doing but there is an underlying “fuck you” that’s just waiting to break through. It almost felt like I was watching someone about to fight with themselves. With the crowd yelling along with every song the energy in the club was something that must be experienced to be believed.
All of that was almost destroyed when the aforementioned asshole “Pony” got on stage between songs and began ranting about why he didn’t understand why Tim would tour with those pussies on the Revival Tour and he was out of their league and much worse. Being as that the Revival Tour is put on by one of Tim’s best friends and musicians on it with him are all friends of his you can imagine that this went over like a ton of bricks. But Tim restrained himself and “Pony’s” friends pretty much got him out the door, into his car, and told him to fuck off before coming in to finish the show. Tim handled it well even taking time to say he understood that the guy was trying to compliment him and just went about it in the exact wrong way. And then he started playing again…
There were beers, there were shots, and there was even an asshole but most of all Tim Barry took the stage, owned the crowd, and played like a man possessed. If you have seen him you know what I mean. The tense arms, the spittle flying, the random “fuck you” between verses or songs, and him leaving all the blood, sweat, and tears on the stage. Like many shows it was over way too soon. We all said our goodbyes and parted ways into that moist Texas air. I know I normally share stories about the bands I cover and whatnot but the stories I have from this show, outside of the show itself, aren’t the kind of stories a body is inclined to make public. They seem, as weird as it sounds, too intimate to shove into a few words and post on the intertubes. So you’ll have to be satisfied with this write up and the pics I took. Quoth Tim Barry: That’s all I got…Goodnight!
Feel free to stop by my site to see all the pics from the show. I need to crop a couple a little differently but they are all posted. And as usual if Virgil or Tim, or hell anyone, wants to use the pics to promote Tim then just drop me a line and they’re yours to use.
Tim Barry – Exit Wounds (Live)
Tim Barry – Wait At Milano (Live)
Tim Barry – Avoiding Catatonic Surrender (Live)
Darren Hoff was part of the beloved and now defunct Austin-based country juggernaut The Weary Boys. It’s been nearly two years and a day job since the Wearies flamed out and Darren is the last one to surface with a new project. Better late than never, I say.
When it came time for Darren to form a band he went back to where he started, calling upon folks he’d met and known via the Austin music scene. Guitarist Ben Massey had been a mainstay in the area since relocating from Maryland, while drummer Brandon Burke was initiated almost by accident when he agreed to play drums on the eve of a show. Keyboardist Jim Hawkins came to know Darren through Darren’s aforementioned day job at a music store. He was originally just working studio sessions, adding keys and acoustic guitar accompaniment to songs in the studio, but somewhere along the line it was decided that he should become a full share member. Finally, along came guitarist-freshly-turned-bassist Gregg White, and The Hard Times were formed.
I’ll be honest, when I first started listening to Darren’s album I wanted it to be The Weary Boys, and when it wasn’t anywhere close I was disappointed in the cd and put it away. As time passed I got to thinking about what I wrote when I was reviewing the new Lucero album, asking if it was fair for fans to expect certain things from bands and what was the band’s obligation to those expectations. Is it fair for me to summarily dismiss Darren’s album because it wasn’t The Weary Boys?
No. It wasn’t. So I pulled the album off the cd rack and took it back to the car.
What Darren did, while ignoring my personal desires to hear a new Wearies album, was make an utterly fantastic country music record. While some people might be put off by the fact that it doesn’t really break any new ground, I am not one of them and on closer listen it turns out that this record is pretty much exactly what I should have expected from Darren, based on his songs from The Weary Boys. All of which makes me feel like even more of an asshole. So if you’re a Weary Boys fan like me, I’d suggest you check your prejudices at the door and check this album out. If you’re a fan of the country music your dad listened to, then you’re gonna enjoy this album.
Darren Hoff & The Hard Times – Out Into Nothing
Darren Hoff & The Hard Times – Stop Breaking Down
Darren Hoff & The Hard Times – Oh Midnight
Darren Hoff & The Hard Times on myspace, Buy Darren Hoff & The Hard Times
In recent weeks both Micah Schnabel (Two Cow Garage) and his father John have been caught on stages sporting the super hip and extra snazzy ninebullets.net tshirt.
I know that with this relevation you’re wondering where you can get yours. Don’t be fooled by the imitators which do not exist! The only place to get the officially sanctioned super hip and extra snazzy ninebullets.net tshirt is from this here web site and more specifically in this here post (or one of the 10 others from the past). As an added bonus each order comes with a few stickers and the satisfaction that you contributed to my whiskey fund at SxSW. So get to ordering kids. I leave for Austin next Wednesday and we don’t want me to be sober.
Well. Here it is. Since last week’s Top 5: Cover Songs got such a response we decided to make a mixtape out of it. It features 24 tracks as submitted by you guys.
Awesome job and you might wanna start marinating on tomorrow’s Top 5 today. It’s gonna be Top 5: Songs That Changed You….don’t answer here. Just think about it for tomorrow.
Anyhow. Here’s the covers mixtape:
I got a big ol’ box from the fellas over at Spokane Valley Wear today which means I am flush with ninebullets shirts again. I have men’s and women’s shirts and I have a few in all sizes. If you want one they’re 20 dollars if you live in the United States and 25 if you live outside the US.
All proceeds from this round of shirt sales will go towards my ongoing war with sobriety and to buying band merchandise while I ‘m in Austin.
And don’t forget to send me a picture if you buy a shirt.
Hailing from South Carolina American Gun graces us with their third full length album: Devil Showed Me His Hand and they seem like a kid with ADHD the way this album screams through different sounds and feelings. From radio-friendly pop like “Girl In Texas” into rockers like “My Friends” with detours into bluesy roots like “How Not To Fall In Love” and they even let their punk hang out a little bit on “The Underground” and to top it all off they do it all very well. Devil Showed Me His Hand seems scattered at first listen but on the second and third times, and trust me you’ll spin it more than that, around it becomes obvious that this is a coherent album. It moves like a Saturday night out with all of the ups and downs that us mortals tend to have when perusing the dirty streets. Whether it’s cheep beer and hell raising or drinking your baby goodbye there is a tune on this album for you. You can bet there is something on this one for you and for your friends. So grab your poison of choice, give your better half your keys, and queue this one up. It’s not Saturday yet but it’s worth a drink or six while you listen. American Gun won’t let you down with this release even if they are letting the whole state of Texas down this tour.
Here’s a little sample of Devil Showed Me His Hand to listen to while you go buy the whole thing:
American Gun – Thirteen Women
American Gun – My Friends
American Gun – The Underground
So this week’s top 5 is one I have been wanting to a whole lot. I love this topic and much like the last top 5 my list changes daily on this one. I tried to skip some of the more obvious, or mainstream, choices. Although thinking about the crowd that reads our site those might have seemed more obscure. Oh yeah, the topic: I want to know your top 5 cover songs! Mine are, as usual, on the tape below but since this is cover songs I included the original versions as well and since I couldn’t decide between two of them I took a little liberty and declare slot five a tie. So this week’s top 5 tape has a cool dozen songs on it and an totally bitchin’ cover as well. Press play and don’t forget to let us know your top 5, but for this one make sure to let us the original artist as well as your favorite cover of the song!!!.
Autopsy IV’s Answers:
American Gun – Moonshiner (This is a traditional song (you can read about the history here) and I have to say American Gun does one of my favorite versions of it)
Johnny Cash – Hurt (I mean…Duh! I swear to god, in 10 years the fact that Nine Inch Nails wrote this song will be forgotten)
Drive-By Trucker’s – Play It All Night Long (the most rocking song to come out of the DBT camp since The Dirty South just so happens to be a Warren Zevon cover)
Old Crow Medicine Show – Wagon Wheel (is it a cover or a collaboration between Old Crow and Dylan? The easy answer is yes. I might be stretching a little on this one but I’m including it anyway.)
Drag The River – Old Sad Songs (one of my favorite Lucero tracks, covered and extended. Too awesome! The lyrics of this song are the theme song to my life.)
AS A SIDE NOTE: IF YOU’RE UP TO IT. EMAIL ME 1 OR 2 OF YOUR FAVORITE COVERS AND WE’LL MAKE A MIXTAPE OUT OF THE WHOLE THING.
I am not usually one for folk music. To start with most of the modern folk music tends more towards the sixties and seventies style protest music rather than the older style folk music about life and love and family and thinking free. Once in a while an album makes its way into my collection that makes me think twice about my, admittedly, prejudice view of modern folk music. Drifter’s Church is one of those albums. If you are a regular ’round these parts you know that John Schnabel is the tree that Micah Schnabel didn’t fall far from and you know that we here at 9b are huge fans of Micah and Two Cow Garage. I probably would have never discovered John if I wasn’t a Micah fan but that alone isn’t enough for me to review an album. I started talking to John over e-mail when he was offering When The Stage Lights Go Dim as a pay it forward kind of thing. He sent me a bunch of stuff including some of his own work and while he and I are likely polar opposites on the political spectrum his music resonates with ideals that even I can relate to. The stories he tells on this album are not fantastical stories that will take you out of reality nor are the protest songs so far idealized that they lose sight of the real world. John takes emotions that we all feel and wraps them in simple rhythms and lyrics and comes out the other side with songs that are real, filled with emotion and conviction without becoming preachy.
Even the title track War At The Door, an anti-war song, is not like the modern protest songs I have come across. The song begs for an end to war without placing blame on the people involved while crying out for the protections promised by god. It seems that John doesn’t claim to cry out to any single person’s god but rather to any god who will listen for an end to the killing in the name of the same. Simple words show that John has lived a full life throughout this album and if you listen close on songs like the title track you can hear where his son gets some of his inspiration. My favorite track on this one has to be No Way In Hell with its story of one of the most messed up relationships, or series of them depending on how you read the songs, I have ever heard of. Overall this album is little more tame than I tend to drop on the iPod but there are exceptions to every rule and this one made it on there with the last re-load.
If you listened to the podcast last Friday or over the weekend then you know this already but for those that don’t listen to the podcast (may I ask why) we have an announcement for you.
On Wed., March 17 at Opa! (2050 South Lamar Blvd.) ninebullets.net will be hosting it’s first ever SxSW Party featuring; American Aquarium (6:00), Austin Lucas (7:00), Kasey Anderson (8:00), Glossary (9:00) and Joe Pug (10:00).
All props go to Kasey for setting this up. I hope to see/meet some of y’all there. I am sure it’ll be a good time.
American Aquarium -Tennessee
Austin Lucas – Somebody Loves You
Kasey Anderson – Real Gone
Glossary – Save Your Money For The Weekend
Joe Pug – The Door Is Always Open
As a side note: I’ve gotten a few emails and social networking messages regarding my Suburban Home hates ninebullets post so I wanna clarify. There is no beef. I was simply busting Virgil’s balls cause we’d discussed doing a party earlier and decided it was too late / difficult. That’s all. I thought it was obvious in the original post but I guess my sarcasm / ball busting wasn’t clear enough to those a little removed from the situation. Hope that clears up any misunderstandings.
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