The Rock Report

THE ROCK REPORT: McDOUGALL AT SOME STRIP MALL IN DENVER

Mar 072013
 

If you’ve read Nine Bullets at all in the last year or so there’s no doubt you’ve heard the name McDougall.  He’s a favorite of several of the writers, myself included, yet because he lives in the Pacific Northwest the chances to see him live are few and far between.  Or nonexistent.

Last night I drove 65 miles south to Denver because McDougall was passing through on his way to SXSW.  I had never heard of the bar and didn’t know the area but he was playing first and it was only six dollars and I didn’t have anything else to do so I made that drive.

There was a photo we posted on the site a while back and it also made the rounds on facebook and twitter.  It showed a band playing their guts out to one guy standing in front of them.  Well that’s exactly what happened last night.  I heard McDougall playing when I reached the door, I payed the cover and walked in.  The place was empty, and when I say empty I mean there was a bartender and four or so guys sitting in booths  opposite of the stage area.  I later learned they were the other band.  I got a beer and straight to the stage.

Shortly after I reached the stage McDougall finished the song he was playing.  I clapped and the other band clapped.  I said, “I’m just going to stand here if you don’t mind.”  McDougall said he didn’t mind.  And that’s how things went for the next half hour or so.  McDougall fucking played the shit out of his guitar, bass drum, high hat and banjo and it was awesome.  Not a single song he played was on his album A Few Towns More, but it didn’t matter because everything he played was great and I was rocking as much as I rock.

After he finished I introduced myself and mentioned that I wrote for Ninebullets.  We talked a bit and McDougall seemed like a good dude and didn’t really seem to mind that I was the only one listening.

Here’s the thing.  I don’t think anyone in the Ninebullets office has talked about it but I think to several of us McDougall is a kind of a mythical musician.  I think part of it is that his record is so ridiculously good yet next to no one outside of the Pacific Northwest knows he exists.  His singing and playing is captivating and all of his songs are about travel or optimistic restlessness, almost like he might just move on to somewhere else and never be seen from again.  Or that he might not even exist at all.  Now I’ve seen the guy and talked to him and I’m still not convinced he does exist.

McDougall – A Few Towns More
McDougall – 18 Days Of Rain
McDougall – 48 Reasons

Here are the remainder of McDougall’s tour dates. If he’s hitting your neck of the woods go be his Bobby.

Thu, 07 Mar – Denver, CO – Quixote’s
Fri, 08 Mar – Colorado Springs, CO – Front Range Barbeque
Sat, 09 Mar – Amarillo, TX – The 806 coffee + lounge
Tue, 12 Mar – Austin, TX – Firehouse Hostel and Lounge
Wed, 13 Mar – Austin, TX – The Grackle
Wed, 13 Mar – Austin, TX – Firehouse Hostel and Lounge
Fri, 15 Mar – Austin, TX – Frontier Bar
Tue, 19 Mar – Tucson, AZ – The Sculpture Resource Center
Fri, 22 Mar – Long Beach, 98631 – The Pickled Fish @ Adrift Hotel
Sun, 24 Mar – Astoria, OR – Fort George Brewery

SOANGELICATE’S ROCK REPORT: FLOBOTS @ ORPHEUM, YBOR

Oct 252012
 

I’d say the general reaction I got from people when I announced I was going to see Flobots was 50 percent “Who?” and 50 percent “The Handlebar dudes?” Yes, the dudes responsible for 2008 hit single “Handlebars” dropped into Orpheum in support of their third and most recent release, The Circle in the Square, and I was very interested in how they’d sound four years after releasing that infuriatingly catchy track.

Local prog-hip hop band Samurai Shotgun hit the stage first and impressed the hell out of me. I know lead singer Mateo Prince Henley from the Ybor clubs he’s worked at, and I had no idea he had this in him. When I commented to my friend that one of their songs reminded me of a raw, urban RHCP, he summed it up succinctly with his response: “Yeah, but ten times better, though.”

Next on stage was Minnesota’s insanely surprising Astronautalis. When a pretty blonde boy in a cornflower blue button-down and khakis strode onto the stage to help set up, I assumed he was an intern. Then the lights went down, and he started sing-rhyming over reverb-drenched guitar and cymbals-crashing beats, and I thought, Whoa. Dude’s got flow. The crowd was definitely digging the mix of hip hop and rock, and didn’t hesitate to move closer to the stage at his invitation. He kept brushing his blonde curls away from his face as he bounced from foot to foot and crouched down to make eye contact with the crowd. He referred to himself as a “substitute (teacher) looking motherfucker,” to those of us who weren’t familiar with him before his set started, addressing the whole judging-a-book-by-its-cover thing (which I was guilty of), and then asked for requests on subjects to freestyle on. The two spontaneous freestyle raps that followed touched on the Higgs boson particle, Mitt Romney, the movie Airplane!, Deerwood Country Club in Jacksonville, Stan Lee, and roller derby. Dude is good.

Closing out the night, Flobots entered to a pretty big crowd that clearly knew there was more to the sextet than bike tricks. The first thing I noticed wasn’t the guitarist or bassist, it wasn’t the pair of charismatic rappers who front the band, and it wasn’t the burly guy on drums. It was definitely band’s lone female, Mackenzie Gault, standing stage left with her electric viola. Instrumental touches like this are what make Flobots’ mix of hip hop and rock so special. The energy was high from the moment they opened the set with “Stand Up,” and it didn’t even waver when things got a little rocky.

Midway through the set, it became clear that vocalist Brer Rabbit was having issues with his mic, so without skipping a beat, partner Johnny 5 abandoned the setlist and launched into the rarely performed “By the Time You Get This Message” while the tech guy tried to sort things out. The energy held steady all throughout, and pretty much the only time the two vocalists weren’t bounding around the stage was when Johnny got down on one knee to play melodica. The crowd was on board 100 percent by the time they reached “Handlebars,” and were rewarded with a high-octane performance that didn’t feel like they’d already played it a zillion times. The evening ended with a slow and beautiful rendition of “Rise” along with a huge thanks to the crowd.

As we were on our way out of the venue, a few of my friends remarked that they liked the openers better than Flobots. I’ll admit, it was a pretty close race for me as well. But there are definitely worse things than having to decide which one of the three bands you just heard was the best. All I can say for certain is that I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for future Samurai Shogun shows, and if you’re in Tampa, you should, too. You can catch the rest of the shots from the show here.

Flobots – The Rose And The Thistle
Flobots – Circle In The Square

SOANGELICATE’S ROCK REPORT: DR DOG W/FLOATING ACTION @ THE STATE THEATER, ST PETE, FL

Apr 262011
 

I am nothing, if not a rabid Dr Dog fan. Ever since seeing them at Lollapalooza a few years back I have made a point of seeing them every time they come around, so I was crushed when the Tampa Bay Area wasn’t part of the tour announcement following the release of their last album, Shame, Shame. In fact, I summed up my review of that album with the following, “This one goes on my personal essential listening list, and if these guys come anywhere near you, don’t walk, run to the show…and tell them to get their asses back to Tampa.” That said, you can only imagine my glee when I got the announcement that they were doing a second leg of the tour and they would be playing The State Theater on Record Store Day.

Opening for Dr Dog was a band out of Asheville, NC called Floating Action. I had never heard them before, but I liked them pretty much instantly. The first thing their sound evoked for me of was Band of Horses and maybe a little Fleet Foxes, mainly because of their harmonies and twanginess. Looked into the band post-show, it turns out that their last album, Desert Etiquette, was actually produced by Band of Horses’ bassist, Bill Reynolds. I will definitely be picking this up. Seeming not to notice that they weren’t in the mountains any more, lead singer Seth Kauffman was wearing both a stocking cap and a blazer in the 80+ degree heat. I was already pretty darn warm in my t-shirt and shorts, but by the fourth song I, along with much of the the almost capacity crowd, was dancing and clapping (and sweating) along. Highest praise of all may be that members of Dr Dog kept coming out from beside the stage to watch the performance.

As I settled closer to the stage in preparation for the main act, a friend of mine asked about what she was going to see when Dr Dog took to the stage, if it was going to just be a couple guys. If you’ve seen this band before, you know why I couldn’t help but smile at this. Dr Dog has 5 members, 6 on this tour, and they filled the whole stage even before they start dancing. You can tell these guys genuinely love what they do. They transform a simple concert into an all out experience, playing every single song as if it was the last song of the final encore. This also happened to be the last show of the tour, but you’d think it was the first with all the energy they still somehow had. Even the more low key songs are played to the fullest, like when Frank McElroy’s rhythm guitar set the mood for an achingly slow and heavy rendition of “Someday” and when they put on a sweat-drenched rendition of “The Beach” that fucking killed me. I am, in fact, dead now.

I had the chance to chat with the newest band member, drummer Teach (Eric Slick), after the show and he made my night even greater when he said they’re already ready to work on their next album, which is apparently going to be produced by Dangermouse (Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz). I can’t wait to hear what a more edgy Dr Dog sounds like and, even more exciting, I can’t wait for the next tour.

Check out more pix from the show by the Drunk Camera Guy

SOANGELICATE’S ROCK REPORT: RA RA RIOT @ THE CROWBAR, YBOR

Mar 242011
 


Ra Ra Riot has been on my radar since their eponymous 2007 EP but I honestly never expected them to come to Tampa. When the show was announced, I was surprised that not only were they coming to my town, but the show would be in the cozy confines of the Crowbar. Would Tampa show up for this must see show on a weeknight? In the rain? Yes and yes, even the double whammy of a wet weeknight didn’t stop the show from selling out and the place from being filled wall to wall.

The full six member band was quite an impressive sight on the intimate stage, especially because two of them were playing stringed instruments, a cello and a violin. Some bands have a violinist step in for one or two songs, but not RRR. These are full time band members playing their instruments on nearly every song, and cellist Alexandra Lawn even had her debut as a lead vocalist on the last release, The Orchard. In fact, “You And I Know” may have been my favorite song in an overall brilliant performance from the band, and I’d be surprised and disappointed if I didn’t get to hear more from her on future releases. They played every single song I wanted to hear from their back catalog, mixed in with a lot of the newer stuff. I have to admit that I hadn’t given the last album a lot of playing time, but I’m definitely planning to give The Orchard more attention now.

Opening the show was local band The Sleepy Vikings, self-described “loud country shoegaze”, followed by The Luyas, a Canadian band that brought out such artillery as the French horn and hand bells. It was a bit too quirky for me, but I may download a song or two to check them out.

Check out some more shots from the show here

GUEST POST: THE ROCK REPORT: MICHAEL DEAN DAMRON HOUSE CONCERT

Mar 112011
 

Our good buddy, Chris Green, recently booked Mike Damron for a house show and asked if I’d be interested in posting some of the video from it. Of course I responded with a solid Clay Davis “Shhhhhiiiiiiiitttttttttt” and accepted. Enjoy:


Ninebullets.net has devoted plenty of coverage to the music of Michael Dean Damron‘s music over the years. Longtime readers will know him both as the front man of incendiary hard rock band I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House, and also for his more contemplative solo albums.

Mike D’s home base is Portland, and so as a Seattle-area resident, I’ve been lucky to have had many opportunities to see him perform. I’ve seen him and his band winning over new audiences when opening for bigger name acts, and I’ve seen him playing more intimate venues full of his established fans. On stage, or talking in person, there is one invariant – whether headlining or opening and whether the crowd is big or small – putting his all into the performance is what he cares about.

His next solo album, “Plea from a Ghost” is due out this month, and he has started off his cross country tour in support of it with a few pacific northwest dates. In Seattle, he played a Saturday night house show (along with fellow Suburban Home Records artist Lizzie Huffman) at a private home that had a great performance space. When we saw his tour schedule, a friend (and ICLASOBITH fan) of mine and I decided to invite him to play a Sunday afternoon set at my buddy’s house out in the ‘burbs the next day.

We were pleased when he accepted without hesitation, and we started inviting people. We ended up with a very diverse set of guests of all ages, including some of our friends who had seen him play before, but also including plenty of people with no idea what to expect. When the show started, MDD joked that he was nervous because he was used to shows with drunker audiences and fights. Amusingly (if you’re familiar with his stage banter), he promised not to curse because there was a baby present, bouncing to the music on his Mom’s knee (I was impressed that he kept his promise until it was baby-nap-time). It turned out that there was no need for nervousness – he won the audience over quickly, and the applause grew louder throughout the set. He played a mixture of new songs from his forthcoming album, older material, and some covers (including a great cover of Two Cow Garage‘s “Swingset Assassin“). When he played the crowd-pleasing “Westboro Baptist Church” towards the end, he told us that he had decided that this was the last time he was ever going to play it. However, by that time the batteries on my camcorder had run out, so I don’t have any legally binding proof of this should he change his mind.

Here’s the good part: At the end of this party, besides leaving with some fine musical memories, I also left with some video of Mike D performing a couple of songs. While watching these should give you a little taste of the cozy garage where we had so much enjoyment this past weekend (and without you having to experience our typical crappy March weather), watching video on the computer is a poor substitute for a live performance. I urge you to get out and see the real thing when he plays your area.

Michael Dean Damron – Graveyard Song


Michael Dean Damron – Keep me in your heart


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