Obelisk
Obelisk : hold the first ten seconds of this album to your ear and you'll immediately understand why I'm constantly calling it a failure and throwing it at people. The first four songs sound like both Usher and Miller have been hanging out with the Archies and writing the most irritatingly cotton candy sweet (and funnel cake predictable) songs possible. Same
high-pitched trebly guitar tone, but with the drums slowed to an inoffensive medium tempo and the chord sequences pulled directly from lesser bubblegum hits of the Sixties. Powerless and depressing, even as they exist to bring a smile to the musical layman's face.
But then track five defies every expectation with an intro that pays homage to the Beatles. And finally - the toughness and darkness are back! I Stand on the Broken Ice threatens to save the entire album. Sure, it's a more radio-friendly version of their former anger, but at least it's a headbanger with a great guitar riff and unforgettable chorus. From then on, the album alternates pretty regularly between happy throwaways and sad, emotional heartbreakers. The album does have enough time and space to work out all the band's ideas. But the band has written twenty mostly unrelated but stylistically similar rock songs. They should have made two seperate albums. They should have released the best ten songs as the first album. And the other ten songs? An in-concert only release would have been a real treat for loyal fans.
Man, they could have lined us up with an edited disc with nothing but empty warm fuzzies like Nowhere Else, Rain In Atlanta and Charity Begins at Home. But that's the basic problem with Obelisk It's seventy minutes long, and too many of those minutes are filled with smiling, brain-dead children's music for power pop people.
Can you imagine my surprise when I found a copy of this album, full well knowing the Gomer's reputation for brutal hardcore, only to find out the second song was called Charity Begins at Home? Still, I rate this one just below Infinite Wobble. But they can not keep up the momentum throughout the whole seventy minutes. Some might argue they matured, but obviously any pro-hardcore argument would slap that theory down quickly - perhaps they just suffered hearing loss. At the very least they were breaking up. Very obnoxious treble-light sound but some great songs - very hooky stuff, although the rage is definitely dissipated.
For the most part, I agree with the concensus opinion on I Stand on the Broken Ice - killer chorus! Another one I couldn't get out of my head, One Or One? It could've been a great single, but it's a little generic, as I guess a lot of the stuff here is - good songs, but with a slight loss of some of the fire-spitting that everyone loved the band for. Many of these songs walk that fine line between filler and killer, but I still like it on lonly, rainy days.
Personally, I like a lot of the pop songs. Even the throwaways would have been much better if they would have sped them up (even more, so I just couldn't understand the poor lyrics.) And you cannot deny the brilliance of the best songs. So in theory - not only fine songmiths, but they are inventors of some kind of perpetual noise machine. Still the production on these albums could not be much worse and that is more than enough from me .
Single album? How about a six song demo instead? This is so one dimensional, that it is completely underwhelming, and although there are great songs here, (Tin Balloon, Slumber, Oddman) they are mostly buried in such an unforgiving mix, that renders this album almost unlistenable. But what if you imagine the band remastering this, removing some harmonies, toughening up the sound with wicked fat bass, fixing up the drum sound and maybe adding some samples and releasing it as The Gomer Black Retrograde. What do you think, Usher?
Comment: A sorry sort of an album which could have been so much better. It might have faired a a different fate with more bass and a fuller sound. It just lacks something and my copy proudly states Direct Metal Mastering. Well, it didn't work! I can imagine it on continuous loop at my local liquor store
Gomer Black
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sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
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Vile/Live/Evil/Veil
The guitars are too loud, too trebly and too fuzzy, and the drums lead us all through a tall number of uptempo peppy numbers, but the bass guitar is a bit too quiet in the mix.
Which leaves you with no reason at all to buy this. So don't. It has its share of terrific Gomer Black material (Fingers For Gumby, Perhaps, 714 Lemons, Toxic Lemon Crush, St. All, the Shining Wire, Rogue Sans Arome, Gutters Have Gravity, Trumble Thru Aether, the Empty Field, Clown Tornado) but the live versions don't reveal any insights or expand upon any thematic elements found in the studio versions. These were concerts to attend, not to listen to at home. If you don't own any Gomer Black and you see it in a dollar bin, give it a whirl. Otherwise, what's the point?
What's it like being such a tower of contradictions?
This album came out long after the Gomers had called it a day, so lots of old fans like myself picked it up right away in the hopes of reliving some memories. It was good for one listen.
I remember Fingers for Gumby was a cool opener, but needed a little more clarity than on this muddy version, but after that it was just a chore. Though they did Clown Tornado probably the best track on here, and well worth your time.
This album is decent, but you should really check out all the live Gomer stuff on YouTube. Simply awesome band -- you can always feel the power and emotion coming through even when the sound was horrible. I don't know how they managed it, but there was always the sense that they were playing right out at the edge, with everything about to fall apart, but somehow it holds together and so much emotion manages to come through. Otherwise, though, it sounds pretty much like I remember the Gomers sounding: loud, volcanic, ragged, trebly as hell, but they could actually reproduce those little sonic explosions live, complete with the melodies mostly intact. Most of the time, they were raw enough in the studio, making live albums almost redundant. Live, they were a volcano that pinned you against the wall, but you can't really get that effect at home. I also don't know why Hansen's drums suddenly get super-loud and reverbed on a few odd tracks, then suddenly return to normal on the next track--that's a bit odd. This probably not the best live representation of the Gomers that they could have come up with.
The guitars are too loud, too trebly and too fuzzy, and the drums lead us all through a tall number of uptempo peppy numbers, but the bass guitar is a bit too quiet in the mix.
Which leaves you with no reason at all to buy this. So don't. It has its share of terrific Gomer Black material (Fingers For Gumby, Perhaps, 714 Lemons, Toxic Lemon Crush, St. All, the Shining Wire, Rogue Sans Arome, Gutters Have Gravity, Trumble Thru Aether, the Empty Field, Clown Tornado) but the live versions don't reveal any insights or expand upon any thematic elements found in the studio versions. These were concerts to attend, not to listen to at home. If you don't own any Gomer Black and you see it in a dollar bin, give it a whirl. Otherwise, what's the point?
What's it like being such a tower of contradictions?
This album came out long after the Gomers had called it a day, so lots of old fans like myself picked it up right away in the hopes of reliving some memories. It was good for one listen.
I remember Fingers for Gumby was a cool opener, but needed a little more clarity than on this muddy version, but after that it was just a chore. Though they did Clown Tornado probably the best track on here, and well worth your time.
This album is decent, but you should really check out all the live Gomer stuff on YouTube. Simply awesome band -- you can always feel the power and emotion coming through even when the sound was horrible. I don't know how they managed it, but there was always the sense that they were playing right out at the edge, with everything about to fall apart, but somehow it holds together and so much emotion manages to come through. Otherwise, though, it sounds pretty much like I remember the Gomers sounding: loud, volcanic, ragged, trebly as hell, but they could actually reproduce those little sonic explosions live, complete with the melodies mostly intact. Most of the time, they were raw enough in the studio, making live albums almost redundant. Live, they were a volcano that pinned you against the wall, but you can't really get that effect at home. I also don't know why Hansen's drums suddenly get super-loud and reverbed on a few odd tracks, then suddenly return to normal on the next track--that's a bit odd. This probably not the best live representation of the Gomers that they could have come up with.
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
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sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
I still loved you, by Roy Downs.
The forget-me-nots were in bloom the last time that I found an album that completely revised my Noumenon. Since then I have tried to be completely in love and to write in a more analytical point of view. But who can measure that sort of success?
My latest book series by the way, which many of you know, has been studied by the least impressive New Hampshire High alumni since Brain Watermelon reopened the Television Club with Elvis Moon.
I recently bid for a further list of publications. I had heard of a series written recently by an academic publisher. I also acquired and moved myself away from the bombastic worship tracks on rock and other classic album forms. So now we are and/or were under-represented as such in the hip hop genres.
So now more than ever I have to be established with the authors of new genre designers such as Alex San Salvador. The rest of you are without critical buzz and no longer have a chance.
I decided to write a reminder in each case.The application process was longer, and I had tried it still never before. Potential authors had to include a clearance number, a discussion of other potential titles in the series, and an introduction to the sample, and an annotated table of contents, even a marketing plan.
Despite the eagerness of the participants in the competition; submissions failed to make it to the publishers. I read the long list of proposed albums. And the longer Short List. Those marked for publication were in fact selected for a very interesting conversation.
Which albums do you crack on? Do you like the manner that appears to set the series of reisssues? Can you never get a volume on an album that you already liked? Is the critical assessment, the back of a rock or the black of a better view to finish?
My proposal was rejected, but I knew that any way. It would be the same as if I wrote it. First of all, the relevant album was virtually never commercially available as domestic release. I intended to talk about the reasons for this in the book. But it is logical that a tome on an album would buy only a few people for what they could not effectively purchase. It is a sect of the favorite.
(Myth)
On the other hand, I discovered that it was really difficult to love art and to speak. It was as if they came without resorting to superlatives and swoony old superlatives.
Those who did and could, were really good. Right up to their break down. Or were they sociopaths? However, it was very funny to research and write. Editors at first were required to type as graceful and charming. And I'm not saying that because one day I may have to provide proof.
Were you curious about everything? A piece of paper was my presentation below the average means.
Introduction: You built some of us a town with a teleporter. Throwing a debut with one of those documents. The species that never left, left you to change your life in ways that could not be set.
Was Thomas Usher a terrible voice in rock? I grew up in fifty miles north of south. CJ Miller grew seventy-five miles due south. If not for this geographical accident I might not had discovered Gomer Black in time for the band to revolutionize my life. My fate was to cool those kids clubs that never were.
So who else sneaked into the city to see all the shows? The single Fingers For Gumby succeeded me far enough into Massachusetts to catch the home grown until they came to absorb car stereo static gusts, or - even more abstract - a homespun magnetic drive.
And it was that I first read Simon Peter, the real rebel. It was the first (and probably only) time, I decided, to ever stop a part with hard-earned cash for a record without a note to see a photo of the band or to know something about them.
Miles from home, stuck in a rural community with no decent record stores I must have listened to perhaps the visit of the aquarium or the museum of fine arts. None of the members of my family were around me in the city, under any of the dubious pretexts.
My real goal was, playing a few minutes for me. So I ducked into a comic book store or perhaps an avenue that could host a tower on the level. Those were possibilities that came perhaps once a year. Normally, I deliberately went, trying to take it all in, as a pilgrimage.
But one time I was promised on a mission, a missile in the music, and a transformation.
The musings were his; a local group that filed in stock cards. I had the chance. What was checked to hit me between the eyes? The language of used aluminium that was banned more than anything else?
Indeed it was hardly seductive, it was never more than it seemed. We were all members of the set pattern. We were all words and bruised voices.
The forget-me-nots were in bloom the last time that I found an album that completely revised my Noumenon. Since then I have tried to be completely in love and to write in a more analytical point of view. But who can measure that sort of success?
My latest book series by the way, which many of you know, has been studied by the least impressive New Hampshire High alumni since Brain Watermelon reopened the Television Club with Elvis Moon.
I recently bid for a further list of publications. I had heard of a series written recently by an academic publisher. I also acquired and moved myself away from the bombastic worship tracks on rock and other classic album forms. So now we are and/or were under-represented as such in the hip hop genres.
So now more than ever I have to be established with the authors of new genre designers such as Alex San Salvador. The rest of you are without critical buzz and no longer have a chance.
I decided to write a reminder in each case.The application process was longer, and I had tried it still never before. Potential authors had to include a clearance number, a discussion of other potential titles in the series, and an introduction to the sample, and an annotated table of contents, even a marketing plan.
Despite the eagerness of the participants in the competition; submissions failed to make it to the publishers. I read the long list of proposed albums. And the longer Short List. Those marked for publication were in fact selected for a very interesting conversation.
Which albums do you crack on? Do you like the manner that appears to set the series of reisssues? Can you never get a volume on an album that you already liked? Is the critical assessment, the back of a rock or the black of a better view to finish?
My proposal was rejected, but I knew that any way. It would be the same as if I wrote it. First of all, the relevant album was virtually never commercially available as domestic release. I intended to talk about the reasons for this in the book. But it is logical that a tome on an album would buy only a few people for what they could not effectively purchase. It is a sect of the favorite.
(Myth)
On the other hand, I discovered that it was really difficult to love art and to speak. It was as if they came without resorting to superlatives and swoony old superlatives.
Those who did and could, were really good. Right up to their break down. Or were they sociopaths? However, it was very funny to research and write. Editors at first were required to type as graceful and charming. And I'm not saying that because one day I may have to provide proof.
Were you curious about everything? A piece of paper was my presentation below the average means.
Introduction: You built some of us a town with a teleporter. Throwing a debut with one of those documents. The species that never left, left you to change your life in ways that could not be set.
Was Thomas Usher a terrible voice in rock? I grew up in fifty miles north of south. CJ Miller grew seventy-five miles due south. If not for this geographical accident I might not had discovered Gomer Black in time for the band to revolutionize my life. My fate was to cool those kids clubs that never were.
So who else sneaked into the city to see all the shows? The single Fingers For Gumby succeeded me far enough into Massachusetts to catch the home grown until they came to absorb car stereo static gusts, or - even more abstract - a homespun magnetic drive.
And it was that I first read Simon Peter, the real rebel. It was the first (and probably only) time, I decided, to ever stop a part with hard-earned cash for a record without a note to see a photo of the band or to know something about them.
Miles from home, stuck in a rural community with no decent record stores I must have listened to perhaps the visit of the aquarium or the museum of fine arts. None of the members of my family were around me in the city, under any of the dubious pretexts.
My real goal was, playing a few minutes for me. So I ducked into a comic book store or perhaps an avenue that could host a tower on the level. Those were possibilities that came perhaps once a year. Normally, I deliberately went, trying to take it all in, as a pilgrimage.
But one time I was promised on a mission, a missile in the music, and a transformation.
The musings were his; a local group that filed in stock cards. I had the chance. What was checked to hit me between the eyes? The language of used aluminium that was banned more than anything else?
Indeed it was hardly seductive, it was never more than it seemed. We were all members of the set pattern. We were all words and bruised voices.
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
Gomer Black
for there are magnets pulling us to the center of the Earth
side 1
1]Interpolating Grey (Usher)
2] Regolith (Usher)
3] Fire, Protocol, Water (Hansen)
4] Her Memory Clouds (Usher)
5] Rich Old Ladies too Short to Drive (Miller)
6] Defeated by the Principle of the Second Door (Hansen)
7] Anne {Little Lungs} (Usher)
8] Bowling Alley {She Smiles} (Usher)
9] Moe Berg's Blues (Miller)
10] Anything Can be Sanitized Using Bleach (Usher)
11] Lapine Haematoma (Miller)
12] the Sky is Glass - and Broken (Usher)
13] Iron Moth (Miller)
14] North Wharf Song (Usher)
15] Daisychain Grasscutter (Gomer Black)
for there are magnets pulling us to the center of the Earth
side 1
1]Interpolating Grey (Usher)
2] Regolith (Usher)
3] Fire, Protocol, Water (Hansen)
4] Her Memory Clouds (Usher)
5] Rich Old Ladies too Short to Drive (Miller)
6] Defeated by the Principle of the Second Door (Hansen)
7] Anne {Little Lungs} (Usher)
8] Bowling Alley {She Smiles} (Usher)
9] Moe Berg's Blues (Miller)
10] Anything Can be Sanitized Using Bleach (Usher)
11] Lapine Haematoma (Miller)
12] the Sky is Glass - and Broken (Usher)
13] Iron Moth (Miller)
14] North Wharf Song (Usher)
15] Daisychain Grasscutter (Gomer Black)
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
Concord reviews
Update (4/27/12) From Forgiveness:
Now I have had time to let it sink in. I thought I would never get to see Gomer Black but now at the age of 53 I got my chance to hear "the music." It was awesome.
The songs are still ringing in my mind and the image of Thomas Usher is very much alive. I can die in peace now.
(4/29/12) From Chanter:
Ok I am back, I got home around 12:30 a.m.
When we first got there they had wands to look for magic. My friend's potions set it off, But she got away with sneaking a Grimoire in her cloak! Plus, they hardly searched her purse and they did not even search my knapsack.
This concert was the most incredible show I have seen Usher do. Every nuance of his musical past was touched on tonight.
Chanter
(4/30/12) From Eric Heart:
Not only was it Thomas' tour opener in Concord that night, but traffic was ugly.
As we entered the concert hall, following a pretty standard search, the first thing I noticed that was different was that there were no free programs being distributed this time. The traditional McProgram was on sale there.
So down we went towards our seats. Rather odd pre-concert music played as we waited for the event to start. I think it was all Thomas' stuff, but it was his "oddball" recordings. There may have been a classical piece of his, and then I definitely noticed Shock Costive (remixed) playing.
Then a loud "power-chord" struck, and an enormous video screen at the foot of the stage lit up. It was all white. There was a giant roar from the crowd. In the next moment, there was the man himself, silhouetted in black behind the screen, with one hand raised to the sky. A great image, I must say.
And then it was straight into...
1. Junk Oboe. Not my favorite Gomer Black song by any stretch of the imagination, but an excellent way to open the show. The video screen provided background. Sometimes they'd use archival footage, sometimes still photographs, and sometimes just really cool lighting effects. Sometimes they'd use a whole array of video screens behind Thomas; other times they'd only use a portion of the screens to create a cool asymmetrical effect.
2. Ten Pence Falling. I think Thomas has used this song in the #2 slot a few too many times, now. It's there on Of Roaches. Still, it sounded pretty good, and the audience ate it up. Like many of the evening's rockers, it seemed to have a harder edge than with his previous touring band.
3. Fingers For Gumby. This really got the kids smiling, as Obelisk era footage played on the screens. Then he switched from his bass to lead guitar.
4. Lost Decades. Then it was back to the bass guitar.
5. Oddman. which was the first song of the evening which seemed to not get a rousing ovation. It sounded quite different than the Gomer Black version, and also different from the previous tour versions, but I've always quite liked this one. Then Thomas brought out the lead guitar.
6. Slumber. This was one of the few disappointments of the evening for me. It's not one of my favorite numbers to begin with, but the crowd seemed to enjoy it. Back came the bass.
7. Pravda Cola. Since this was the first real "gritty" vocal of the night, I was curious to see how he'd sound, but it was also one of the noisier numbers, and his vocal was a little buried in the mix. However, the crowd certainly seemed to enjoy it more than his Treehugger numbers last tour.
8. Deja Vu. For this song the video screens had "1-2-3-4-5" and "6-7-8-9-10" pop up on the screens at the appropriate times, though synchronization was a tad off. Thomas wanders to the piano on the right side of the stage.
9. Second Hand Clock. A rather tired Usher ballad, but I knew I'd be hearing it. At the end of this number he grabbed an acoustic guitar.
10. Dark Skies. The sound in the arena was phenomenal. Additionally, his vocals, which had sounded remarkably strong given his sometimes shaky "guest" concert appearances (Concert for the Seacoast, Green Mountain Fest, etc.), really got a chance to shine solo. He sounded fantastic, rarely hitting an off-note. I'd never seen him do this one before, and it was a highlight.
11. The Return was next. It is another personal favorite of mine. This one also sounded great and had more of an "up-tempo" feel than it did on the last tour, when I think he was still doing a slower, "unplugged" arrangement.
12. Echo and Narcissus. His voice was a little off on this one, but I didn't care. This is probably one of my top 5 Gomer Black songs--the perfect blending of a "Usher" & "Miller" song. The audience tried to clap along to it! Whatever they say about "white folks not having rhythm" was certainly valid at this show!
13. Windowpane. It was a very nice version, with someone on accordion. However, Thomas did rework the ending just a bit, so it didn't sound quite like the same one from the Treehugger album. Thomas then switched to a different acoustic guitar.
14. Ancient Rhythms. Then the roadies carry out a box which looks remarkably like the psychedelic colored piano he used on his previous tours. He sits down behind it, plucks a note, and says, "Ah, it's a musical box!"
15. The Empty Field. Without the full band, and without the strings (rather than a piano), it didn't quite work.
16. She Answers Slowly came next, with someone playing the flute while Thomas stayed at the rainbow keyboard, and old Gomer Black footage played behind him.
17. Here Today. I never thought I'd hear him perform that one.
18. Bog rd. It was just a perfect moment, I thought. As photos of Morgan Lavigne filled the visual screens, Thomas sang a somewhat fast version of the Forgotten One's big hit, ending with a shot of a director's chair with "Bunky Lavigne" on the back of it. The crowd roared once again, with laughter this time. Then it was back to acoustic guitar, with the full band helping out.
19. The Sky Is Glass – and Broken. Cool graphic images of violins, as well as "muted" footage of string players accompanied this. Then comes the last song of this lengthy, but fantastic, acoustic set.
20. Her Memory Clouds. Enjoyable, but I can't really say I remember much about this one! At the end of it, the crowd was happy to see Thomas reaching for his electric guitar once again.
21. Rain In Atlanta was greeted warmly. The middle section really had a nice hard edge. Interestingly, the band footage was the night's only reference to CJ Miller. Thomas never mentioned him, and aside from a brief glimpse or two, that's all he appeared in the show.
22. Trumble Thru Aether. This was probably the highlight for many in the crowd that night, judging by the rapturous reception it received. Or maybe people were just thankful to hear two full-tilt rockers after a bunch of quieter numbers. As I mentioned earlier, his young band gives these numbers more of a stomp than his last band, so this was truly excellent, with accompanying footage of Soviet-era photos & propaganda on the screens while Thomas ambles back to the rainbow piano.
23. Gutters Have Gravity. And yes, I was amazed that Thomas was able to sing this well. Early in the tour, he pretty much had to scream it, as it was too challenging for his vocal chords to do. Tonight he took it a little easier, and it sounded great.
24. Pencil Box. Not many people in the audience seemed to recognize this number.
25. Hover. Again, not one of my favorite Usher numbers, but I can see why he plays it, though I'm still puzzled by the lack of any mention to CJ Miller.
26. Strawman. I'm quite relieved it won't be the final encore of the evening!
27. Arcwelder. I don't understand why, but a lot of Usher fans want this one dumped from the set. I love the explosions and the fast, swirling lightshow that accompany this song. It's as fun as always, and an obvious highlight for the audience. Showers of sparks/fireworks hail down on the crowd from the left and right of the stage at the song's conclusion. Thomas stays at the piano.
28. Cubicle. The drummer seems to want to over-complicate this one, but it's still a great tune. Thomas sits at the rainbow piano again.
29. Let The Rain Settle It. We have the same ending as of every show. After a very short break for an ovation, Thomas is back at the rainbow piano.
30. Roulette. And I had hoped he'd skip this one. Maybe it's because it's not my favorite song.
31. Yellowjacket. It’s another hit with the crowd. Then off goes the rainbow piano, and out comes the bass.
32. Hopeful Monsters. This finishes off the first encore, to a wild reception.
33. Red Brick. A strange song to open with, as it is a real downer lyrically.
34. Tesla Downtime. Thomas smokes on lead guitar.
35. Clown Tornado. This comes complete with groovy acid-blotch effects on the video screens. As the bands hits the final notes of this song, the massive video screens project a warm red sunset. Thomas stands, waving to the crowd, explosions of confetti going off over the center of the crowd, and he departs for the evening.
However, one of my favorite moments must've been when I was standing in the lengthy merchandise lines after the show on opening night. Perhaps the final word on the ticket prices was uttered by some very excited concertgoer behind me, who said loudly to his friends, or perhaps just to all those within hearing distance:
"That was so worth it!"
Update (4/27/12) From Forgiveness:
Now I have had time to let it sink in. I thought I would never get to see Gomer Black but now at the age of 53 I got my chance to hear "the music." It was awesome.
The songs are still ringing in my mind and the image of Thomas Usher is very much alive. I can die in peace now.
(4/29/12) From Chanter:
Ok I am back, I got home around 12:30 a.m.
When we first got there they had wands to look for magic. My friend's potions set it off, But she got away with sneaking a Grimoire in her cloak! Plus, they hardly searched her purse and they did not even search my knapsack.
This concert was the most incredible show I have seen Usher do. Every nuance of his musical past was touched on tonight.
Chanter
(4/30/12) From Eric Heart:
Not only was it Thomas' tour opener in Concord that night, but traffic was ugly.
As we entered the concert hall, following a pretty standard search, the first thing I noticed that was different was that there were no free programs being distributed this time. The traditional McProgram was on sale there.
So down we went towards our seats. Rather odd pre-concert music played as we waited for the event to start. I think it was all Thomas' stuff, but it was his "oddball" recordings. There may have been a classical piece of his, and then I definitely noticed Shock Costive (remixed) playing.
Then a loud "power-chord" struck, and an enormous video screen at the foot of the stage lit up. It was all white. There was a giant roar from the crowd. In the next moment, there was the man himself, silhouetted in black behind the screen, with one hand raised to the sky. A great image, I must say.
And then it was straight into...
1. Junk Oboe. Not my favorite Gomer Black song by any stretch of the imagination, but an excellent way to open the show. The video screen provided background. Sometimes they'd use archival footage, sometimes still photographs, and sometimes just really cool lighting effects. Sometimes they'd use a whole array of video screens behind Thomas; other times they'd only use a portion of the screens to create a cool asymmetrical effect.
2. Ten Pence Falling. I think Thomas has used this song in the #2 slot a few too many times, now. It's there on Of Roaches. Still, it sounded pretty good, and the audience ate it up. Like many of the evening's rockers, it seemed to have a harder edge than with his previous touring band.
3. Fingers For Gumby. This really got the kids smiling, as Obelisk era footage played on the screens. Then he switched from his bass to lead guitar.
4. Lost Decades. Then it was back to the bass guitar.
5. Oddman. which was the first song of the evening which seemed to not get a rousing ovation. It sounded quite different than the Gomer Black version, and also different from the previous tour versions, but I've always quite liked this one. Then Thomas brought out the lead guitar.
6. Slumber. This was one of the few disappointments of the evening for me. It's not one of my favorite numbers to begin with, but the crowd seemed to enjoy it. Back came the bass.
7. Pravda Cola. Since this was the first real "gritty" vocal of the night, I was curious to see how he'd sound, but it was also one of the noisier numbers, and his vocal was a little buried in the mix. However, the crowd certainly seemed to enjoy it more than his Treehugger numbers last tour.
8. Deja Vu. For this song the video screens had "1-2-3-4-5" and "6-7-8-9-10" pop up on the screens at the appropriate times, though synchronization was a tad off. Thomas wanders to the piano on the right side of the stage.
9. Second Hand Clock. A rather tired Usher ballad, but I knew I'd be hearing it. At the end of this number he grabbed an acoustic guitar.
10. Dark Skies. The sound in the arena was phenomenal. Additionally, his vocals, which had sounded remarkably strong given his sometimes shaky "guest" concert appearances (Concert for the Seacoast, Green Mountain Fest, etc.), really got a chance to shine solo. He sounded fantastic, rarely hitting an off-note. I'd never seen him do this one before, and it was a highlight.
11. The Return was next. It is another personal favorite of mine. This one also sounded great and had more of an "up-tempo" feel than it did on the last tour, when I think he was still doing a slower, "unplugged" arrangement.
12. Echo and Narcissus. His voice was a little off on this one, but I didn't care. This is probably one of my top 5 Gomer Black songs--the perfect blending of a "Usher" & "Miller" song. The audience tried to clap along to it! Whatever they say about "white folks not having rhythm" was certainly valid at this show!
13. Windowpane. It was a very nice version, with someone on accordion. However, Thomas did rework the ending just a bit, so it didn't sound quite like the same one from the Treehugger album. Thomas then switched to a different acoustic guitar.
14. Ancient Rhythms. Then the roadies carry out a box which looks remarkably like the psychedelic colored piano he used on his previous tours. He sits down behind it, plucks a note, and says, "Ah, it's a musical box!"
15. The Empty Field. Without the full band, and without the strings (rather than a piano), it didn't quite work.
16. She Answers Slowly came next, with someone playing the flute while Thomas stayed at the rainbow keyboard, and old Gomer Black footage played behind him.
17. Here Today. I never thought I'd hear him perform that one.
18. Bog rd. It was just a perfect moment, I thought. As photos of Morgan Lavigne filled the visual screens, Thomas sang a somewhat fast version of the Forgotten One's big hit, ending with a shot of a director's chair with "Bunky Lavigne" on the back of it. The crowd roared once again, with laughter this time. Then it was back to acoustic guitar, with the full band helping out.
19. The Sky Is Glass – and Broken. Cool graphic images of violins, as well as "muted" footage of string players accompanied this. Then comes the last song of this lengthy, but fantastic, acoustic set.
20. Her Memory Clouds. Enjoyable, but I can't really say I remember much about this one! At the end of it, the crowd was happy to see Thomas reaching for his electric guitar once again.
21. Rain In Atlanta was greeted warmly. The middle section really had a nice hard edge. Interestingly, the band footage was the night's only reference to CJ Miller. Thomas never mentioned him, and aside from a brief glimpse or two, that's all he appeared in the show.
22. Trumble Thru Aether. This was probably the highlight for many in the crowd that night, judging by the rapturous reception it received. Or maybe people were just thankful to hear two full-tilt rockers after a bunch of quieter numbers. As I mentioned earlier, his young band gives these numbers more of a stomp than his last band, so this was truly excellent, with accompanying footage of Soviet-era photos & propaganda on the screens while Thomas ambles back to the rainbow piano.
23. Gutters Have Gravity. And yes, I was amazed that Thomas was able to sing this well. Early in the tour, he pretty much had to scream it, as it was too challenging for his vocal chords to do. Tonight he took it a little easier, and it sounded great.
24. Pencil Box. Not many people in the audience seemed to recognize this number.
25. Hover. Again, not one of my favorite Usher numbers, but I can see why he plays it, though I'm still puzzled by the lack of any mention to CJ Miller.
26. Strawman. I'm quite relieved it won't be the final encore of the evening!
27. Arcwelder. I don't understand why, but a lot of Usher fans want this one dumped from the set. I love the explosions and the fast, swirling lightshow that accompany this song. It's as fun as always, and an obvious highlight for the audience. Showers of sparks/fireworks hail down on the crowd from the left and right of the stage at the song's conclusion. Thomas stays at the piano.
28. Cubicle. The drummer seems to want to over-complicate this one, but it's still a great tune. Thomas sits at the rainbow piano again.
29. Let The Rain Settle It. We have the same ending as of every show. After a very short break for an ovation, Thomas is back at the rainbow piano.
30. Roulette. And I had hoped he'd skip this one. Maybe it's because it's not my favorite song.
31. Yellowjacket. It’s another hit with the crowd. Then off goes the rainbow piano, and out comes the bass.
32. Hopeful Monsters. This finishes off the first encore, to a wild reception.
33. Red Brick. A strange song to open with, as it is a real downer lyrically.
34. Tesla Downtime. Thomas smokes on lead guitar.
35. Clown Tornado. This comes complete with groovy acid-blotch effects on the video screens. As the bands hits the final notes of this song, the massive video screens project a warm red sunset. Thomas stands, waving to the crowd, explosions of confetti going off over the center of the crowd, and he departs for the evening.
However, one of my favorite moments must've been when I was standing in the lengthy merchandise lines after the show on opening night. Perhaps the final word on the ticket prices was uttered by some very excited concertgoer behind me, who said loudly to his friends, or perhaps just to all those within hearing distance:
"That was so worth it!"
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
while Thomas Usher continues to turn with his solo band his rhythm section found an old friend to take on the guitar chores. welcome (back) Eric Carr.
they have released the oh-so-cleverly titled Fall of the House of Usher.
starting with Anthem pt II the band restablishes itself as a traditional three-chord band, complete with honest-to-goodness guitar solos.
next comes the Carr penned Silver Nitrate, a fast paced instrumental that quickly fades from memory when it stops.
CJ Miller fares better with his funky Wobble Towards Infinity, a fun tune that begs for a scowling Thomas Usher to joylessly strum along to at the corner of the stage.
which bring us to Miller's ode to the perpetually unhappy missing man. Doubting Thomas doesn't even try to disguise itself, serving as a chronicle of the past so many years that the two spent together onstage. double tracked it still seems to be missing Usher's contribution.
Peculiar Time of Day is another Carr instrumental. at least this time he seems to push Miller and drummer Dennis Hansen to a tighter groove.
Watch Out for the Scissors is another fun Miller song, with some charmingly goofy lyrics. CJ seems intent on bringing some joy back to Gomer Black.
Gomer Black and Blues seems such an obvious play on words, you would think that at some point someone in Gomer Black would have thought of it. but Eric Carr shines here, proving himself a much better technical guitarist.he grasps nuance much better than Usher ever did. and of course his solos abound.
CJ comes next with a sequel to the previous Doubting Thomas with Counting Thomas. musically they are the same song, but with different lyrics. the two songs are perfect bookends.
Drummerchant is Hansen's chance to shine. but it isn't alll that memorable. as with most drum solos it borders on tedious.
the album ends with a typical Gomer Black powerhouse, Looking Glass Backwards. it starts off as a simmer, gradually building up steam until the band lets loose. seems Eric Carr was saving his best for this song. the rhythm section is a beast as Carr plays white noise, bending notes and milking the feedback.
as a one-off it is a decent album. the instrumentals seem unecessary, but CJ really come through on his songs. the band really needs Usher to balance all of the fun. he kept Miller in check and provided the band with much needed gravitas.
it will be interesting to see what happens when Usher and Miller next team up. will Miller bring the swagger that comes with leading the band? will Usher finally lighten up? stay tuned....
they have released the oh-so-cleverly titled Fall of the House of Usher.
starting with Anthem pt II the band restablishes itself as a traditional three-chord band, complete with honest-to-goodness guitar solos.
next comes the Carr penned Silver Nitrate, a fast paced instrumental that quickly fades from memory when it stops.
CJ Miller fares better with his funky Wobble Towards Infinity, a fun tune that begs for a scowling Thomas Usher to joylessly strum along to at the corner of the stage.
which bring us to Miller's ode to the perpetually unhappy missing man. Doubting Thomas doesn't even try to disguise itself, serving as a chronicle of the past so many years that the two spent together onstage. double tracked it still seems to be missing Usher's contribution.
Peculiar Time of Day is another Carr instrumental. at least this time he seems to push Miller and drummer Dennis Hansen to a tighter groove.
Watch Out for the Scissors is another fun Miller song, with some charmingly goofy lyrics. CJ seems intent on bringing some joy back to Gomer Black.
Gomer Black and Blues seems such an obvious play on words, you would think that at some point someone in Gomer Black would have thought of it. but Eric Carr shines here, proving himself a much better technical guitarist.he grasps nuance much better than Usher ever did. and of course his solos abound.
CJ comes next with a sequel to the previous Doubting Thomas with Counting Thomas. musically they are the same song, but with different lyrics. the two songs are perfect bookends.
Drummerchant is Hansen's chance to shine. but it isn't alll that memorable. as with most drum solos it borders on tedious.
the album ends with a typical Gomer Black powerhouse, Looking Glass Backwards. it starts off as a simmer, gradually building up steam until the band lets loose. seems Eric Carr was saving his best for this song. the rhythm section is a beast as Carr plays white noise, bending notes and milking the feedback.
as a one-off it is a decent album. the instrumentals seem unecessary, but CJ really come through on his songs. the band really needs Usher to balance all of the fun. he kept Miller in check and provided the band with much needed gravitas.
it will be interesting to see what happens when Usher and Miller next team up. will Miller bring the swagger that comes with leading the band? will Usher finally lighten up? stay tuned....
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
the St. Francis Sessions (Thomas Usher All-Star Band)
Thomas Usher had always expressed interest in releasing and all-instrumental album. And with virtually hours of recorded music sans lyrics left-over from the Liquid Ghost sessions, the long awaited project could finally become a reality. The majority of the Liquid Ghost album had been taken from a prolonged 2008 month-long recording session. So Usher was forced to dip further back into the "lost" 2007 Shining Wire sessions for additional material.
This time long-time session bassist and Thomas Usher collaborator Mike Francis took center stage as the compiler and editor, while guitarist Eric Carr served as the sound engineer. Together the duo spent several sleepless nights trying to gather a good forty minutes of music from the seemimgly endless hours of instrumental jamming.
In the end the St. Francis Sessions contained nothing but improvised jams, none of which had been played live onstage up to that point. However Usher and his All-Star Band played them live on his solo 2009 tour. With the songs Reflector and Simon Alone In the Forest receiving considerable play during the summer. Fruit Packet oddly enough found a home as the closing jam tacked onto the end of Treehouse Disco. And the unusual Pighead Monolog was stretched from it's brief two minute incarnation to a twenty minute epic.
Recorded : at Beeville Studios in Beeville, Texas. In two seperate sessions; the first in April of 2007 and the second that October. Originally produced by Gomer Black. (Thomas Usher, CJ Miller, Dennis Hansen)
Then in 2008 engineered and mixed by Eric Carr, compiled and edited by Mike Francis at Worm & Rust Studios at Concord, New Hampshire in April of 2009. Mastered by Thomas Usher at Worm & Rust Studios that same month.
Left on the cutting room floor - hours and hours and hours of jamming.
Released : the summer of 2009, exclusively at the various venues on Thomas Usher's All-Star Band tour.
Track List : Reflector, Poison Sumac, Simon Alone In the Forest, Nurse Shark, Pighead Monolog, Fruit Packet, Skitter, Non-Title Track, Colonel Zeppelin.
Best Show - the Orpheum in Boston, July 17th.
Set List -
I : Anthem, Tesla Downtime, Blues Jam, Clown Pi, Red Brick, Clown Pi, Gallows, Three Forms of Two
II : Clown Tornado, Trebuchet, Neon Grey, Treehouse Disco b/w Fruit Packet, J Drift 43 b/w the Empty Field, ...Let the Rain Settle It
E : Atomic Sub/Satellite, Judas Waiting at the Bus Stop, Clown Tornado
E II : Pighead Monolog, Interpolating Grey, Skitter, Poison Sumac, Clown Tornado
Thomas Usher had always expressed interest in releasing and all-instrumental album. And with virtually hours of recorded music sans lyrics left-over from the Liquid Ghost sessions, the long awaited project could finally become a reality. The majority of the Liquid Ghost album had been taken from a prolonged 2008 month-long recording session. So Usher was forced to dip further back into the "lost" 2007 Shining Wire sessions for additional material.
This time long-time session bassist and Thomas Usher collaborator Mike Francis took center stage as the compiler and editor, while guitarist Eric Carr served as the sound engineer. Together the duo spent several sleepless nights trying to gather a good forty minutes of music from the seemimgly endless hours of instrumental jamming.
In the end the St. Francis Sessions contained nothing but improvised jams, none of which had been played live onstage up to that point. However Usher and his All-Star Band played them live on his solo 2009 tour. With the songs Reflector and Simon Alone In the Forest receiving considerable play during the summer. Fruit Packet oddly enough found a home as the closing jam tacked onto the end of Treehouse Disco. And the unusual Pighead Monolog was stretched from it's brief two minute incarnation to a twenty minute epic.
Recorded : at Beeville Studios in Beeville, Texas. In two seperate sessions; the first in April of 2007 and the second that October. Originally produced by Gomer Black. (Thomas Usher, CJ Miller, Dennis Hansen)
Then in 2008 engineered and mixed by Eric Carr, compiled and edited by Mike Francis at Worm & Rust Studios at Concord, New Hampshire in April of 2009. Mastered by Thomas Usher at Worm & Rust Studios that same month.
Left on the cutting room floor - hours and hours and hours of jamming.
Released : the summer of 2009, exclusively at the various venues on Thomas Usher's All-Star Band tour.
Track List : Reflector, Poison Sumac, Simon Alone In the Forest, Nurse Shark, Pighead Monolog, Fruit Packet, Skitter, Non-Title Track, Colonel Zeppelin.
Best Show - the Orpheum in Boston, July 17th.
Set List -
I : Anthem, Tesla Downtime, Blues Jam, Clown Pi, Red Brick, Clown Pi, Gallows, Three Forms of Two
II : Clown Tornado, Trebuchet, Neon Grey, Treehouse Disco b/w Fruit Packet, J Drift 43 b/w the Empty Field, ...Let the Rain Settle It
E : Atomic Sub/Satellite, Judas Waiting at the Bus Stop, Clown Tornado
E II : Pighead Monolog, Interpolating Grey, Skitter, Poison Sumac, Clown Tornado
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
Tu Estas Aqui
Side One
1) Untitled : What more could you want in a summer jam? A stardust disco groove, some space oddity soul. Sounding vintage and futuristic at the same time. The feeling you get when the mirror ball starts to spin.
2) Purple : Cool singing. A softly sway beat and sinister back-up singers. With a purple haze melody shining through.
3) Hobby Horse : A soaring Dylanesque melody. A beautiful vocal combined with vivid lyrics about an ambivalent couple cross country skiing from Lake Umbagog to the Maine seacoast. A song about getting older with tested faith and shattered trust.
4) Tone Deaf : Fast, funny and outrageously catchy. Cursed with a New York punk rock guitar beat. And a ghostly piano laden coda.
5) Mirrored Refraction : Taking a 70's falsetto on a prog rock journey. Percolating grooves and perfect bgv's. As Usher untethers and stretches towards the stratosphere.
6) Retrograde Centigrade : This space blues track features a somber and jagged hummed melody. With looped and muted piano chords and syncopated handclaps. With a gorgeous synth at the bridge. It's like dawn after a rough, cold night.
7) Bicycle Spokes : A mission statement with a cutting groove, both thudding and torturous. The boat is jumping and the snyths are gushing. But layered with a heartwarming sweetness.
8} Red Light Distraction : A defiant chorus with loads of pyrotechnics. A failing drum machine and sunshine folk touches. With a handclap beat straight from the lower 70's.
9) Obsessive Repulsive : Cramming a whole mix tape of 80's break up songs. A bouncy pop hit that is impossible to resist.
10) No Way Back Home (Wake Me Please ) : A primal garage punk stomp, swirled distortion that hides a strangled battle cry. Married to an electronic pop sketchbook with a grand operatic sweep. Complete with a hazy nature film ambience.
Side One
1) Untitled : What more could you want in a summer jam? A stardust disco groove, some space oddity soul. Sounding vintage and futuristic at the same time. The feeling you get when the mirror ball starts to spin.
2) Purple : Cool singing. A softly sway beat and sinister back-up singers. With a purple haze melody shining through.
3) Hobby Horse : A soaring Dylanesque melody. A beautiful vocal combined with vivid lyrics about an ambivalent couple cross country skiing from Lake Umbagog to the Maine seacoast. A song about getting older with tested faith and shattered trust.
4) Tone Deaf : Fast, funny and outrageously catchy. Cursed with a New York punk rock guitar beat. And a ghostly piano laden coda.
5) Mirrored Refraction : Taking a 70's falsetto on a prog rock journey. Percolating grooves and perfect bgv's. As Usher untethers and stretches towards the stratosphere.
6) Retrograde Centigrade : This space blues track features a somber and jagged hummed melody. With looped and muted piano chords and syncopated handclaps. With a gorgeous synth at the bridge. It's like dawn after a rough, cold night.
7) Bicycle Spokes : A mission statement with a cutting groove, both thudding and torturous. The boat is jumping and the snyths are gushing. But layered with a heartwarming sweetness.
8} Red Light Distraction : A defiant chorus with loads of pyrotechnics. A failing drum machine and sunshine folk touches. With a handclap beat straight from the lower 70's.
9) Obsessive Repulsive : Cramming a whole mix tape of 80's break up songs. A bouncy pop hit that is impossible to resist.
10) No Way Back Home (Wake Me Please ) : A primal garage punk stomp, swirled distortion that hides a strangled battle cry. Married to an electronic pop sketchbook with a grand operatic sweep. Complete with a hazy nature film ambience.
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
Side Two
1) Molly : A concentrated dose of sub-disco blues. Saturated in trip-hop jazz meanderings and a pulsing bass guitar. Turned pop by an irresistible melodic groove mounted on roller skates.
2) My Heart Uncounted : Aching western folk gold interrupted by blazing guitars. Bad vibes made catchy with a thumping rhythm track let loose.
3) Freddy's Blues : A road dog anthem cut with church choir guitar shimmer.
4) Arrow Points North : This stardust sprinkled track finds Usher crooning like Syd Barrett's long lost nephew. Over a string centric space soul arrangement. Lawrence Welk pretty.
5) Crooked, That Smile : Gomer meditates over dusty piano chords. This lush soul ballad is like a steamy night waiting in line at a velvet roped club.
6: My Rotten Heart : A swamp drenched beat merging with muted Caribbean percussion. Add in New Orleans swing and rootsy stomp. Topped with a scorched earth distortion drenched guitar.
7) Goodness Follows : It starts with a funky church organ hosanna, with its' echoed hammered electric piano. It swells with gentle restraint. With a guitar break that soul like a broken bell hymnal.
8} White Noise : Loud, melodic and intense. A dance party at the edge of oblivion. With ice-storm atmospherics.
9) Cross that Desert : Cosmic country with a psychedelic fuzz and hypnotic vibe.
10) Forced Focus (Deprivation) : A wordless tension and release number. Journey of a majestic scale. Filled with corroded synthesizers and mistimed beats.
1) Molly : A concentrated dose of sub-disco blues. Saturated in trip-hop jazz meanderings and a pulsing bass guitar. Turned pop by an irresistible melodic groove mounted on roller skates.
2) My Heart Uncounted : Aching western folk gold interrupted by blazing guitars. Bad vibes made catchy with a thumping rhythm track let loose.
3) Freddy's Blues : A road dog anthem cut with church choir guitar shimmer.
4) Arrow Points North : This stardust sprinkled track finds Usher crooning like Syd Barrett's long lost nephew. Over a string centric space soul arrangement. Lawrence Welk pretty.
5) Crooked, That Smile : Gomer meditates over dusty piano chords. This lush soul ballad is like a steamy night waiting in line at a velvet roped club.
6: My Rotten Heart : A swamp drenched beat merging with muted Caribbean percussion. Add in New Orleans swing and rootsy stomp. Topped with a scorched earth distortion drenched guitar.
7) Goodness Follows : It starts with a funky church organ hosanna, with its' echoed hammered electric piano. It swells with gentle restraint. With a guitar break that soul like a broken bell hymnal.
8} White Noise : Loud, melodic and intense. A dance party at the edge of oblivion. With ice-storm atmospherics.
9) Cross that Desert : Cosmic country with a psychedelic fuzz and hypnotic vibe.
10) Forced Focus (Deprivation) : A wordless tension and release number. Journey of a majestic scale. Filled with corroded synthesizers and mistimed beats.
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
Spies @ the Waffle House
Side 1
J Drift 43
Sweet Jane *
"The first primroses were beginning to bloom"
Rouge Sans Arome
Pale Blue Eyes *
Side 2
Rock and Roll *
Fingers for Gumby
Methamphibian
Chelsea Silver
Oh! Sweet Nuthin' *
Side 3
PhenoBarbieDoll
Tesla Downtime
Little Bo Bitch
Payaso Toronado
Fluffanutter
Side 4
Toxic Lemon Crush
Summer in Paris Green
Trumble Thru Aether
Let the Rain Settle It...
Side 1
J Drift 43
Sweet Jane *
"The first primroses were beginning to bloom"
Rouge Sans Arome
Pale Blue Eyes *
Side 2
Rock and Roll *
Fingers for Gumby
Methamphibian
Chelsea Silver
Oh! Sweet Nuthin' *
Side 3
PhenoBarbieDoll
Tesla Downtime
Little Bo Bitch
Payaso Toronado
Fluffanutter
Side 4
Toxic Lemon Crush
Summer in Paris Green
Trumble Thru Aether
Let the Rain Settle It...
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
Low Culture?
One thing you learn when you get older is that you can never be truly surprised by stupidity. And that is because it is as common as soda pop in a drug-free zone. But every so often you can still be baffled. The last half of last year was one surprise after yet another surprise. And the largest questionable statement came from the introduction of Metal Gates.
Now consider that I rarely use the computer for anything except registering complaints and watching videos of drunks fighting. I figured that Metal Gates had to be one of the two; oddly enough it was a combination of both, but mostly the latter as they do the former. They indulge in the ladder before their collective mothers knock on the basement door and demand that they take out the trash.
I have to guess that this breaking new movement is a counter-reaction to the last few years of people they consider to be outsiders moving into the neighborhood. I can imagine them quivering behind drawn shades as the new people kick out the local mom & pop shops, razing the dilapidated buildings and erecting madness friendly fair trade coffee shops.
While I certainly can understand being annoyed by these pesky new folks with their feathers and fixed gears. I do not honestly know what in level this has to do with me. Claims of a new social justice movement within the metal community serene seems to be the main sticking point.
But even a blind snowman could see that storm approaching years ago. We had watch lists and buzz words capable of shutting down concerts. We had formerly stoned metalheads organizing labor boycotts and such forth. Why has this track of the past been ignored? Right, because those groups would and still do knock the storm out of people that hey disagree with.
What is a fox in the brambles going to fight back with? They could always blog about it as they grow their new moon tomatoes. It is easier now because they have embraced the path of least resistance strategy combined with a lust for the lowest common denominator.
There is a certain freedom of speech component buried deep within this circular argument. Personally, I feel that freedom of speech and expression is one of (if not the most) valuable rights in this country. And I can not stress that point enough. There was a time when the leftists stood with me on that cliff, in front of a firing squad.
But, and there is always a but about, you need to be prepared to deal with the contra-point and consequences of being allowed to shoot off your smart mouth like a fire sprinkler connected to the empty basin that is your brain pan. You are dealing with real people with their own warped sense of values and oft-times their oft-held and oft-weighted awful hopes and impossible dreams.
Trust me, they are going to get angry with you.
And so now you have made the problem larger and more annoyingly so. And no amount of graves or videos will make any of that fade away.
I tried, really I did, to read up on the master statement of Metal Gates to see if I could cypher what all the fuss and stress was about. But the whole of it comes off as a trophy collecting contest where the obvious soft targets are fixed in their sights. But the community as a whole aims at the blogs of those who consistently and constantly cover indie bands and low level labels that a lot of these losers consider to be sacred cows.
They demand the melding alchemy of hard core and black metal as the biggest bullet point. But they seem to ignore that the two genres have been making doe eyes and holding hands with each other since the latest and last decade passed into the past. Independent Rock's interest in black metal is another sensitive and often sore spot. (And a blind spot in fact.)
But to understand the futility contained within that flailing interest, you have to see the actual numbers of sales versus the hoped for revenues by said bands. I can tell you that in all honesty that any pop singer who gets involved in black metal will not be bring a host of his peers with him. Not too many vocalists are willing to give up that bubblegum cash cow to trot over to the dark side. Even disregarding their notebooks of mopey poetry.
It is time to move on.
Metal as a whole is not supposed to be a safe basement, especially in the nastier sub-basements that we fans find ourselves mucking about in.
But really, taking part in a inter-web flame war to destroy the hipster objective, or whatever cute term you prefer, will not destroy the subject of your hatred. But it will get all those self important and smug losers to blog about it and they will bring their short attention span to it for less than a moment. They will clog panels at Burning Man that were supposed to feature cruelty-free and grass-fed words that seem swell to use in even the most uncomfortable social settings.
In the end, the fox will forget about his tomatoes and they will ripen and rot upon the vine. And that will be Metal Gates largest victory.
So if you ignore the faux hipsters and their inbred ilk; ignore them and they will get bored and take their un-dug grave sites elsewhere.
Peace, Roy Downs.
One thing you learn when you get older is that you can never be truly surprised by stupidity. And that is because it is as common as soda pop in a drug-free zone. But every so often you can still be baffled. The last half of last year was one surprise after yet another surprise. And the largest questionable statement came from the introduction of Metal Gates.
Now consider that I rarely use the computer for anything except registering complaints and watching videos of drunks fighting. I figured that Metal Gates had to be one of the two; oddly enough it was a combination of both, but mostly the latter as they do the former. They indulge in the ladder before their collective mothers knock on the basement door and demand that they take out the trash.
I have to guess that this breaking new movement is a counter-reaction to the last few years of people they consider to be outsiders moving into the neighborhood. I can imagine them quivering behind drawn shades as the new people kick out the local mom & pop shops, razing the dilapidated buildings and erecting madness friendly fair trade coffee shops.
While I certainly can understand being annoyed by these pesky new folks with their feathers and fixed gears. I do not honestly know what in level this has to do with me. Claims of a new social justice movement within the metal community serene seems to be the main sticking point.
But even a blind snowman could see that storm approaching years ago. We had watch lists and buzz words capable of shutting down concerts. We had formerly stoned metalheads organizing labor boycotts and such forth. Why has this track of the past been ignored? Right, because those groups would and still do knock the storm out of people that hey disagree with.
What is a fox in the brambles going to fight back with? They could always blog about it as they grow their new moon tomatoes. It is easier now because they have embraced the path of least resistance strategy combined with a lust for the lowest common denominator.
There is a certain freedom of speech component buried deep within this circular argument. Personally, I feel that freedom of speech and expression is one of (if not the most) valuable rights in this country. And I can not stress that point enough. There was a time when the leftists stood with me on that cliff, in front of a firing squad.
But, and there is always a but about, you need to be prepared to deal with the contra-point and consequences of being allowed to shoot off your smart mouth like a fire sprinkler connected to the empty basin that is your brain pan. You are dealing with real people with their own warped sense of values and oft-times their oft-held and oft-weighted awful hopes and impossible dreams.
Trust me, they are going to get angry with you.
And so now you have made the problem larger and more annoyingly so. And no amount of graves or videos will make any of that fade away.
I tried, really I did, to read up on the master statement of Metal Gates to see if I could cypher what all the fuss and stress was about. But the whole of it comes off as a trophy collecting contest where the obvious soft targets are fixed in their sights. But the community as a whole aims at the blogs of those who consistently and constantly cover indie bands and low level labels that a lot of these losers consider to be sacred cows.
They demand the melding alchemy of hard core and black metal as the biggest bullet point. But they seem to ignore that the two genres have been making doe eyes and holding hands with each other since the latest and last decade passed into the past. Independent Rock's interest in black metal is another sensitive and often sore spot. (And a blind spot in fact.)
But to understand the futility contained within that flailing interest, you have to see the actual numbers of sales versus the hoped for revenues by said bands. I can tell you that in all honesty that any pop singer who gets involved in black metal will not be bring a host of his peers with him. Not too many vocalists are willing to give up that bubblegum cash cow to trot over to the dark side. Even disregarding their notebooks of mopey poetry.
It is time to move on.
Metal as a whole is not supposed to be a safe basement, especially in the nastier sub-basements that we fans find ourselves mucking about in.
But really, taking part in a inter-web flame war to destroy the hipster objective, or whatever cute term you prefer, will not destroy the subject of your hatred. But it will get all those self important and smug losers to blog about it and they will bring their short attention span to it for less than a moment. They will clog panels at Burning Man that were supposed to feature cruelty-free and grass-fed words that seem swell to use in even the most uncomfortable social settings.
In the end, the fox will forget about his tomatoes and they will ripen and rot upon the vine. And that will be Metal Gates largest victory.
So if you ignore the faux hipsters and their inbred ilk; ignore them and they will get bored and take their un-dug grave sites elsewhere.
Peace, Roy Downs.
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
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- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
Baron Mutter's Cirkus do nothing original, but they do it well.
side one
Copper Still : A mid-tempo chugger, full of lurching grooves that radiate disgust.
Gossamer : Slower and darker, a menagerie of grinding, scraping and ringing.
To Whom I Have Always Hated : The vocals are buried under an atonal fuzz. The guitars are a treble crunch. A merciless tremelo caving inwards before the four-to-the-floor eighth. Rote power cords and paint-by-numbers lithe grooves pummel you. Haunting melodies drift in and out, imbuing the fury with a sense of hazed melancholia. All swept away away in the coda's caterwauling max-tempo madness.
Violence Causes Silence : The sound of falling rain, a white noise machine left running low in the closet of the spare guestroom.
Coffin Corner : A quiet, quite contemplative song. Full of hushed vocals, occasional jarring percussion at a health minimalism. Some piano here, some distortion there. Playing with absence, venturing into the realm of shoe-gazing.
Noise for Music's Sake : Full of fragile poet-rock beauty that turns uglier at the four minute mark. At which point the band wallows in a sludgy mess. A synth line threatens to break free, but is choked and overtaken by the all pervasive blunt doom.
Coward's Creed : From the opening chord, the band hits the ground running with a scintillating mix of traditional black metal and Seventies stoner rock. The speed and tautness of the former meshing beautifully with lithe riffs, both melodic and confident. All the while the rhythm section bounces around the room with a robust bottom.
Ambivalent Void : Starts mired in oppressive sludge then breaks elegiac as an acoustic hymn showing off a surprisingly mellow lead vocal turn. Both soulful and delicate in delivering pastoral melodies. Straddles the middle ground between fuzzed-out brutality and sparse spastic bliss.
the Cage is Full : A modern day lamentation, howling through an avalanche and crying out into the void.
Dressing for the Funeral : plodding bass, overly saturated guitars, a stripped down drum kit backing an unknown and bewitching female vocalist. One who glides from from dazed melodies to wails that pierce straight into your daydreams. With blazing throwback riffs and greasy background vocals. The middle of this epic hits a feverish propulsion threatening collapse, tripping over a convoluted breakdown complete with slam riffs featuring both brawn and bite. The song ends in a too-abrupt fadeout. Starts witha roar and ends in a muted memory.
side one
Copper Still : A mid-tempo chugger, full of lurching grooves that radiate disgust.
Gossamer : Slower and darker, a menagerie of grinding, scraping and ringing.
To Whom I Have Always Hated : The vocals are buried under an atonal fuzz. The guitars are a treble crunch. A merciless tremelo caving inwards before the four-to-the-floor eighth. Rote power cords and paint-by-numbers lithe grooves pummel you. Haunting melodies drift in and out, imbuing the fury with a sense of hazed melancholia. All swept away away in the coda's caterwauling max-tempo madness.
Violence Causes Silence : The sound of falling rain, a white noise machine left running low in the closet of the spare guestroom.
Coffin Corner : A quiet, quite contemplative song. Full of hushed vocals, occasional jarring percussion at a health minimalism. Some piano here, some distortion there. Playing with absence, venturing into the realm of shoe-gazing.
Noise for Music's Sake : Full of fragile poet-rock beauty that turns uglier at the four minute mark. At which point the band wallows in a sludgy mess. A synth line threatens to break free, but is choked and overtaken by the all pervasive blunt doom.
Coward's Creed : From the opening chord, the band hits the ground running with a scintillating mix of traditional black metal and Seventies stoner rock. The speed and tautness of the former meshing beautifully with lithe riffs, both melodic and confident. All the while the rhythm section bounces around the room with a robust bottom.
Ambivalent Void : Starts mired in oppressive sludge then breaks elegiac as an acoustic hymn showing off a surprisingly mellow lead vocal turn. Both soulful and delicate in delivering pastoral melodies. Straddles the middle ground between fuzzed-out brutality and sparse spastic bliss.
the Cage is Full : A modern day lamentation, howling through an avalanche and crying out into the void.
Dressing for the Funeral : plodding bass, overly saturated guitars, a stripped down drum kit backing an unknown and bewitching female vocalist. One who glides from from dazed melodies to wails that pierce straight into your daydreams. With blazing throwback riffs and greasy background vocals. The middle of this epic hits a feverish propulsion threatening collapse, tripping over a convoluted breakdown complete with slam riffs featuring both brawn and bite. The song ends in a too-abrupt fadeout. Starts witha roar and ends in a muted memory.
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
side two
Dance Hall Days : this Wang Chung cover finds a different unknown female vocalist crooning and slurring form a murk hollow under thick blankets of distortion. The fuzzy haze sounds like the last communiques leeched from a massive barbiturate overdose.
Cutting Run Times : This song blazes out of the gate, a furious jumble of anxious beats, proggy guitar lines and otherworldly vocals. It is a blitzkrieg assault that does not let up for a moment's breath. An impenetrable storm of fuzz and percussion. It is a piercing rampage through blast beats and sonic thuggery.
Hollow King : The rhythm battery sounds like an amplified landmine, exploding through the transistors. a nine-minute stretch of ground-and-pound offset by a quick paced coda of chaos, repetition and experimental noise.
Serenade : A sweeping sense of menace commingled with a splash of orchestrated class drives this number. Guitars that sound like cobra venom, spitting out second-wave atonality and a gorgeous chorus riff.
Chance & Chaos : The sheer velocity and complexity of the guitar and drum work throughout this marathon composition is jaw-dropping. The band clatters around in a brash, almost punk-flattened mix, boosting the song's mean hostility without giving up an ounce of musical impact. After nearly ten minutes of rib-bruising battery, the song downshifts into acoustic strumming and flute trills. A move that that chops the tether and flings your astral self far beyond the known physical realms.
Laugh at Their Faces : It hits like a Japanese bullet train. A brittle white-noise composition. A fuzz attack with a whipsaw guitar solo.
Head Hang Low : The track blasts forth with symphonic guitar orchestrations, double-time drum gallops, quick-change dynamics and opiate induced operatic vocal chorales that turn guttural on a dime.
Automate Your Signal : Conjuring a dense, textured cacophony of sinister melodies, tortured vocals and malevolent guitar riffs underpinned by rapid-fire drumming.
the Cold, Hard Ground : Conjuring a nostalgic new wave atmosphere, they pine and pulsate throughout the frontman's tortured croon. Impressively integrates a soaring approach with openhearted vulnerability. The distractingly opulent and repetitive middle section falls with it's glittery retro-shine.
Heartfelt Topographical Map : An instantly heavy assemblage of lunging down-turned and down-tuned riffs, half-speed breakdowns and unsettled guitar. A squalling white noise. Solo follows solo, while rhythms shift abruptly alongside steady, trudging bottom feed and the occasional spoken-word sample emerging from the mist.
Dance Hall Days : this Wang Chung cover finds a different unknown female vocalist crooning and slurring form a murk hollow under thick blankets of distortion. The fuzzy haze sounds like the last communiques leeched from a massive barbiturate overdose.
Cutting Run Times : This song blazes out of the gate, a furious jumble of anxious beats, proggy guitar lines and otherworldly vocals. It is a blitzkrieg assault that does not let up for a moment's breath. An impenetrable storm of fuzz and percussion. It is a piercing rampage through blast beats and sonic thuggery.
Hollow King : The rhythm battery sounds like an amplified landmine, exploding through the transistors. a nine-minute stretch of ground-and-pound offset by a quick paced coda of chaos, repetition and experimental noise.
Serenade : A sweeping sense of menace commingled with a splash of orchestrated class drives this number. Guitars that sound like cobra venom, spitting out second-wave atonality and a gorgeous chorus riff.
Chance & Chaos : The sheer velocity and complexity of the guitar and drum work throughout this marathon composition is jaw-dropping. The band clatters around in a brash, almost punk-flattened mix, boosting the song's mean hostility without giving up an ounce of musical impact. After nearly ten minutes of rib-bruising battery, the song downshifts into acoustic strumming and flute trills. A move that that chops the tether and flings your astral self far beyond the known physical realms.
Laugh at Their Faces : It hits like a Japanese bullet train. A brittle white-noise composition. A fuzz attack with a whipsaw guitar solo.
Head Hang Low : The track blasts forth with symphonic guitar orchestrations, double-time drum gallops, quick-change dynamics and opiate induced operatic vocal chorales that turn guttural on a dime.
Automate Your Signal : Conjuring a dense, textured cacophony of sinister melodies, tortured vocals and malevolent guitar riffs underpinned by rapid-fire drumming.
the Cold, Hard Ground : Conjuring a nostalgic new wave atmosphere, they pine and pulsate throughout the frontman's tortured croon. Impressively integrates a soaring approach with openhearted vulnerability. The distractingly opulent and repetitive middle section falls with it's glittery retro-shine.
Heartfelt Topographical Map : An instantly heavy assemblage of lunging down-turned and down-tuned riffs, half-speed breakdowns and unsettled guitar. A squalling white noise. Solo follows solo, while rhythms shift abruptly alongside steady, trudging bottom feed and the occasional spoken-word sample emerging from the mist.
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
Gomer Black - Treatise of the Hive Mind (ep)
Dead City
Thomas Usher has catalog and lineage. Usher is known. This, this is an immaculate song, excellently recorded, meticulously played. Usher's singing voice is tuneful, but oft times seemingly conversational. Usher's wit and humor are kept dry. Thomas Usher makes an opera of the ordinary. Dead City details disappointment and a longing for long, lost love. The song displays the greatness of effortless strokes substituting for a lesser bands cheap gimmicks.
Danger Cries
CJ Miller's first song has bright, dry (almost brittle) keyboards with a slightly echoed Eighties Brit Pop vocal. But done in a sincere way, never appearing as an attempt to recreate or mock the fondly remembered genre.
Micro-Giant
Here CJ Miller evokes Sixties Psychedelic rock. A maze is a significant signifier of the sound. Here is music that takes many directions, depending on the listeners approach. There is a continuity more in spirit than actual sound. And at that, not so much a strict adherence to style.
Treatise of the Hive-Mind
Thomas Usher presents what is at heart a basic orchestral piece with light touches of electronica and other subtle spices. A delicious, slow travel from a (sort of) drone and some minimal buried percussion to a full-on electric samba. Sounds enter and exit over the rhythmic ballyhoo. A hodge-podge of cacophonous fun.
Dead City
Thomas Usher has catalog and lineage. Usher is known. This, this is an immaculate song, excellently recorded, meticulously played. Usher's singing voice is tuneful, but oft times seemingly conversational. Usher's wit and humor are kept dry. Thomas Usher makes an opera of the ordinary. Dead City details disappointment and a longing for long, lost love. The song displays the greatness of effortless strokes substituting for a lesser bands cheap gimmicks.
Danger Cries
CJ Miller's first song has bright, dry (almost brittle) keyboards with a slightly echoed Eighties Brit Pop vocal. But done in a sincere way, never appearing as an attempt to recreate or mock the fondly remembered genre.
Micro-Giant
Here CJ Miller evokes Sixties Psychedelic rock. A maze is a significant signifier of the sound. Here is music that takes many directions, depending on the listeners approach. There is a continuity more in spirit than actual sound. And at that, not so much a strict adherence to style.
Treatise of the Hive-Mind
Thomas Usher presents what is at heart a basic orchestral piece with light touches of electronica and other subtle spices. A delicious, slow travel from a (sort of) drone and some minimal buried percussion to a full-on electric samba. Sounds enter and exit over the rhythmic ballyhoo. A hodge-podge of cacophonous fun.
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
Thomas Usher - guitars and vocals (unless otherwise marked)
Maureen Angwin - vocals, drums and percussion
CJ Miller - bass, guitars and vocals
Matt Kidd - guitars, tapes, loops, keys
-----------------------------------------------------
Boston Orpheum - August 2015
set once
Anthem
Sundays & Wednesdays (instrumental)
Fingers For Gumby (CJM)
Tesla Downtime
Houdini's Blues (CJM)
Judas Dog (CJM)
Anything Can Be Sanitized Using Bleach (MA)
Null Vectors
Rathskeller Scheme (instrumental)
...Let the Rain Settle It
set twice
Ultra/Infra
Frost Heaves (MA)
Trumble Thru Aether (CJM)
Toothache (CJM)
Apathetic Octopus
Aesop's Fable
Cowbirds
Ashes & Dust
All Fall Away (MA)
There Are Magnets in the Ground...
set encore
400 (instrumental)
Clown Pi (CJM)
Faded
Junk Oboe (CJM)
Turn to Surf
714 Lemons
Perhaps
I Stand on the Broken Ice (CJM)
Roulette (MA)
Crystal Avatar of the Tenth Plane (MK)
Maureen Angwin - vocals, drums and percussion
CJ Miller - bass, guitars and vocals
Matt Kidd - guitars, tapes, loops, keys
-----------------------------------------------------
Boston Orpheum - August 2015
set once
Anthem
Sundays & Wednesdays (instrumental)
Fingers For Gumby (CJM)
Tesla Downtime
Houdini's Blues (CJM)
Judas Dog (CJM)
Anything Can Be Sanitized Using Bleach (MA)
Null Vectors
Rathskeller Scheme (instrumental)
...Let the Rain Settle It
set twice
Ultra/Infra
Frost Heaves (MA)
Trumble Thru Aether (CJM)
Toothache (CJM)
Apathetic Octopus
Aesop's Fable
Cowbirds
Ashes & Dust
All Fall Away (MA)
There Are Magnets in the Ground...
set encore
400 (instrumental)
Clown Pi (CJM)
Faded
Junk Oboe (CJM)
Turn to Surf
714 Lemons
Perhaps
I Stand on the Broken Ice (CJM)
Roulette (MA)
Crystal Avatar of the Tenth Plane (MK)
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
originally posted in the Providence Artistic Newsletter.
CJ Miller offers all of us a hint of the future to come, in nine new minor paintings, acrylic on canvas, all completed this year or last.
It is a dystopian future, heavy, dark, somber with closed spaces. Drab filled with morose warnings.
Brackish 5 may be the most powerful, revealing Miller's fondness for low velocity. Beset with muted colors, suggesting a great loss, it is a bitter ferment.
Brackish 2 is complex (as they all are) and the most suggestive of a ragged road, leading to a vortex.
In Brackish 4, two grey-colored flat plates are centrally located and thus dominate. They give the impression that one's self is floating in their own personal negative space.
Brackish 3 has a funeral feeling, a wake with bleeding, black curtains hung about.
Brackish 7 consists of two panels, providing one image. A decelerating line leaning left. We sense that something important lies ahead, but we are not offered enough in context, it remains ever an enigma.
Brackish 18 is the most fully formed of Miller's vision. It is as if the whirligig has slowed and jelled into a cognitive answer. Central here is a distant image of monotone greens and dull blue skies.
Brackish 0 consists of multiple panels, horizontal save one image. The future to come, as yet unformed and disheartening.
Brackish 15 is from a formed world, with a table fan. Perhaps it represents an office chair somewhere in it's vast blue image. We get glimpses of a cargo plane, and finally the American flag.
We are left to determine what it means to us in this post-artistic world.
CJ Miller offers all of us a hint of the future to come, in nine new minor paintings, acrylic on canvas, all completed this year or last.
It is a dystopian future, heavy, dark, somber with closed spaces. Drab filled with morose warnings.
Brackish 5 may be the most powerful, revealing Miller's fondness for low velocity. Beset with muted colors, suggesting a great loss, it is a bitter ferment.
Brackish 2 is complex (as they all are) and the most suggestive of a ragged road, leading to a vortex.
In Brackish 4, two grey-colored flat plates are centrally located and thus dominate. They give the impression that one's self is floating in their own personal negative space.
Brackish 3 has a funeral feeling, a wake with bleeding, black curtains hung about.
Brackish 7 consists of two panels, providing one image. A decelerating line leaning left. We sense that something important lies ahead, but we are not offered enough in context, it remains ever an enigma.
Brackish 18 is the most fully formed of Miller's vision. It is as if the whirligig has slowed and jelled into a cognitive answer. Central here is a distant image of monotone greens and dull blue skies.
Brackish 0 consists of multiple panels, horizontal save one image. The future to come, as yet unformed and disheartening.
Brackish 15 is from a formed world, with a table fan. Perhaps it represents an office chair somewhere in it's vast blue image. We get glimpses of a cargo plane, and finally the American flag.
We are left to determine what it means to us in this post-artistic world.
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
CJ Miller Band
CJ Miller - guitar/bass/vocals
Matt Kidd - guitars/keyboards
Maureen Angwin - drums/vocals on her songs
Geometry
side one
Sunshine Devotion (inst/MK)
St.All (CJM)
Goldfish Memory (inst/MK)
Houdini's Blues (CJM)
Her Strange Charms (MA)
side two
Sugarbuzz (CJM)
Summer Song (MA)
the Rats in Traps (CJM)
Geometric (inst/MK)
Squall (CJM)
this side project allows for the non Thomas Usher members of Gomer Black a chance to shine. Relying on songs from his back catalog, CJ Miller leads the trio with energy and charm. A much more democratic ensamble with each member given a chance to stretch out from under the long shadow of Mr. Usher.
Opening with the pastoral instrumental Sunshine Devotion, Matt Kidd's homage to early Seventies Pink Floyd. Awash with swirling keyboards and an achingly beautiful guitar solo.
St.All is well familiar to Gomer Black fans, as Miller showcases one of his strongest numbers.
Goldfish Memory is a choppy instrumental from Kidd, featuring odd time changes and angular guitars. The band gives a credible art rock performance, sounding much like early Talking Heads.
Miller counters with the languid Houdini's Blues, featuring perfect backing vocals form Maureen Angwin. The band stretches the song out to nearly nine minutes, hitting the groove early on.
Ms. Angwin's Her Strange Charms is a standout track, reminding one of Belly at their finest. In a better world, this would be a top radio hit. The guitar's jangle just right, an alt-pop gem.
Side two roars in with Miller's Sugarbuzz. Loud and fast, making good on it's sugary promise.
Summer Song is perfect. Maureen Angwin delivers this Go-Go's tribute with the exact correct amount of shimmer. A generous hook provided by Kidd and deceptively simple lyrics. The song provides the right amount of Eighties with a chorus plucked from your favorite Sixties girl group anthem.
the Rats in Traps works because of Miller's goofy charm has not worn out it's welcome. The lyrics are nonsensical but fun. This is the sort of song that makes Usher glower and stamp about the stage. A bouncy number that burrows it's way into your head.
Geometric is Matt Kidd's ode to the minimalistic guitar work of D. Boon. Kidd has long championed the jazz punk trio.
Squall ends the album. A mini-epic that never overstays it's welcome. Pink Floyd comparisons are apt, but the group manages to start there and expand. At fifteen minutes, perfect for zoning to.
CJ Miller - guitar/bass/vocals
Matt Kidd - guitars/keyboards
Maureen Angwin - drums/vocals on her songs
Geometry
side one
Sunshine Devotion (inst/MK)
St.All (CJM)
Goldfish Memory (inst/MK)
Houdini's Blues (CJM)
Her Strange Charms (MA)
side two
Sugarbuzz (CJM)
Summer Song (MA)
the Rats in Traps (CJM)
Geometric (inst/MK)
Squall (CJM)
this side project allows for the non Thomas Usher members of Gomer Black a chance to shine. Relying on songs from his back catalog, CJ Miller leads the trio with energy and charm. A much more democratic ensamble with each member given a chance to stretch out from under the long shadow of Mr. Usher.
Opening with the pastoral instrumental Sunshine Devotion, Matt Kidd's homage to early Seventies Pink Floyd. Awash with swirling keyboards and an achingly beautiful guitar solo.
St.All is well familiar to Gomer Black fans, as Miller showcases one of his strongest numbers.
Goldfish Memory is a choppy instrumental from Kidd, featuring odd time changes and angular guitars. The band gives a credible art rock performance, sounding much like early Talking Heads.
Miller counters with the languid Houdini's Blues, featuring perfect backing vocals form Maureen Angwin. The band stretches the song out to nearly nine minutes, hitting the groove early on.
Ms. Angwin's Her Strange Charms is a standout track, reminding one of Belly at their finest. In a better world, this would be a top radio hit. The guitar's jangle just right, an alt-pop gem.
Side two roars in with Miller's Sugarbuzz. Loud and fast, making good on it's sugary promise.
Summer Song is perfect. Maureen Angwin delivers this Go-Go's tribute with the exact correct amount of shimmer. A generous hook provided by Kidd and deceptively simple lyrics. The song provides the right amount of Eighties with a chorus plucked from your favorite Sixties girl group anthem.
the Rats in Traps works because of Miller's goofy charm has not worn out it's welcome. The lyrics are nonsensical but fun. This is the sort of song that makes Usher glower and stamp about the stage. A bouncy number that burrows it's way into your head.
Geometric is Matt Kidd's ode to the minimalistic guitar work of D. Boon. Kidd has long championed the jazz punk trio.
Squall ends the album. A mini-epic that never overstays it's welcome. Pink Floyd comparisons are apt, but the group manages to start there and expand. At fifteen minutes, perfect for zoning to.
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
-
sgt.null
- Jack of Odd Trades, Master of Fun
- Posts: 47250
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:53 am
- Location: Brazoria, Texas
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 6 times
Dearest Editor
Thanks to the New Musical Zoo for the coverage of Gomer Black, my favorite all-time band. Their sound is original and highly distinctive. And I have never missed a chance to see them play live. Form the first time I saw them open at Brown's Anarchy and Biscuits. And of course, I won all of their records.
Now, know this, I have nothing against the blues, but Gomer Black is in no way to be considered blues-rock. (As was stated in your article.) There are no blues phrasings or feel or flavors in the band's music, period.
Your review of their latest opus also makes that (incorrect) point, several times throughout the article. Referring at least once to "the psychedelic blues overload of the first song." (Emphasis mine.)
Many music fans with no interest in any form or permutation of the blues would love Gomer Black, the most original American band since Violent Violet was stomping about in the Sixties.
And of course, any person(s) looking for a quick and dirty blues fix are not going to find it by seeing Gomer Black live, buying any of their albums, or downloading the music illegally.
Thank You & Good Day Sir(s)!
Alex Mackenzie (of Violent Violet fame)
Thanks to the New Musical Zoo for the coverage of Gomer Black, my favorite all-time band. Their sound is original and highly distinctive. And I have never missed a chance to see them play live. Form the first time I saw them open at Brown's Anarchy and Biscuits. And of course, I won all of their records.
Now, know this, I have nothing against the blues, but Gomer Black is in no way to be considered blues-rock. (As was stated in your article.) There are no blues phrasings or feel or flavors in the band's music, period.
Your review of their latest opus also makes that (incorrect) point, several times throughout the article. Referring at least once to "the psychedelic blues overload of the first song." (Emphasis mine.)
Many music fans with no interest in any form or permutation of the blues would love Gomer Black, the most original American band since Violent Violet was stomping about in the Sixties.
And of course, any person(s) looking for a quick and dirty blues fix are not going to find it by seeing Gomer Black live, buying any of their albums, or downloading the music illegally.
Thank You & Good Day Sir(s)!
Alex Mackenzie (of Violent Violet fame)
Lenin, Marx
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...
Marx, Lennon
Good Dog...