I may not be the biggest Dresden Dolls fan ever, but I am a big fan of the guy who snapped these pictures at their recent show in San Diego (December 30^th | House of Blues).  I have seen them live though, and they put on a hell of a show.  Their cabaret-on-meth sideshow is worthy of the cult following that manifests at their performances and equally enthusiastic audience participation is practically mandatory. Continue Reading

For as much as I’ve had to say about Menomena this year, you’d think that my memories of their live show would be exclusive to the four-man phenomena (rumor has it, that is how they got their name, Men + Phenomena =Menomena).  However, this is not the case.  As was evidenced by my Antlers experience, there is almost always a #1 fan, and a majority of the time he or she acts like a real #2. Continue Reading

Someone once said that getting pooped on by a bird is a sign on good luck.  I’m fairly certain this person was in sales.  But if there is any truth in this theory, Kings of Leon are the luckiest sons of bitches on the planet. Continue Reading

Despite frequently attending concerts and a habit of writing monthly email novels, I’ve never combined the two passions into a written concert review.  The time has come.  However, I will warn that my “review” is not at all traditional and doesn’t have all that much to do with the band.  Regardless, I think you’ll all wish you had been there for a finite amount of time to witness the performance I was lucky enough to live through.  Ladies and gentlemen…..please give it up for….. Continue Reading

Photos | Mike Swor

In the electro-wiki-twitter-youface-dot.com era of music, bands scream to the forefront, riding tidal waves of blog hype, but are just as quickly sucked back into the vast sea of “who’s got next.”  However, Hockey, a Portland-based 5-some are steadily making their way forward amidst throngs of bands vying for the attention of critics and labels.  While their biggest fan base seems to remain on the west coast of the States, the word is spreading, and not just in English.  Still, there is so much work, work, work to be done and I aim to find out what keeps them afloat.  On the evening of their *SOLD OUT* show at the Casbah, in San Diego, CA, I track down bassist Jeremy “Jerm” Reynolds, and singer Ben Grubin at a local pizza place and between bites they tell me the story of Hockey. Continue Reading