Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun Weekend!

WWD favorites Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun are about to play some blistering sets this weekend locally, which is good if you don't have plans (grr?).

Tonite, they make a stop at The EARL with The Shanghai Gesture and Win Win Winter. Supposedly they go on around 1030P or so, but I'm really talking about a show in Atlanta. For the show on Tuesday, I thought it would start sometime around 9-ish since it was listed online as starting at 830P. I arrived at Smith's close to 830P and waited until 930P when A.A. Bondy finally took to the stage to start things off for the evening. So... yeah. Just be aware of those somewhat-deceiving starting times... but, simultaneously, don't miss the band!

Anyways, the rock doesn't stop there. Tomorrow nite, they trek over to Birmingham and play one of my favorite venues around, The Nick. (Hmm, from Earl to Nick? Weird.) I swear, The Nick really is like the CBGB of the South. It's amazing, and they're playing with The Winter Sounds as well as All Get Out, same starting time (approximately). If I weren't baseballing it tomorrow (and if gas wasn't unavailable, as it seems that close to half of the gas stations I've seen in the past few days actually HAVE gas), I'd make the trip, because you cannot go wrong with a show there.

Sorry, no links to the openers! You can find 'em on myspace or last.fm! I'm in a hurry; funnel cake and corn dogs beckon!

Recap & Photos: The Kills (clicky)

On Wednesday evening, you could've found me at The Earl, checking out the post-punk duo The Kills. Their "thing", you see, is that they consist of only two members and rely on a drum machine to provide the underbelly of their tunes. There's just no way you could conceive of two people with guitars (sometimes just one) and a drum machine sounding so mind-blowing, but somehow The Kills do it. And that's exactly what they accomplished on Wednesday.

Back in 2005 (I think), they played Coachella and upon returning home, I noticed that a lot of people were commenting on their set and saying how awesome it was. I took a minute to get into what I missed out on and got very little out of it. Either I wasn't there mentally or I just didn't get the sound or whatever, but their newest album at the time (No Wow) refused to stick with me. So I kinda brushed 'em aside and that was that. Then they came out with Midnight Boom this year and things changed. Lead-off single "U.R.A. Fever" got stuck in my head for days and refused to leave. What was really odd what that I didn't really think the song was that special after first hearing it. I decided to go back to what I previously cast away and listened to No Wow and I was swept up in it, along with this new record. After hearing that their tour for Midnight Boom was ending in Atlanta, I wanted in and prepared for anything. I just couldn't think that their kind of setup would be as propulsive and explosive as what was hyped.

Damn, was I wrong. They brought it hard and they brought it loud; it was insane! There was a screen playing various videos behind them while they were doing their thing, with videos of seemingly random things to performances of Patti Smith and Tom Petty. Alison Mosshart, who does most of the vocal work, really had my attention most of the night, and she definitely commanded it. Whether it be through her creepy glances to the back of the club or through her odd stage antics (like walking in circles or distinct squares in between songs), I was drawn to her. The other player, Jamie Hince (who provides a vast majority of the guitars), displayed tons of intensity throughout their set, often yelling while playing. You'd think that with their kind of guitar sound (especially how LOUD it is), the guitars would be enough for noise, but apparently not.

At any rate, the show was awesome and a great surprise. Here are some decent pics from the gig and hopefully they'll do the show justice.

Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun - TONITE!

Today's a day I've had circled on my calendar for a long while now, for it is Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun's record release party at Vinyl.

I've known about this band for a little less than a year and I've heard the songs live several times over that period. A few months ago, my wife and I were invited to their studio to listen to some early mixes of songs that were slated to appear on their debut release. While this band is meant to play live, the rough takes sounded awesome and their official release finally sees the light of day, uh, tonight. Weird sentence there.

ANYWAY!

TTMTTS' debut EP, "Hurry Up and Wait", will feature most of the live staples from the past year and I'm sure that they will not disappoint. This band just tears it up in the clubs and I cannot wait for them to rip apart the speakers of my car.

If you're not doing anything this evening, I highly suggest that you take a trip to Vinyl (located in the CW Midtown Music Complex with Center Stage and The Loft). The show starts at 9PM and tickets are only $8. Sure, gas is pricey these days, but when you can get your face melted for only eight dollars, I'd say that's a tremendous deal.

Currently, their myspace is hosting a few songs from their EP. It's only a click away. Get yourself warmed up for tonight!

Also, the Atlanta Rock Blog conducted an informative and insightful interview with all four members of the band. Part one is here, and here's part two.

Variety @ the Variety

Ok, so there's a bunch of neat shows coming to the Variety Playhouse in the coming months. Just check these out and if none of them give you any kind of excitement what-so-ever, then check yourself, foo.

• 09/08 - The National
  
• 09/12 - Peter Bjorn & John
  
• 09/13 - Andrew Bird
  
• 09/29 - Rilo Kiley
  
• 10/27 - Stars
  
• 10/30 - The New Pornographers
  
• 11/18 - The Hold Steady/Art Brut
  

I've thought about that National show in a few weeks, but I'm thinking I should've just seen 'em at the EARL when they last came around. However, I'm really excited about the Stars gig in October. I'm really liking what I've heard so far from their new material (which is, well, the entire album). Granted, it's not on par with their previous releases, but it certainly has some great tunes and good rapport between Torq and Amy. In fact, the video for "Take Me to the Riot" is a good representation of their live show, with a bit of embellishment.

I'm trying to get interested in the Rilo Kiley show in September, but it's more and more difficult. I've only heard their new record (Under the Blacklight) once and the only part that stands out to me is that Jenny sings in some Spanish ("Dejalo") and that's it. Usually there's something to grab me with their material - the lyrics, the musical chemistry, the sound - but it was incredibly not memorable at all. I saw them four times while they toured for More Adventurous and I didn't come back gushing after any performance. Hopefully they can bring it back when they return to Atlanta next month.

What's really making me curious is the recently-announced NME Rock'n'Roll Riot Tour that features The Hold Steady and Art Brut. I really don't dig The Hold Steady because of the singer's voice and the way that he sings... and then I'm lukewarm about the vocals in Art Brut. However, I've heard that both bands are pretty awesome live (especially The Hold Steady). I'm thinking that with a ticket price that's only $15, I'm strongly considering getting a ticket.

I'm kinda mixed when it comes to shows at the Variety. I've been basically everywhere in there for shows and I don't have much of a problem with lines of sight when and I've never truly experienced poor sound at the venue, either. It seems like it's the hardest place to bring a camera into though. Hopefully I'll be able to bring my camera in there for the upcoming shows because, once in, I think the Variety is a great place to shoot bands.

Recap: The Comas, 2007/07/30

Since the Arcade Fire show, there haven't been that many concerts on my radar. Granted, a bunch of great tunes were brought to the forefront between May and now (namely The National, LCD Soundsystem, Fields, etc.) and I've been slowly catching up on the past. I've never been a fan of classic rock. In fact, I never even took a minute to recognize it. I really cannot place a finger on why this genre of music has been so abrasive with me in the past, but I never could truly accept it. In the past few months, I've grown to appreciate older bands like The Police (sure, their reunion kinda helped their cause), Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac, and the great Billy Joel. I HATE to deem this a "listening maturity", but that is a distinct possibility.



Regardless, with the job in Dahlonega coming to an end, I'm finally back, enjoying the aspects of being a little more free with life. The first show I went to since my return was a favorite of mine, The Comas, at the EARL. I've seen The Comas probably three times over the years and I just don't know where else to go with them. Their second album, A Def Needle in Tomorrow, really stuck with me and I realized their potential as a good indie rock band. Then I kinda forgot about 'em for a while and then on indietorrents a few years ago, I stumbled upon Conductor, which was just awesome. They were getting positive reviews for the album from left and right and the recognition was coming. I saw 'em once while they were touring for that record and it was a weird set. They were the main band that night (Vietnam opened) and they only played for what seemed like 30 minutes. The material was strictly from Conductor and it was completely amped up - sped up like woah, loud as anything, and just "whaaaaat?" I don't know what it was, but I left that show with a sour taste in my mouth.

While reading (and being introduced to, actually) Bort's blog, I found out more and more about the recent shoegaze band Asobi Seksu. As a direct result to that, I found out that The Comas were actually opening for them on a tour last December. I thought it would be a great opportunity for a great show. Turns out that was the case, The Comas redeemed themselves, played some new material, and Asobi Seksu was quite fun. I was back into the mix. But once I started working in Dahlonega, I couldn't be there for the last Comas show back in June, their first Atlanta show promoting the newest release, Spells.

Upon hearing Spells, it didn't seem memorable to me. I can't tell if the band has changed their songwriting dynamic or if I've changed my listening preferences, but the record didn't stand out as much as the previous two had. I was hoping that the live gig would turn things around, both my feelings for the band and my reception of their new album. Turns out that wasn't exactly the case. The gig was more like a redux of their other show I saw at the Drunken Unicorn a while ago that was off the mark. It's just weird territory for the "main draw" of the evening taking the stage and the crowd at the bar thinned out so much from the opening bands, and I'm guessing the Comas picked up on this (how could they not?) and even had a hard time bringing their touring buddies (Great Northern, who were surprisingly elegant and, well, great) on stage for some help. Granted, I could care less about how many people are in attendance for the show, but I really felt like the band let it get to them... or the music itself just didn't pick up at all.

The tunes off Spells were nice, actually, and sat well with me. But the band's performance was lacking some kind of element of urgency. It was like the ultimate show to slouch in a chair. I just don't understand what went wrong. While I still appreciate The Comas a bunch, I think I'd seriously question seeing them again... at least in Atlanta. Maybe in an environment that's more receptive to what they do (they are stationed in New York currently), there would be better performer-audience vibes, but the energy was sucked out of the EARL that evening.

On the other hand, the first band of the evening worked with the EARL's audience well. They actually had the biggest draw of the evening. Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun officially started their live career together that night and they got a pretty good reception. Sure, some of the material needs some tweaking (both live and the songwriting), but their "fuzzrock" was well received and provided promise for a good local band to emerge out of the hazy Atlanta heat.



Great Northern (click for set)


Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun (click for set)

Coachella 2007 -> TAMED!

After spending a week in the desert of southern California, chilling out in Los Angeles, and getting pwned by the Arcade Fire last nite, it's time to document nearly everything that was my version of this year's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. There's no way to include everything in one entry, because that would alienate and exhaust many readers (if there even are that many people who read this thing!), but I'll do what I can to best summarize last weekend.

It just seems that after doing this thing for three years, it would somehow become "boring", "repetitive", and even "lame". Yeah, because sights like this are soooo dull:



I'm assuming that after the previous years' successes, promoters Goldenvoice decided to try a three-day festival, the first in Coachella history. Last year's version of the fest featured it's first repeat headliner (Tool) and this year followed suit and invited back '02 headliner Bjork and '03 festival closer Red Hot Chili Peppers. However, the biggest draw for the weekend had to be what was scheduled for Sunday, the last day of the festival, that featured a freshly-reunited Rage Against the Machine. While the did achieve a considerable amount of acclaim for the music they put out, the three "surviving" members of Rage had success with Chris Cornell and Audioslave, but you could just tell that something was amiss in their music. And there was the hibernation of Rage frontman Zack de la Rocha. He was supposed to put out a solo album that was going to blow the world to bits, with there even including talk of teaming up with ?uestlove from The Roots. It just goes to show you that certain essential pieces of the band certainly do not come close to topping what they did together.

Bjork brought Friday's crowd to their knees with material old and new. I wanted no part in what the Chilis had to offer for Saturday, so I caught the tail end of Girl Talk's set and made my way over to the Sahara where James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem was tearing the place apart through dance.

And then there was Sunday. Rage Against the Machine. We'll go more into this later.

With all of the bottles of water consumed, pictures of the dueling tesla coils taken, and every discussion of "meeting at the hot dog", this year's Coachella came to it's end earlier this week. Expect updates in the next couple of days about how it all went down in the desert.

Recap & Photos: The Thermals & The Big Sleep

Thursday nite I kinda-sorta took a gamble and made my way to Atlanta's Drunken Unicorn to get a taste of Portland, Oregon's The Thermals and Brooklyn's The Big Sleep. I've known about The Thermals for a few years now, but I've always neglected to look into them some more. Apparently 2006 was a big year for them as their album The Blood The Body The Machine did not go unnoticed and ended up on a few top-10 lists as "Best in '06" material. As is the norm, with a bunch of hype, I want to see if it's worth buying into. So I got a copy of said album and it wasn't too bad. I don't think it was as good as some lists were making it out to be, but it was a nice listen. The tracks were a little repetitive, but not that that's a bad thing. I just wasn't gripped to listen to the album time and time again, the way amazing releases do.

When I found out that they were coming to Atlanta, touring behind this record, I decided I'd try it out and see what they have to offer. Well, I was pretty much blown away. And that's what I love about live shows - you take a record that is OK, have the band play it live, and it becomes sonically destroying. The show on Thursday nite was a non-stop rock fest and The Thermals really brought it out. Despite their backup guitar player hobbling around on crutches prior to their set and nursing an obviously hurting ankle, all four of 'em brought it on stage. What I also loved about this show was the antics of singer Hutch Harris. I mean, can a guy be any more dramatic during a show? It was all done in a cheesy kinda fashion, but I still appreciated the crap out of it.



Also, I never heard them before (but read some about them in blogs), but The Big Sleep opened for The Thermals and they were surprisingly awesome. They played some loud, murky riffs that just tore the roof off the Unicorn and didn't need vocals to get their point across. A few songs did have some vocals, but their music was just so ferocious and moving. They were just really good. Glad that I got there early enough to catch their set.

More photos can be found at the flickr site, but here are some samples. The Thermals' setlist is also on flickr, if you're interested in what they played.







The Thermals' myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thethermals
The Big Sleep's myspace: http://www.myspace.com/sonofthetiger

Get the Strattera, 'cause I'm goin' ADD on yer...

Here are some quickies in my world - enjoy!

With the recent announcements of tour dates von Deutschland, the Smashing Pumpkins (i.e. my most favorite band on the planet, i.e. the Billy show, starring Billy, with support from Billy... oh yeah, and that drummer guy) have not only set a release date for their comeback album, but a date as well. From their official website:



I'll put a decent chunk of money on the fact that the Pumpkins won't play their first show overseas. Just you wait and see...

---

Lost made its return after, well, too long of a layoff. Sawyer didn't die, Jack completed the operation on Ben, and Karl was getting his rave on in the techno room of the Dharma Initiative. It was neat getting some back story on some of the Others (last night, Juliette was featured) and it was good to see another side of her that we were unaware of. As with every episode, questions linger into next week's episode - what's going to happen to Jack now that he's the only Oceanic passenger on the smaller island? Will Ben really let Juliette leave the island? How is Ethan tied into what seems like EVERYTHING? And, most importantly, WHEN ARE WE GOING TO SEE THE OTHER CAST MEMBERS ON THE ISLAND?!

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My girlfriend and I are taking a trip in two weeks to Raleigh, NC to attend the Thrashers/Hurricanes game on Tuesday, the 20th. I think it's safe to say that I had an absolute blast going to the Thrashers/Islanders game back in November, so the next logical step for me/us is to attend a game in a division rival's arena. Plus, it's a great excuse to get out of Georgia for a few days. There will definitely be more updates on this plan as it gets closer to departure time.

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Apparently I'm supposed to be some bowling superstar now. I joined my first bowling league in YEARS back in September and it was good experience. While that was going on, I acquired a ton of bowling accessories/necessities - shoes, grape-scented ball, bag, etc. All I need now is the token bowling shirt and I'm set.

Well, after all of this accessorizing and practicing, another league season has begun and I think that things are finally beginning to click. After having some pretty good games in the 150s and 160s, I'm starting to feel a little consistent about maintaining higher scores. Certainly this one will help - a game that started off with six consecutive strikes and ended with a score of 220. I'm thinking that's my highest score ever. If not, I've always had my mind of 221 as my highest, but I think that's a phantom memory. To make a Locke reference, I really did use the "mind's eye" during that game. Crazy!

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I just realized that I have a few pics from the miserable Thrashers effort against the Flyers from Saturday night. I'll get on those and see what's post-worthy and what should be trashed immediately. Check the flickr site for additions.

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Speaking of additions, our family acquired a new puppy, named Josie. She looks part chow, but not nearly as bushy/poofy as a true chow. But she's a true pound puppy and completely adorable. More pics to come.

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Some neat shows are happening in Atlanta next month. Time to prepare, because most are all within a two-week period:

9 March - Friday - The Thermals/Big Sleep @ Drunken Unicorn
13 March - Tuesday - Explosions in the Sky/the Paper Chase @ Lenny's
14 March - Wednesday - Band of Horses @ the EARL
19 March - Monday - Asobi Seksu @ Drunken Unicorn
23 March - Friday - Cold War Kids/Tokyo Police Club @ Vinyl
31 March - Saturday - Ted Leo & Pharmacists @ Variety

OFFICIAL: Coachella 2007 Lineup!

I wish I could pin down an official press release from Goldenvoice, but it seems that I cannot. Not like you need one anyway...



As was mentioned last night, some leaks occurred and it eventually led to the inevitable, which happened probably around 11AM on the east coast. While I did have a good dose of rumors from the past few months about who was gonna be where during the last weekend of April, I still had no idea who would actually decide to make an appearance at Coachella this year. I hoped for the Lily Allen rumors, the Explosions in the Sky rumors, the Air rumors, and so on. While they seemed legit, I remained skeptical. Fortunately for me, all skepticism came to an end this morning... or afternoon, when I really found out about it.

This lineup is incredible. I mean, Bjork is making her first US appearance in a few years, as is Jarvis Cocker (uh, nine years?!)... and a full-on Rage Against the Machine reunion...?! This doesn't even take into account the fact that The Jesus and Mary Chain, Crowded House, and Travis are coming out of retirement or extremely extended hiatuses (?). And let's not forget about the soon-to-be triumphant returns of Air and the Arcade Fire to the polo fields.

I mean, I could keep going on and one about this lineup. I really could. There are huge things to talk about and discuss until both parties in the discussion completely pass out from tongue fatigue. Let's see - do I start with an appearance from the Comedians of Comedy, or a DJ Shadow set, or how much pot Willie Nelson is going to smoke, or how hot Lily Allen is going to look with a dress and Chucks on, etc. Let's face it, gang, this will be talked about for a loooooong time.

And to know that additions will be made. Of course, everyone remembers how three additions to the bill last year basically determined the festival - with those additions being Madonna, Massive Attack, and Daft Punk. We all know that Goldenvoice has something else up their sleeves. In time, we'll find out and more pieces of the puzzle will be revealed. But as of right now, this lineup could go down as the best yet in the name of Coachella. Sure, Radiohead/Pixies/etc. in '04 was pretty damned good... but I don't think that holds a candle to this year's variety. And we're still missing suitable big names for the Sahara/dance-themed tent for at least two nights.

There are months ahead of us, kids. One of these days I'll get to posting my wishlist, who I hope will avoid conflict, what kind of expectations I have for certain artists, and how I plan on things panning out. For right now, however, I have to keep things to a minimum because, hard to believe, this is not a Coachella-only blog!

The true passion arises...

OFFICIAL: Coachella 2007 Headliners Revealed! (clicky)

This just in - Coachella 2007 headliners have been announced by the LA Times here:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-coachella22jan22,1,6747076.story?coll=la-headlines-entnews&ctrack=1&cset=true

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bjork, and a one-off reunion of Rage Against the Machine will headline the three nights of the festival, with acts The Arcade Fire, The Roots, Interpol, The Decemberists, and Sonic Youth (among others) mostly playing a role as sub-headliners. 80s Australian act Crowded House will also wax nostalgic over a reunion slot during the weekend. For a teaser-list, click the above link.

There have been rumblings about the lineup being released in its entirety this evening. When I can get a hold of it, you'll be sure to know.

Photos: Harry and the Potters (clicky)

By the way, I love my camera.

So here are some of the pics I took of the show from the 6th. Click on any of 'em to bring to you the set of 17.







Enjoy! Don't let Voldemort know, though.

Recap: Harry and the Potters (clicky)

Yeah, you read that title correctly. I actually saw Harry and the Potters tonite at the Masquerade (note: this place is closing when...?). I intended on trying to catch Somebody Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin, but apparently I left too late and ended up arriving in perfect timing for the anti-Voldemort rock show.



You see, I don't really read... at all. I'm lucky that I pick up and open and digest issues of The Hockey News whenever they're in my mailbox periodically. And I also read the Thrashers articles in the AJC, even though they are becoming more and more pitiful in nature (primarily because of the subject of the writings, ehhh). But Harry Potter? I never got into it and I certainly don't understand any of the passion which its readers have for the topic. I do not have any intention on picking up those books and going head first into 'em. I saw the fourth movie with my girlfriend last year and I thought it was a disaster... only because NONE of it made any sense. And that's just me here.

So when I found out that SSLYBY (longest acronym ever?) were coming around, and that they've been a favorite of fellow Atlanta blogger Cable and Tweed, I figured I'd try the show out. It's been a while that I've gone to a show completely unaware of the band who's there. And then I heard that Harry and the Potters were the main draw for the show... that it was their tour. I kinda laughed it off, but was confused about whether they were schticky or not... so I decided to see exactly what kind of thing they did and how the crowd would be.

Well, I definitely missed the band I intended to see, only because I never show up late to shows and I figured that when the Masquerade advertised that the doors were opening at six, I could get there at 730 and still have plenty of time before SSLYBY. I did end up getting there are 730... only I realized that I missed nearly everything... everything OTHER than Harry and the Potters.

The dudes closely resemble Harry Potter and they are basically dressed like they are straight out of Hogwarts. They played for over an hour and really brought it. The kids in the crowd (and some were kids, with moms and stuff) ate it up and had a field day belting out the lyrics to these songs that I had no familiarity with... because I know NOTHING about Harry Potter! Regardless, I still had a great time being a part of the crowd and living vicariously through Harry Potter, the rock stud. It was a great way for me to start my year with regard to live shows. Even though I missed the act I *really* wanted to see, I still came out of the venue with a smile because you couldn't leave with anything else on your face.

I must also say that after I had a solitary PBR before the show, I felt incredibly out of place. Drinking beer and trying to immerse yourself in a crowd with Potter-philes who could've been half your age was a little awkward. I wish there was a pic of me with my beer, next to some 15 year old kid who's all about HP. Ridiculous.

Pics coming shortly!

Official site: http://www.eskimolabs.com/hp/
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/harryandthepotters

Recap: The Comas

It always keeps surprising me how often The Comas mix up their live lineups. The first time I saw them, they were a three-piece. The last time (which was a few years later) was a few months ago and they were... ugh... something... I probably can't remember because they were so effing loud then. But memory makes me want to say a four-piece. Cannot immediately recall. Well, last Wednesday, they were a five-piece... and probably the best I've seen 'em.

I got to the Drunken Unicorn a little early (as is the customary standard for shows when I'm flying 'em solo), downed a few beers, and got ready to be met with... something. The main draw for the night was New York band Asobi Seksu, with The Comas bookended by 1986, a band from Austin (by way of New York). I was not familiar with Asobi Seksu, only the fact that I've seen their name thrown around the blogosphere and there was never anything negative about them. And I never even knew of 1986 until they got on stage. Apparently they've had some arrangement problems because 1986 only appeared as a duo. According to the singer, some of their members were from Mexico and couldn't make the trip...? Don't know how legit that is, but that is what was said. Regardless, whether they were more than what they appeared to be on stage, they sure as hell rocked the place out and I certainly didn't expect it. You can only do so much with two band members, and they made the most of it, basically opening up the Unicorn and causing it to overflow with pure rock.

The Comas quickly set up and were on a mission to really win over the audience. When they last came around, I remember the set being really punctuated, crazy loud, and completely dominated by tracks off Conductor. Thankfully that wasn't the case this time as they mixed up the set and provided some great added elements to the older tunes.



The tandem of "Employment" into "Hologram" opened the gig and led into the always-charming "Tiger in a Tower". The set featured a couple of newies and they seemed alright, but it's hard to really invest anything into such tunes when you've only heard 'em once and that was it. "Sweet Sweet 69" featured Andy doing the vocals through a megaphone and that really made the live rendition come off rather true to it's album version. They bought the rock back, kicking everyone's ass with a red-hot "Wicked Elm" and ended with some more new material and then they were done. With the incorporation of those new tracks into the set, that lends hope to the idea that maybe a new record is on its way. Fingers crossed for that one.

And I did stick around for Asobi Seksu's set. Some of what I heard, I liked... other things I heard, I really didn't understand. It's apparent that most of their sound derives from the shoegaze type of rock, but other than that, I found that probably a lot of the appeal is that there's an Asian girl fronting the band and that sometimes she sings in Japanese. We all love us some Asians, and, granted, she was cute, but other than that and the crazy guitar work going on, I really couldn't find much to their act that I really appreciated. Maybe if I was more familiar with their material, I would've liked the show some more. And maybe I should've done my homework with regard to them. But if they were expecting to win over some new fans from the show who would've been "BLOWN AWAY" by 'em, I really couldn't say that. And maybe there were some people there who instantly became a fan of their thing. I wasn't one of 'em. Depending on who they are playing with the next time they come to town, I might get a better understanding of what they do.

Fortunately, the main draw of the show for me was great.

Show Update! The Comas!

Even though the holidays are all over the place and my work situation is appearing to be a constant hell for the rest of eternity, I'm still finding time to, a) attend Thrashers games, and, b) even go to the occasional show. This week looks to be a little relaxing on the Thrashers front, but what I'm lacking with the Thrashers, I'm gaining in shows. As mentioned earlier, there is the AA Bondy/Duquette Johnston show at Bottletree Cafe in Birmingham on the 8th that I'll be attending. And there is also something else noteworthy that caught my eye last week, I totally forgot about it, and when I was printing out my calendar for next week, I suddenly realized what I was forgetting all this time.

And, wow, longest sentence ever. Or not.

Anyway, Wednesday night features the return of The Comas to Atlanta, and they are coming with bloggers' darlings Asobi Seksu to the Drunken Unicorn. Granted, I'm completely unfamilar with Asobi Seksu (but won't be after the gig), but I've known The Comas back to early '02 when they opened for the Breeders at the Echo Lounge during their comeback tour. Ever since that performance, I've attempted to follow the band as much as I could, getting their great albums A Def Needle in Tomorrow and Conductor, their most recent recording and possibly their best. Originally hailing from Chapel Hill, it seems as if they've relocated to New York and base themselves out of there. But I just love The Comas and hopefully they'll bring something new to the stage since it's been a while that Conductor's been out there.

For more on The Comas, check 'em out here:

website: http://www.thecomas.com/
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thecomas

On their myspace profile, "Tonight on the WB", "Invisible Drugs", and "Moonrainbow" are all noteworthy and definitely worth the listen, FYI.

Asobi Seksu / The Comas @ Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta - Wednesday, December 6 @ 9PM