Show review: Tool @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 12/11/07

I have a new favorite mode of transportation and it's not the fucking bus. Although I do enjoy riding the fucking bus. It's watching Tool perform live. Their show at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium surpassed being a rock concert, although it way rocked. It was spiritually elevating, to be both abonimably cheesy and extremely truthful. Now I'm far from being one of those Toolheads or whatever you want to call their fanboy/girl disciples. But their songs and visual presentation are too highly evolved to not notice superiority to 99% of bands around (Radiohead = 1% what!). The show wasn't perfect. I'm not enamored with "Jambi" as an opener; Adam Jones made a few technical mistakes; and although Maynard James Keenan stimulated my imagination by letting the audience sing the "Vicarious" finale, he really did pussy-out. But the setlist and lighting were magical. Highlights: "Schism," "Flood" and "Wings For Marie"/"10,000 Days," a song that never ceases to make me want to cry myself to death, but in a good way; the drumoff featuring Tim Alexander from Primus and Trans Am man during "Lateralus"; and the most surreal concert moment of 2007 when Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys joined Tool onstage for a cover of "Holiday in Cambodia." The guy looked like a punk rock Weeble from my vantage point at the mid-level center seats. But it was cool to witness such a silly moment sandwiched between such weighty music. Also, band not cranky = good; light show that simulates both heaven and a UFO abduction = good. The best part? All of the surprises. People like to complain about Tool's predictability, they have the same setlist every night, blah blah blah. The guys really threw a "wrench" (hardy har har, blech) into what fans expect of them. It all added up to the most complete Tool show I've been to - so far.

Radiohead knows how to please a woman

I read some interesting bits about how Radiohead cooks up its live setlists in an interview with guitarist Ed O'Brien mentioned today on ateaseweb.com: “We usually play two nights in a venue so we can actually play different sets each night. So, that’s cool. Phil, Thom and I do the setlists. Before a big gig the setlist meeting can go on for about three hours. It can start like this: Thom would say ‘we’re not going to play anything of OK Computer. We’re gonna play all the hard stuff’. And you go ‘OK, Alright’ and then you have arguements like ‘Don’t be stupid. Of course you have to play Paranoid Android. Don’t be rediculous. 20,000 people. These poor people came all this way and then play some obscure songs from a b-side.’ There is actually an answer. You want people to listen and you want to push them a bit. And you want to reward them for listening. So, it’s about dropping the songs at the right time. And also, it’s about a flow. Those gigs, when there’s ‘the band and the audience’… you know those when the top of your head comes off. It’s almost religious. You’re trying to work towards that as well.” I attended one of those "religious" types of gigs O'Brien refers to on June 24, 2006 at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. Most magical setlist ever. Somehow the song choices of the previous night's show didn't add up to the same revelatory experience. Fingers crossed that they'll spoil me with two dates in the Bay Area on their May U.S. tour. Dates with Radiohead, ooh.

Free live music galore

Once upon a Thursday December 6, two friendly Berkeley record stores let a couple of indie rock bands play within one hour and one block of each other to make all the music lovers smile. Parker Street Cinema, an all-instrumental bass-piano-drums trio, performed first at Rasputin Music to a crowd of about 10, a surprising number because a) the band's roots trace to UC Berkeley and b) the drummer actually worked at Rasputin's. Nevertheless, they put forth remarkable energy despite the sparse audience. Their math rock gone classical sound dazzled in its uniqueness, the songs sparkled with complexity and the band rocked on the whole, but ultimately the lack of vocals couldn't help but create the feeling that something was missing. Soundtrack music to rescue princesses to. Would have been cool if the guys, all tight musicians who played wonderfully aggressive, had let out the odd spontaneous shout. Ow! Fuck a duck, I had to battle a smoke-breathing friend and thus arrived late and heard only two songs by Six Organs of Admittance at Amoeba Music. About 50 people witnessed this impressive one-man show play his totally compelling, first class gritty white man's bluesy folk music. Wielding a fierce acoustic guitar and wicked skills, this guy slayed me in a mere 10 minutes. And the piece de resistance? Catching (most of) Worker Bee's set at Cafe Pergolesi on Friday in Santa Cruz. I'm amazed every time I see these guys. Mesmerizingly powerful, blow-the-roof-off song dyanamics that startle the unaccustomed listener - like the 11-year-old boy at the cafe who jumped during the last blast of "Small Talker." The new stuff's the shit. And I lived happily ever after.

CD review: Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare

For a band that was bigger than Jesus before their debut album was even released, the Arctic Monkeys have sure held up their end of the bargain. After the rocket ride ascent of Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not up the charts in 2006, it's a wonder the band members, all barely 21 years old as they were thrust onto U.K. press pedestals, didn't explode under the pressure cooker spotlight, expose themselves as casualties of the hype machine or fall into rock drug traps when it came time to record their sophomore full-length. But the Sheffield quartet was too ambitious to cruise on one album's success for too long. While their patent nothing-flashy Brit punk sound didn’t change much on 2007's Favourite Worst Nightmare, the album proves to be anything but stale. Still relying on unfuckwitable melodies, sharp storytelling lyrics, ferocious guitar attacks and driving rhythms rather than musical innovation, the Arctic Monkeys show that songwriting talent and tight musicianship are enough to propel past the muddle of the boring same-old same-old. The 12 songs, clocking in at just under 40 minutes, flourish in their solid simplicity. Leadoff track “Brianstorm” mimics the sonic urgency and anthemic structure as Whatever's opener to bridge a natural progression from their debut. There's hit single potential everywhere; the irresistible pop hook of “Fluorescent Adolescent” ensures stuck-in-your-headness hours after the album ends. And the ballad “Only Ones Who Know” makes use of delicately subtle singing whale guitar riffs to shine the spotlight on singer Alex Turner's thick Yorkshire croon. That's not to suggest that the band doesn't have any tricks up its sleeve. While most of Turner's lyrics still center on character observations from his working class roots, in “Do Me a Favour” he delves into seemingly personal territory with the tale of a breakup brought on by temptations of life on the road. “Curiosity becomes a heavy load/Too heavy to hold/Will force you to be cold,” Turner sings from the dumper’s point of view. It's their most mature song to date, the music escalating in intensity as the romantic relationship unravels. The Arctic Monkeys still have some evolving to do, but it wouldn't be far-fetched to suggest that the standout track rightfully positions them on the same musical path as some of the greats.

Mmmmm. Radiohead's In Rainbows bonus disc

Yesterday Waste e-mailed me stating that my Radiohead In Rainbows "discbox has been despatched (sic)," and that it would arrive anywhere between five and 15 days. Ooh, that's awhile. I couldn't wait so I sopped up the inevitable Internet leak of the bonus disc's eight songs. I found the tracks kindly at YouTube. Totally brief first impressions from a Radiohead fanatic: "MK1" picks up where "Videotape" leaves off. "Down is the New Up" had me dancing around my room right away - it's fantastic and haunting at the end. "Go Slowly" contains a slowed-down guitar riff from "There There." It's a grower. "MK2" transitions. "Last Flowers" has Thom Yorke vocals that shine as much as, if not more than "Faust ARP." "Up on the Ladder" is an angry medieval metronome song. "Bangers and Mash" lost the sped-up surf frenzy of last year's live version. This one will have to grow on me too. "4 Minute Warning" was my least favorite of last year's new live tracks but they reworked it, and this recording is so good that I think it will be regarded as one of Radiohead's best songs. "This is just a nightmare/Soon I'm going to wake up." Tropical comfort. Amazing! Hurry up, post office. It's genius. Get yours.