mind your music: January 2008

Monday, January 28, 2008

Manchester Orchestra

Manchester Orchestra with John Ralston, All Get Out
Orpheum; January 26, 2008

Some enjoyed the activities of Gasperilla by decorating themselves in cheap, plastic beads and pirate garb while stumbling through the lively streets of Ybor City. Then there were those who seated themselves in the drizzling weather along the brick perimeter of the Orpheum, anticipating the long-awaited Manchester Orchestra.
Quite a number of people decided to do the latter, making for a sold-out show in the cozy bar.
Opening for Manchester Orchestra was the up-and-coming folk inspired indie band, All Get Out. John Ralston and his band, including a violinist, played second.
Manchester Orchestra’s set then began with singer Andy Hull singing in minor scales alone on stage, a precursor to how moving the show would turn out to be. The music ranged from a softer feel to a more energetic indie rock. Manchester ‘s lyrics were powerful, spiritual connotations and all, invoking an array of passions. Every bit of the set conveyed overwhelming emotion, even to the point of audience members crying. I could have sworn that I saw a tear or two leak from the corner of Hull’s eyes during “Colly Strings.” Or, maybe it was just sweat. Either way, it sure fooled my blurry eyes.

They played music from their 2005 EP, You Brainstorm, But Brilliance Needs A Good Editor, and their 2006 album, I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child. This included “Alice and Interiors,” which Hull described as “two Woody Allen movies fighting.”
It was an interactive concert. The audience sang along with most all the songs, and even finished off Manchester’s lyrics to “Golden Ticket.” The voices of the crowd sounded throughout the bar as nearly everyone’s lips moved to, “Well am I really that old, ignorant or to slow/To realize I have lost my golden ticket back home?”
Manchester finished up the set with “Wolves at Night.” The last noises of the song were the sounds of Hull’s heavy breathing into the microphone and my heartbeat. Deciding openly to skip the whole encore charade, Hull sang one last minor keyed song alone on stage.

Published in REAX Music Magazine Online

Monday, January 14, 2008

Another Radiohead Blog

Their upcoming show has become quite the buzz.

The question is, if one can actually manage to get their hands on Radiohead tickets, how much will they cost? Being a poor college student, will I be able to afford this?

Since the band is not with a record label, I am hoping for prices to be on the lower end of the money spectrum.

Today, their website sells tickets in Dublin for £46.80. Which, as of Jan. 11, amounts to about $91.59 in the U.S.

Tickets in Glasgow are £38.50, about $75.36.

I stumbled across a blog posted Dec. 7 in Analogue Magazine talking about the high concert prices. Analogue's Karl McDonald interviewed Phil, of Radiohead, on the matter.

Analogue: Tickets for your gig in Dublin in Malahide Castle went on sale this morning and it’s very expensive, it’s €70.70 [$105.11] and there’s been some discussion of how you can justify the fair way of releasing your album and then charge that much for a tour gig?

Phil: Right, and what’s been the general response on that?

Analogue: Well I mean it is the most expensive gig of the tour and there’s been arguements that you’re pricing out some fans, people who may have bought the diskbox, big fans or students who don’t have that much money to come to a gig.

Phil: Right.

Analogue: Do you have any reaction to that?

Phil: Eh, well whenever we’ve looked at ticket prices and set them, we’ve wanted to make them as fair as possible so I would hope that we’ve pitched it right on this one, make it as fair as possible on the price. You know we’ve never really set out to max, as they say, our tour revenue so I think we’ve always put out reasonably priced tickets. That’s as much as I can say really.

A coworker told me that two years ago, tickets to Radiohead ran about $120 in Chicago.

I suppose forking out the money for Radiohead is really not so bad. They need to make their living somehow. And people will, afterall, pay the price.

I mean, come on, people pay upwards of $130 to see the Spice Girls all the time.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Radiohead comes to TAMPA

Yes. That's right. I'm serious.

Don't ask me where or when they will be playing. But word on the streets says they are indeed coming.

They've released a list of 22 cities to play in the U.S. and Canada, and Tampa is actually one of them!

Atlanta
Boston
Charlotte, NC
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Houston
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Miami
Montreal
New York
Philadelphia
San Diego
San Francisco
Santa Barbara, CA
Seattle
St. Louis
Tampa
Toronto
Vancouver
Washington, DC

Nothing set in stone has been released yet, but when it does, YOU will be the first to know. After me, of course.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

WHAT?!

So I was at the gym and decided to pick up a copy of the Tampa Bay
Times. I was skimming through it when a headline to a tiny article in
an obscure corner caught my eye:

"Shins keyboardist jailed"

Oh. No.

Apparently, last weekend The Shins keyboardist Marty Crandall got into a scuffle with his gf, Elyse Sewell (America's Next Top Model).

Her blog once had up pictures of bruises he allegedly gave her. And she allegedly bit him in self defense.

Either way, the were both sent to jail Friday after causing a stir at their hotel, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Sewell was released from jail Saturday. Crandall was released on a $25,000 bail Monday, the Chronicle reported.

"Marty Crandall and his ex-girlfriend Elyse Sewell were both arrested over the weekend following an argument at a hotel which resulted in staff calling the police.

"They were both taken into police custody and released over the weekend. There will be no further comment at this time and we would appreciate their privacy being respected," The Shin's record label, Sub Pop, stated.

This just makes me sad.