Los Angeles Versus The Beastie Boys
My phone rang early Sunday evening, it was my buddy Dave inviting me to see the Beastie Boys at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles' Griffith Park. Some great tickets fell into his lap and I jumped at the chance to go. I had not seen them live in many years. The opener, whoever it was, was already on stage by the time I got the call.
We jumped in the car and I rang FearTheReaper to invite him along. But he was still recovering from his 40th birthday party...sucks to get old, right buddy? The old FTR would have lept at the chance. I hope staying home and rubbing your feet or whatever you did was worth it.
The Greek Theater is one of the best mid-size venues I've ever been too. Last time I was there I saw Radiohead play new tracks from their yet-to-be-released album. There's really not a bad seat in the house:
The worst thing I can write about the Greek Theater is that it happens to be in Los Angeles. Los Angeles has the worst god damn crowds on the fucking planet. The most a performer could hope for from a Los Angeles audience is that people will stay off their phones, kind of nod their heads and maybe sway a little.
Even if you manage to find someone that manages to get fired-up, he still gets it wrong because he's from Los Angeles. Like this useless dildo:
He whistled like that from the second the Beasties took the stage until the end. Who was he trying to help? The band? Us? He was a loud asshole with a stupid smile. My left ear is still ringing. As his nonsense dragged on, the woman he came with glanced around nervously. I looked right at her and smiled sympathetically. It wasn't her fault. Hopefully she didn't delete her Match.com profile. Poor gal's going to need it.
Adrock knew what he was dealing with early on. He told the Greek it couldn't hurt to dance if they felt like it. Nobody was going to make fun of anybody for enjoying themselves he assured the crowd. He knew exactly what city he was playing. The Beasties played a great show even if LA sucked for them.
The idiot in front of me snuck through security with a bottle of water in her purse. She took a sip, and put it back in her purse...without the cap. Luckily for her, most of it went straight through her oddly pourous bag right onto me. She was very apologetic. Too apologetic. I just wanted to watch the show and let my wet crotch air dry. Becuase this was Los Angeles, she had no problem turning her back to the stage to chat for most of Super Disco Breaking.
Fortunately, not even live music's most worst crowd could ruin the Beastie Boys' night. Here's "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" live from the Greek:
Here's the full set list for 8-19-07 from a set list nerd at the Beasties boards:
Time for Living
Remote Control
Live at PJ's
Off the Grid
Root Down
Triple Trouble
Sure Shot
Shake Your Rump
Electric Worm
Sabrosa
Gratitude
Tough Guy
Super Disco Breaking
Pass the Mic
Body Movin'
Brass Monkey
B for My Name
Shambala
Lighten Up
Egg Raid on Mojo
3 MCs and 1 DJ
No Sleep Til Brooklyn
Ch-Check It Out
So What'cha Want
Encore:
Mix Master Mic VS The Turntables
Intergalactic
Heart Attack Man
Sabotage
The Boys needed a mulligan a couple of times, they had fun the whole time, even when they fucked up and had to restart a song. It was charming. Not like when I saw Elliot Smith stop every song twice while he was high on horse tranquilizers.
I had caught them twice before, once with DJ Hurricane and once with Mix Master Mike. As always, they played the hits and they played their instruments. In the end, Los Angeles threw everything they had into it: loud retarded whistling, cell phones, loud stupid talking and even a purse filled with water. It wasn't enough -- it was still a great show.
The Boys are on tour until October if you want to get on it.
Gerry thinks Paul's Boutique is one of the finest albums of all time.
God of War Creator Tells Sony Exec To Go Fuck Himself
Fueled with booze and surrounded by boobs, self described B-Level game designer David Jaffe let loose some details on his God of War series recently at the Playboy Mansion. Drunkenly shooting down rumors that he has been working on part three of his series before part two is even released, Jaffe boldly admits that his PSP version was shit and ultimately scrapped to save face and cash. Jaffes gaffes continued tumbling out once the sauced up Sony marketing exec Jeff Reese tried selling some bullshit that only the most devoted of fan boys would have bought.
Jeff ReeseGod of War is going to move onto multiple platforms and eventually culminate in a classic battlerama on the PS3
David JaffeFuck you! I dont know what you just said!
Multiple platforms? Unless Sony is developing another hand held device or wising up and not selling a console purchased solely by oil barons and virgins for life, Mr. Reese is just talking out his overly paid ass. Then again he is drunk and surrounded by the boobies so perhaps he gets a pass.
Jaffe goes on to rightfully praise the Xbox Live service and hopes the Sony equivalent will be competitive and perhaps surpass Live someday. Considering how unappealing it would be to have some geek shove a microphone in your face at the Playboy Mansion for an impromptu interview, Jaffe managed to indulge his fans (and ego) with some wonderful sound bytes. Not to mention giving birth to one hell of a catch phrase when bullied by the butt-hurt, alpha-male Sony exec.
Oh my god, go fuck yourself in the grotto because no one else is going to fuck you in there!
For those not in the know, God of War is a sadistically sublime game on the PS2 wherein you control a bald (he shaves it!), Conan-like Man God that has his way with women and splits monsters from the Greek mythos right up the middle with his bloody hands and chained blades. Studies have shown that playing it for a mere hour is tantamount to cock-punching Mike Tyson and calling him A Gay to his face.
My Brightest Diamond Tour
If you've enjoyed My Brightest Diamond's opening slot on Sufjan Stevens' tour, you'll be glad to know Shara Worden has scheduled a solo fall tour in support of her debut effort Bring Me the Workhorse, now available from Asthmatic Kitty.
The headlining tour does not begin until November, a few dates remain on her opening slot with Sufjan's jaunt, and some select dates with Jedi Mind Tricks fill up October.
10-09 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern *
10-10 Berkeley, CA - Zellerbach Hall *
10-11 Berkeley, CA - Zellerbach Hall *
10-13 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom *
10-14 Vancouver, British Columbia - St. Andrew's Cathedral *
10-15 Seattle, WA - Paramount *
10-27 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero #
10-28 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club #
11-02 Hamden, CT - The Space
11-03 New York, NY - Rebel (Billions CMJ showcase) !
11-07 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa $
11-08 Hamilton, Ontario - Casbah $
11-09 Toronto, Ontario - ATG/Drake Underground $
11-10 Ann Arbor, MI - University of Michigan $
11-11 Chicago, IL - Schubas $
11-12 Milwaukee, WI - TBA $
11-14 Madison, WI - True Endeavors/High Noon $
11-15 Minneapolis, MN - Seventh Street Entry $
11-16 Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews $
11-17 Champaign-Urbana, IL - High Dive $
11-18 Bloomington, IN - Indiana Memorial Union Gallery $
* with Sufjan Stevens
! with Pernice Brothers, Pop Levi, Eleni Mandell, Scott H. Biram
$ with Pedestrian
If you'd like to get to know My Brightest Diamond better, Shara is uploading short pieces to YouTube, explaining the woman behind the diamond. Here is one concerning opera and rollerblades:
My Brightest Diamond Live Review
I almost never get to shows on time. I used to, I used to be all about it. But now even if I try and pretend to get there on time, I find an excuse on the way to duck into a bar or grab food on the way to a show. That way I don't deal with a band who isn't going to get much support from a distracted audience obviously waiting impatiently for somebody else, sadly, usually myself included, and a band who also probably didn't get a proper sound check.
I did that on Saturday night when I was going to see Sufjan Stevens play at Town Hall. I showed up late into My Brightest Diamond's set and I really regret it.
I hate the name My Brightest Diamond, not that that matters, and the single was a little too pretty, a little too note perferct, for my tastes. I hadn't heard the album, but all this made me a little lazy about getting to the show on time.
In a very real way Shara Worden's last three or four songs stole the show for me. As impressive, as charismatic, as majestic as Sufjan Stevens' huge show was, MBD was deep, ballsy, had some blues, and seemed to fight effortlessly for the audience. I felt as though she was sort of challenging them to ignore her, even though people were won over rather easily.
Between songs, her stage presence is non existent, then takes over a measure into each song. She introduces herself and songs with a somewhat meek, and shy voice, only to launch herself fully into the song with a powerful, rich voice that in the live setting seems less self conscious, less practiced, than what I'd heard so far. It doesn't sound unrehearsed, but raw and very, very talented and impossible to ignore.
If you are planning on catching Sufjan Stevens on tour, I would highly recommend being there in time to see My Brightest Diamond's opening set. The sold out tour with Sufjan ends in two weeks, at which point I imagine Shara will be planning her own tour.
I have yet to pick up My Brightest Diamond's disc, but plan to soon. Here is first single from her release on Asthmatic Kitty entitled Bring Me the Workhorse. I would post footage from a live set, but I never enjoy the sound quality recorded by cell phones: