The truth has been told
AJ, the mastermind behind one-man-band Slow Gun Shogun, fancies himself a gonzo outlaw. But don't hold that against him. I'm down with anyone who features both Waylon Jennings and Peter Tosh among his MySpace friends. Like fellow solo traveler Scott Biram, Shogun knows his classic American roots music. Yet where Biram falls back on John Lee Hooker, Shogun turns to the sludge of bands like Mudhoney. His rough six-song self-release Stray Dogs, Broke Cars, Graveyards... was recorded a couple months ago in Chicago. It finds Shogun conjuring the defiant weariness of all three Hank Williams, Jon Langford and Mike Ness.
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Even though I had a good time at last night's Arctic Monkeys show, it left me unsatisfied. I was hoping for a Spirit of '76 mess- kind of a woozy lads-in-the-pub experience. Instead, the young British band was professional to a fault. I wanted catharsis- not a nifty light show. Instead of this, it felt like this.
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How bad was Voxtrot's opening set for the Arctic Monkeys? It was so hideous that I began looking for objects to hurl at the Austin band. They were entirely irredeemable. Until now, I've never criticized the "cool kids" music blogs. But if Voxtrot is what passes for exciting in hipster circles, then I'm relieved that I'm hopelessly uncool.
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The most discussed song in Kansas City today
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Kansas City Click: Mark Olson plays an early show at Davey's tonight. I caught his Borders in-store yesterday; Olson and his band were charming.
Look for me on Saturday at the American Jazz Museum's Street Festival. Between Cameo and dominos, how can you lose?
I have no idea what time Peregrinos Musical play the City Market on Sunday, but based on the strength of their downloadable songs at MySpace, I intend to find out. The local nortena band also has a low-tech promotional video.
2 comments:
What was so bad about Voxtrot? I've never seen them, but their stuff on YouTube is pleasant at least, although certainly not particularly interesting. Was it actually bad or just mediocre.
Thanks for asking, Joel. I was actually excited when I heard that Voxtrot was a last minute replacement for Coral and looked forward to seeing the band for the first time. Voxtrot was musically competent and was able to put across their sound just as intended. But while their music sounds "pleasant" on MP3, it seemed completely absurd in front of an audience of about 1,000. The band and their music were fey, forced and completely artificial.
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