Posted by Ross @ 10:09 pm on January 31, 2008
Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull sang two brand new songs and played acoustic guitar in the studio today. He talked about the creative process behind writing Manchester Orchestra’s songs and his unothordox, yet resourceful, ways of using youtube.com to improve his music. Hull used his own concert footage that had been posted on YouTube to help him compose the first song he played “Do You Really Like Being Alone?” The second song is still untitled. Listen to the podcast for an in-depth interview with Lyra. Tonight, Manchester Orchestra plays at the Living Room. Check back here for the review!
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Posted by Korzec @ 2:52 pm on January 30, 2008
A Mars Volta album inspired a cursed Ouiji-style talking board purchased in Jerusalem called “The Soothsayer,” which told a tale of a love triangle between a woman, her daughter, and a man, all through the voice of their collective spirit, “Goliath”. Yeah, that sounds about right.
The bands fourth studio release, The Bedlam in Goliath, makes the mistake of starting off on the wrong foot - the first three tracks are so-so concoctions of standard Mars Volta rhythms slapped together at feverish paces, with a few instances of brilliant riffs here and there. They finally get their formula right on the single, “Wax Simulacra,” a 2:40 face-melter in which The Mars Volta’s latest addition, drummer Thomas Pidgen, states his case for being in the band with a non-stop barrage of thunderous fills. They keep the momentum going with “Goliath,” supported by a hip-hop groove guitar riff reminiscent of Rage Against the Machine.
Then comes the classic Mars Volta what-the-hell-just-happened moment, “Tourniquet Man.” It’s a power ballad. No, I’m not joking. Towards the end, the Volta pull out two new tricks up their sleeve: tons of terrifying vocal effects (phasers and flangers and who knows what else) and a flute. Better tricks than the garbled, frantic, noteless saxophone solos they kept using on Amputechture.
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Posted by DJ Dylan @ 1:42 pm on January 30, 2008
Bayside’s one of those bands I’ve been trying to see for years. Kind of like the Mars Volta, no matter where Bayside is, I’m not. So when the Bayside date at the Living Room was announced I started structuring my life around this semi-epic event.
After a few personal delays and the time-consuming task of parking the BRU car, I got to the Living Room in time to catch Straylight Run start their set. I missed the openers, Four Year Strong and Tokyo Rose although both were said to put on high energy performances. Overcoming a delay and some guitar-related technical difficulties, Straylight Run greeted the crowd with excitement and appreciation. John Nolan, singer/pianist/guitarist of Straylight, sporting a rustic full beard, and his soft spoken sister/co-singer Michelle Nolan, were modest in speech but blew up with passion and dedication during the songs. Members of the crowd belted out every echoing word of the band’s dramatic music and the entire venue erupted with the lyrics to their 2004 single “Existentialism on Prom Night.” As their set progressed, so did my understanding of how two bands with such different musical styles could fit so well together performing. Straylight’s music features exaggerated instances of Bayside’s moving demeanor and dynamic sound. The bottom-line is that Straylight Run threatened to knock out those closest to the speakers with not only the wonderful cacophony of a band jamming together but the same enthusiasm and devotion that Bayside later delivered; their albums may be different genres but the performances of both bands showcase what it really means to be a Rockstar and why they so enjoy each other’s company.
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Posted by Ava @ 9:48 am on January 28, 2008
Fun, fresh, and straight out of Providence, the men of Zox released Line in the Sand, their third studio album, on Tuesday the 22nd to the excitement and anticipation of faithful fans. Packaged differently than their previous two and featuring revamped album art (notably, the broken and ant-filled compass on the album cover), the sound of Line in the Sand is also a more mature and well-rounded leap from both Take Me Home and The Wait.
In many ways, Zox’s third is unlike anything they’ve put out before; however, it is also distinctively Zox. Eli Miller’s voice and lyrics dominate most of the tracks, but a new dimension of Zox is added with a lot more vocals from Spencer Swain and Dan Edinberg, better known for their talents on violin and bass, respectively. Line in the Sand also features a far wider range of instrumentals including keyboard, accordion, cello, and saxophone–many contributed by Edinberg.
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Posted by WBRU @ 1:27 am on January 24, 2008
ZOX stopped by the station Tuesday afternoon and took over the station. They picked the songs for about an hour, and played tracks off their brand new album, Line in the Sand, live in the studio. Then they headed over to Newbury Comics in Warwick for a live performance to celebrate the album’s release. Nearly 200 people braved the cold weather Tuesday night to see them perform a 45 minute semi-acoustic set with tracks from both Line in the Sand and their previous release, The Wait, and most people walked away with signed copies of their new CD.
Click here to see more pictures.
Posted by Travis @ 12:32 am on January 8, 2008
Here at WBRU, we take the holidays seriously. Thus, it is no surprise (to me, at least) that our list of the top songs, bands, CDs and concerts, based on your votes, was lost shortly after it was aired on New Years. You see, several of our staff were determined to celebrate the new year for as long as normally acceptable - some say that’s through the night, others say through January third - and then a little bit more. Needless to say, when the list was passed off to Steve in the front office, he was in no shape to take care of it. After scouring the station for several days, we managed to find the list pressed between streamers and a noise maker behind the copy machine, and now it has been promptly put up on the site. Here are the Number One picks, all according to your votes! Click here to see a complete list of the results.
Best Song of 2007: Foo Fighters - The Pretender
Best Artist of 2007: Foo Fighters
Best New Artist of 2007: Paramore
Best Local Artist of 2007: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Best Album of 2007: Radiohead - In Rainbows
Best Concert of 2007: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones at Lupo’s
(Photo of Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters)
Click here to see the complete list!
Posted by WBRU @ 3:05 am on January 7, 2008
The Waterville Valley trip on March 1st has been CANCELLED due to inclement weather. Rescheduling TBA. Please contact michelleh@wbru.com if you have any questions.
For a total of 3 Saturdays this winter, WBRU invites you to join our BRU Crew on the official Flake Off Bus heading to various NE ski mountains. We leave early in the morning and come back later each evening. Tickets are just $35 and are on sale NOW! Your ticket will include a light breakfast, bus transportation, long sleeve Flake-Off ‘08 T-shirt, and, of course, a lift pass! This is a great deal and tickets will sell out. Get your tickets at brownpapertickets.com or click the links below.
Dates and Mountains:
Saturday, January 26th : Wildcat Mountain, Pinkham Notch, NH (Sold Out)
Saturday, February 16th : Tenney Mountain, Plymouth, NH (Sold Out)
Saturday, March 1st : Waterville Valley, NH (Sold Out)
If you have bought tickets for any of these trips and have not received a waiver form please email michelleh@wbru.com.
Brought to you by WBRU and Dunkin’ Donuts.
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