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In This Issue: It's been almost two months since the DVD has been released, but I felt obligated to review The White Stripes' "Under The Blackpool Lights" film. Mainly because it's unique in it's cinematography, and of course capturing a live performance from the Detroit duo is something to behold. To be honest, I had a bit of trouble with the film the first little while into the DVD. The film quality is grainy, but when one really thinks about it, it's fitting that way. The audio quality is impressive for a live performance, although it may take a while to get used to the separation of music and audience. Jack White's singing also took a bit of getting used to, mostly because (as you'll discover if you keep watching) he loves to deviate from the original vocals. However, you'll understand that he's simply presenting to the audience a new twist to what are quickly becoming old favorites. Despite all that, the film starts off right with an old tune, "When I Hear My Name" and immediately moves into "Black Math", but excellent songs. After going through a medley started off by "I Think I Smell A Rat", the White's cover Dolly Parton's "Jolene" with a desperation befitting the song. Jack shows his blues-guitar-rock talents with a pair of covers from Son House ("Death Letter" and Jack's favorite song of all-time, "Grinnin' in Your Face" both ripe with some amazing slide work) before answering a request from openers Blanche with "Do". When they start playing "The Hardest Button To Button", you're treated to Jack playing around with the intro and making the song sound a bit more rough, complete with more sliding! As the DVD continues into "Truth Doesn't Make A Noise", we get to see Jack showcasing his skills on a keyboard. The film continues to snowball in intensity, especially on songs "The Big Three Killed My Baby", "Hello Operator", "Ball and Biscuit" and set closer "Boll Weevil". Although there isn't much that I could say with regards to Meg White's playing, it doesn't mean I think she's useless. Many discriminating music fans have pointed out that her skills on the kit are lacking, but the more I think about, the more I realize that it's supposed to be exactly that way with The White Stripes. She plays a simple song every time, with pure enjoyment for what's happening on stage. The drums serve almost as a battle-cry, warning all in attendance that a wall of sound is forthcoming. Besides, regardless of what you think of her abilities, she plays with only her right arm in "Let's Shake Hands" which is pretty cool. Overall, this DVD does not disappoint at all. It may be lacking in the expected extras that music DVDs contain these days, but it's obvious this release is purely about capturing The White Stripes concert experience from beginning to end. Just the way you should experience it. http://www.whitestripes.com/ Relief Concert Showcased Excellent Calgary Bands
The show featured 800 Prospect, Night Church, The Rocky Fortune and Chishugga, all of which played great sets. Unfortunately, the attendance Regardless, the show started off with 800 Prospect who played a solid set of solely original material. They were closely followed by Night Church who's lead singer/guitarist was sporting a 'fro that made me envious and 'aviator' sunglasses, while the guitarist had a t-shirt that's an easy contender for most impressive in quite some time. Playing mostly Hitting the stage next was The Rocky Fortune who have finally sold all their old gear and have an album ready for release as soon as this coming March. They included a new cover in their repertoire, paying homage t Closing off the night was the flamboyantly dark Chishugga. Their set may have been short, but it was impressive and entertaining to watch. Without getting out of control, the band were lively on stage, providing the many photographers in attendance (including myself) plenty of opportunities for some nicely captured moments. Come to think of it, each band provided a bit of that themselves. Overall, it was a great show for an even greater cause. Each band intend on playing some local shows in the not too distant future and I recommend you see any of them given the chance. Queens of the Fucking Stone Age!!! The Calgary Sun reported on Saturday (January 22nd) that Queens of the Stone Age will be hitting the city on April 10th with tickets going on sale within the next two weeks. A quick visit to the band's web site has confirmed that, and several other Canadian shows in March and April. The Canadian portion of the tour starts in Toronto on March 30th with stops in Montreal (March 31st), Winnipeg (April 8th), Edmonton (April 11th), and finishes up in Vancouver on April 13th. The new QOTSA album, "Lullabies To Paralyze", arrive in stores on March 22nd. www.qosta.com Review: Hot Little Rocket @ Broken City Last Saturday night, I finally got to see Calgary band Hot Little Rocket play a show at Broken City. There's been a lot of buzz around this band for quite some time, and for good reason. They put on a fantastic first set of mostly new material off their 2003 release "Our Work And Why We Do It". There was a small rumour going around that this was to be their last show, but that is false as far as I can tell. It's more likely that it was their last show for bassist Mark McArthur, who was responsible for the band's Devo-esque make-shift space suits. The Nelson thinks "Hot Little Rocket" sounds like a sex toy. The show sold out shortly after the band hit the stage and those who made it there in time were not disappointed. They finished up their opening set shortly after midnight (complete with a band member immersing himself in the crowd for the title track of their last album), which was closely followed by a second set of older material. Their web-site sadly does not provide much information on the band, specifically when their next show is scheduled to take place, but if you get the chance to see them anytime soon, I highly recommend that you do. http://www.geocities.com/hotlilrocket/ "What Makes You Think He's Lucky" With a lead single like that, why wouldn't I? www.thedoctorrocks.com NIN Are Preparing To Destroy Us It always takes an enormous amount of time for us to receive new material from Nine Inch Nails, but that's not really surprising with Trent Reznor. He is a perfectionist, and that's OK in my books since that should mean that the new album won't disappoint. The album, titled "With Teeth" hits stores on May 3rd with a tour to follow afterwards. Reznor has finalized his live roster, which includes bassist Jeordie White (of A Perfect Cirlce), keyboardist Alessandro Cortini, and drummer Jerome Dillon. It does not include guitarist Robin Finck as he's been replaced with former Icarus Line guitarist Aaron North. It seems that Finck's departure was required and slightly unpleasant. "When [North] walked through the door, he pissed on [Finck's] shoes and kicked them out the door where they belong, effectively closing a chapter. A great chapter, but one that is in the past. This is a new entity that feels very fresh and vital. We are preparing to destroy you" Reznor stated on his web-site. OK, maybe "slightly" is quite the understatement. Regardless, the line-up sounds impressive and Reznor's talk of "destroying us" excites me. I recommend you check out the new material once it becomes available. http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2005/01/2704.cfm New finger eleven Video For "Thousand Mile Wish" On The Way The boys of finger eleven are always cooking something up. It's been a while since their last smash-hit single "One Thing" and even longer since their self-titled 2003 release came out. However, the latest video for "Thousand Mile Wish" should arrive soon. The song which appears on the 2003 album, was reworked for the "Elektra" soundtrack which is available in stores now. You can catch some behind-the-scenes footage of the video shoot on their web site. There's also word that the band have entered the studio, hopefully putting together their next release. http://www.fingereleven.com/home.html Just like every other week, Chart Magazine brings us some of this weeks release, as reviewed by their staff. Check out what they have to say about new material from Bright Eyes, And You Will Know Us From The Trail Of Dead, Strike Anywhere, Destroyer and more: http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2005/01/2501.cfm There seems to be a lot of news of some potentially great new material from some impressive bands/artists this year. That usually means that some live shows are also forthcoming. Here are some to ponder: The new Strokes album is taking longer than some fans would like, but the band did say that this was going to be experimental, and that often translates into a long wait. Don't fret though, they intend on having it done by the end of the year. http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2005/01/2511.cfm We've already spoken about Coldplay's new album, but now they have been rumoured to be playing the highly popular Coachella Festival this May. If this proves to be true, they'll be joined by The Killers. Also rumoured to be hitting the Coachella stages are Franz Ferdinand, Hot Hot Heat, Snow Patrol and more. http://www.nme.com/news/111143.htm New Order are about to release their first album in four years, titled "Waiting for the Sirens". It arrives on March 28th in the UK and it hits North American stores on April 26th with the first single, "Krafty" out shortly. The album features guest vocals from Ana Matronic of the quirky band Scissor Sister. http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2005/01/2510.cfm Ben Folds may have had to convince those on the Howard Stern Show that his little adventure with William Shatner wasn't a joke, but regardless of what you think, he is back to work on his solo material. "Songs For Silverman" becomes available on April 26th, and you can see the full track listing at the following link. http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2005/01/2603.cfm The Eels have enlisted the help of Tom Waits, Peter Buck (of REM) and John Sebastian (of The Lovin' Spoonful) for their MONSTER 33 track double album which is due out on April 26th. I guess they weren't satisfied with only playing monster shows. http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2005/01/2604.cfm Calgary
Toronto
~~ kMNR v2005.051 ~~ If you would like to hear about or if you have any information on a particular band or artist, please email and I will do my best to cover them.
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This past Sunday night, another relief concert to raise money for the Red Cross Tsunami fund was held at Calgary's Coyote's night club.
was low, but that could be attributed to it being held on a Sunday night, the same night that Sum 41 was in town.
their own songs, they did impress us with some covers, including SOAD's "Chop Suey" and RATM's "Killing In The Name Of".
his time to the Beatles with their own excellent rendition of "Tax Man".