Solid State

This just in from the Dept. of Homeland Absurdity: Kid Rock is coming to the Champlain Valley Fair. And I thought Toby Keith was rad last year!

Actually, dude's pretty funny:

This is shaping up to the strangest summer of music in Vermont, maybe ever. I, for one, can't wait.

OK, before we get down to business, I'm just gonna get this out of the way. Did anyone catch the sheer glory that was last night's Celts-Bulls playoff game? Even the most casual fan/non-fan would have been gripped by the last five minutes (which is pretty much all I could catch 'cuz I was buried in the office until about 9pm or so). Ray "Jesus Shuttlesworth" Allen, you are my hero. If there is a better time to be a sports fan than late April, I can't think of it. Moving on . . .

As I was lurking 'round the office last night waiting for the first music section proofs to come down the pipeline, I happened to stumble across what might just be my favorite new(ish) band — for this week, anyway. At the very least, they're the perfect duo for a gloomy, early spring afternoon.

Human Highway is a collaboration between ex-Unicorns front man Nick Thorburn (currently of Montreal pop darlings Islands) and Toronto songwriter Jim Guthrie (occasionally of Montreal pop darlings Islands). And before you ask, the answer is yes. He's Woody's grandson. (Editor's Note: Actually, I'm not 100% sure on that. I can only find one source to corroborate that Guthrie is, in fact a GUTHRIE. For now, let's just say that he is . . .  -DB)

If you were to peruse the interwebs looking for reviews of their debut, Moody Motorcycle, you'll find the band the band described roughly as such: breezy So-Cal bedroom pop with Everly-esque harmonies. My take: yes . . . well, no.

Simply put, invoking the brothers Everly is not to be done lightly. While Human Highway does trade in swooning, often plainly pretty harmonies, there is a ragged quality to their performance that is distinctly, well, non-Everly. And that's not a bad thing. The album's lo-fi sleepiness is undoubtedly part of its charm, and a big reason why I haven't stopped playing it since blowing some eMusic coin on it last night — save for the last five minutes of the Celts game, of course.

Anyway, here's a cool video of the the album's first track, "The Sound." (Note, this isn't the song's official vid, but I actually like it quite a bit more)

Enjoy.

So, yeah . . . no more Tick Tick shows. Ain't that a kick in the head?

In a remarkably short period of time, Tick Tick established themselves as a vital and seemingly indispensable piece of Burlington's music scene. You know you've arrived in the Queen City when people just sort of take you for granted, assuming you'll always be there. And that's the level of admiration — and familiarity — Tick Tick achieved in its all-too-brief two and-a-half year run booking shows around our fair state. I, for one, am really gonna miss them.

In my perch as 7D music dude, I deal with artists, promoters, club owners, fans, non-fans and an otherwise comprehensive assortment of music-related folks from all levels of the PR spectrum on a daily basis. And in my almost two years in this chair, I have never had more pleasurable professional interactions than I had with Tick Tick. Amid the typical din of over-hyped, hyperbolic PR nonsense that floods my inbox every day, their genuine affection for the shows they put together was simply refreshing. They had no ulterior motives beyond sharing great music. And their enthusiasm was nothing short of infectious, which is a big reason I wrote about them as often as I did. Well, that, and the music was almost always top notch.

I'm sensing this is quickly turning into a eulogy, which wasn't my intent — what can I say? I'm bummed. Rather, I'd just like to take a moment to sincerely thank Tick Tick for everything they've done for Burlington music. It's been fun, guys. Thank you.

Words can't convey — at least at the moment — how unhappy I am to have to report this, but Tick Tick has just announced they are ending their booking operations, effective pretty much immediately. They will have one final show, Monday, April 27 at The Monkey House. Once I've had a few minutes to wrap my head around this, I'll try and weigh in with some parting thoughts later this afternoon. But for now . . . sigh.

Here is the farewell letter, in its entirety, that they posted this morning on their website:

Dear everyone,

Tick Tick Booking is officially entering retirement. 

Please join us on Monday, April 27 at the Monkey House for ourfinal show and going away party, featuring Son of Salami, BlackFeelings, Ponytail, Think About Life, and DJs Drew Stock and MikeDevice. 

When we started booking bands in Burlington three years ago, ourvision was to bring the music we wanted to see and the city we lovetogether.  Burlington’s location in the northeast made it seem sensibleto ask our favorite bands to stop here.  And they did, and peoplestarted showing up to see them, and we kept asking bands that said yes,and so we asked our dream bands, and they said yes too. 

We are proud to have connected Vermont to so many other placesthrough our shows, and we are grateful that we’ve been able toexperience so many wonderful happenings with you all, as Burlingtondevelops a fuller and more viable underground music scene.   

The three of us are looking forward to relaxing and moving on toother projects.  Nick Mavadones will continue to be the lighthouse ofBurlington music on his blog, (AngioplastyMedia.wordpress.com) and willtry to maintain regular sleeping hours.  Julia Lewandoski isghost-writing a novel and gardening.  Dale Donaldson II is drawing andgiving drawing lessons to a nine-year-old, and considering art school. Graham Keegan will continue to run Tick Tick Printing as a business andis thinking of moving to La-La-Land. 

We consider everyone that has played music, designed something,done a thankless job, hung posters, told someone to come, carried a PA,let us borrow stuff, promoted us on the radio, let us use their space,hosted a band, never came but said something nice, paid extra at thedoor, paid at the door, bought t-shirts, or just showed up, a part ofTick Tick.  So thank you.   

We would like to thank, first, EVERYONE, and then this short list:

Just got back from the annual Burlington Discover Jazz Festival Press Conference. And as was mentioned roughly 72 times throughout the hour-long affair — with thanks to our presenting sponsors! And our co-sponsors! And our sponsor-sponsoring sponsors! Have a cookie! — there can be no surer sign of spring than . . . well, you know. All that jazz. After 26 years, couldn't we come up with another, perhaps non-weather related way of getting psyched about Jazz Fest? But I digress.

While this year's lineup doesn't quite boast the same jaw-dropping marquee pedigree of last year's 25th anniversary hootenanny, from top to bottom it is a pretty solid list of performers. You already know the headliners: Diana Krall, Branford Marsalis, Pink Martini. But for my money the real strength of this year's fest are the artists on the undercard — Belizbeha, Esperanza Spaulding, Yusef Lateef, to name a few.

Starting next week, we'll be digging in to many of these artists in greater detail in the paper. So for now, I'll just pass along the link to the full schedule. And before I forget, tix are on sale . . . right . . . now.

As he states in a lengthy, and at times emotional, farewell letter posted last night on his blog, Damon; Whirled!, neo-Nectar's architect Damon Brink has left the building.

Rumors of his impending departure had been swirling for weeks. Actually, speculation concerning the future of The House That Phish Built had been rampant pretty much since Brink and Co. purchased the downtown landmark six-and-a-half years ago. In that time, the club has undergone a near total — and frequently controversial — face lift from divey juke joint to upscale(ish) nightclub.

Gone is the narrow stage along the northern wall. Ditto the cafeteria-style kitchen by the front window and with it the homey diner feel of the restaurant. The original circular bar was moved from the center of the room to allow space for the new circular stage in the opposite corner. They put in real bathrooms. The list goes on and on — and that's to say nothing of the work done upstairs.

Like many locals, I've viewed most of the renovations with a fair degree of skepticism. Largely out of nostalgia, I originally mourned the loss of the old stage setup and the bar's bluesy roadhouse atmosphere — to borrow a line from "The Simpsons," "Aw, Moe. Not the dank!" But after playing on the new stage and spending some time in the crowd, there's no question that it is now a vastly superior room for live music. Although I have to admit, I'm still not sold on the stainless steel sterility of restaurant side. Perhaps in time.

Regardless of how you feel about the changes, one thing is certain: Damon Brink left his mark. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how the new management leaves theirs. And though we haven't always seen eye to eye, I wish Damon nothing but the best in this next stage of his life.

If you missed Saturday's Dinosaur Jr. throwdown at Higher Ground . . . what the hell? Seriously. It's not like you didn't know it was coming. Bryan Dondero wrote about the show on this very blog when it was announced. I interviewed Lou freakin' Barlow last week. I even mentioned the show again in a blog post last Thursday. You have no excuse.

Except maybe that it looked to be sold out. Still, I imagine you could have hung out at Quizno's that night and gotten the gist. It was pretty loud. (Although, honestly, I was expecting a little bit more. I even discarded my plugs about midway through, with only a modicum of tinnunitis afterwards.)

Anyway, if you missed the show, Daytrotter has just announced they'll be featuring Dino Jr. live in the studio within the next couple of weeks. So be sure to keep an eye (ear?) out for that. Based on the unbridled awesomeness that was Saturday's show, it should be a good one.

Since Marc Scarano did a pretty decent job summing up the show in his last post, and there's nothing especially pressing on the docket today, I will forgo a straight up review in favor of some random thoughts that crossed my mind that night, Twitter-feed style. Buckle up.

There is a noticeable lack of hipsterly presence, which is alternately refreshing and disappointing. Don't they know?

Was that a crowd surfer? My God, I do believe it was! And a faux pit to boot. Ah, memories!

I'm starting to develop an affinity for drinking Guinness out of a keg cup. At least the HG bartenders roughly know how to pour it, unlike most bars in town — including many of the supposedly Irish joints. There really is an art to the perfect pint.

There's also an art to the perfect rock show. And this was as close as I've seen in a while.

Ah, the rites of spring! April showers. May flowers. Birds. Bees. Date rape.

On April 17, St. Michael's College will celebrate its annual spring concert with performances by Grammy-nominated rapper Lupe Fiasco, up-and-coming opening act Asher Roth and, apparently, a little controversy.

For the uninitiated, Roth is the proud owner of the current #12 Billboard single for his pandering, sophomoric anthem "I Love College," which espouses the many-splendored virtues of higher education, such as drinking, boozing, gettin' wasted and . . . um, more drinking. There are also numerous references to that most time-honored of ivy-walled traditions, the drunken hookup. Though to his his credit, Roth does caution, "But not if she's too far gone." And they say chivalry is dead.

That Roth has been invited to perform at the college has, perhaps predictably, invited a veritable shit storm of criticism upon the event's organizers, the Student Association Executive Board. In a scathing editorial published in the school's online Arts & Culture journal The Naked Opinion, editor and 7D What's Good blogger, Tyler Machado offers this succinct summation, "I'm disappointed that the S.A. thought that this was the best act to bring to campus. Roth's persona confirms all the worst stereotypes about college students and their childish obsession with partying."

He goes on to state that, "I don't despise Roth's hit song because of some moral objection to drinking, smoking marijuana or partying. I despise the song because it's incredibly stupid." Point, Machado. Roth's single is a classic example of pop music pandering to the lowest common denominator. Not to mention that it's the most blatant stylistic ripoff of Eminem since . . . well, maybe ever.

In a campus-wide letter from the S.A., they attempt to deflect blame, inferring that the decision to book Roth as the opening act rested with Fiasco's agent, whose "first recommendation" was the PA-based emcee. They correctly note that opening act preference is often deferred to the headliner in rider negotiations. But doesn't the word "first" imply there may be a "second" choice? The organization goes on to essentially plead the fifth, writing that they "had no idea this would become such a controversial issue."

Really? In the age of PCU — and at a Catholic school, no less — SA really expects us to believe that they didn't realize Roth's misogynistic portrayal of student life just might rile up the natives?

If that's the case, SA may be guiltier of something far beyond poor decision making. Based on the Billboard chart statistics they cite in the opening paragraph of their letter, SA is clearly aware of who Roth is. But if they really didn't believe students would object to his performance, then they either didn't take the time to investigate his music or worse, they did investigate, and simply didn't care.

So, SA, in case you haven't seen the video for "I Love College" yet, check it out here.

If Eric Clapton is God, then what does that make J Mascis? I'm pretty sure he's not Satan. Much too humble to be the Prince of Darkness. Zeus? Nah, he's just a guy. A guy who fronts one of the loudest bands on the planet, Dinosaur Jr. His band returned to Higher Ground Saturday night and delivered a hits-heavy performance that shook the place to the rafters.

Dinosaur Jr is back to its original lineup of Mascis on guitar and vocals, Lou Barlow on bass and Murph on drums. Yes, they're a little older; J's hair is grey, Murph's hair is gone, and the tempo on some of the songs is a little slower, but they can still bring it like its 1987.

The secret to their success is J's guitar playing. In contrast to his mellow stage presence, Mascis attacks his instrument with passion, spitting out deafening leads and massive riffage. His tools of trade are his signature Fender Jazzmaster, three ginormous Marshall stacks, and a phase pedal.

They opened on the softer side with "Severed Lips," off their 1985 debut album Dinosaur. It's as if they were trying to build up the audience's tolerance before ripping out their eardrums. Next was "The Lung" from You're Living All Over Me, their second and arguably best record. They played several more songs from both these albums during the rest of the set, along with a couple new tunes from the forthcoming Farm and a generous smattering of crowd-pleasers like "Freak Scene," "Out There" and "Feel The Pain." Barlow provided the between song chatter and took lead vocals for "Back To The Heart" and the classic "Forget The Swan." The show ended triumphantly with the one-two punch of "Kracked" and "Sludgefeast."

Dino Jr. was by far the loudest band I have heard at Higher Ground. Not only was my chest pounding to the rhythm, I could feel it in my feet through the floor. The house was a rockin', and the audience loved every minute of it. At times the sound verged on breaking up into so much white noise. This is all by design, of course. I mean, how many other bands sell earplugs at the merch table? (Editor's note: HG always has earplugs available -DB)  I brought my own plugs, but my ears were still ringing when I got home.