Category
Musings
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10.22.11Treasure Island Music Festival 2011 – Day TwoThe 2011 Treasure Island Music Festival is a wrap, and day two proved to be more emotional, personal and beautiful than day one - and that's a tough act to follow! The weather was lovely throughout and there were solid acts from start to finish. I'd like to thank my blogging partner Paige, and all the nice new friends I met from Noise Pop and Another Planet for granting me exclusive access behind the scenes and for getting me into the festival in the first place. I can't express to our readers enough - if you haven't been to this ...
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04.18.11Coachella 2011 via Palo AltoI didn't go within 500 miles of Southern California this weekend, but I did attend the Coachella Music Festival. This year's fest was streamed live via three robust YouTube channels. Additionally, many of the individual performances and even individual songs were immediately made available via a Coachella video archive. It was awesome watching Coachella live on a 60" screen from my king-size bed in the air conditioned comfort of my own house. Was it the same as being there.? HELL NO. Was it a cheap and comfortable and fun alternative way to experience the festival on my own terms? HELL ...
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04.01.11San Francisco & Bay Area Music Venue CapacitiesI'm constantly Googling various bay-area venue capacities, and can never remember the exact numbers when I go to write a show review. A few years back Adrian over at the now defunct I Pick My Nose wrote up a great post with SF venue capacities, but unfortunately it's no longer updated. I've decided to make up a chart of my own, building on Adrian's research. Of course lists like this are always bound to be a bit incomplete, so let me know if you have any further information (along with a verifiable source) and I'll try to get the info ...
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02.06.11First Listen: Pale Saints “The Sight Of You” Cover From The Color AwesomeI've been hesitant to put this up, and so this is my cover of "The Sight Of You" by Pale Saints. This song has taken many shapes for me over about 15+ years. From broken relationships of my family and friends to my own, it's always had a profound impact on the power of a simple pop song. I was asked to cover a specific piece of music which meant something close to me for an upcoming art project. My friend Clayton asked me to do it, and so I did. With the help of our dear friend Erik Blood, I ...
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01.21.11Ever wondered why there is a “first three songs, no flash” rule?This recent shot sums it up in a nutshel. It exemplifies the holy trifecta of poor concert photography form. Just in case it's not clear: 1.) Don't use a flash. Especially mere inches from a performer's face. It's completely distracting and blinding for the performer and everyone around you. 2.) Don't just hold your camera up above your head and randomly shoot. It blocks everyone's view in back of you and ruins shots for other photographers trying to shoot the show. 3.) When there's no pit, don't just camp out in the front row shooting after the first three songs. If you ...
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01.09.11COLORCAST PREMIERE – Phil’s 2010 HighlightsIt's hard to believe that we've been at this for just a little over two years now. We've Light Asylumed, Diamond Ringed, Sea Wolfed, Death Cabbed, Best Coasted, and Ariel Pink'd. We've muckraked, Siriused, indie rock playlisted, photographed, bitched, busted, apologized, been apologized to, misspelled, mis-heard, revealed and ultimately tried really hard to be just us. So thanks to all of our regular readers. We said it at the beginning; we aren't professionals, we're fans. We may not be perfect some of the time, but we appreciate your hanging with us through it all. So back to not-so-serious business! I've put ...
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12.20.10Olly Moss Star Wars poster sale causes a small twitter riotYesterday Phil gave us all a heads up about the cool Olly Moss Star Wars posters going on sale today at Mondo. Mondo had widely publicized that the posters would be put up for sale today, December 20th at a "random time" that was to be announced via twitter. Well all hell in broke loose in the world of Star Wars nerd-dom when Mondo inexplicably made the poster sale live on their site before making the twitter announcement. Continue Reading...
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10.13.10Treasure Island Music Festival Countdown – LCD SoundsystemIt's not too hard for me to pick which band at this year's festival I'm most excited to see. Every record James Murphy puts out is better and better. The rumors that LCD are no more are kind of sad, but it looks like he has rescinded earlier remarks about calling it quits; I hope he doesn't. By the time LCD hit the stage on Saturday, we will have already experienced !!!, Die Antwoord, Four Tet, Deadmau5 and much more. The energy of the Treasure Island crowd paired with the high of playing the Hollywood Bowl the night before sounds like ...
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10.11.10Treasure Island Music Festival Countdown – The NationalI'm actually a recent convert to The National. I guess they're another one of those bands that got a bad rap among the high and mighty music press. I usually make my mind up about these things and I will be the first to admit that with all the bands out there, I skip over some when I hear even just a handful of snarky remarks. My friend Erik made me listen to their new album, High Violet. They've joined the 4AD roster so I at least owed it a listen. I immediately heard stadium rock, and who doesn't ...
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10.11.10Dazzle Ships Needlepoint!Somewhere between my flickr account and here on The Color Awesome, I've received comments and messages asking about this piece. I love a good story, but I will try to make this one quick. Obviously, Dazzle Ships is one of the most important records of my life. It was shunned by the music press after the unexpected, overwhelming reaction to Architecture and Morality. But nearly 30 years later, it has become one of those polarizing music geek records; you love it or you hate it. As a gateway to O.M.D.'s body of work, primarily the "early years," I'd say it's perfect. ...
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07.22.10Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti Nails It In SeattleWell, it's been a week now and I'm still reeling from Ariel Pink's show here in Seattle. I had heard reports from one Paige Parsons that their San Francisco gig just days earlier was a little dodgy. I'd also recently heard from an acquaintance that Mr. Pink tends to have a bit of a temper and can be kind of a dick sometimes. If I believed everything I heard about pop stars I'd probably hate every band out there! Ian McCulloch has made a career out of being a jerk, and still, he's no Mark Kozelek. I guess what I'm ...
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05.08.10Mina And The Perfect Pop SongMina has made well over 70 albums and scored as many charted singles. When most rock and roll was introduced to Italy in the late 50's, it came in the form of bands consisting of four men. Mina, however, showed Italy what a Pop Star was supposed to be; strong, female and solo. Enjoy 'Se Telefonando,' the perfect pop song - even if you can't understand a single word. Oh, and it's written by Ennio Morricone.
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09.13.09An Open Letter To The Pet Shop Boys or How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously?Dear Neil and Chris, The ticket I purchased to your upcoming performance in Seattle has just arrived! It’s been forever since I’ve seen a Pet Shop Boys show; in fact it was on the stunning “Performance” tour. The stage direction, the costumes, the amazing cast of dancers and back up singers was something I have not seen before or since in a live pop music performance. It was, and still is the best live show I’ve ever seen. Needless to say, I was excited to be a VIP for your new Pandemonium tour -albeit I had to pay to be a VIP which is something I’m ...
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09.05.09R.I.P. Jake Brockman, The Fifth BunnymenPhil called me Wednesday to break the news of Jakes Brokman's passing. I was on my cell phone and at first I didn't understand who he was talking about. Who? Somone associated with the Bunnymen? Which one? I hung up still not understanding. When I got home, I checked out my twitter feed and when I saw Jake's name, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Jake Brockman. Jake Brockman. Jake Brockman. I couldn't believe he died tragically in the same way as his good friend Pete De Freitas did just over 20 years ago - on his motorbike. ...
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07.24.09The Chivalry of M83′s Anthony Gonzalez"Chivalry is only a name for that general spirit or state of mind which disposes men to heroic actions, and keeps them conversant with all that is beautiful and sublime in the intellectual and moral world." -- Kenelm Henry Digby in Chivalry: The Broad-Stone of Honour Given that definition, I bestow upon Anthony Gonzalez the title Mr. Chivalry 2009. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a pacifist with a large peace sticker on the bumper. I'm constantly telling my six year old to use his words. I'm a lover, not a fighter. However, if a big burly security dude ...
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07.11.09R.I.P. Tom Wilkes 1939 – 2009This morning my friend Matt passed on the sad news that Grammy Award-winning album cover designer Tom Wilkes passed away this week. Like Matt, he was a Long Beach native. Tom Wilkes gained national prominence when his advertising firm landed the 1967 Monterrey International Pop Music Festival. He designed and created all the graphics, posters and other print materials for the festival, including the iconic psychedelic poster that was printed on foil stock paper. According to his daughter, Katherine Fotch, "He won an award from Reynolds aluminum for the most creative use of aluminum foil. He was always very proud of that." Music ...
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06.22.09Rob Gretton On The Record – 1 Top Class ManagerI just received this in the mail. 1 Top Class Manager is how Rob Gretton(January 15, 1953 - May 15, 1999) referred to himself as Joy Division's fifth member in the book. Through financial thick and thin, this amazing publication chronicles Joy Division's rise as one of the most influential bands of all time. 1 Top Class Manager is definitely for fans only - who else would care how much Stephen Morris (Joy Division's drummer) was owed for petrol from a late night gig? Rob was a dedicated hoarder, note taker and doodler. The compiled notebooks, memorabilia and business records have been ...
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06.08.09Sonic Boom Is Great, But Not Everyday.I recently set up my turntable which has been in storage for too long. It's a pleasure to sit on the couch with the windows open and listen to Dionne Warwick, Four Tet, Boards of Canada and Donna Summer. On a warmer than usual spring day it's fun to visit some of Seattle's record stores and dig around for cool music. I thought I would take some time to share some of my favorites for when you are out and about in Seattle. I don't have a straight up favorite record store but my favorites all have something that keeps me ...
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05.25.09Spencer Moody, you picked the wrong girl to fuck with[caption id="attachment_1594" align="alignnone" width="700" caption="Spencer Moody being an ass"][/caption] So, I'm happily shooting the main stage at Sasquatch, minding my own business. I'm shooting the Murder City Devils. There are about 20 of us photographers in the pit. I should have known that things could get a little crazy after Spencer Moody, the Lead singer, starts on a log-ass heterosexual rant. He's clearly quite agitated. I can't remember the whole thing, but it ended with, "A lot now, we play these shows in front of a lot of people, and I see a lot of gross, disgusting high school jocks in the ...
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05.13.09Erik Blood: The Way We Live Exclusive!Regular readers will notice Erik Blood's name being dropped here and there. Erik is one of the dearest friends I have in my life. The day we met we knew we would get on well. For years, Erik has shared pretty much every demo from his band, The Turn-Ons and his own material. It's always a thrill to be the first person to hear some of his crazy and usually spontaneous pop gems. Erik recently sent me a new song called "Jet Inside You". It's an early demo for a new album - I won't tell you what the concept is ...
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