The Hippie Lives...Kind Of

"Yeah man, the corporations. Right now they're raping the world for money!" A 'hippie' utters these words during a South Park episode. After going to my first 'show' in the true jam band/festival mode, these words could never seem ironic. I love hippie music, and I love many aspects of the hippie way. But the true hipsters at these concerts, the one's who follow around the bands, are really just like corporations--trying to rape the commoners for all their worth. After attending last night's Phish show, this was evident. Walking down "Shakedown Street" is an unpleasant, harried feel, as you essentially walk around a pretty narrow, crowded row with people trying to rip you off to make a buck. I mean, who sells a mediocre chillum for 30 dollars, that is just acenine. The beauty of a tailgate is whippin' out the charcoal, slammin on a few burgers and knockin down some brews (or in my case, Stoli-Orange and tonics baby). Who the hell eats pizza at a tailgate? That's less American than Hedo Turkoglu. I don't see the allure of treating a tailgate like a concession stand...The scene before and after the Phish concert can best be described as this: It rated about a 7 on the crunchiness scale. You have your share of hardcore fans who tour the band and dress the part, your washed-up, 90s fan, some crunched out hippy chicks, your fratty, more casual fans, and then some randos who look out of place. And way to many "Jakes" (cops), trying to Jake people. And in the midst of the mayhem, you could pretty much do whatever you wanted.
The music can be summed up with one word: fire. Seeing Phish is an experience like none other. I'm not a Phishead, nor do I consider them one of favorite bands. But it was hands down the most magical show I have ever seen. There is something special about them that permeates through the crowd. They play for an absurdly long time, with lengthy, ludicrous jams that make you forget about your fatigue, dry mouth, and lack of beer for four hours. And their light shows are a genuine trip. The highlights of the night were 1) "Divided Sky": They opened the show with this, and it was a redonkulous, sublime, and beautiful journey 2) "Story of The Ghost": an intense, grooved out, mystical journey, 3) "Drowned": cover of The Who during which they jammed out reeeeal hard 4) "You Enjoy Myself": a live Phish classic that sent the crowd into a frenzy, and then another planet 5) "Waste": Chillest song of the night (along with dirt), that literally gave me goosebumps.
Overall, the Phish experience is relatively crunchy, musically amazing, and unforgettable.

Na Ma Ste.

Waste:

THE HANGOVER

So let's be honest, this movie is pretty hyped. It's everywhere, billboards, commercials, everywhere. And for good reason, Todd Philips, the director, is the same guy who put out iconic comedic hits such as Old School and Road Trip. 

Last night, I went down to USC and saw an early private screening of The Hangover. Let me say, this movie lives up to the hype. From the opening shot to even, yes, the credits, it is non-stop laughs. Zach Galifianakis, who plays the introverted, awkward, soon to be brother-in-law, is simply superb. Every time he talks, the crowd erupted. There's no doubt about it, Zach Galifianakis, with his grizzly beard and jesus hair cut, will be a household face, name by the end of this weekend. 

I won't give away any good scenes and I won't spoil the plot. All you need to know is that this film is just as funny, if not funnier, than Old School.

Go see it and enjoy.

What a Beautiful Buzz, What a Beautiful Buzz!

I had waited for more than five years and last night I was finally able to see Phish live in concert. It was worth the wait. After my introduction to Shakedown Street (one row of the parking lot, lined with tents of people selling literally everything imaginable) and a heavy downpour, the skies opened up to a distinctive rainbow. It turned out to be a good omen for the night as the band came out swinging with a tight "Runaway Jim," followed by an even tighter "Foam." They threw in some real cool songs in the first set. "Timber Ho!" "Driver," and "Possum" were all great. "Cities," the Talking Heads cover was unbelievable, with Fishman forcing the end of the song as the band could not keep up with Page, who was killing it on the clavinet and just would not stop. "Reba" was amazing, complete with a glow stick war and the whistling outro. "Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan" was a new song and I liked it. The best new song of the night was yet to come though. I was a little disappointed that they didn't end such a tight set with an upbeat song. I thought they kind of killed the mood with "Farmhouse," and "If I Could" just doesn't do it as a set closer for me. Hey, beggars can't be choosers. Here's the first set:

Set One - Phish - Jones Beach 6.2.09

I was lucky enough to meet up with my friend Nicholas, who worked his magic to get us backstage during the set break. We left the "lounge" just in time for the drop into "Mike's Song." I had a feeling we were going to hear a Mike's Groove but had no idea of the twists the band would take with it. After a great jam, Trey slowly segued into "Simple" and then into "Wolfman's Brother" before finally finishing off with the classic "Weekapaug Groove." It was cool to see "When the Circus Comes to Town" but the next song in store was unbelievable. Another new song, "Kill Devil Falls is a real dirty blues jam, which sort of reminds me of the Allman Brothers. I was rocking out to this song and can't wait to see it played again. Then came "Harry Hood," which was literally out of this world. Phish, for the first time this year, took us on a journey into the depths of the universe. The jam came together really nicely for a good close to the song and the opening chords of "Loving Cup," the Rolling Stones cover. Rockin' jam to close out the set. They only came out for one song on the encore but they killed it with "Suzy Greenberg," a great song about a woman who's "bout as faithful as a slot machine, pays off once in a while, then she robs you clean." Awesome end to an awesome night. And the second + encore:

Second Set & Encore - Phish - Jones Beach 6.2.09

Here's a video of the new song "Kill Devil Falls." Again, it's real bluesy and it grabs you by the throat and forces you on a joyride. As always, the lights are trance-inducing:

Animate Your Swag

Long before Pixar took over the world, there was another form of animation that was both visually pleasing and pretty legit--ANIME! Pixar is the bomb, and I'm really pumped to see Up (after I get liiiifteeeed). But Anime (around since 1917) has clearly been an influence of sorts for Pixar, as they are usually pretty trippy, out of this world stories that expand one's mind and imagination. And as Up has displayed, sometimes the imagined and animated is far superior to the "substance" in most films. And oddly enough, there is a link between Anime and the star of one of this summer's shittier movies...Christian Bale. In 2005, while Batman Begins was running shit, Bale starred in the dubbed version of an Anime film at pretty much the exact same time. And Bale's animated character certainly owns John Connor on the badass scale. Rather than wasting your time at Terminator, Netflix or stream Howl's Moving Castle (also starring Billy Crystal's voice), and listen to Bale's sweet voice in one of his better movies. No, he may not kill any thugs, deliver any creepy soliliquies, but his animated persona tears shit up as the dope wizard, Howl:



Dats Piff Right Thurr.

The Flaming Lips Are...Straight Chillin'

To quote my and your best friend, Wikipedia, "The band (The Flaming Lips) is known for their LUSH, multi-layered, psychedelic arrangements, spacey lyrics and bizarre song and album titles." In other words, these guys are fucking too legit to quit. I got into these Lip guys one day when I was mad blazed, smookin fools in FIFA '09. Apparently, they were on my Ipod. Sweet. They are a little weird, but in a good, different way (as in, unique). They are chilled out, but, as the remix posted down below demonstrates, reeeeal noice and feel good. And if you look at bands (i.e. MGMT) that rely heavily on electro sounds in their music, but are still considered "rock bands," look no further than these dudes (been around since the 80s) for the starting point aka inspiration. They are coming out with an album that has the working title "Embryonic," which I expect, like most of their music, will be quite the trip.

Here is their album from 2002, which is the titties:

Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (straight chillin, this album be)

The YEAH YEAH YEAH Song, Flaming Lips (Twelves Remix)

Right Click and Save As.

With all your powers, what would you do?

And here's a pretty a killa video of a bootyshakin', assgyratin' song, titled "Woman":



...Meet me in the club, it's goin dern...

In a Minute I'll Be Free, And We'll Be Splashing in the Sea

As evidenced by the rainbow in the picture, the gods were smiling on Fenway Park last night. Considering I'm watching the Yankees right now, last night was one of the few times I bid Fenway good wishes.

For those of you unaware, Phish opened their summer tour last night with their biggest non-festival show ever. While you may expect me to gush about how amazing the band was, I assure you I won't. In fact, I thought that the first nine songs of the show were garbage. The band seemed to think instead of play, with Trey Anastasio, the guitar player, and Jon Fishman, the drummer, working especially tentatively. Then came "Down With Disease" and the band let loose. Next came the rare "Destiny Unbound" followed by "Character Zero" to close out an average first set. Download the first set here:

Set One - Phish - Fenway Park 5.31.09

After a set which the band certainly knew they underperformed in, Phish opened the second set with a blazing "Tweezer." The four dorks from Vermont seemed to finally remember how to play music together. After segueing into "Light," a new song, they brought out the fan favorites, "Bathtub Gin" and "David Bowie." Next came what had to be the most promising new song of the night, "Time Turns Elastic." Just the other day, Phish released that song as a single off of their upcoming album. As the studio track is more than 13 minutes long, Trey joked after they played the song saying, "That's our new single," which he quickly followed up with a laugh, referencing Phish's "prolific" career on the Billboard Top Ten. It will be interesting to see the improvisational direction Phish takes this multi-phased song throughout the tour. The band came next with a high-flying "Free," followed by the extremely rare Lynyrd Skynyrd cover "The Ballad of Curtis Loew," which Phish played only 25 times before, the last time coming in 1993. To end the far superior second set was the quintessential Phish song, "You Enjoy Myself." With a bass solo by Mike Gordon that sounded more like Peter Frampton on the talking-guitar and an extra scary vocal jam, Phish ended the set with a bang. They encored with "Cavern," the Led Zeppelin cover "Good Times, Bad Times," and a fitting "Tweezer Reprise." Here's the download for the second set and encore:

Set Two & Encore - Phish - Fenway Park 5.31.09

All in all, Phish put on a good show to start off the tour. Being an improvisational band, you've got to give them some time to get used to playing with each other. Tomorrow night marks the first of three shows at Jones Beach. I'll be there in person for the first two shows so I'll be able to bring back some first-hand experience for all you Phish lovers. I know you're all jumping up and down and simply can't wait that long. Don't worry, I've got a video of the encore to hold you over haha:

HEY!

I realize that only a select group of people are lucky enough to understand the genius that takes the form of four dorky musicians from Vermont. Yes, I understand that many of you do not like Phish but allow me to enjoy my excitement today. In a mere few hours, Phish will take the stage at Fenway Park to open up their first summer tour in five years. I urge those of you who are skeptical to give Phish a try. I understand that their songs are long and you may think that they just ramble on into nothing. You may be intimidated by the sheer volume of their music and think that there's no way you can catch up and know all of their music. The key is that that's not the point. Phish's music is a celebration of life and can take you to states of pure bliss. Put all your preconceived notions aside and maybe you'll find your new favorite band.

Anyway, I'll stop plugging the band and get to the music. I'll throw in some dope new electro but I'll start with Phish. Here's a download of their cover of Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll, Part 2," which I'm sure you know from Jock Jams as well as numerous sporting events:

"Rock and Roll, Part 2" - Phish

Next is a teaser from the Australian electro band Van She's upcoming album. You might have heard some of their stuff before and if you have you know that it's supafly:

"Ze Vemixes (Teaser Mix)" - Van She

Next is a dope remix of a Don Diablo (see "Confusion Girl" [currently my favorite song] from an earlier post) and Example song:

"Hooligans (Noisia Remix)" - Don Diablo & Example

Finally here's a real chill song I just found today by the band NightWaves (sweet name for a band):

"She's Electric (Demo)" - NightWaves

Happy listening and please give Phish a chance (there's a reason I'm obsessed with them).