popwreckoning

“A sold out punk show – that means with all the mohawks present, vision impairment is going to be a major issue.”

Kansas City’s Beaumont Club is a lovely venue, recently remodeled, but since it does host line and salsa dancing, the flat venue already makes it a little tricky to see. Then with a sold out line-up of Dropkick Murphys, Strung Out and Larry and His Flask, only one of the biggest punk shows of the season, average-female-reviewer-here was hesitant to go immerse myself in the sweaty throngs of tattooed, gauged earringed, mohawk-wearing muscle men that I pictured at this show. And while there were some who met my poor, misguided stereotype, the beauty of this tour is that it appeals to so many people of all walks of life: tiny girls, punk guys, indie kids even in plaid, etc. And with St. Patrick’s Day a few weeks away, green clothes and holding an Irish beer would have been the most apt stereotype.

Another apt stereotype was that the audience was either there for the Murphys or Strung Out, both bands having released several successful records in their 10+ years. So when Larry and His Flask took the stage, nobody quite new what to expect, but we all had faith the Murphys wouldn’t let us down in their selection of tour mates. Larry and His Flask was one spectacular surprise after another:

“Is that guy in the crowd with an upright bass?”

“Yup.”

“Is that guy standing the entire time wailing on that drum set and singing?”

“You betcha.”

“Did they just dedicate a song to all the grandmas?”

“Guess they did.”

“OMG. Did you see that guy flip the upright bass over his head?”

Enter speechless response here.

The band’s myspace doesn’t do them justice. This is something to experience live. The stage presence was insane. This was americana-punk-folk at its finest. At first, the upright bass player acted as a magnet. Those things weigh more than a small child and I’ve never seen anyone move with one as if it were as light as another guitar – and without missing a beat. Forcing myself to watch others in the band, I was impressed by the gang-vocals and the speed of the banjoist, but really left me speechless in the dust was the vocalist/drummer standing front and center. Those sticks were flying like lightning and the guy could stand a foot back from the microphone and belt out a chorus that could still be heard clearly over his powerhouse drumming.

The bar was set and it was set high. It was time to see how the veteran acts would stack up.

Strung Out was next at bat. The stage looked a bit more bare with the opening act’s bajillion instruments gone, but that was to Strung Out’s advantage. Immediately, as the first note was sounded, the singer was in the crowd. Vocals and heavy guitars practically shook the venue as excited fans reached their arms up and half moshed and half surfed. The world’s energy issues could be solved if we could find a way to harness the amount in the room at the moment of Strung Out’s set.

For those that have been living under a rock the past 14 years, Strung Out is like a punk meets heavy metal meets regular rock act – Avenged Sevenfold cites Strung Out as one of their primary influences. It’s a bit different than my usual type of music, but watching Strung Out, I got a little hooked on the mind-blowing guitar solos. You don’t see many of those in indie music where it’s just a bunch of light chords.

Following Strung Out, was everyone’s favorite Boston/Irish punk rockers: Dropkick Murphys. This band should be synonymous with awesome at this point in the game. Beers clanking, crowd-singing along to every word, it was like we were all friends magically transported away from Kansas City to an intimate pub in Ireland.The band was tight and sounded better than their recordings and countless radio singles. They, too, showed their fans love with constant time in the crowd. The piano had never been used so rockingly. It was just insane fun to watch and take part.

If you love Dropkick’s albums, you have to see the live show. It’s the way they’re meant to be experienced.

In fact, if you can (many dates have already sold out), try and get to a show on this tour immediately. You won’t regret it.

Writing by Bethany; Photos by Joshua Hammond

Person L just premiered a new video for “Goodness Gracious.” The group is joining up for the Copeland farewell tour and full dates can be seen on their MySpace. Check them out.

OK Go reign king when it comes to making a music video. Treadmills, dances, marching bands and now a crazy single motion video of spectacular machine that will have the creators of MouseTrap impressed.

Check out the second official video for the album version of “This Too Shall Pass.”

Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Jack Johnson and popular artists from the history of Bonnaroo have collaborated together on a free Best of Bonnaroo album. They just ask that people contact their elected officials about climate change.

The compilation features 17 live performances for the festival and is available for free download at www.Musicforaction.org. The music is free no matter what, but it is strongly encouraged fans take action about climate change.

“This generation has an opportunity to be remembered as one that confronted environmental challenges and took responsibility for the future,” said Jack Johnson, whose song “Inaudible Melodies” can be heard on the compilation. “With that opportunity comes the responsibility to speak out.”

Climate change legislature has been introduced in the U.S. Congress, but since reaching the U.S. Senate, the legislation appears to have reached a standstill. Many other countries are waiting to pass their own governmental decisions based on the actions of the U.S.T

Track Listing:
Wilco – Bull Black Nova
Pearl Jam – Animal
Jack Johnson – Inaudible Melodies
Dave Mathews Band – Rapunzel
Death Cab for Cutie – Cath…
Ani DiFranco – Fuel
Phish – Kill Devil Falls
Gov’t Mule – Banks of the Deep End
O.A.R. – Delicate Few
moe. – Not Coming Down
Raphael Saadiq – 100 Yard Dash
Bob Weir & RatDog – Throwing Stones
The Disco Biscuits – And The Ladies Were the Rest of the Night
The Decemberists -The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid
My Morning Jacket – Oh! Sweet Nuthin’
Guster – Happier
Phil Lesh and Friends – Box of Rain

Learn more about the Nebraska foursome Cursive and life on the road in this backstage interview with Kacie Faye.

Though she’s known for her collaborations with acts such as múm, the Iceland native Ólöf Arnalds songbird like voice and multi-instrumental talents showcase that she is just as spectacular as a solo artist, if not more so.

Between working on her sophomore record, preparing for SXSW and celebrating her first record’s U.S. debut, Arnalds still found the time to talk to PopWreckoinng about her musical history and her future endeavors.

Bethany, PopWreckoning: Why did you want to be a musician?
Ólöf Arnalds: I’ve never really thought that much about whether I wanted to be a musician or not. I’ve been learning or working with music since I was a child. It’s a very big part of who I am and I’m really thankful to have the opportunity to focus on music and make a living from it.

PW: How important do you think music education/training is for a musician and a songwriter?
ÓA: I think that’s very individual from one to another. People can train and learn music in so many different ways and musicians and songwriters just have to approach or develop whichever tool or technique they think is the most helpful for what they want to express.

PW: When working on your senior project, Eins og sagt er, how did you come up with the idea for the project? You came to New York. Why New York? Though you’re done with school, would you ever try to do a project like that again?
ÓA: I had done another multi-frame music performance piece before with fewer and simpler musical themes and I wanted to find a way to expand the idea. My interest in the rhythm and pitch in spoken language became a focus point for the musical composition. I traveled to New York for a month in the Summer of 2005 to collect texts from people because I knew I could find people of all nationalities there. I was also very drawn to the city for other reasons and thought this would be a good way to spend some time there. Although music is my main field I’m really interested in continuing to work with other media too either through collaborations or individual projects.

PW: Though Við og Við came out in 2007, it just recently was released in United States. How has the reaction been? Is it strange for this to be “new” music to so many people when you are on the dawn of releasing the follow-up album? Any plans for touring in the States soon?
ÓA: I’m really humbled by how Við og við has been received in the U.S with all the good press and interest people have shown in the record. Of course, I’ve come a long way since I made Við og við and and have even made a whole new record so I feel bit detached from it. Við og við feels to me like a thing that has it’s own life and is independent of me now so I´m happy it´s doing well. I have a short tour coming up around SXSW with shows also in Boston and New York. A full list of dates and venues is up at my MySpace – http://www.myspace.com/olofarnalds.

PW: How is your sophomore album coming along? Name and release date confirmed? What can fans expect (lyrical subject matter, instruments used on it)?
ÓA: We’ve just finished mastering it. The working title was Ókídókí, but then I decided to change the name of the album to Innundir skinni, after one of the songs. The Ókídókí title came about when the ideas were more all over the place and I hadn’t put the editing knife on the album as a whole. Now when I’ve killed the darlings and focused the sound of the record, Ókídókí feels a bit too careless a title particularly considering all the work that my collaborators and I have put in. Innundir skinni means “within skin” that in the song refers to carrying a child. But “skin” can be many things – for example a CD can be the skin of the music and within skin could be about your feelings inside. So to me, Innundir skinni as an album title means that I’m letting the listener into my world. The release date hasn’t been confirmed yet. Innundir skinni is a bit more diverse in sound and feel than Við og við: it has more colour, more elaborate instrumentation and three of the lyrics are in English. It also has one co-written lyric and two guest singing performances. On Við og við, most of the songs were to my family members. On Innundir skinni, I’m singing about my friends, being a woman, creativity and then of course everyone’s favorite subject – love.

PW: Do you ever have a hard time balancing your solo work and your work with múm?
ÓA: I haven’t played or collaborated with múm since my first solo album came out in 2007. múm now have a very solid setup of great musicians that works really well and my time is occupied with my own music so I probably won’t return to the touring group. It makes me a bit sad since they are all dear friends, and I miss playing and hanging out. I still do have plans to collaborate with members of múm in the future whether on my music, theirs or even a separate creative project.

PW: You already play multiple instruments. What is one instrument that you currently don’t know how to play, but wish you could learn it and why?
ÓA: I would love to be able to play piano with a good theoretical understanding of harmony. I can only play it by ear now and have no grip on theory. Although my understanding of chord progression is there, it’s all based on ear and my own internal language of music that I find hard to break out of. I’m working on my understanding of theory with a guitar teacher now. Hopefully, I’ll be able to apply some of that to the piano. I would also love to learn how to operate some electronic devices, like a sampler or a programming thing with an idiot proof interface. I really admire people that have patience for computers and electronic gear and are able to make something organic with it.