It’s hard to see the point of this whole thing. 2001′s Tiger Pop is a pretty OK album as it stands. It might not be the classic the internet seems to think it is, but it’s pretty easy on the ears. So, to celebrate it’s ten year anniversaryJohn Brodeur decided to re-record the album, and release it as a two CD set with the original. This would be fine, if the new version had anything to offer, but it really doesn’t. It’s mostly overproduced drivel: watered down versions of what are pretty good songs. I suppose I’m complaining for nothing though, because the album is priced as a single disc set.
I’ve already stated my opinions of the new version, so I’m going to focus on the original. It starts with a pretty exciting pop song, “Infected (so in love with you).. It definitely has a garage band thing going on, and the lyrics make me smile: “when there’s nothing on the radio I dream of you.” It’s kind of a throwback, a nod to classic rock.This album could have easily been recorded in a basement in the early ’80′s. That’s not a bad thing.
That song ends with radio tuning, and we’re on to “Remains of a Heart.” The song starts with an acoustic guitar that leads into a full band sound. The press I’ve read on Brodeur is quick to stress the fact that he is a one man band, playing each instrument by himself. It’s kind of fascinating to think about that while listening. Tiger Pop is very well produced, each instrument melding well together.
With the first two songs you have pretty much the entire album. Well played power pop, with occasionally witty lyrics. If power pop is your thing, you’ll dig this. A lot of it reminds me of XO era Elliott Smith, especially the song “Changing Your Mind (Again).” The album as a whole makes good background music and you’ll quickly find yourself humming along. to.
Coheed and Cambria, the alternative rockers known for frontman Claudio Sanchez‘s characteristic falsetto and equally well-known hairstyle, is celebrating 10 years as a band with a Spring Anniversarytour.
The band will perform debut album The Second Stage Turbine Blade in its entirety across 22 North American Cities. The must-see tour will also feature a rare acoustic set and an extra set of songs from the band’s five studio albums.
The tour kicks off April 8 in Kansas City at the Midland Theater. Tickets go on-sale Friday, January 14. Specific ticket information is available here. Tour Dates:
Apr 08 Kansas City, MO @ Midland Theater
Apr 09 Dallas, TX @ Palladium
Apr 11 Austin, TX @ Stubbs
Apr 12 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
Apr 14 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
Apr 15 Tampa, FL @ Jannus Live
Apr 18 Charlotte, NC @ Fillmore
Apr 19 Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live
Apr 20 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Apr 22 Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
Apr 25 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
Apr 26 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Apr 27 Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
Apr 29 Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theater
Apr 30 Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
May 02 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater
May 03 Salt Lake City, UT @ In the Venue
May 05 Seattle, WA @ Showbox Sodo
May 06 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
May 07 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
May 09 San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
May 10 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theater
May 11 Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia
Saturday in Kansas City was quite the conundrum. What show to go to? Lawrence venues were filled with indie rockers for the Scion Fest, bros and hipsters mixed at Vampire Weekend at Starlight, and the edgier rockers checked out Alice and Chains. But not to be overlooked was the line-up at the Record Bar, which was hosting some of the best local acts Kansas City has to offer in celebration of the Record Bar’s 5th anniversary.
The beautiful voice of songwriter Jenny Carr started the night, followed by the Spanglish danceable songs of Making Movies, then Lawrence’s Cowboy Indian Bear showed off their new harmonies with their latest addition of Katlyn Conroy. Finally, headlining the night were local indie gods The Republic Tigers, whom had been absent from the live music scene for nearly a year.
The Tigers have not been idle during their absence. They’ve been busy working on new material, some of which is expected due out on a EP hopefully later this year, and some of which is for a full-length album that the band hopes to release in Spring 2011. They started off their set with one of these new tunes, “Manny Feathers.” They played a few other new ones, including the two (“Whale Fight” and Kingsly”) that they had introduced at some of their prior shows. From what could be seen and heard from the first introduction to this material, is that the Tigers sound hasn’t gone through any drastic changes. There’s still plenty of keys, guitar solos and big drums. But the main change of note is that they have upped the amount of backing vocals being contributed to the songs, which is always a welcome addition.
The Tigers have definitely gained confidence in their overall performance capabilities. “Fight Song” continues to be the Tigers big show stopper with the demanding drum bangs of that song screaming ‘dance to me NOW!’ However, now, some songs that seemed a bit boring live before, came across as livelier and more passionate. Maybe it was the blinding light show (a rarity at this particular venue), an eagerness to play after the long break, the increased confidence or something else, but whatever this new quality is to their performance, it’s fantastic. Let’s hope it is here to stay.
Set List:
Manny Feathers
Golden Sand
Feelin the Future
Made Concrete
The Drums
Merrymake It
Whale Fight
Lonely as I Was
Contortionists
Fight Song
//
Buildings and Mountains
Kingsly
One of Kansas City’s most beloved venues, Record Bar, celebrated 5 years serving the scene this past weekend. They celebrated with a weekend filled with some of the best local and global acts.
The former Kansas City performer is hard at work in San Francisco, putting the finishing touches on Extra Classic’s debut. Alongside Verhoeven in Extra Classic are Alex Delanda, Josh Adams, Jake Blanton (formerly of Ghosty) and Dustin Kinsey (The New Amsterdams).
While waiting on this release, we invite you to sample the band by checking out their tune “Congo Rebel.”
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Concert Calendar
Nov 23, 2011
HaHa Tonka @ Recordbar, Kansas City MO
Nov 25, 2011
Thee Oh Sees @ The Granada, Lawrence KS
It’s hard to see the point of this whole thing. 2001′s Tiger Pop is a pretty OK album as it stands. It might not be the classic the internet seems to think it is, but it’s pretty easy on the ears. So, to celebrate it’s ten year anniversary John Brodeur decided to re-record the album, and release it as a two CD set with the original. This would be fine, if the new version had anything to offer, but it really doesn’t. It’s mostly overproduced drivel: watered down versions of what are pretty good songs. I suppose I’m complaining for nothing though, because the album is priced as a single disc set.
