Leppotone

That's the rumor I heard in the "cafeteria" that we call al dining room, anyway.

We're chumps and missed the boat on the Saturday tix. There are still 3 day-passes around, but I don't know if we're up to commiting to that level of the rock and roll. As some of you know, the Didgits are playing here on the 16th, so maybe we'll get out Touch and Go fix then. I'm gonna get a nice air mattress this weekend for visitors that are coming down for this show.

Senor - the train that stops in Michigan City and goes to Chicago actually departs further East in Indiana. You can catch the West Lake Corridor train from the South Bend Airport. It looks like the schedule is pretty regular and affordable.

If the mood strikes us, maybe we'll meet up with y'all in Chicago for socializing pre-show. Email me as to when you're leaving and if you want to catch up.  

Are you peebles leaving for Chickagoland Friday or Saturday?

If we go, probably Saturday since that's when people we know will be there. Otherwise, I'm just gonna hop in the car and go all the way to K'zoo. I'm missing everyone especially badly today. Probably 'cause I'm sick, tired, and have other emotional home related issues rolling around my head.

 Also, Chimp knows nothing of this. I'll have to confer with him…

I get paid Thursday, can slip $ for tickets if they are actually presale shits.

who else is playing with the Didjits in Chapagne? 

Although it is a great relief to hear that B-rad going instead of my sacrificial self, it's still kind of shocking to read it on the internet. Anything else I should know?

Therefore, Saturday I shall be sallying about town with fancy highlighted hair, reading books about statistics and health care policy between social engagements. Anyone care to join me?

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/38254/Interview_Interview_Corey_Rusk

Excellent interview with Corey Rusk on Pitchfork.  He is truly one of the greats…..

Useless and Crappor,

The Didjits are still a go! I'll send a more detailed e-mail to you guys this weekend with all the info. Here's a little to wet your beak: Local record store guy (he's pretty nice) said that the show should kick ass (duh) but tickets are only sold on day of show. He said not to worry, it should be well attended but shouldn't sell out.

It's an early show - 7:30 pm asnd there's only one opening band. So we can roll on to the Tumble Inn, Mike'N'Molly's or any other sweet bar's in the vicinity afterward. If we get too hammered we can take the bus home.

PS If anyone else wants to come down for the Didjits show, please do.

Huzzah!  Everybody at my house keeps asking why I'm going to Illinois next Saturday, they're pissed that I'm not gonna be there to take them to Big Boy or Pizza Hut.  "Curtis, where you goin!?"

I'm going to try to save some $$ for record shopping too, and drinking and tickets for the show, natch.

Ladies, please accompany LinZ out this Saturday for clothes pawin, she is in a mighty powerful bad mood about not having good enough clothes for teaching. 

As always, the festival experience is not all-encompassing but we did get to see our most sought after acts, Killdozer and Negative Approach.  Also, although we were not expecting to see P.W. Long he kind of stole the show.  Imagine a lone man with an acoustic guitar warming up the NA crowd (well, he is John Brannon's brother though) and totally pulling it off.

Killdozer was AWESOME.  They sounded exactly like you would expect them to sound.  They opened with 'my name is Richard, but you can call me Dick' and went from there.

 PW Long:  deep and haunting.  I don't know a lot about Mule but this guy kicked ass.  A man and his acoustic guitar.  In a weird way it was not unlike what I have heard Tree pull out sometimes.

Negative Approach:  we talked to John a little before they played.  '20 jams in 24 minutes' is what he promised.  And they delivered.   It screeched where it's supposed to screech and pummelled where it's supposed to pummel.  Part Civil War battle, part fascist rally.  Just like the old days.  A Katrina sized pit with an average age of 39 (49?).  I didn't see anyone carted away on a stretcher though.

Didjits, Scratch Acid, Man or Astro-Man?.  Didjits sounded raw and tight as hell.  Didn't catch much of Scratch Acid's set, we were eating and trying to sit down for a minute.  I never really got Man or Astro-Man? (and I'm still kind of pissed about the fakes I saw at Club Soda) and this show didn't change my perception. Kind of boring.

 Big Black:  Unlike Brannon and the NA guys who took this VERY seriously, Big Black apparently tried to see if they could play 2 or 3 of their least challenging songs (it would appear without rehearsal) and still be heralded as 'powerful' (as they were on this morning's Pitchfork).  It was interesting but ultimately mediocre. 

We didn't stay for Shellac.  Thanks to B-rad for the great company and to T & G for kicking it the past 25 years and to Bunky for putting us up.

highlights for us were the ex and scratch acid. killdozer was also smokin' hot and busted out the zz top hit "la grange" for shits and giggles as a large inflatable penis was batted around by the crowd gathered in front of the stage. sam bailey asked me re: big black "could it sound any worse?" and i had to say "maybe if they turned it up a notch or two". they rocked, but got a bad mix as did astroman (the surfy reverb was awash out of doors). bitchfork should've saved "powerful" for shellac as they were definitely ON .. sounding good and having fun. spotted my first combover mohawk somewhere in there. funny stuff. we must've wandered off for some crappy food during pw long .. sorry i missed his set. got some horribly blurred pics, but there might be a keeper or two in the bunch. here's michael from killdozer, but you can call him dick.

[img_assist|nid=533|title=M. Gerard (Killdozer) at TandG 25th|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=500|height=500]

ok, to be fair, I didn't go to this. but, I *did* just watch Big Black's set on YouTube… least challenging songs? man, even watching this through some bozo's cell phone, those 4 songs not only were powerful, but they full-on rocked. and, really, how can you say "dead billy" is not challenging? Cables?  Jeez…

And pitchfork? aren't they a watered-down online version of Spin? wait, I know the answer: Yes. So why take their word for it? 

I recently pulled out Killdozer's Snakeboy with trepidation. I always dug Killdozer but was really afraid their records were going to sound dated in 2006. Nope. It still sounded pretty dang good.

I'm glad the Didjits still got it cause they're getting my $10 this Saturday. I would have loved to seen Scrath Acid. A friend onced described theme as the soundtrack to Batman on a bad drunk tearing around wearing his cape, shirt and mask without any tights or underwear.

ok, to be fair, I didn't go to this. but, I *did* just watch Big Black's set on YouTube… least challenging songs? man, even watching this through some bozo's cell phone, those 4 songs not only were powerful, but they full-on rocked. and, really, how can you say "dead billy" is not challenging? Cables?  Jeez…

I saw Big Black twice, in July 1986 (Greystone in Detroit) and again in March 1987 ( in Ann Arbor at a U of M dorm).  The Ann Arbor show as I recall was plagued by technical dificulties (they kept blowing breakers for some reason) but the Detroit show was one of the the 10 or 15 best rock experiences of my life.   'Jordan, Minnesota', 'Kerosene', 'Passing Complexion', etc.  Difficult highly structured highly energetic pieces.  Atomizer is the reason Big Black is in the history books, and aside from Cables they didn't really touch on it.    Big Black in the day was never a band I would associate with 'halfass' but what I heard last Saturday was about 25% of what Big Black was in their prime.

 not sure what you mean by "history books"… do you mean it was the album that gave them a modicum of indie notability? That it did, but Big Black was always lost in the art ghetto somewhere…not quite art rock (like SY) or not quite industrial (like EN). A lot of like-minded people would leave the room when I played it.

Also, wasn't Cables on Bulldozer?

So, anyway, sure I wasn't at the show on Saturday. But, again, from what I could see/hear on YouTube, it appeared they rocked. Maybe it did sound worse live? I can't speak for that. But, I still don't get how Dead Billy, Pigeon Kill, Cables, and Racer X were not "challenging". If I may, it sounds like those simply weren't your favorite songs, and not the ones you wanted to hear? That's fine. But a long way from "not challenging". 

Durango DID play! Riley, I think, is crazy or dead or something…too much blow?

but, that's a good theory that he only played old stuff in keeping the theme of "25 years ago"…