Archive - Oct 2008

We had a phenomenal time at the Voodoo Experience in New Orleans last weekend - hope you were there to take part in all the action. We're working on putting our musical adventures into words and editing the tons of photos we took; we'll have our full coverage up shortly. In the meantime, enjoy some videos we captured of Friday night's festivities!

View the rest of our Voodoo Friday videos after the jump

TV on the Radio - "Wolf Like Me":

After our last several attempts to see live music at the Orange Show were thwarted by inclement weather, Eggs and I were rarin' to pay another visit to Houston's best tribute to citrus. Though the skies were cloudy on Thursday, October 16, the rain managed to keep away long enough for us to take in Mucca Pazza, Baby Dee and Benjamin Wesley.

Read more about the night after the jump

Mucca Pazza

Baby Dee

Benjamin Wesley

We are giving away 5 pairs of tickets to see Galactic with special guests Shamarr Allen and Corey Henry and support act the Crown City Rockers at Houston's Warehouse Live on Wednesday, October 29th. All you have to do is send us a message from an active e-mail address that gives us your full name. That's it. Easy, huh? We will randomly pick the winners at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, October 28th, and immediately send email notification with details on how you can pick up your prize.

If you've never seen Galactic before, be ready for a dirty, gritty and nasty funk session featuring a host of very talented players. Lately they have been adding a slew of hip-hop tunes to their repertoire as well. If you like to get down, this is definitely the show for you.

There is always the chance of this show selling out, so if you're worried about not winning tickets, feel free to buy your own. Also, I can't forget to thank The Messina Group for enabling us to have contests like this one.

This weekend will mark the 10th annual Voodoo Experience in New Orleans, LA. The event, which is held in NOLA's City Park, will take place from Friday, October 24 through Sunday, October 26. Voodoo has become known for its diverse lineups featuring artists from a variety of genres, and this year's roster of performers looks to be its most expansive yet. Topping the bill are Nine Inch Nails, R.E.M., Stone Temple Pilots and Lil Wayne; joining them will be a host of artists cranking out everything from sacred steel to gypsy jazz. Three-day passes are $125, single day passes are $50, and VIP passes are $450; tickets can still be purchased here.

Read more about this year's Voodoo Experience after the jump

Houston's newest venue, House of Blues, played host to electro-funk duo Ghostland Observatory on Tuesday, October 14th. While we are pretty big fans of the up-and-coming Austinites, we actually were more excited to see what the House of Blues had to offer. With the venue's promising calendar, we were really hoping for good things to come from our first experience at the brand new establishment.

Read more about the show after the jump

(Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)
When I first heard that we were going to give tickets away to and attend Neil Diamond's concert in Houston, I immediately started cracking up. There was something extremely comical about it, mainly because I never expected to hear myself uttering the words "I am going to see Neil Diamond tonight." While I can honestly say that I am not a huge Neil Diamond fan, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see such a legend live in concert.

Read more about the show after the jump

Austin indietronica band The Octopus Project recently released a video for "I Saw the Bright Shinies," a song included on last year's Hello, Avalanche. The animations are perfectly set to the music - this is really lovely work from Austin-based illustrator Divya Srinivasan. Watch ghostly kids get down with disco dancin' forest creatures:

The Octopus Project "I Saw The Bright Shinies" from Peek-A-Boo Records on Vimeo.

Now, how about a vid for "Bees Bein' Strugglin'"?

For several years my sister has, unfortunately, borne the brunt of my musical conversation, whether she wanted to hear it or not. I apologize for that, and realize that she probably would have been more into music if I weren't around. I did have some positive influence on her listening habits, however, adding bands like The Mountain Goats, Donavon Frankenreiter and The Polyphonic Spree to her list of favorites. Overall, though, it was rare that I liked any of the new music that she threw my way, mostly because it was crap. But there was one artist that I have to admit she turned me on to: she handed me a copy of Ray LaMontagne's Trouble in late 2004, and after giving it just one listen, I immediately fell in love. His unique voice and stellar songwriting made him immediately stand out from the host of male singer/songwriters that were emerging around that time. After a two year wait, the release of Till The Sun Turns Black cemented LaMontagne as a significant member of today's popular music scene.

Last Tuesday, October 14th, marked the release of his third studio album, "Gossip In The Grain." I've been eagerly awaiting its arrival since first hearing the single, "You Are The Best Thing," through the blogosphere a while back. A few weeks ago, Stereogum also featured a new track, "Meg White," which finds LaMontagne professing his love for the White Stripes' drummer. Rumor has it she even attended one of his shows after hearing the track. Is there romance in the air?

You can get the album pretty much anywhere, and it's pretty damn good, so do yourself a favor and buy this album!

Keep reading for a track listing and more after the jump

The night of Monday, October 13 was a music-filled one at The Mink/Backroom in Houston. The small venue played host to four genre-spanning bands: Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, David Vandervelde, Judgement Day and Wild Moccasins.

Read about the night, see photos and watch videos after the jump

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's

Really effing fast. Like, under 5 minutes fast. If you managed to get through at all, you probably ran into a CAPTCHA issue that wouldn't allow you to complete the order. Or you got booted to the back of the line because you had too many browsers open. Did anyone out there actually manage to successfully purchase tickets? I haven't heard many positive reports.

But hey, if you've got money to burn, check out the scalper shenanigans:

Ticket Liquidator - $324 to $1414
Tickets Now - $346 to $1604 (suspiciously enough, this is a Ticketmaster company)
StubHub - $350 to $6500

While you're at it, why not browse through the auctions on eBay? You glutton for punishment, you.

More ranting about Phish Hampton tickets after the jump