The New Pornographers--The Metro, Chicago, Illinois

The New Pornographers were in town this past Thursday and Friday and I had tickets to the Friday show. Having been sick all week I popped an Airborne (which says on the box was created by a school teacher so I guess it has to work) and headed over. Being a big fan, a slightly onerous cold wasn't going to keep me from seeing this band. The only other time I have seen them was this past summer and Neko Case and Dan Bejar were noticeably absent. Not this time though, the entire crew was there, time to check out some porn!

I didn't write down a set list during the show but just know that they pretty much covered everything that people wanted to hear from their four albums. They're great to see live.....I like any band that can incorporate hand-claps into such a high majority of their songs.

(Sorry for the distraction, but as I'm typing this the Bears are down by four against the Eagles and are about to attempt to drive 97 yards with 1:53 left and no timeouts. Who's confident?! Yeah, me neither. But I figure watching the Bears attempt a two-minute drill has to be comical enough to detail....

As figured, they're going nowhere......a dump pass in the middle of the field to Adrian Peterson is not going to get the job done with no timeouts. Another completed pass to Desmond Clark and he gets out of bounds to stop the clock....too bad it was only for about 8 yards. Whoa, hold up......they're moving......Griese over the middle to Berrian....we're near the Eagles 40........another pass to Hester......we're at the Eagles 15!

Unbelievable! After spiking the ball, Griese just hit Moose for what better be the game winning touchdown with 8 seconds left. Bears squib kick and the Eagles have it on their own 40. I wonder if McNabb can throw 60 yards. Oh, doesn't matter, they run out the clock after an incomplete pass that was set to go about 12 yards. Good call. Bears win! Honestly, was there ever any doubt?

My God, the Philly fans exiting the stadium look like they're ready to eat their own young right now. Yikes!)

Everyone here had a better weekend than Eagle fans.

....alright, sorry about that, but that was very necessary. It was good to see Dan Bejar with the band. I really like what he offers to the New Pornographers' catalog. Early on they played "The Spirit of Giving", closing track on Challengers and one which features Bejar and he sounded great. As did the song....it was memorable this past summer at Union Park and it was memorable again Friday night. They played about three or four other Bejar songs, "Jackie Dressed in Cobras" comes to mind, but the rest of the show he just sort of sat by the side of the stage, seemingly bored, sipping on a beer. For all I knew he was doing Sudoku puzzles during his downtime. In other words, he didn't exactly seem thrilled to be there. Or maybe that's just his normal demeanor.

It sure was nice of Dan to show up.

Neko Case was donning an old Queen tour shirt which reminded me of this summer when they belted out "We Will Rock You". Both her and Kathryn Calder's vocals sounded fine and they often sung simultaneously. If anything surprised me, it was the fact that I didn't think Case offered any extra element to the band from what I saw this summer (unless you count her token nonsensical babbling into the microphone between songs). And I love Neko Case but that's how much I think of Calder and how good she is for the band. As mentioned, they pretty much covered every song that would be considered a hit in their catalog complete with "Use It", "The Laws Have Changed", "Sing Me Spanish Techno, and the title-track from Challengers. They closed out the first set with "Bleeding Heart Show" and returned for a three song encore that included "From Blown Speakers", a song from Mass Romantic that I can't seem to place and another song I don't remember. Hey, it was Friday night, beer was flowing.

Nevertheless, the New Pornographers are just a well-oiled machine that pump out really good pop/rock songs. That's probably mostly Carl Newman's influence but his supporting cast is pretty great and it was nice to see all of them there. Oh, and Go Bears.

Fujiya & Miyagi--The Empty Bottle, Chicago, Illinois

We hit up the Empty Bottle on Friday to check out British alternative group Fujiya & Miyagi. I'm glad it didn't take them too long to return to Chicago. They were on the smaller stage this summer at Pitchfork and I wanted to see them but couldn't because of a scheduling conflict with Battles. First up was opening act Dirty on Purpose who were pretty much terrible by accident. Such irony.

Behind Schubas, the Empty Bottle might be my favorite venue in Chicago. The location isn't great but everything else is. There's a black cat that guards the door and sells merchandise. Old Style's are only $2 (on Saturday I paid $5 for one on Clark St. during the Cubs game, but hey, at least they.......oh wait...nevermind). Other drinks are relatively cheap, too. The stage is set in the corner at an angle to the crowd. We scouted out a place about 15 feet from the stage that was elevated. This place might be the perfect venue for anyone who is 5'5 or below. And, the sound is really good. I would say it's the best example of a rock club in Chicago.

In Chicago, the "Old Style" sign is usually a pretty good indicator that you're at a decent place.

Rogue Dead Guy is both a beer on the menu and what the Empty Bottle men's room smells like.

Fujiya Miyagi....Fujiya Miyagi.....Fujiya Miyagi.....Fujiya Miyagi......

Fujiya & Miyagi came out and opened with "Ankle Injuries". Any confusion as to the band's name is pretty much cleared up in that song. They named their band after a brand-name record player and Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid. Why? Why not. It does make you feel good that even people in England appreciate The Karate Kid doesn't it? Their music is kind of a funky electronica/rock sound. Lots of people dancing, and lots of people doing the less-secure flat-footed stand while bopping their head back and forth.

Immediately after the show this cat headed over to Wrigley Field.

Lead singer David Best was anchoring the band and playing guitar in a sort of fashion that reminded me of Britt Daniel. During "Photocopier" they name-dropped Chicago which the crowd ate up. After playing for a little over an hour, they left the stage, came back for a brief encore and the show was over. They're the type of band that you could enjoy live even if you haven't heard their album or any of their songs. The show was good. The tamales we bought afterward from some guy on the street were not.

Matt And Kim--Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, Illinois

We returned to Hickory High this past Tuesday to check out Matt and Kim with Totally Michael and Dan Deacon opening. First thing I noticed was that the price of PBR had gone up $1. Oh, the humanity. If you aren't familiar with Totally Michael (because I wasn't) he's a single performer, rather nerdy, presumably named Michael, and he took the stage with an iPod and seldom used guitar. Don't let that fool you because he was exciting. In fact he got the crowd going into a bit of a frenzy and a mosh pit formed around the stage. I'm not sure if mosh pit is the right word. I never know what to call it when a bunch of hipsters that weigh 135 lbs. are jumping around to some nerdy music. How about we just call it a hipstosh pit. So I went to join the hipstosh pit because it looked like fun, danced around for awhile, and returned to my crew. It was a great time until I reached into my pocket and realized my phone was gone. Noooooooooo! Panic mode set in. We looked all over for it with no success. Depressed, resigned to the fact that I was going to have to buy a new phone, the concert was ruined before it had really began. I saw a security guard and told him my story. Believe it or not he actually seemed concerned. And after Totally Michael finished he got on stage, told the crowd that a phone had been lost, and the guy who found it returned it to me almost instantaneously. I was so happy I'll never make fun of hipsters again. (Also, sometime during Totally Michael's set he divided the crowd into two sides and included the crowd into some sort of role play. I'd be able to explain it better but I was too busy sulking in the corner because I thought my phone was lost. That said, Totally Michael was good).

Something tells me Totally Michael totally didn't have many girlfriends in high school.

I meant to see Baltimorian Dan Deacon put on his electronic show at the Pitchfork Festival this past summer but because of circumstances beyond my control I missed him. Those of you that read the Pitchfork article may remember. So needless to say, I was pretty excited after having been cheated this summer. He was incredible and I couldn't even see him. He sets up his electronics on the ground and invites the audience to crowd around him and even watch from

the stage.

You can't see him but I believe Dan Deacon was sitting just below that nice floating green skull.

Coupled with the lighting, his music sounds really cryptic. People were dancing, hipstoshing, and Deacon had the crowd running around the room on his instructions. It was a pretty wild scene, like gym class at some terrible new-age middle school.

Half of these people are running around on Dan Deacon's instruction and the other half are rioting because Logan Square Auditorium raised the price of PBR to $4.

To understand how crazy the scene was during Dan Deacon, look no further than the upside down boot.

After Dan Deacon finished I finally caught a glimpse of him. He's the guy in the yellow shirt. And yes ladies, he's single.

I ran to the bathroom after Dan Deacon finished and came back into the room and was met with what I think was the smell of death. If you look at the picture of Dan Deacon above, that's about what everyone else looked like after he finished. Everyone was into it.......and in turn, everyone smelled horrible.

This marked my second time seeing the alternative punk/dance duo Matt and Kim. I saw them in early August at the Sonic Muse Festival in Cincinnati. The onstage pizza party was a gas in Cincy so I was even more exited this time around knowing what to expect. They had spent the past three days driving from San Diego so they could play this show and they took the stage and were ready to go. Opening up with "Silver Tiles" the crowd was so excited and caught up in the hipstoshing that the crowd began to sway back and forth beyond control. People were running onstage and stage-diving, and Matt and Kim's entourage were behind the band partying and dancing it up. One guy had a skull shaped beer bong. Skulls played a prominent role at this concert.

Matt and Kim in a good mood for once.

Although hailing from Brooklyn, Matt and Kim really love Chicago. I know this because he told us so. Seriously though, they really do love Chicago and Chicago really digs them. The energy from the crowd was as infectious as Kim's smile. When they played "Yea Yeah" the crowd got rowdy to the point that the girls I was with had to retreat from the front of the stage.

I'm not sure what the guys over Matt's left shoulder are doing but it's looking kind of weird.

Yep, still looking weird.

Matt and Kim ended their set with an absolute party on stage. I'm not sure how many people were around the band as they closed out but they barely had room to play their instruments. One guy was crowding Kim so much her big smile turned into just a smile with a look of suspicion in her eyes at the guy falling all over her drum set. I really don't think they cared. They're all about a good time and it was a good time.

Party on stage. I guarantee they had to spray that room down once everyone left. The girl in the black shirt on the far right pretty much sums up the evening.

In perfect Matt and Kim fashion there was an impromptu dance party after the concert was over. In case you weren't aware, "Since U Been Gone" can really get a room going. If you missed the hoopla, not to worry, I'm sure all three of these acts will be back soon. More importantly, this show spawned a new word--hipstoshing (well, maybe two if you count "Baltimorian"), we saw the gentrification of PBR, and I learned never to give up looking for a cell phone. All in all, a rather educational night at old Hickory High..

Win Free Tickets To Elvis Perkins In Dearland This Sunday

Everything is free these days, or at least potentially free. First, word got out that Radiohead was releasing their next album online and you can pay however much you want for a copy of the soon-to-be-released album entitled In Rainbows. How about "'I'll Pay Nothing For $100', Alex." Second, "Oh My Rockness" announced an opportunity to win free tickets to the Voxtrot concert at the Metro on October 4th. And now, there is a chance to win Elvis Perkins in Dearland tickets at the Lakeshore Theater this Sunday. Keep your wallet full, indeed.

October Shows In Chicago

Welcome to the greatest month in rock and roll history. And that's no exaggeration. Look no further than the great Spoon/Ted Leo face-off of October 12 not to mention the month culminating with Art Brut and The Hold Steady at the Metro on Halloween. Costume suggestions are now being accepted. Also, if I missed anyone anywhere or if any info is incorrect please let me know. And now I present to you.....the candy lineup:

Mon 10/1
The Blow, Video Hippos, High Places @ Empty Bottle 9pm

Tues 10/2
Bat For Lashes, Lewis & Clarke @ Empty Bottle 10pm

Matt & Kim, Totally Michael, Dan Deacon @ Logan Square Auditorium @ Logan Square Auditorium 6:30pm*

The Pipettes @ Park West 6pm

Oakley Hall, Tight Phantomz, Box of Baby Birds @ Schubas 9pm^

Wed 10/3
Black Mountain, Cave Singers @ Empty Bottle 8:30pm

Earlimart, Office @ Schubas 9pm

Health, Yea Big/Kid Static, Crime Novels @ Reggie's Rock Club 8pm

Thurs 10/4
Voxtrot, The Little Ones, Sleeping States @ Metro 9pm

Twilight Sad, Thin Hymns @ Empty Bottle 9pm

Jose Gonzalez, James Blackshaw @ Park West 7:30pm

Beirut, Colleen, Alaska In Winter @ Portage Theater 8pm

Magik Markers, Number None @ Schubas 9pm

Hot Hot Heat, Bedouin Soundclash, De Novo Dahl @ Vic Theatre 6pm

Berto Ramon @ Victory Liquors 8pm

Fri 10/5
Electric Six, The Gore Gore Girls, We Are The Fury @ Double Door 8pm

Fujiya & Miyagi, Dirty on Purpose @ Empty Bottle 10pm*

Plastic Crimewave Sound, Tight Phantomz, Fast Product, Sybris, The Thin Man, Grimble Grumble, Titmice, Vibe Central @ Hideout 9:30pm$

The Sea and Cake, Meg Baird @ Metro 8pm

Nina Nastasia, Jim White @ Schubas 10pm

Sat 10/6
The White Stripes, Cold War Kids @ Aragon Ballroom 7:30pm#

John Vanderslice, Bishop Allen @ Empty Bottle 10pm

Of Montreal, Grand Buffet, Mgmt @ Metro 6:30pm*

Howe Gelb, Eleni Mandell @ Old Town School of Folk Music 7:30pm

Murder By Death, Old Canes, Light Pollution @ Reggie's Rock Club 7pm

Dillinger Escape Plan, behold the arctopus, Genghis Tron, A Life Once Lost @ Subterranean 7pm

Klaxons, Shit Disco @ Vic Theatre 7pm

Sun 10/7
The White Stripes, Cold War Kids @ Aragon Ballroom @ Aragon Ballroom 7:30pm&

Matt Pond PA, Jesca Hoop @ Double Door 7pm

The Watson Twins, Ben Weaver, Twilight Revival @ Empty Bottle 9pm!!

Elvis Perkins @ Lakeshore Theater 9pm

Of Montreal, Grand Buffet, Mgmt @ Metro 6:30pm

Califone, The 1900's, Flosstradamus, The Eternals (ex-Trench Mouth), Poster Children, Headache City @ Museum of Contemporary Art 1pm

Tokyo Police Club, White Rabbits, The Virgins @ Schubas 7pm

Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Brighton, MA @ Schubas 9pm*

Saves The Day, Dr. Manhattan, Single File @ Subterranean 7pm

Mon 10/8
The Besnard Lakes, White Williams, Birds and Batteries @ Empty Bottle 9pm

Tokyo Police Club, White Denim, The Virgins @ Schubas 9pm*

Tues 10/9
Dr. Dog, Apollo Sunshine, High Strung @ Empty Bottle 9pm

Patrick Wolf @ Metro 6pm

Bob Mould @ Schubas 9pm

Unique Chique, Division Day, Bailiff @ Subterranean 8pm

Wed 10/10
Grizzly Bear, Beach House @ Park West 6pm

The Draft, Dead To Me, The Gaslight Anthem, The Brokedowns, Off With Their Heads @ Reggie's Rock Club 5pm

Thurs 10/11
Interpol, Liars @ Aragon Ballroom 7:30pm*

The Freewheelin' Yo La Tengo @ Lakeshore Theater 7pm & 10:30 pm (two shows)

Fri 10/12
Spoon @ Riviera Theatre 8pm

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, The A-Sides, The Eternals (ex-Trench Mouth) @ Metro 6pm

Catfish Haven, Wax Fang @ Double Door 8pm

Final Fantasy, Basia Bulat @ Schubas 10pm

Shannon Wright, Judson Claiborn (of Low Skies) @ Hideout 9:30pm

Sat 10/13
The Go! Team, The Cool Kids @ Double Door 8pm

Shout Out Out Out Out, San Serac, Prairie Cartel @ Empty Bottle 9pm

Superdrag @ Metro 8pm

Saturday Looks Good To Me, Mason Proper @ Hideout 8:30pm

The Plastic Constellations, Building Better Bombs @ Reggie's Rock Club 10pm

Sea Wolf, Retribution Gospel Choir feat. Alan Sparhawk, The Shaky Hands @ Schubas 10pm

Sun 10/14
Pinback @ Metro 9pm*

Damo Suzuki (of Can), Robert AA Lowe, Ben Vida @ Empty Bottle 9pm

The Forecast, Blackpool Lights, Dialogue @ Reggie's Rock Club 5pm

Saturday Looks Good To Me, Mason Proper, Great Lakes Myth Society @ Schubas 7pm

Mon 10/15
Frightened Rabbit, A Tundra, The Sharks @ Empty Bottle 9pm

Tues 10/16
Architecture in Helsinki @ Metro 6pm

Wed 10/17
Justice, Midnight Juggernauts @ Metro 8pm

The Polyphonic Spree, Rooney, The Redwalls @ Vic Theatre 6:30pm

Eleventh Dream Day, Canasta, Lesser Birds of Paradise @ Subterranean 8:30pm

Thurs 10/18

The New Pornographers, Emma Pollock (from The Delgados) @ Metro 8pm

The Mother Hips, Probably Vampires, Pink Nasty @ Schubas 8pm

Mad Happy, Lord of the Yum Yum, Fox Paws, Moon Patrol, We Will Eat Rats To Survive @ Reggie's Rock Club 8pm

ALO @ Double Door 8pm

Adam Franklin (From Swervedriver), Airiel, Apteka @ Empty Bottle 9pm

Fri 10/19

Bright Eyes, Andrew Bird @ Chicago Theater 7:30pm

The New Pornographers, Emma Pollock (from The Delgados) @ Metro 9pm!

Shout Out Louds, Johnossi, Nico Vega @ Logan Square Auditorium 8:30pm

The Raveonettes, Nicole Atkins & The Sea, Gliss @ Empty Bottle 10pm

High on Fire, Mono, Panthers, Coliseum @ Double Door 8pm

Nada Surf @ Schubas 8pm

The Mother Hips, Pink Nasty @ Schubas 10:30pm

Sat 10/20

Ween @ Aragon Ballroom 6:30pm*

Stars of Track & Field, Scout Niblett, Eskimo Joe @ Empty Bottle 10pm

Nada Surf, Sea Wolf @ Schubas 10:30pm

Unkle @ Metro 9pm

Mon 10/22

Drive By Truckers @ Park West 6pm

Atmosphere, Mac Lethal, Grayskul, Luckyiam, Legends @ Metro 6pm

Tues 10/23

We Will Eat Rats To Survive, Perry H Matthews @ Beat Kitchen 6pm

IAMX, Comasoft, Hourly Radio @ Double Door 8pm

Wed 10/24

The Thermals, Chin Up Chin Up, Reporter @ Logan Square Auditorium 8:30pm*

Rogue Wave, Port O'Brien @ Double Door 8pm

Pigeon John, Longshot, Aristacats, Blended Babies @ Abbey Pub 8pm

HelloGoodbye, Say Anything @ Congress Theatre 5pm

Figurines, Dappled Cities, The Dead Trees @ Schubas 9pm

Thurs 10/25

Queens of the Stone Age, The Black Angels, Biffy Clyro @ Riviera Theatre 6:30pm

Josh Rouse @ Park West 6:30pm

Little Brother, Evidence (of Dilated Peoples), Black Milk @ Abbey Pub 8pm

Karl Blau, Your Heart Breaks @ Hideout 11:30pm

The Weakerthans, The Last Town Chorus @ Metro 6:30pm

His Name is Alive, Mira Mira, The Black Swans @ Schubas 9pm

Tiger Army, The Static Age, Street Dogs @ Vic Theatre 7:30pm

Fri 10/26

Minus the Bear, The Helio Sequence, Grand Archives @ Metro 8pm

The Appleseed Cast, Enon, The Octopus Project, Dreamend @ Abbey Pub 8pm

Sat 10/27

Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello @ Chicago Theater 7pm

The Appleseed Cast, Enon, The Octopus Project, Dreamend @ Abbey Pub 8pm

Jesu, Torche, Fog @ Empty Bottle 10pm

Lyrics Born, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Devin the Dude, The Coughee Brothaz, Bukue One, Junk Science @ Metro 8pm

Rodrigo y Gabriela @ Riviera Theatre 7:30pm

Chuck Prophet, Luke Temple @ Schubas 10pm

Sun 10/28

Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello @ Chicago Theater 7pm

The Decemberists, Laura Veirs & The Saltbreakers @ Vic Theatre 7pm

Great Lake Swimmers, Tiny Vipers @ Schubas 9pm

Mon 10/29

Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello @ Chicago Theater 7pm

The Decemberists, Laura Veirs & The Saltbreakers @ Vic Theatre 7pm

Tunng, Castanets, Deer Tick @ Empty Bottle 9pm

Tues 10/30

The Hold Steady, Art Brut, Federale @ Metro 7pm

Mobius Band, Tigercity @ Empty Bottle 9pm

Wed 10/31

The Hold Steady, Art Brut, Federale @ Metro 7pm!

The Fiery Furnaces, Pit Er Pat @ Logan Square Auditorium 8:30pm

Mucca Pazza, Detholz!, Lord of the Yum Yum @ Empty Bottle 9pm

Film School, Land of Talk, Eulogies @ Schubas 9pm

*Hooray!

!Hooray! I say HOORAY!

^Drop it Yoni, no one is going.

$Is anyone as happy as I am that there's a band named Titmice running around?

#Cancelled because of the fake Meg White sex tape.

& Cancelled because Phil Spector might get away with murder.

!!Unfortunately, looks like Jenny Lewis won't be there. The good news is neither will Blake Sennett.

Ode To Playlists

(This is the first ever guest blog on this site. Enjoy).

by Jessica Gordon

I’m basically incredibly lazy when it comes to music. I love music, I really do. And I think over the years I’ve managed to acquire some abbreviated musical knowledge, and I certainly know what I like when I hear it. But I don’t generally seek out new artists on my own. I don’t troll bands’ online sites looking for free downloads from their new albums, and I don’t read Rolling Stone or Wired much, and when I do it’s usually to look at the pictures and maybe read a few stories. Instead, I rely on my friends to send good music my way. One friend in particular, the author of this very blog, actually, has been sending good music my way for many years now. He’s turned me on to artists like Modest Mouse, Neko Case, Broken Social Scene and many, many more. He likes to tell me that he made me cool, at least musically speaking, because when we met I was listening to the Dixie Chicks and I think Janet Jackson (for the record, still not bad music, just not all there is…). It’s funny, though, because technically I know more about music than he does. I read music, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t; I can tell if someone is off-key or on, and he can’t all the time; I know if something is dissonant or melodic, or if it’s a tight harmony; I know if, unexpectedly, the lower voice is taking the melody and the higher one the harmony. I am not sure he knows what any of this means. Though maybe he does, I’m just not sure. The point is, though, he has an ear for quality music that I don’t. Books? Sure. I’ll read reviews or dip into stacks unknown at the library or the bookstore and come up with some real gems. Movies? Certainly. I’ll read reviews and analyses and find out about directors. I like art-house films and well-made action movies. I’m discerning, I’d say. With books and movies, I know exactly how to recommend the right thing to a person so that he or she will really enjoy it, even if the person doesn’t generally read lots of books or watch lots of movies. I can determine a good fit for those things. But not so with music. In that medium, I have to rely on others.

Since the advent of iTunes and iPods, of shared music libraries, and with how easy it is for anyone with a computer and a CD drive to burn CDs, playlists have become, for me, the ultimate in finding new good music. I love getting a burned CD full of twelve or twenty songs I’ve never heard, by artists I may or may not know. And I love that the list was made (usually) with me in mind, so it’s full of stuff someone who knows me thinks I will like. Some of my favorite songs right now are off of playlists people have made for me. Like “The Swimming Song,” by Loudon Wainwright III. I had never heard of Loudon Wainwright III. (Well, except for last year I saw The Squid and the Whale, so I do recognize his name because he did a lot of the soundtrack for that film.) But the point is, the playlist is perfect for someone like me because I get to sample a little of this and a little of that without spending hours browsing in a music store or listening to tons of music, even. I get to skip right to the good stuff. I know music mixes have been around for ages, way back to the famed mixed tape, but I guess I sort of missed out on that. Maybe it’s because my generation came of age right during the switch from tapes to CDs. Since the technology was new, no one had the right recording devices to burn CDs (remember, if you possibly can, this was at a time when—gasp—a family might have only one computer that all the members had to share, and we used floppy disks…remember those??), but people were no longer really buying or listening to tapes, either. So it is with some contentedness that I am just now fully discovering the wonder of playlists in my late twenties (ugh, how did I get to the “thin side of thirty,” as my friend put it so depressingly the other night, so fast?). Listening to a playlist someone else made for you is like going with a good friend to a restaurant you’ve never been to before, but that your friend knows you’ll love. It’s like going to that little hole-in-the-wall bookstore when you visit a new city because someone who shares your love of books said you’d love it. Someone making you a playlist is intimate, at least on some level, because it implies a friendship or a relationship of some sort. When you listen to it, you go into the experience expecting to like what you hear, and for the most part, I, at least, have not been disappointed.

Now I have playlists to run with, playlists to sit and wait in the airport with, playlists to put in the CD player and turn up loud when I’m cleaning my apartment on a Saturday morning and playlists to put on for that treacherous section of I-74 between Cincinnati and Indianapolis that’s so boring it almost puts me to sleep every time (not to mention that radio reception goes out through a portion of it). One of the best things about playlists is that when you get to know them well, they become like old friends. I have two favorite running playlists at this moment. When I slide on my armband and pop in my earbuds and step out into the day in my running shoes, when I hear the bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum….beat-beat-beat-beat-beat… “Cheated by the opposite of love…held on high from up-up-up above…” everything just feels right. My feet start hitting the pavement in a good, solid rhythm. I feel like singing aloud, but refrain (usually) so people don’t think I’m crazy. For a very long time I resisted running with an iPod. I can be a bit of a purist about some things, and one of the things I like about running outside is being such a part of the world, feeling the wind and the air, smelling the smells, hearing the…traffic…ok, maybe I over-romanticized it—I do live in the city, after all. I still don’t run with my iPod all the time, particularly not when I’m running with a group (come on, that’s just rude), but on more than one occasion, I do feel like the iPod—and playlists—have saved my life, or at least my run. The other day I was forced to run on the treadmill due to the prolonged heatwave we’re having here in Cincinnati in late September, which I hate, and the iPod totally saved the day. As it was, I barely made it 3.5 miles, which is normally a piece of cake for me. Without the iPod, I’m not sure I would have even made it two miles.

So next time I step out the door for a run, and I start to hear strumming that makes me want to shake my shoulders followed by the familiar, peppy chorus of “Let’s Go” by The Feelies, I’ll say a little thanks in my head to the makers of my precious playlists. And remember, all you music taste-makers, keep burning thoughtful playlists for those of us less blessed with a nose for music.

Okkervil River--Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago, IL

(This site is not exclusively an Okkervil River blog.....it just sort of seems that way right now).

For what I believe was my sixth time (and second in ten days), I took in Austin-based Okkervil River last Tuesday night at the Logan Square Auditorium. If you've never been there just picture the high school from the movie Hoosiers converted into a concert venue. I think I saw Jimmy Chitwood checking ID's. Once inside I went to the bar and noticed drummer Travis Nelsen wearing a Ride the Lightning-era Metallica t-shirt; and 83 hipsters drinking PBR. Sometimes I wonder if Pabst went out of business if hipsters would become extinct or just move along to another blue-collar beer to completely ruin. Probably the latter. This phenomenon is even more prevalent in Portland which I read spear-headed this PBR renaissance. When I was there a girl dressed me down for drinking a Bud Light. I was so taken aback that I didn't even know how to respond....the fact that Bud was cheaper seemed completely beside the point. Anyways.....

.....As I downed a PBR (hey, it was the cheapest beer there) opening act and labelmate Damien Jurado put the final touches on a rather sleepy collection of songs. Twenty minutes later the six piece Okkervil River were clad out in suits and on stage playing songs from their latest album The Stage Names. That's a great album. I seem to recall everyone getting excited during "Unless It's Kicks", which is a departure from Okkervil's earlier sound, the song is more Rolling Stones than say Jeff Mangum. Travis seemed to be hitting the drums a little harder than usual which I was pretty certain had something to do with the Metallica shirt on underneath his suit. Nothing like a little insider's info. Later they played current hit "Our Life is Not a Movie, Or Maybe" and immediately segued into "For Real"--the spooky ballad from 2005's unbelievable Black Sheep Boy. Logan Square isn't the easiest part of town to get to but I think I would have walked there just to have seen that. And before the encore, they left the stage after nearly bringing the place down with a rousing version of "John Allyn Smith Sails"--the most recent take in indie circles on the tragic life of poet John Berryman which channels the bands' inner-most Brian Wilson. They re-emerged and played a long and appreciative encore topped off with "Westfall" and that was that.

I'm really happy this band is starting to get some press beyond the run-of-the-mill indie websites that have been covering them for a couple years now. And they deserve it after touring incessantly on the strength of a large catalog of introspective and fabled songs. I like to tell people when I saw them in 2005 at Subterranean that it felt like a musical epiphany....it seemed this was the band I had been waiting for a long time. Fast-forward to today and seeing them live no longer has such a profound effect but I always leave nothing short of blown away. If they soon come to a town near you (and they probably will) do what you can and go check them out. As strongs as their albums are, their music manages to resonate even better live. Oh, and after we left I twisted my ankle when I clumsily stepped off the curb on Fullerton. I was in a lot of pain until my friend Val pulled out a PBR and poured it on my ankle. I ran the final 2.5 miles home.

White Stripes Canceled Tour Emergency Plan

The White Stripes have cancelled their upcoming tour (w/ Cold War Kids).....it has something to do with Meg suffering from anxiety issues. Wait, what's that? You had tickets to one of the shows at the Aragon? Yeah, me too. Don't fret though, I'm here to help. For those that had tickets to the Saturday show (Oct. 6), after TicketMaster refunds your money, head over to the Metro to see Of Montreal (w/ Grand Buffet) for half the price. Those that had tickets for Sunday, Elvis Perkins in Dearland is playing at the Lake Shore Theater for $14. And for good measure here are the other concerts taking place on those nights:

Sat 10/6
John Vanderslice, Bishop Allen @ Empty Bottle

Dillinger Escape Plan, behold the arctopus, Genghis Tron, A Life Once Lost @ Subterranean

Klaxons, Shit Disco @ Vic Theatre

Sun 10/7
Matt Pond PA, Jesca Hoop @ Double Door

The Watson Twins, Ben Weaver, Twilight Revival @ Empty Bottle

Of Montreal, Grand Buffet, Mgmt @ Metro

Califone, The 1900's, Flosstradamus, The Eternals, Poster Children, Headache City @ Museum of Contemporary Art

Tokyo Police Club, The Virgins @ Schubas

See.....there you go, it's all good, we have plenty of options. Get well soon, Meg!