The Current Music Blog: January 25, 2007 Archive

Save your receipts at The Buffering Stream, 1/25

Posted at 7:15 AM on January 25, 2007 by Hans Eisenbeis (6 Comments)

Shake It, Don't Break It

Posted at 1:21 PM on January 25, 2007 by Jacquie Fuller (2 Comments)

I have to admit--I'm feeling a little burned out on shows. The last one I went to--Emily Haines at the Varsity--kind of left me feeling like I'd missed a few days of my Wellbutrin. I love her solo album, but I just wasn't feelin' the live show.

Overall, I'm growing weary of standing around with my hands in my pockets at shows, craning my neck to see above some tall guy's shoulders. A failing of Indie music is definitely the energy at live shows. Punk rock? No problem. But when was the last time you saw folks gettin' down at an indie show? I can tell you the last time I saw it: Jens Lekman at the Triple Rock, last year. And they were barely gettin' down, at that. Lekman encouraged dancing, and everyone sort of wiggled their hips timidly, like, "Are you sure it's okay?" Dancing at indie shows is like encountering humorous art at a museum—you really want to laugh, but aren’t sure if it’s allowed.

Tomorrow night, though, Girl Talk and Dance Band take the stage at the Varsity. Booty shaking and permission to laugh out loud? My sources say yes! Girl Talk, aka Gregg Gillis, takes sampling (legal and otherwise) to a whole new level, creating Frankentracks that rise to the level of arty collage. Between the cheesy content of his samples and the skillfullness of his juxtapositions, Girl Talk challenges our concepts of pop v. art, and high culture v. low. All those years of college, and it takes Girl Talk for me to finally understand what “postmodern” means!

Dance Band? This will be my first time seeing them live, but one peek at their My Space profile and I'm SOLD.

I haven't been this excited about a live show in a while. Seriously--I'm ready to shake it, with total disregard for the fact that it took my mama nine months to make it. Are you?

Comment on this post

Local bands going to SXSW?

Posted at 1:50 PM on January 25, 2007 by Christina Schmitt

The official SXSW 2007 roster hasn't been posted yet, and yeah, I know it's only January.

Like a lot of folks with hometown pride, I really want to know which Minnesota bands are going to be down there.

I've heard Brother Ali, The Deaths and...I can't remember the third one....are for sure planning to go. Do you know any Minnesota bands that are definitely playing the showcase?