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Fedewa, Finken, Jones, The Uptown Oakland July 28th, 2011 |
It's my pleasure to bring to you the purveyors of one of my favorite LPs of 2011 (so far). Blasted Canyons' #1 album is a sheer delight for those who like face-meltin' noize-psyche-garage-rock, the proverbial brown note for making the 24th-and-Church "hipster" set check the insides of their boxers for stains. So don't you dare even consider going on until YOU HAVE BOUGHT THE DAMN THING. No LP player, you ask? Well, you can try going to one of their shows and hunting down a CD promo copy (I much prefer the vinyl, but did buy it on CD as well). Or wait for the download card. Or pick up a turntable and spin some wax to create your own personal digital version.
Let's face it, I was not put on this green earth to pump out blogorrhea like some balding failed post-rocker-turned-Pitchfork writer. I'm playing with fire just mentioning hipsters. And it's not like I can really do anything to stop you, anyway. So enjoy yourself while your brane melts to these jams.
Presented in chronological order...
Blasted Canyons
2011-07-28
The Uptown Oakland
Opening for Thee Oh Sees
A TZ0TH1 blend, TZ0 with the Sonic Studios DSM-6s/Ls and TH1 with the Sony M-10 with built ins.
Setlist
1. Death And A Half
2. Fries Yr Eyes
3. Consider Drowning
4. Lasers vs. Lizards
5. The Man In Question
6. Ice Cream Man
Blast it! (FLACs in ZIP file, expires 2013-04-24)
Mini-review: Set cut a bit short due to technical issues. Really highlighted by Matt Jones being out front and bringing it. A fine prelude to John Dwyer and co.'s merry mayhem.
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credit: OutOfFocusSF |
Blasted Canyons
2011-08-05
Engine Works
San Francisco CA
Unfortunately, I had just flown back in from Vegas and was too tired to venture out for this one.
Tomzero review:
So imagine you're back in school and your friend's parents are out of town. Let's have a party! You can set up a bar in a corner. Maybe stock Tecate and Miller Lite. Might as well get in some whiskey and vodka. It's your friends, so you won't charge, but you'll take 'donations' for the drinks. His parents have a cool basement. There isn't a stage, but some of your friends are in a band, and they'll be happy to play. The mics might not always work, but hey, punk rock.
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credit: OutOfFocusSF |
Engine Room!
Pretty much sums it up. It was like going to a house party except I didn't know anyone else there. Early show? I got their supposedly late-ish (9:45) and of course, the first band hadn't finished setting up.
To cut to the chase - first band - pretty interesting. 2nd - the return of hardcore.
Unfortunately at this point a couple of *really* drunk people showed up and decided to start a mosh pit. Unfortunately, the slamming wasn't contained to the pit and I saw a couple of people who weren't willingly slamming get knocked pretty hard.
Blasted Canyons started to soundcheck and immediately had mic problems. They finally fixed it, sort of. They played a good set. Unfortunately, it didn't sound that way. Feedback most of the way through. I'd say maybe the mix was off, but there was no mix. It's your friends playing in a garage. The drums weren't even mic'd. and I think they gave up on putting a vocal mic by the drummer. I was in a good spot at the start, but the moshers showed up 2 songs in, and I was forced to move. I didn't get a single photo, but there was a woman at the front who i believe videoed most of the set. It'll be interesting to see if and where this turns up.
[Note: the footage has been posted in part, see below]
TZ0 recording: Sonic Studios DSM-6s/L's > Edirol R-09HR
Setlist
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credit: OutOfFocusSF |
1. Death and a Half
2. Fries Yr Eyes
3. Consider Drowning
4. Lasers vs. Lizards
5. The Man In Question
6. Get High
7. Holy Geometry
8.
Blood On The Wall
9.
Ice Cream Man
The magnificent
OutOfFocusSF visually documented the last two tracks for posterity. Hopefully the rest of it shows up at some point!
Blast it! (link expires 2013-04-24)
Blasted Canyons
2011-08-19
Brick and Mortar
San Francisco CA
TZ0/TH1 blend, TZ0: Sonic Studios DSM-6s/Ls > Edirol R-09HR
TH1: Church Audio CA-11 > Sony PCM-M10 w/built-in mics
Headlining set, Pow! and Terry Malts opened.
Same setlist as the Engine Works show from two weeks before. Weird place in terms of vibe, kinda a wine dive bar with a great sound system and lots of space to watch bands, opened by the guy who runs the Independent...so the sound came out superb, in fact, it's probably one of our best pulls, except that I yelp all over the recording. But it still must be heard, it's stunningly gooood.
Setlist
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Malted Canyons! |
1. Death and a Half
2. Fries Yr Eyes
3. Consider Drowning
4. Lasers vs. Lizards
5. The Man In Question
6. Get High
7. Holy Geometry
8. Blood On The Wall
9. Ice Cream Man
Blast it! (link expires 2013-04-24)