Metal Lungies

White Denim has been getting some serious ass pats from the blogosphere over the last few months, and I’m happy to join in on the lovefest. Their last two eps have been ball crushing psych rock filled with yelps and jumps and noise. I had heard only good things about the live show, so I ventured out into a lovely Montreal evening to see White Denim with Tapes n’ Tapes at the Cabaret Music Hall. Heres how it went down:

When I first heard White Denim’s music I half expected to go the show and see huge dudes with Abraham Lincoln beards, swigging bottles of red label. Thats not exactly how it turned out, but close. The trio (Steve Terbecki (Bass), James Petrelli (Guitar), and Josh Block (Drums) came on stage to a pretty thin crowd. The lack of enthusiasm did not nothing to quell the bands fury. All three members shredded back and forth. Steve initially looks like the kind of guy that’d be great at dungeons and dragons, and while thats probably true he also busts lines on the bass like no ones business. Josh’s talent comes off in their recordings, but what I really liked about his live show was that he looked like he was in serious physical pain. Really, like he was about to explode from too much syncopated madness. James is as good of a frontman as I’ve seen in a while. He reminded of Justin Harris from Menomena. Singing rawkusly, whilst thrashing the guitar and looping licks left and right. All the guys had their own thing going on, but the sound came together tight, and the effect was a wall of tripped out rock that had me mesmerized all the way through.

Songs like “Mess Your Hair Up” only became cooler when played mind numbingly loud. Understandably, not everyone felt that way (i.e. the girls standing next to me who spent the whole set coming to the conclusion that the band playing was not, in fact, tapes n’ tapes), but the people who weren’t turned off by the booming onslaught were seriously into it. Enough for the crowd to chant “one more song” when the set ended. The band obliged and everyone continued to rock-the-fuck-out.

James was kind enough to hook ML up with an interview. That and some tracks after the jump.

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ML readers know I’m a big fan of Mr. Rabin’s work. He recently started a great monthly feature at the A.V. Club called The Silly Little Show-Biz Book Club. Here’s a little intro to the series:

Reading has taken on a lot of unfair, unfortunate associations through the years. Through no fault of its own, reading has become associated with intelligence, knowledge, book-learning, libraries, colleges, librarians, and education. I’m here to tell you, that’s all a bunch of horseshit. To me, reading isn’t a pathway to self-actualization, or a magic ticket to a land of wonder and imagination. On the contrary, it’s nothing more than a way to waste time in the least productive manner imaginable. When I want to turn off my brain, I pick up a quickie celebrity biography or half-assed show-biz memoir instead of watching television. That’s why I am officially starting a new monthly feature, The Silly Little Show-Biz Book Club. It’s a forum to discuss the junk food of the literary universe: stupid, superficial pop ephemera destined not to outlast its fleeting cultural moment. When Axl Rose’s maid writes a lurid tell-all, I’ll be there. Wherever a half-assed boy-band has-been feels the need to sing out about his life in the pages of a ghostwritten memoir, I’ll be there. I will read all these terrible books so you don’t have to. It’s my latest attempt to transform the stupid, pointless shit I do in my free time into the stupid, pointless shit I am obligated do for my job.

His latest entry in the series is his review of Karrine “Super-Head” Steffans’ Confessions Of A Video Vixen. Here’s a brief excerpt from a passage about Karrine’s encounter with Fred Durst, with Rabin’s commentary in italics:

“Fred ordered five different entrées, just for himself. I was confused but I didn’t want to seem young and inexperienced, so I just watched his movements… He was grand, taking tiny forkfuls from each dish and repeating that move a few times. Then, just that fast, he was done, leaving the majority of the food behind. I was in awe. I had never really wasted food before, and right then I knew that one day I would be able to eat whatever I wanted, however much I wanted, and summon someone to take the plates away…With all of his tattoos, body piercing and worn way of dress Fred had an air of prestige. I silently hoped for him to want me.”

Oh, Durst wants her all right. For he is that rarest breed of man: the kind that will gladly accept a no-strings-attached blowjob from an attractive stranger. I similarly love how impressed Steffans is by Durst’s flaming douchebaggery. I just hope there was a malnourished orphan staring wistfully at Durst as he sent away plate after plate of food, more or less uneaten. He could have followed this performance by wiping his ass with a towel full of highly concentrated AIDS vaccine, then topped it off by urinating lustily into the water supply of an impoverished Indian village.

You should read his first article in the series too, a review of Rollin’ With Dre by Bruce Williams, an unauthorized account of Williams’ experience with Dr. Dre. Really funny ish.

Up north Radiohead will be at All Points West, in Baltimore you get Nine Inch Nails, Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, Jack Johnson (yank yank!) and Kanye West. We’ve been there for the past 2 years so you know this year will not be missed.

Initial thoughts from the Washington Post here.

Press release after the break.

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Image source.

As the title states, jot this down as ML’s most anticipated debut release.

Source: Justice show in DC @ 9:30 Club filled with 2 encores and fathers of middle schoolers reading books under dim lights in the back of the club, as the rest of the audience experienced severe hearing loss.

As well as here:

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. – It has just been announced on 93.9 WKYS that DC-area hip hop artist, Wale, has signed with Interscope Records in a joint venture deal with three-time Grammy award winning producer Mark Ronson’s Allido Records.

Wale, 23, has seen a tremendous amount of success for an unsigned hip hop artist over the past year, gracing the covers of URB and DNR magazines, doing remixes for Justice, Chris Brown and MIA, performing at the MTV Video Music Awards, song licenses with Nike, ENTOURAGE and MTV and a growing internet buzz surrounding his most recent mixtape 100 MILES AND RUNNING and his upcoming Seinfeld-inspired project, THE MIXTAPE ABOUT NOTHING. Entertainment Weekly recently reported that the mixtape features a skit from Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Wale signed a production deal with DJ-turned-producer Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera) in June of 2007 after impressing him on Ronson’s European tour. Following an intense, six-month bidding war, Wale signed to a joint venture between Allido Records and Interscope, saying Jimmy Iovine, Luke Wood and the whole Interscope staff understood his vision better than anyone else.

“Look at their track record,” said Wale via phone on his way to perform at a Justice concert in DC. “Dre, Eminem, 50, Pharrell, Timbaland, Black Eyed Peas, Soulja Boy…the list goes on.”

“This is the best possible situation we could ask for,” says Daniel Weisman, Wale’s manager. “We waited and kept grinding until someone came with something we felt reflected the work we’ve put in; Interscope got it.”

Mark Ronson will executive produce Wale’s untitled debut album and contribute production to the project due out in fall. Other tentative contributors include past Wale-collaborators Osinachi (“Nike Boots”) and Best Kept Secret (“Back In The Go Go”), along with Just Blaze, Pharrell, Kanye West, 9th Wonder, Justice and DJ Toomp.

Allido Records is a New York City-based label founded in 2004 by Mark Ronson and former manager, Rich Kleiman. Allido Records has put out releases by Rhymefest and Daniel Merrieather through J Records, and by Mark Ronson through RCA. Wale’s album will be the first release through their new joint venture deal with Interscope.

That’s all folks, time to go buy a whisper 2000.

2 of ML’s favorite labels hook up for a free SXSW show. If you are within 200 miles of this, it would be criminal not to attend.

Next week ML will be taking over SF (by taking over, we mean conquering a street bench to sleep on) in honor of the 15th annual Noise Pop festival (Feb. 26th to March 2nd).  You will definitely catch us at Wale/Catchdubs & MSTRKRFT shows, respectfully. In between, we will be rocking fanny packs while riding cable cars. When we aren’t doing that we’ll be building up our indie cred checking out some art and new up-and-coming bands like British Sea Power. 

If you’d like to join us pick yourself a festival badge here & check the schedule over thurr.

You already know our recap will make your whole family cry.. tears of joy.

PS: They will be there too!

It’s great to see Bun B back on stage carrying on for UGK. Enigmatik was there and was able to capture some video and jot down a thorough review.

More here.

I’d love to go to this, might even head up to NY for it. Jeff says he puts on the best live shows in the business. Thanks to GRANDGOOD for the hookup, that’s a dope poster.

Bonus: Edan’s infamous “Johnny the Fox” routine being performed at North Eastern University.

Kardinal Offishall is hosting his annual Christmas party at the Mod Club in Toronto on Dec. 23, with the legendary Pete Rock on the ones and twos. Cipha Sounds from Hot 97 will also be there.
Kardi will be giving out presents all night while PR spins hip hop, r&b and reggae.

This sounds amazing, wish I could go. Any Canadian readers should get on this. T-Dot stand up!

Ticket Locations: $20 Advance
Play de record – Toronto – 416.586.0380
Nappy’s – Brampton – 905.453.3037
Nappy’s – Mississauga – 905.949.6787
Nappy’s – Markham – 905.948.0884
Big It Up – Eaton centre – 416.597.6773
Big It Up – Yorkdale – 416.785.3770
Big It Up- Square One – 905.803.8407
Broadway Fashions – Scarborough Town Centre – 416.296.0609
Doors: 10pm
Dress Code: Your best 90’s gear
Mature Clientele – 23+

Via PAID & POPULAR

Unless you were one of the few lucky ones like Tom to check out the show, MSN has the next best thing. They are streaming the full concert over here.

In the meanwhile don’t forget to enter the Wild Style contest so you have something to be thankful for (outside of AM joining the greatest internets team ever, we the Spurs/Senators (Canadia we see you!) of this shit).

Image Credit.