2008 top fives, part i

Top 5 Shows of Two-Thousand Eight:


1. August 16: Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start - The Auction House/Audubon, NJ

This was my favourite band's last show. Kristy and I drove out to New Jersey to see Up Up Down Down play an acoustic show on the 15th at this record store right by Evan's house and then we spent the next day in Philly until the final show later that night in Audubon. Tie These Hands opened up, and they were awesome. Up Up played everything from every point in the band's career, and I think just about every member of the band, past and present, played on at least part of the set. Did I mention it was awesome? It was totally worth the drive.

highlight: Muscle, When Will I See It


2. July 23: Colour Revolt - The House Cafe/DeKalb, IL

We (the Felix Culpa) were lucky enough to get on a couple shows of the Colour Revolt/Javelins tour, and this was the second night playing with them. Madison was great, but the spark wasn't quite there like it was here. They played a Ramones cover (Pet Cemetary), they played 'Blood in Your Mouth', and they played the whole set like they fucking meant it. That meant the world to me. Every word, every gritty guitar line, every haunting vocal harmony, every drum hit, it was just there and it came from a place that most people aren't able to find within themselves. Plus they're just some of the nicest dudes I've met. Good job, guys!

highlight: Blood In Your Mouth


3. October 17: The Notwist - Logan Square Auditorium/Chicago, IL

I went into this show expecting a very chilled-out, minimal, introverted sort of show, and I think it was mostly these expectations being completely shattered that made this show as amazing as it was to me. But it blew my mind. First of all, the 'DJ' of the band played with Wii remotes. Seriously. And I'm not sure if I'd ever seen a minimalist German indie-rock band play so loud and so heavy and so noisy before. Okay, so on second thought I'd never seen a minimalist German indie-rock band at all until then, but my mind was nevertheless blown. If you get the chance to see them, take it.

highlight: Pilot


4. July 20: Bon Iver (Pitchfork Music Festival) - Union Park/Chicago, IL

I might be jumping the gun on this one, considering I'll be seeing this band again this Thursday and I fully expect the upcoming show to surpass this one. However, despite seeing a band with such strictly winter-related imagery on one of the hottest days of the year surrounded by a bunch of half-drunken hipsters wandering their way out of the Ghostface Killah crowd, Justin Vernon still managed to put me on the verge of tears. Band of the year.

highlight: The Wolves (Act I and II)


5. September 24: Sigur Rós - Chicago Theater/Chicago, IL

Loud. Gorgeous (visibly and audibly). Epic. Pump organ. Gobbledigook. Confetti. Awesome.
[disappointments: no Staralfur, and the opening band]

highlight: Gobbledigook

well, you shouldn't doctor yourself...

so who's as excited as I am about Jimmy Eat World touring for the 10-year anniversary of Clarity?

for those of you who don't know, this February the band is doing a national tour performing the classic 1999 album in its entirety. boy, I can hardly sit still. I've yet to have the opportunity to see them at all, let alone to see them play nothing but the best of the best... the only thing better than this would be a time machine. or living on the west coast, because I hear No Knife is opening on those dates. holy shit, right?

speaking of Jimmy Eat World, I was listening to Elliott Smith the other day.

...hold on, this will actually make sense...



I had him on shuffle, when a song called 'Half Right' came on (from the newly-released New Moon - a posthumous compilation album of rare and unreleased tracks). obviously, the song sounded familiar enough to perk my ears, but here's where I might lose some indie cred. now I know it was a Heatmiser song (which was actually called 'Not Half Right', and which Jimmy Eat World actually references in the song 'Kill') that both Mr. Smith and Jimmy Eat World would later record/perform, but I had only up to this point been privy to Jimmy's version. anyway, it really is a great song, in all three forms I am currently aware of. sometimes it's good to do things backwards. like mazes.

Heatmiser - Not Half Right
Elliott Smith - Half Right
Jimmy Eat World - Half Right

here's to feeling defeated and spiteful! and singing pretty songs about it!

thinking ahead

now, I am surely getting ahead of myself, but I intend to go into this holiday season prepared... I've begun to collect a fistful of holiday-themed tracks to assemble for what will be my second annual Christmas mix. this should be fun, I think, and I've decided to really try and run with this idea of making things rather than buying things for Christmas gifts. I swear I'm not just being cheap, and this should prove to be more of a challenge than participating in a consumerist holiday, which should therefore make those who receive gifts from me feel more flattered. I'm actually going to need to put some energy into this.


anyway, for the time being, here's a short update on what's been happening in my absence from the blogosphere:

1. a very Guns N' Roses Halloween show

2. some more Nets Catching Nets goods

Little Boxes [Malvina Reynolds cover/Weeds theme song]
Houses for the Homeless

3. working, working, working - check out the new Threadless site!

4. and I happened to attend four of the most important shows I'll probably ever see, all in a period of roughly two months at the end of the summer - Bon Iver, Radiohead, Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start, and the Notwist (okay, so the Notwist show didn't take place in that same two-month block as the others, but it doesn't make it any less overwhelming)


anyway, I hope all have been well and I hope to visit this place a bit more regularly - my apologies for all the neglect.

xo

i like to sing about animals

the postcards have been going fairly well. i've gotten a few, finished two songs so far... i'm working on one i got from nabeel, but it should be a bit more of a challenge, and i think i need to increase my musical resources pretty soon here. there's only so much one can do with an acoustic guitar and guitar cases and prescription pill bottles as percussion. please feel free to keep sending things, anyone and everyone!

here's what i've finished so far:

two-thousand dolphins
the heart of a lion

has everyone seen this? it's pretty great...


and this?

(go to sigurros.com to watch a really high quality version of this.)

project postcard!

i walked through my bedroom door today to find a little something on my desk with a photograph of tom waits on it. i thought to myself "well, that's a face i'm glad to see. too bad mister waits himself isn't waiting in my bedroom for me. or would that be creepy? probably not." turned out to be a postcard from my best friend in the universe, and on it was written a small poem, a verse. for some strange reason, my immediate urge was to sing it, to put music to it. maybe it was just me missing my guitar after a long day at work... anyway, an hour or so later i ended up with a song and this idea in my head that this should happen to me more often (both the reception of postcards and the writing of music).

so i propose a proposition to you: find yourself a postcard, write a poem (or some lyrics, or any stream of consciousness - there are really no set rules here) on your postcard, and send it to me! then i will attempt to put it to some music, record it, post it on my virb page, and send you a physical copy along with some other random good(s).

...how does that sound? cool? cool. if you're interested, send me an e-mail [dustin@thefelixculpa.com] and i'll give you my address!


p.s. this is crazy. awesome. crazy awesome.

soil as soft as nails

anywhere i am these days, feels like i'm just visiting. i'm tired and happy and home is on the road and we learn something new every day.

here's to not keeping up with old traditions:

ages - alarming
the war at sea - pushing up daisies

sleeping life

dreams are a fascinating window into the human subconscious; they seem to remind us that there's always a lot more going on in our minds and all around us than we give ourselves and the universe credit for. that, or they simplify the seemingly over-complicated aspects of our lives that overcome our waking lives.

i've been having a rather strange week or so, in terms of sleep (and dreams). and it sounds kind of silly, but they've been teaching me a lot about myself... but not without the insight of a few close friends. so i've been writing down these happenings so that maybe at some point i can read these entries and they'll display a bigger picture of some sort, and because i've heard that it helps toward achieving lucid dreams. that's always been something i've yearned to experience - and it seems to be the exact opposite of what i've been going through in my dreams.

today's theme (if it wasn't already made clear enough):
dreams.

doug martsch - dream
aereogramme - nightmares
django reinhardt - i'll see you in my dreams
jeff buckley - nightmares by the sea