You know what really grinds my gears?!?

Hanna Montana. Miley Cyrus. Whatever she wants to go by. She is everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Internet, clothing stores, TV, newspapers...every kid loves her. Why? she sounds like every other over produced female teenager that fronts a band. Nothing special about her. They said this morning that she has raked in over 2 billion dollars! Her tickets to her shows sell better then the Rolling Stones. My father in law would be quite disgusted with that. But why does the nation love her so much? Can anyone answer that?Who knows. Hopefully this fad will go in the near future, and take High School Musical with it.

Less Than Jake Delivers an Entertaining Show @ Summerfest

Less Than Jake has been my favorite band for a very long time, and every time I can catch them live, they play a fantastic, solid set. Last year they opened for Reel Big Fish July 4th at Summerfest, and THIS year they headlined the Harley Davidson stage with Goldfinger opening as well as a slew of other ska bands. We arrived when Big D and the Kids Table were just finishing their set. Never really got into them in my ska days, but the crowd enjoyed their music and there were plenty of kids skanking. Goldfinger was next. I was into them when I was probably 13 or so years old, so it's been quite some time since I actually listened to them or have had any thoughts on their music. They played some classic songs like "Mable", "Superman", "Here in your Bedroom" and their most famous song, which happens to be a cover "99 Luft Balloons". My little brother made it on stage during "Mable" along with 30 other kids. Their drummer decided to pull a person out of the crowd and drink a Miller High Life Lite out of his nasty Chick Taylor. Next up was Gainsville's finest.

They came on stage to the theme music to The A-Team, and opened up with "Does The Lion City Still Roar?", which is the single off of their newest album GNV FLA. Unfortunatly during their opening song, the sound was really sketchy on Chris's vocals so we couldn't hear him too well. Later in the show Roger's wireless chord pack battery died during his bass solo for "Gainsville Rock City". Here is the set list in no particular order of what was played:
Ghost of You and Me
Look What Happened
The Science of Selling Yourself Short
Plastic Cup Politics
Gainsville Rock City
Does The Lion City Still Roar?
Summon Monsters
Conviction Notice
The Rest Of My Life
Automatic
Sugar In Your Gas Tank
Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts
Krazy Glue
Hows My Driving, Doug Hastings?
Dopeman

during the set there was a drinking contest between an old gentlemen and the tour manager, as well as "Who's the Dirty Rat?" and a dance off between a member of the Suburban Legends and some cocky kid pulled from the crowd. "Whos the dirty Rat?" is where Chris picked three smelly guys and one unfortunate girl out of the crowd to play this game where she (blindfolded) had to stick her nose into their armpits to see which one smelled the worst. She picked this guy (appropriately titled Mr. Duechebag from Chris) sporting sunglasses at night, a bad mohawk, a wife beater as well as some snaggley teeth. They had to dirty dance during "Conviction Notice" as well. During their encore of "Plastic Cup Politics", everyone was to whip their shirts around their heads in a helacopter-like motion. It was pretty funny. Also, Chris had this idea that he would get everyone to sit down (on the benches) and then do a huge wave like at a sporting event. It was pretty funny.

It was quite the entertaining night, with some classic songs, and a few brand new ones. If you can catch them on their Shout it Out Loud tour, try to. It was a good time had by all.

Alkaline Trio Performs Solid Classic Set @ Summerfest

It started out being quite a muggy afternoon due to the consistent rain down pouring throughout the day, then stopping, then starting again. By the time my brother and I got to Summerfest, the weather looked good at the time. There were three opening bands. One of them hailed from Kentucky, but the name escapes me. They weren't too bad. The second band I recognized. The A.K.A's from Philly. They were alright. They defiantly played the crowd and had some good fun. The singer didn't like the kids sitting in the front row that weren't standing up on the bleachers. It basically poured during a good half of their set. The drunks around us seemed to enjoy the rain. The last of the opening bands was a local band (I once again can't recall their name). They were alright, but I somewhat doubt this was their kind of crowd. Kramp and Adler (the two 102.1 radio DJ's that announced them) said they were the first radio station to play them before they released a CD. I wasn't that impressed.

Then came Alkaline Trio.

There was a cold chill coming from the Lakefront as the Chicago-based band took the stage. They opened with "Private Eye", which had all of the benches bouncing. After that song, they went right into "Clavicle" off of their Goddammit CD. There was very little said between songs, which is typical of any Alkaline Trio song. I think they prefer to pack as much songs as they possibly can. In no particular order, the rest of set list went like this:

Time to Waste

Mercy Me

In Vein

Help Me

Calling All Skeletons

Lost and Rendered

I Lied My Face Off

Goodbye Forever

Blue Carolina

This Could Be Love

Crawl

Armageddon

I Found Away

Love Love, Kiss Kiss

I think the highlight of the night was when they played "Blue Carolina" because I don't recall them ever playing that song live. You can tell from the set list that there was a pretty good split of the brand new songs from Agony and Irony, and the back catalog. The new songs they played were pretty great.  Love Love, Kiss Kiss (despite the org haters) is a really great song filled with classic Dan lyrics. 

I think the only new song that everyone knew some lyrics were to the single "Help Me", which has grown on me nicely. 

Behind us for a solid 45 minutes were kids yelling for "Radio". Of course Alkaline Trio came back for an encore to play it. They've been finishing with that song for quite some time. So with that in mind, everyone was belting out the chorus as loud as they could.

Overall, the night was a great time. Despite spending most of the night soaked and balancing on a slippery 6-inch beam (which felt more like a surfboard) my bro and I had fun.

I recommend checking them out on tour.

Pictured Below is Dan.

On my hit list.

Kathy Griffin has been driving me nuts lately.

Honestly, I wasn't even really aware of her until she was in Modesto two years ago and despite selling out a show at our venerable State Theatre, refused to be interviewed for our paper's cover story.

Apparently, the publicist says they do no press when the show is sold out.

That seemed a bit silly and pretentious to me, but lately....

She's EVERYWHERE!

I have news for you, lady - self-depreciating humour gets old fast. You are NO LONGER on the d-list, you twit.

I wish I'd have gotten a picture of it when I was in Hollywood last week. There's a huge billboard for her stand-up routine on the Sunset Strip. I think when that happens, you're no longer on the D-list... winning an Emmy probably gets you on the A-list, since everyone now knows who you are and has an opinion of you, favorable or otherwise.

Her TV show probably keeps me in shape. It's hard work running to the TV to change the channel when I can't find the remote!

Just what will it take for these guys to please you?

So two of my favourite bands are releasing brand new CDs in the next 2 weeks. Alkaline Trio is releasing Agony and Irony on July 1st and Less Than Jake is releasing GNV FLA on June 24th.

Both are also receiving major pressure from their fans and critics for some major reasons. 

First off Less Than Jake. My favorite band of all time. They split with Warner to form their own record label Sleep it Off. In With The Out Crowd didn't receive alot of great reviews from the "old fans" and it seemed to leave a mark on the band as well. They had help for the first time with writing some of the songs, and that didn't seem to go well with those "fans". The people that liked the earlier material (mostly because of some great ska tunes) expected the same thing. They wanted Losing Streak in 2006. Well like most bands, LTJ wanted to progress as a group and wrote some serious songs as well as material that wasn't "ska". Like I mentioned, it didn't go so well with the critics. So with GNV FLA, they recorded at Atlas Studios in Chicago, IL and have been promoting the new album like crazy in the Myspace world. I for one, am stoked. I've heard a few songs and love them already. They sound better then ever, and can't wait till June 24th. These guys have been playing for a very long time, and for the last 10+ years, have heard "return to your ska roots bla bla bla...". Whether or not there are "ska" songs on the record, I can't wait.

Alkaline Trio also is releasing a new record as well. They too, didn't receive any awards for Crimson with the elite fans. Granted, its a darker album, which isn't shouldn't surprise anyone, but the elite fans expected less-polished songs about drinking and alcohol which got them where they are in the first place. Just like LTJ, they progressed as a band and were writing songs different from the Goddammit years. So I've heard some of Agony and Irony, and I'm not sure if I'm liking it more or less then Crimson. "Help Me" is the new single, and it's very catchy and playing on some radio stations already. Just like "Time to Waste" did when Crimson came out. It seems with every new song, the band gains more haters. People expect the same thing, but are getting something they can't stomach because they are stuck with an album they fell in love with. 

So to end this rant that I have been thinking over and over in my head, we as fans can't expect a band that has played for 10 years or more to repeat the same material and sound they started with. Music changed for the better or worse no matter what the fans gripe about. If you strongly dislike an album, don't buy it, and shut up.

Why, people?

Easily the most ridiculous pop-culture status symbol is the bluetooth headset.

Not only does it make the wearer look like the guy from Star Wars, but it makes it appear that nothing is more important to them than an imminent phone call.

And apparently, they don't realize how silly it is to walk around appearing to talk to themself.

Tick Tick Boom! The Hives blow up the Rave.

Pompous Swedish attitudes, sharp clothing, blistering punk rock songs. Who else could I be talking about but the Hives. May 18th they headlined a fantastic show at The Rave/Eagles Club in Milwaukee Wisconsin which goes into the books as one of my top favourite concerts of all time.

 The opening band Locksley came on about 15 minutes late, which pissed off a good amount of the crowd. You could hear the yells "You're late" from some of the fine gentlemen of Milwaukee. The band seemed to have a good response from the ladies though. They weren't the worst opening band in the world, but they sound way better on their myspace.

After a very long period between set ups, The Hives finally took the stage. As soon as their signature red neon sign lit up, everyone took out their camera phones and started snapping pictures. The intro music was an instrumental song from their latest The Black and White album called " A Stroll Through Hive Manor Corridors". They opened with "Hey Little World" which is also off of the new album. Following that was "Main Offender" from Veni Vidi Vicious.  "Main Offender" is one of two Hives songs off that Godawful Rock Band gamers are obsessed with, so you can imagine how excited the crowd got. The Hives exploded a 65-minute set including other fantastic numbers like "Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones", "Die, Alright!" "You Dress Up For Armageddon" "Walk Idiot Walk" and a slew of others. 

After finishing "Won't Be Long", Howlin' Pelle (which maybe one of the best front men of all time") stated to the audience "One, it was fantastic. Two, there seemed to be a shortage of claps. Three, I will give you another chance to clap louder". The crowed roared and clapped as loud as they could. Pelle exclaims "Okay good, everything is restored to order".

They returned for an encore which included  "Bigger Hole To Fill",  "Hate to Say I Told You So" and "Return The Favour". Pelle asked the audience after finishing "Hate to Say I told You So" "Now how the Hell do we follow up THAT?!", right before going into "Return The Favour". 

If there is one band to see in your life time, go see The Hives. Even if you only know "Hate to Say I Told You So", it's an amazing experience. They interact a ton with their crowd from Howlin' Pelle getting into the crowd singing, to Chris Dangerous throwing out drum stick after drum stick. They are still on tour so if they come to your town, go enjoy yourself.