I generally shy away from track-by-track reviews, because they get long, boring and kind of miss the point of an album as a whole anyway. That said, whenever I write about Ween and related projects, the disparity from song to song is a little more difficult. There are 11 songs …
Keith Morris is one of the remaining original punk rock figures that is still going and has never really ceased to have an impact on what is widely perceived to be punk and hardcore at large.
With a career spanning over four decades as the frontman of genre coining …
At a point in the late '90s and early-to-mid 2000s, it seemed like every major artist had at least one tribute album out there. Invariably produced by one cheap-jack record label or another, these albums highlighted a dozen or so no-name musicians playing through (and quite possibly butchering) various well-known …
I was apprehensive about reviewing this record. When hear “music by teenagers,” it tends to mean preachy and rather one-sided political rants that are well meaning but, well, immature or not all that developed. Plus teenage voices aren’t all that great to hear singing, know what I mean?The Lookouts …
Detailing the history of southern California punk of the late 1970s and early ‘80s and in particular, the scene that revolved around the legendary Cuckoo’s Nest club which hosted live music shows, the 2012 documentary Clockwork Orange County: The Rise of West Coast Punk Rock! (which earlier had been released …
I won’t say anything as hyperbolic as that the Dwarves invented rock ‘n’ roll, but I’ll still give them another borderline statement that fits on a press sheet: the 2014 Dwarves are a supergroup—not a supergroup side project of glossy mag pin-ups, but a supergroup that is honestly comprised of, …
Japandroids, a Canadian two-piece rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, has released their second full length album entitled Celebration Rock. The album begins with drumbeats and the first track, "The Nights of Wine and Roses," which showcases their garage-band sound with the voices of both Brian King and David …
You know that there was never a genre of music that was named something along the lines of sarcastic bastard core or something along those lines, but if there ever was, then Drowningman would have been the undisputed kings of just such a genre; Rock ‘N’ Roll Killing Machine (the …
It has been a busy year for England’s beloved folk-punk troubadour and in lieu of a new album, he’s delivered a new EP to further whet the appetite of his fans. Instead of a set of ‘rock n’ roll’ tracks, this EP is about the notion of Rock & Roll …
So far, 2011 is proving to be a great year for music, and a great year for Indie-Rock. Des Ark's second full length, Don't Rock the Boat, Sink the Fucker, is surely doing its part to earn the genre's such high acclaim. It's an album that took 3 years to …
The Formative Years - Kill Rock Stars
It would have been around 1992 that I first came about a new label that seemed to have its focus firmly set on releasing its friends’ records and the underground scene centred around Olympia, Washington. It did not take long for the …
There are a few cultural constants we all come to understand depending on where we come from, and growing up in Vermont is no exception. Amongst other things, many develop an unnatural appreciation for not having to smell cow shit. More common, however, is the universal love for Ben and …
Royal Headache, The Arrivals, Condominium
Triple Rock Social Club
Minneapolis, MN
June 9, 2012
It was with some intrigue and, admittedly, mostly trepidation that I made my way to the Triple Rock last night to see Sydney, Australia’s Royal Headache. Originally my curiosity had …
Chuck Ragan, White Buffalo, Jonny Two BagsTriple Rock Social ClubMinneapolis, MNApril 15, 2014
It had been many a year since I’d seen Chuck Ragan perform, and that was with his former (and sometimes current) group Hot Water Music. I’d never seen the man play solo live, …
Belle and Sebastian
Rock the Garden
Minneapolis, MN
June 20th, 2015
As a hot and humid day began its turn towards much needed cooler temperatures, Scotland’s baroque pop sweethearts Belle and Sebastian took the stage to close out the first day of this …
Babes in Toyland
Rock the Garden
Minneapolis, MN
June 21, 2015
It’s difficult for me to write about Babes in Toyland without sounding at least a little bit gushy. Like other local-ish acts from their same era that made waves beyond the confines of the …
Ex Hex, Tweens, Pink Mink
Triple Rock Social Club
Minneapolis, MN
July 20, 2015
I go to a lot of shows. Sometimes it’s nice to be surprised, and that’s what Monday night entailed. I was at the show strictly for Tweens, whose debut I dug …
Radioactivity, Birthday Suits, Butcher’s Union
Triple Rock Social Club
Minneapolis, MN
July 22, 2015
It’s nice to live in a city where some great out of town bands have friends. It means a band like Radioactivity, who has released two records in three …
The So So Glos, Desaparecidos
Paradise Rock Club
Boston, MA
August 4, 2015
I went for Desaparecidos - Conor Oberst’s (of Bright Eyes fame) hardcore band - who put out the great political punk album Payola this year, 13 years after their first album Read Music/Speak …
Dillinger Four, Negative Approach, Kitten Forever, Victory, The Slow Death
Triple Rock Social Club
Minneapolis, MN
November 22, 2017
I usually try to keep show reviews to the point: Here’s what happened; how it went down; and where it went off the rails. But this …