New Videos >> Pennywise / Reggie Watts

Posted on May 31, 2012 by marc

Memorial Weekend >> came and went in a flash. Typical. An extra day out of the office to kick off the summer with the traditional trip to a beach town for some fun in the sun. Standard stuff. But this week started and ended with a few atypical shows in the valley of the sun: Pennywise at Marquee Theatre and Reggie Watts at Crescent Ballroom.

Pennywise >> Marquee

Pennywise rocked our faces off on Thursday to send Tempe off in punk rock fashion with an opening set from Guttermouth donning basketball shorts and heinous Hawaiian shirts [fitting for my Memorial getaway I guess]. The last time I saw Pennywise was in college and I haven't been much of a rebel since then so I was confused to see someone other than Jim Lindberg on lead vocals. Apparently, he left the band in '09 so that was the new frontman on the mic. I was a little disgruntled with that at first but eventually got over it not too deep into the set when 'Society' and other classics got some play [of course, they closed it out with 'Bro Hymn']. It's strange to hear a different singer but nonetheless he did a pretty good job and his style still fits the essence of the band.

Tuesday evening featured Reggie Watts at Crescent Ballroom doing his ludicrously genius improv music and comedy act. I, not unlike most of everyone else, was such a hungover deadbeat after a rough weekend so it was perfect to be sitting down at Crescent for a change [they lined up about 5 rows of folding chairs in front of the stage for this performance].

I've been a chronic insomniac for as long as I can remember and during my most sleep-scarce days 4 years ago is when I first discovered what Reggie was all about on the late night Comedy Central fillers just before the channel goes into full-on infomercial mode. Thus, it was such an ironic treat to see the marvel that is Mr. Watts being in a jet-lagged state and on just a few hours of autistically interrupted Airbus upright slumber. I love how he gets down on the loops and puts the gaters and mod wheels to work with his nonsensical flow and vocals. Reggie is pretty fucking out there but his craft certainly deserves the utmost propers. A great show of awe and haha at my favorite venue made for a solid nightcap to tackle the looong, short work week.

Check out all the vids from these shows on the zBORED YouTube channel. Do it.

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New Music >> Shit Robot

Posted on May 22, 2012 by marc

Shit Robot 'Teenage Bass' >> is out today and it's quite alright. It's dance-y with a hard house backbeat and a nice progression from the LCD Soundsystem-esque tracks of old. Yes, this is just a single but it has been too long since he's dropped anything and even longer since the dopeness of Shit Robot's last full length album From The Cradle To The Rave. This release does have a b-side though ['Space Race' which is also a tight littly ditty] and hopefully this is just a little taste of a new LP in 2012. Get it on iTunes for a buck or Spotify that Shit for a click. Boom.

Shit Robot >> Teenage Bass

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Video Vault >> The Black Keys / Pinback / Mira Aroyo

Posted on May 15, 2012 by marc

This October >> The Black Keys will make their return to the desert. They'll be playing downtown Phoenix  at US Airways Center and while it's far from a desirable venue in my book [for a concert, that is] I can understand why their return necessitates such a large capacity. Their last show here was an epic one last year at Mesa Amphitheatre, which is a great venue but extremely limited when you consider how much The Black Keys have blown up since last April.

The Black Keys

I saw over 100 shows last year and that Black Keys show was definitely one of my favorites of 2011. I love Mesa Amp in desert spring weather and the duo rocked it to the max. I guess yesterday's concert announcement just stirred up memories of a great show and the movie moments that ensued with my date that I went digging for footage in the zB vault. In the process I realized I forgot to upload any videos from shows last April but it's better late than never, right? Hopefully I'm stirring up some great memories for you too but at the very least, please enjoy the lost footage from The Black Keys, Pinback [Clubhouse, RIP] and a DJ set from Mira Aroyo of Ladytron [Brick] below and more on the zBORED YouTube channel.

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Upcoming Album Releases >> May Mayhem

Posted on April 26, 2012 by marc

Spring is >> such a great time for us music lovers. Not just because of the weather opening up the season of festivals and outdoor concerts but also because of the artists beginning to release their latest and greatest in anticipation of corresponding tours and galas they'll be on the bill for throughout the summer.

Santigold >> Master Of My Make Believe

Coachella went down the last 2 weekends in Indio and the next 4 months will open more monster fests throughout the country like Electric Daisy Carnival [Vegas/NY/PR], Sasquatch [WA], Bonaroo [TN], Lollapalooza [Chicago], Outside Lands [San Francisco], etc. So in addition to these fun festivals to look forward to this summer, here are a few notable studio releases in May from artists you'll see at some of these fests.

Santigold Master of My Make-Believe >> 5.1

Marilyn Manson Born Villain >> 5.1

Silversun Pickups Neck of the Woods >> 5.8

Chris Brown Fortune >> 5.8

Best Coast The Only Place >> 5.15

Tenacious D Rize Of The Fenix >> 5.15

Garbage Not Your Kind Of People >> 5.15

John Mayer Born And Raised >> 5.22

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros Here >> 5.29

Regina Spektor What We Saw From The Cheap Seats >> 5.29

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New Videos >> Neon Indian + Friends at Crescent Ballroom

Posted on April 18, 2012 by marc

Videos from the Neon Indian >> and Friends show this past Thursday evening in Phoenix have been posted to the zBORED YouTube channel. It was a super dope show to say the least. Both bands on such an intimate stage at this stage in their careers was something to cherish. I also loved that it was just two bands that I've really grown to love over the last year or so crushing it back to back at 9pm sharp and boom [I guess I just wasn't in the mood for an unknown opener after a shit performance from Danny Brown, who opened for Childish Gambino the night before].

Friends >> Crescent Ballroom

The Brooklyn-based Friends got the night started and wasted no time getting into my favorite song of theirs 'Friend Crush'. I never realized how cute both the girls in the band were until I made my way up front status. They're hot actually. The lead singer has a bubbly persona and sings like a magician [what? too late]. The bass player, who sings backup and plays a variety somethings and other thingies [technically speaking], is all attitude on those doodads. Hotness.

They did a mean cover of 'My Boo' from way back in the day by Ghost Town DJ's and a few times the lead singer serenaded us and danced with us out on the floor, at the beer tub and into the bleachers which is just a testament to what an intimate venue Crescent Ballroom is. The second time she did that was during 'I'm His Girl' [she's out there the pretty much the whole time in this video until 0:56 in when she gets back on stage right in front of me - I had a nice time focusing on the bass player prior].

Friends >> Samantha Urbani

The headlining Neon Indian went on after Friends but following an intermission about 25 minutes long. The band's sound techs kept coming in and out, on and off the stage to continually check something faulty or they forgot to do their soundcheck in advance. The whole time this was happening we stood front stage wondering about the weird, backlit, smoking and 6-feet tall centerpiece they had set up on stage that looked like it came from the year 2525 [if man is still alive].

Neon Indian >> Crescent Ballroom

They opened with 'Arcade Blues' from their newest release Era Extrano. Actually most of the songs they played in the front half of their set were from this LP like 'Polish Girl', 'Fallout' and 'Hex Girlfriend'. It's a really great album their sound has really advanced since Psychic Chasms, which is probably why the band is starting to finally bubble now. But I still really love the old school gems from Neon Indian like the aforementioned title track 'Psychic Chasms', 'Deadbeat Summer' and 'Terminally Chill', which they eventually got to.

What a rad show to the utmost max. I can't wait to see both these bands again. Friends will be back here again at Crescent Ballroom in June and I guess I'll have to wait until Lollapalooza to see Neon Indian again. Sold.

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Outside Lands >> 2012 Lineup Announced!

Posted on April 17, 2012 by marc

Outside Lands 2012 >> is less than 4 months away and today the lineup for another spectacular music and arts festival has been released. Like Lollapalooza, this fest boasts an array of artists of eclectic styles from the new school as well as the old.

Being the the weekend immediately following Lolla, it's not so out of the ordinary to get double doses of artists making their way from midwest to left coast. Last year seeing Deadmau5, Beirut and Girl Talk were my favorite second in that week span. This year, I'm looking forward to sequels from Bloc Party, Jack White, Justice and Washed Out the most. Having gone nearly 4 years without seeing one of my favorite bands [Bloc Party] and never seeing one of my idols [Jack White] makes this back-to-back serving all the sweeter and more fulfilling.

Amongst the notable artists that Nor*Cal is uniquely privileged this summer are Foo Fighters [one of the greatest shows I've ever seen], Beck [can't imagine this not being clever], Skrillex [his shows get better and better every time], The Kills [they killed it live, pun intended], YACHT [been meaning to check them out for years now] and Metallica [not a huge fan but still very curious].

It's great that this gala follows the extremely more grandiose Lollapalooza. The chiller weather, half the stages and half the patrons make tackling Outside Lands much more manageable and the experience somewhat intimate in comparison to the fest in the midwest. Stay tuned for tips and tricks and strategies and such in regard to successfully surviving these festivals. The ultimate survival guide will be brought to you in the next coming months from yours truly and fellow familiar festival freak who just got back from Coachella yesterday.

Outside Lands 2012

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New Videos >> Childish Gambino at Venue of Scottsdale

Posted on April 16, 2012 by marc

Videos from Childish Gambino >> at Venue of Scottsdale have been posted to the zBORED YouTube channel. Gambino aka actor/comedian Donald Glover performed for over an hour Wednesday night in old town in front of a sold out crowd. He killed it on stage with his flow and he sang just as well as he does on the tracks when he lays down vocals. There was a full band that played guitar, bass, drums, percussion, keyboards and even violins at the same energy level as Gambino stretching the stage in all directions. I pretty much heard all of my favorite tracks of his like 'All The Shine' and 'Heartbeat' which got the place really loud with everyone being an extra hypeman on hand.

Childish Gambino

Childish Gambino's setlist was comprised of a perfect blend of Camp tracks along with some other gems from the underground and beyond like 'Freaks and Geeks' [but unfortunately no 'I Be On That']. My favorite ones he threw down were the aforementioned and 'You See Me' which has now moved way up to the top of my list. I like how he ended the encore with 'That Power' [last track on Camp] and followed that up with the beat of his spoken poetry at the end of that song while he said thanks and bye to everyone in Scottsdale. I just love that beat I guess.

All in all it was a really solid performance and a fun show, I just wasn't very pleased with the venue. The Venue, formerly known as The Cajun House, still sucks FYI. It's just not a good spot for a concert on account of the long, narrow layout, obstructing columns, trees and chandeliers. The stupid outside/inside decor looks exactly as terrible as it did 10 years ago when I was there last [minus the alligator moats that I got pushed into repeatedly whenever a pit broke out during a punk show]. More importantly, it sounded like shit for the entirety of the opener [Danny Brown] as well as Gambino's first few songs ['Outside' and 'Fire Fly']. Luckily the sound guy finally showed up to work or whatever and fixed the audio early on enough for us to enjoy those 15 or 18 songs that actually did sound right.

Sorry for that rant. I'm just disappointed that the top reason why we go to concerts was an issue when I was a teenager and apparently still is. Luckily my ticket was taken care of. I would have been even more pissed had I spent a dime one and I'll be damned if I pay one moving forward, or even returning for that matter. Venue of Scottsdale, if you're listening, just stick to casino nights or whatever events other than concerts that keep you in business and stop preventing good artists from playing good venues. Amen.

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