Ben's Recs: Concert Hangovers

By: Ben Haager, General Manager

Concert hangovers are very real. Much like an alcohol-induced hangover, the physical symptoms (ringing ears, bruises, inability to move your legs, broken glasses from overweight crowd surfers) are rather easy to overcome given time and proper tools. The tougher symptoms are those which begin to consume your everyday life (listening to entire discographies on repeat, watching every music video the band has to offer, scouring the internet for set lists, deciding which photos are worth showing the world). 

The following are a few bands that have induced some of my most inhibiting (yet delightful) concert hangovers of recent memory:

1. Frightened Rabbit 

This band currently consumes me. Frightened Rabbit absolutely one of the tightest sounding bands I have ever seen. Somehow I managed to resist the urge to buy all of the band's LPs at the show (I still bought Sing the Greys there), but that resistance didn't last much longer as I purchased its 2013 effort Pedestrian Verse two days later. These guys must be from some other world, as their lyrical honesty is unprecedented to my ears. Although that world is no fairy tale, it's a world where everyone's lives and relationships are just as shitty (and occasionally wonderful) as the rest of ours.  

2. Nico Vega 

The stage presence of lead singer Aja Volkman is astounding. Seeing that beautiful lady completely lose herself onstage while belting the lyrics to the band's tunes rendered every artist not named Nico Vega useless on my iPod for weeks. She rules. 

3. The Cave Singers

Holy hell, these Washingtonian indie folk rockers are good. Peter Quirk sure knows how to work a stage with his killer dance moves and howling vocals as the band (which now features former Fleet Foxes multi-instrumentalist Morgan Henderson on bass and flute) backs him up with rolling licks and some groovy beats. I certainly can't help but mouth lyrics, bob my head and throw in the occasional hip shake when walking around town with The Cave Singers blaring through my headphones. 

4. Apocalyptica

Four classically trained electric cellists playing Metallica covers and original compositions. 'Nuff said.

5. Buddy Guy 

Buddy is the best guitar player out there. He is 77 years old and still pumping out killer blues albums. When he's on stage, he is ageless as he struts his absurd guitar and vocal abilities. Plainly put, the man has swagger. And I've had the blues everyday since seeing him.

Ben's Recs: Blues on Vinyl - Great Christmas gift, or Greatest Christmas gift?

By: Ben Haager, Alumni And Investment Relations Director

This past Christmas I got a record player as my main gift. Since then I have been bargain hunting for some gems. My collection has built considerably since Christmas; here are some of the best and blusiest.

1. Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding: Live at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival



Jimi Hendrix on one side and Otis Redding on the other. Can't beat that. Because less people seem to know the delight that is Otis Redding, here is “Try A Little Tenderness.” You should recognize it as the sample Jay-Z and Kanye took for “Otis” on Watch the Throne.

2. Creedence Clearwater Revival Bayou Country



John Fogerty's voice is one of the most recognizable ever. It is astonishing that the Forgerty brothers were born in Berkeley, California, considering their association with the swampy bayou blues. Between “Good Golly, Miss Molly” and “Proud Mary” is “Penthouse Pauper,” which proves CCR had as much swag as any rap artist today.

3. Blues Brothers Soundtrack



Growing up in Illinois meant my father raised me watching Blues Brothers at an all-too-early age. And why not? It is undoubtedly one of the greatest movies ever, and has a ridiculous collection of artists featured both on film and on the soundtrack. Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Cab Calloway, and Ray Charles to name a few. Not to mention Belushi and Aykroyd are phenomenal artists themselves as the Blues Brothers.

4. Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughan



SRV's talent was unfathomable. You know the nursery rhyme. Now listen to the song.

5. Good Old Boys - Randy Newman



Randy's talent is not limited to soundtracks by any means. His non-Pixar stuff actually contains some pretty controversial social commentary. Good Old Boys happens to be about the south, so you can easily imagine the focus of “Rednecks.”

6. Muddy Waters – Sweet Home Chicago



This album doesn't have a version of “Sweet Home Chicago” on it ironically enough. But I must question why people don't listen to Muddy Waters? You should.

Ben's Recs: Bargain Shows

By: Ben Haager, General Manager

When I was in high school, I went to a lot of concerts. Then I came to college and became poor, and thus stopped going to as many concerts. Lately however, I have been on a roll finding budget concerts. Here are a few bands you can see for a bargain in Athens/Columbus in the coming months (you might see me there as well). 

1. Alt-J - 3/30/13 - The LC Pavilion in Columbus - $5 ($8.50 including those dumb Ticketmaster fees)

The "first dose" of CD 102.5 Day brings British band Alt-J as a headliner. The tickets sold out within two hours, but I was lucky to snatch up a couple tickets for myself. If you haven't heard this band yet, click this link and watch immediately. Anytime I attempt to describe them to someone, I completely blank, as they prescribe to no genre. My best explanation is alternative folk rock with some sort of an electronic mix. You'd be much better off just clicking that link.

2. Murder By Death - 5/2/13 - @ The Bluestone in Columbus - $13.00 (Purchase here)

I've already seen Murder by Death a couple times, and let me tell you, they put on one hell of a show. I like to describe them as whiskey-infused, dark folk. Their cellist is absolutely breathtaking live. If you'd like to buy me a whiskey sour when you see me there, I would be quite thankful.

3. Dawes & Shovels and Rope - 6/16/13 - @ The Bluestone in Columbus - $17.00 (Purchase here)

The opener is what really attracts me to this show. Shovels and Rope is the sweetest duo out there. Call it blues, call it country, call it good ole rock n' roll--they just play darn good music. I don't know too much about Dawes, but I do know their songwriter Taylor Goldsmith from the indie supergroup Middle Brother, whose debut album was one of my favorite albums two years ago. It's safe to say this show will be a rip roarin' good time.

4. Cave Singers - 4/3/13 - @ The Basement in Columbus - $12.00 (Purchase here)

A band I discovered through KEXP, the Cave Singers have quickly become one of my favorite bands. Simple and bluesy, yet utterly intriguing, their new album Naomi is absolutely phenomenal. It's uncanny how much great and diverse music comes out of Seattle. 

5. ACRN Lobsterfest - 4/25-27/13 - @ The Smiling Skull, The Union, and Central Venue in Athens - FREE

Shameless self-promotion? The headliners will be the Cloud Nothings. If that isn't enough to get you excited, the Turbo Fruits have also been announced as part of the three-day festival bill, with many more bands to come. Plus, IT'S FREE! 

I hate Ticketmaster.

Ben's Recs: BenFest (No Holograms Allowed)

By: Ben Haager, General Manager

During this past week's installment of ACRN's Best Gosh Darn News Show hosted by Chris Dobstaff, Scott Smith and myself, Scott posed the question of what six bands Chris and I would have headline a festival (reuniting bands included). No holograms allowed since they are dumb. In fact, there may be a Disco Demolition-type public destruction of all hologram technology at my festival.

B. B. King and Buddy Guy: Is having two artists as a headliner a way to cheat the six band max? Absolutely. But I don't care. I just wanna see B. B. And Buddy jam together before it is too late. I've already seen Buddy, so B. B. would do just fine on his own. But the two bluesmen on the same stage would be phenomenal. 

Rage Against the Machine: Rage has been performing sporadically over the past couple years, so this is a possibility that I'm definitely willing to entertain. They would be required to play, at the very least, one new track because we all know they have some.

They'll begin with this: 

Violent Femmes: This would be a tough reuniting, since singer Gordon Gano and bassist Brian Ritchie clearly have some issues to work out. But hey, it's not like they're Creedence. And the Pixies have reunited multiple times. 

Soundgarden/Temple of the Dog/Pearl Jam: Soundgarden is back and Pearl Jam really has never left. So this is what is going to happen: Soundgarden is going to play a set. Then Eddie, Stone, Jeff and Mike will reunite with Chris and Matt (that's right, I'm on a first name basis) on stage for some Temple of the Dog songs. Then Chris will leave and Pearl Jam will play. It'll be a re-enactment of the formation of Pearl Jam. Also, Matt Cameron, who drums for all three, might die from exhaustion.

Watch the Throne: Need I say more than Kanye West and Jay-Z? One stipulation: they can not perform “Lift Off.” Although Beyonce will be allowed on stage for visual appeal.  

(Apparently Kanye has decided skirts are in)

Metallica: My brother has seen 'Tallica play and I haven't. That will be fixed. Lou Reed is not allowed within a 100-mile radius of the festival to prevent any Lulu temptations. Also, no St. Anger. 

Ben's Recs: YouTube Discoveries

By: Ben Haager, General Manager
 

Lately I have been using YouTube to discover bands more than any other source (other than the ACRN CD stacks). There is a lot of nonsense on YouTube, but there are also a lot of channels that produce some gems. Here are my favorite musical channels:

1.  KEXP Radio – A Seattle radio station with some killer in-studios. An incredible selection that varies from punk to hip hop to soul to folk. I’ve found mostly Seattle-based bands here, which makes me want to go to Seattle really badly, but even Athens’ own Southeast Engine has appeared. Here are The Cave Singers, one of those Seattle bands.

2.  The Mahogany Sessions - A series of busk-esque performances by phenomenal musicians in London. These videos are extremely pure when it comes to music, as most are stripped down, leaving the vocalist vulnerable. Here is Marques Toliver, a violinist singer/songwriter who has performed with the likes of Grizzly Bear and TV On the Radio. 

3.  97X  – A Tampa Bay radio station that used to be a lot more active on making in-studio performances. Yes, they do post a lot more mainstream rock and punk, but I am not ashamed to like mainstream music. I give you Blue October, and I defy you to present me with more genuine emotion in a track.

4.  95WIILROCK  – This is the station I listened to growing up so I can’t help but follow it. There is a lot of DJ nonsense on this station, but if you stick to the Studio East recordings, you can find some nice acoustic versions of hard rock songs.

5. Cover Artists – YouTube has always been a place where people like to show off their skills, whether they have them or not. These are three people that don’t suck (usually).

- Alex Pelzer (lots of covers of intolerable chart-toppers, but a really good voice) -  "Ain't No Sunshine"

- Dustin Prinz (goofy dude and great guitarist who arranges songs well for solo acoustic) - "Feel Good Inc."

- Lucas Silveira of The Cliks (Transgender vocalist of The Cliks who posts covers of songs occasionally) - "I'm Your Man"

Amanda's Recs: A New Chairwoman

By: Amanda Norris, Chief Engineer 

Comrades, Rock Lobsters and intrepid Googlers, welcome to my first ever Exec Rec posting. As Matt Wesley’s former protégé, I now make it possible for you to hear ACRN.com in all of its glory. Now, here’s some cool nonsense:

1. The Blues Begins. Mondays from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. General Manager Ben Haager and myself kick off the ACRN DJ week with a radio show dedicated to the blues. Here’s some shameless plugs for it: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr.

2. I was lucky enough to come across this gem back in high school. This girl looks like she’s about 15, but I assure you she has killer pipes and guitar-picking prowess. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you a blues-infused Michael Jackson cover. Thank me later. 

3. The Lonesome Crowded West - Modest Mouse. If you’ve been listening to the ACRN airwaves over the past few weeks you’ve probably heard this album (possibly in its entirety) a few times. That’s because it’s my go-to whenever I’m fixing technical difficulties. Sorry, Belle and Sebastian (our old “we’re fixing the station” hold music), but it was time for a change.

4. I’m Not There. This innovative film from back in 2009 portrayed my main man (Bob Dylan) as six different characters that all embody a different aspect of his legendary personality. This clip is really cool in particular because it gives you a good glimpse of the film as a whole. As a side note, the actor portraying Bob as the poetic and wry narrator incarnation in this scene is named Ben Whishaw and he has also portrayed the poet John Keats, whom I recommend as well.