https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1
Saturday, May 21, 2016
20-05-2016: consolidating archives (and ranting...)
tracks worked on in this vlog:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1
Friday, May 20, 2016
i'm still running late on everything, but i should legitimately start building the alter-reality (as in, creating new profiles) either tonight or tomorrow.
i just need to reiterate: i can see the alter-reality, but the alter-reality cannot see me. and, i will be absolutely ruthless in mass blocking anybody that tries to fuck with this.
that said, there will not be large-scale interaction with the alter-reality, either, like there was previously. i'm spinning this off and letting it float on it's own. so, if you're interested in this, please follow it on it's own terms.
it is currently may 20, 1996 in the alter-reality. serious posting will start by july 1, 1996 - at the latest. the alter-reality will have it's own bandcamp, youtube, facebook and appspot spaces. it is those links that will be posted here by the end of the weekend, probably.
i just need to reiterate: i can see the alter-reality, but the alter-reality cannot see me. and, i will be absolutely ruthless in mass blocking anybody that tries to fuck with this.
that said, there will not be large-scale interaction with the alter-reality, either, like there was previously. i'm spinning this off and letting it float on it's own. so, if you're interested in this, please follow it on it's own terms.
it is currently may 20, 1996 in the alter-reality. serious posting will start by july 1, 1996 - at the latest. the alter-reality will have it's own bandcamp, youtube, facebook and appspot spaces. it is those links that will be posted here by the end of the weekend, probably.
19-05-2016: exploring southwest detroit in the day and the night (to see chelsea wolfe)
show footage:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/kOp6AxyO6g8?list=PLrHImg7oLm2aa6hPQlp4A8E8FjYuYnm2t
review:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/19.html
tracks worked on in this vlog:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1
https://www.youtube.com/embed/kOp6AxyO6g8?list=PLrHImg7oLm2aa6hPQlp4A8E8FjYuYnm2t
review:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/19.html
tracks worked on in this vlog:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1
Thursday, May 19, 2016
i was dreaming this morning. and, in case you're curious....
the truth is that i'm actually very content with the life that i live right now. it would be nice if disability could be a bit more, but i'm actually not complaining - there's really no point you could set it at where it wouldn't be nice if it were a bit more. i'm truly well fed and consider myself to have a very high quality of life.
so, if i were to do it all over again, what would i do? well, i'd be moving towards getting to where i am today faster, not trying to get to somewhere else. that may have meant applying for disability at a younger age. or, perhaps i may have focused on investment.
if i had the advantage of foresight, i would have probably studied finance and then not spent the time afterwards working but trying to rip people off on the various markets, until i could approximate the lifestyle i have now. it might mean $3000/month off dividends rather than $1000/month off government assistance. but, that actually doesn't really scale into a substantial difference. less walking, more cabs. more pizza, maybe? buying software instead of pirating it?
i just get the impression sometimes that people think i expected more out of myself. but, what that really means is that they weren't actually listening to what i was saying. i was never about winning the game; i was always about trying to get out of the obligation of having to play it. that's my conception of freedom: walking away.
the truth is that i'm actually very content with the life that i live right now. it would be nice if disability could be a bit more, but i'm actually not complaining - there's really no point you could set it at where it wouldn't be nice if it were a bit more. i'm truly well fed and consider myself to have a very high quality of life.
so, if i were to do it all over again, what would i do? well, i'd be moving towards getting to where i am today faster, not trying to get to somewhere else. that may have meant applying for disability at a younger age. or, perhaps i may have focused on investment.
if i had the advantage of foresight, i would have probably studied finance and then not spent the time afterwards working but trying to rip people off on the various markets, until i could approximate the lifestyle i have now. it might mean $3000/month off dividends rather than $1000/month off government assistance. but, that actually doesn't really scale into a substantial difference. less walking, more cabs. more pizza, maybe? buying software instead of pirating it?
i just get the impression sometimes that people think i expected more out of myself. but, what that really means is that they weren't actually listening to what i was saying. i was never about winning the game; i was always about trying to get out of the obligation of having to play it. that's my conception of freedom: walking away.
Monday, May 16, 2016
another short night out in windsor to see a distant canadian act stumbling through town
this was another show without a backstory; i left the house at 9:30 and was home by 12:30, not stopping anywhere or interacting with anybody in the process. the venue was actually at capacity for the show, due to the fact that a local band was having an ep release. i did not stay for the ep release. this was actually partly out of altruism; i was the last person they let in, and thought it would be more appropriate to let somebody in from outside that really wanted to be there. but, it was also partly due to disinterest, of course.
i was actually expecting basic nature to play first, but i did end up sitting through an opening set that was some kind of generic white blues. it's the kind of thing that a certain kind of aging white dude may identify with, but i didn't get much from it. it was neither as raw as the white stripes nor as jaded as the hip, and consequently didn't really excel at much of anything. but, it's actually the kind of empty drinking music that goes over well in this venue on off nights.
the basic nature set was quite strong, even if they lost most of the audience throughout it. i said most; they captured a subset, and kept it. i'm pointing this out because they played just a little too quietly to get their effect across. it's no doubt on some level a consequence of being nice polite young women from the western canadian tundra, and that's stated as more truth than empty stereotype, and there's even a certain aspect of their sound that kind of demands they play with a softer touch. yet, acknowledging this truth, there is also a part of what they do that needs a hefty roar of fuzz and reverb to cut through and drown out the chatter. perhaps they simply weren't used to playing in front of crowds. ok. but, the takeaway from the set is that you don't shush a bar, like they tried to - rather, you turn up and drown them out.
ignoring the volume issue, it was a solid set that accurately reflected the recorded material. other things to note include sporadic use of a saxophone player and a cover of a filter song (take a picture). i happen to have been a big fan of their previous record in high school (short bus), which was seen at the time as a nine inch nails side project, so that was a pleasant surprise.
it's worth the $5 if you like the style. they're not really doing anything novel, but they're colouring inside the lines far better than most neo-gaze acts that i've heard over the last few years.
here's a track from their set:
& here's the vlog for the day:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/14.html
i was actually expecting basic nature to play first, but i did end up sitting through an opening set that was some kind of generic white blues. it's the kind of thing that a certain kind of aging white dude may identify with, but i didn't get much from it. it was neither as raw as the white stripes nor as jaded as the hip, and consequently didn't really excel at much of anything. but, it's actually the kind of empty drinking music that goes over well in this venue on off nights.
the basic nature set was quite strong, even if they lost most of the audience throughout it. i said most; they captured a subset, and kept it. i'm pointing this out because they played just a little too quietly to get their effect across. it's no doubt on some level a consequence of being nice polite young women from the western canadian tundra, and that's stated as more truth than empty stereotype, and there's even a certain aspect of their sound that kind of demands they play with a softer touch. yet, acknowledging this truth, there is also a part of what they do that needs a hefty roar of fuzz and reverb to cut through and drown out the chatter. perhaps they simply weren't used to playing in front of crowds. ok. but, the takeaway from the set is that you don't shush a bar, like they tried to - rather, you turn up and drown them out.
ignoring the volume issue, it was a solid set that accurately reflected the recorded material. other things to note include sporadic use of a saxophone player and a cover of a filter song (take a picture). i happen to have been a big fan of their previous record in high school (short bus), which was seen at the time as a nine inch nails side project, so that was a pleasant surprise.
it's worth the $5 if you like the style. they're not really doing anything novel, but they're colouring inside the lines far better than most neo-gaze acts that i've heard over the last few years.
here's a track from their set:
& here's the vlog for the day:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/14.html
Sunday, May 15, 2016
whatever
i enjoy pile, and have seen them a couple of times, but i couldn't really identify track names. this does sound familiar, put pile kind of have two settings - overdrive and alt country. so, the fact that it sounds familiar doesn't necessarily mean it's an old song. if somebody can correct me then do so, but i do believe it's a new track.
please see the comments for a review. this was a festival show and a long day for music, with around ten bands to review.
this was my path through the day:
scripps park:
Virginia Violet & The Rays (very end)
ambesaw [this was chill]
Flowers Bloom [very end]
Devinition [this was hilarious]
Blakdog [this was a little face melting, i enjoyed this]
Bronze Mambas [dude needs a fat strat]
Indigo Black [didn't stay long....]
martez (second half)
market [about half - and i did dance]
the errers [most, and enjoyed it]
pile
phog, in windsor:
bad channels
zones
==
so, i'm writing this review a week after the fact after hoping that a specific site would upload footage from the event that would help jog my memory a little. unfortunately, that site seems to have skipped out on precisely the shows that i attended, so i'm not going to have that resource.
full day shows like this can be a little daunting to narrate, and i was far from sober throughout the day. but, let's see what i can get out. remember: this is merely my experience of the day. ymmv regarding my opinions of the various sets.
--
i was late out of the door, and only really regret it on principle. i would have even been perfectly happy to just show up at 9:00 for pile. but, my logic was that a nice day in the park is worth experiencing - partially for inebriation purposes. so, i was planning to get there for 1:00, but slept in and didn't arrive until close to 5:00. in hindsight, both statements are true: (1) i didn't bring enough alcohol for the whole day and (2) i probably wouldn't have made it through the whole day, if i had.
--
the band that was playing when i got in to the park was virginia and the violet rays, which was a kind of a horn band. i only caught the last few minutes and wasn't really paying attention but it struck me as a literal throwback - a novelty act, really. they may have even been playing standards, or mildly altered standards.
i spent the first half hour or so walking around between the electronic tent [ambesaw] and the rock tent [gray bliss], looking specifically for a specific odour - which was eventually found near the electronic tent in the form of a target delivery apparatus of proportions rarely seen outside 4/20. see, i have to admit that i feel no shame in putting through requests for wealth redistribution when i see somebody with a quantity that could knock a horse over - and i exaggerate only mildly. that's a party platter, my friend - you can't have that all to yourself. you'll hurt yourself, even. i'm doing you a favour. so, we had a pleasant conversation about the quality and "treeishness" of our shared delicacy, while enjoying the act, before i got up to place my empty can in the recycle bin, and faded back into the rock tent for a while.
the music coming out of the electronic tent during my stay there was mostly instrumental hip-hop, of a mildly orchestral and slow motion nature. this is a sound that seems to be trending in hip-hop circles, although i can offer no expertise on the topic. it was legitimately a chill vibe, and a good soundtrack for the moment.
--
the band that was playing when i got back to the rock tent was flowers bloom, and i can in fact be seen transiting if you look at the top right of the following video (@1:15-1:30):
i only caught a few minutes of this act and simply don't have any defined memories of them.
--
i have much clearer memories of devinition, a white rapper that came on and just made me laugh very hard. it no doubt had something to do with my experience over at the electronic tent, but it was built on a legitimate level of accidental self-parody. see, he wasn't really sure if he wanted to be tough like eminem or if he wanted to hit some kind of a beyond cliched hallmark/disney moment. it was partly the juxtaposition that cracked me up, and partly the hokeyness of it, but i was really literally doubled over in uncontrollable fits for a substantial proportion of the set. the peak of hilarity ensued over the following line:
"life is not the same since you've been gone",
which was sung off-key over a sample of a plucked classical guitar that sounded something sort of like "it's a small world after all". i was actually still laughing well into the next set; every time i thought about, it set me off again. in fact, i'm still giggling as i type this up.
--
blakdog, clearly named after the zeppelin tune, were up next - and actually started while devinition was still speaking, indicating the set had gone a little long. i should point out that a part of the hilarity was that he seemed to have a substantial media presence filming and photographing him, although i can't find any of it at the moment.
they weren't doing anything particularly novel, and likely weren't aspiring to, either. however, i managed to find a sweet spot near the front of the stage where the distortion was perfectly saturated. my subsequent enjoyment of the set was really purely on terms of guitar tone geekery, combined with being pleasantly baked - a sweet fuzz pedal through a tube amp can do that to you, if you have ears that can pick it out.
while it may seem sort of trite, the fact is that this was the exact experience i was seeking for the afternoon - floored guitar effects coming at me at high volume, while in an inebriated state. this is when i'm most content. so, i dug the face melt - but only after i found the sweet spot, where the harmonics were appropriately fucked
--
at first, bronze mambas seemed to be carrying on the psych rock vibe, but it quickly became apparent that they just didn't have the roar that they needed. see, the guitarist kept jumping back and forth between a strat sound and a paul sound. the singer was doing some kind of cedric blixler thing, which made it a little more apparent where they were coming from with the latin vibe. but, he didn't seem to know if he wanted to be santana or page, frusciante or thayil. in some ways, that's fine - a little flexibility is a virtue. but, his guitar was set up solely for his strat sound, which just killed the bottom end when he needed it.
now, i need to be clear - his strat actually sounded outstanding, when he wanted it to sound like a strat. it's when he obviously wanted his strat to sound like a paul that the only thing that actually got through was a wall of high end static.
i had a talk with him after, because he really needs to address it if he wants to be taken seriously. like, immediately. he can't possibly go on like this. it's a travesty. what i wanted to get across was that the issue wasn't too much treble. i mean, his strat sounded great. it really did. what he needed was a way to get a thicker fuzz when it was required.
so, i strongly suggested that he look into a fat strat, and i hope he does. it could convert a band that obviously has quite a bit of potential out of a sound spectrum catastrophe and into the real thing.
in hindsight, there is a second option - get a second guitarist, and make sure that person is playing with thicker pickups. whatever it is, he needs to find a way to thicken his sound when he needs to without losing his nice strat tone when he needs it, too.
i found some footage of the set:
the next few acts at the rock stage were hip-hop acts, and so i found myself more attracted to the electronic stage - and managed to get in on a pass as it came around to me, once i got there. i was present for at least a few minutes of all the acts that came on next, on all the stages, but the only one i have any real memory of is market. i actually caught the start of market's set, and stayed for most of it. it was a largely ambient/idm set that found itself periodically building into more traditional techno - which allowed for the opportunity to dance. and, dance, i did. but, i must also acknowledge that the set is a little hazy. as with the distorted guitar harmonics, though, what one wants is a hazy electronic set.
i didn't bring a clock with me, and didn't think the event was on time, anyways. so, i had to go back a few times to make sure i wasn't missing pile - which is why i caught bits of everything. i do think the electronic set was mostly on time, so the fact that i was able to catch most of market's set meant i was back at the rock tent very close to 9:00, to catch most of the 8:30 act.
i couldn't find footage, but market does have a bandcamp site:
https://marketdetroit.bandcamp.com/
--
so, i caught most of the erers, who were sufficiently raucous at the time to be enjoyable, but, overall, a little boneheaded for my tastes. i've been over this before with some other acts: it was a nice head cave, but it kind of only works in that precise context. and, frankly, *in* that context it doesn't even matter what you're playing - it's just all about the guitar tone.
i did enjoy it, but what i was thinking through the whole set was that i was really mostly hanging around so i didn't miss the start of the pile set. the other thing i remember about the set was that it was starting to get kind of cold out....
a good part of their set is up here:
pile were what they have been every other time i've seen them - loud, obnoxious and kind of ironically stupid, in a pretty smart way. that's pile. and, i got what i came for.
unfortunately, the set lost a few minutes due to a blackout, which i pick up in the vlog. besides that misstep, it was about what one expects from pile. which is what is actually in the video....
here is a full set from pile:
i wasn't sure if i was going to stay for the idiot kids or not; i figured that if somebody cancelled and things got pushed up then i probably would but was largely planning on skipping them. you also never know what the atmosphere is going to be like when you hit a show like this, or how long you want to stay. i could have been convinced to stay until midnight, if it felt right. it was clear on this night that the place was clearing out. and, while i hadn't brought a clock, i knew it was later than 9:30 (it was actually after 10:00). the real driver, though, was that i was just starting to get a little bit cold.
i warmed up as i was moving, but i do think i made the right choice to leave a little early. i didn't hear anything really interesting on their bandcamp, and the footage i tracked down wasn't particularly compelling.
the event organizers had an after party lined up on the other side of downtown, but i was more interested in catching the bus over early enough to get to a sort of a psychedelic/coldwave show in windsor. the optimistic plan was that if i could get out right at 9:30, i could be back in windsor by 10:30 and probably catch all three bands. as it happened, i got to the bus stop at about 10:45 and into phog around 11:30.
--
the bands that were playing at phog were called zones & bad channels, but i have to admit that i have no clear recollection of either of them - or which order they played in. i was actually mostly hoping to catch the first act, learning, and seem to have read the bill backwards, expecting them to play last (or maybe my logic centers were just broken that night - it does happen). what i remember about the show is consequently actually sitting and waiting for a band that had finished their set before i got there. that's ok - they're local, i'll get another chance.
i do recall that one of the bands had a guitarist and seemed to be having fun jamming over a sequencer; i remember thinking it was a little repetitive at points, and wasn't really accomplishing anything. i think this was "zones". the other band was more interesting, as it featured a live vocalist and a bit of an industrial/goth kind of feel to it [maybe the kids want to use terms that end with house or wave. whatever.]. they did quite the cover of frozen, by madonna, actually. could have and probably should have been a bit spookier, though. i think this was "bad channels".
--
i was surprisingly awake when i hit the 7/11 to get some doritos for some nachos, if not really particularly sober. i suppose that's the combined effect of caffeine, guarana, alcohol, nicotine and thc. see, here's the thing: it's actually exactly where you want to be after ten hours of drinking and smoking various things. significantly damaged, but absolutely wired. the other option is passing out when you get home, and that always sucks as you end up wasting half your intoxicants. it's the caffeine that's key. i do highly recommend ensuring you remain caffeinated when you're drinking. it's a lot more fun.
i finished the night off by watching a stiglitz lecture, and greatly enjoying the clarity of his logic. krugman does make some good points about how the most sparkling logic is not always upheld by the data, but i wasn't having any of that at the moment - i was just enjoying the clarity of thought in the dismantling of classical assumptions.
here is the vlog for the day:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/07.html
please see the comments for a review. this was a festival show and a long day for music, with around ten bands to review.
this was my path through the day:
scripps park:
Virginia Violet & The Rays (very end)
ambesaw [this was chill]
Flowers Bloom [very end]
Devinition [this was hilarious]
Blakdog [this was a little face melting, i enjoyed this]
Bronze Mambas [dude needs a fat strat]
Indigo Black [didn't stay long....]
martez (second half)
market [about half - and i did dance]
the errers [most, and enjoyed it]
pile
phog, in windsor:
bad channels
zones
==
so, i'm writing this review a week after the fact after hoping that a specific site would upload footage from the event that would help jog my memory a little. unfortunately, that site seems to have skipped out on precisely the shows that i attended, so i'm not going to have that resource.
full day shows like this can be a little daunting to narrate, and i was far from sober throughout the day. but, let's see what i can get out. remember: this is merely my experience of the day. ymmv regarding my opinions of the various sets.
--
i was late out of the door, and only really regret it on principle. i would have even been perfectly happy to just show up at 9:00 for pile. but, my logic was that a nice day in the park is worth experiencing - partially for inebriation purposes. so, i was planning to get there for 1:00, but slept in and didn't arrive until close to 5:00. in hindsight, both statements are true: (1) i didn't bring enough alcohol for the whole day and (2) i probably wouldn't have made it through the whole day, if i had.
--
the band that was playing when i got in to the park was virginia and the violet rays, which was a kind of a horn band. i only caught the last few minutes and wasn't really paying attention but it struck me as a literal throwback - a novelty act, really. they may have even been playing standards, or mildly altered standards.
i spent the first half hour or so walking around between the electronic tent [ambesaw] and the rock tent [gray bliss], looking specifically for a specific odour - which was eventually found near the electronic tent in the form of a target delivery apparatus of proportions rarely seen outside 4/20. see, i have to admit that i feel no shame in putting through requests for wealth redistribution when i see somebody with a quantity that could knock a horse over - and i exaggerate only mildly. that's a party platter, my friend - you can't have that all to yourself. you'll hurt yourself, even. i'm doing you a favour. so, we had a pleasant conversation about the quality and "treeishness" of our shared delicacy, while enjoying the act, before i got up to place my empty can in the recycle bin, and faded back into the rock tent for a while.
the music coming out of the electronic tent during my stay there was mostly instrumental hip-hop, of a mildly orchestral and slow motion nature. this is a sound that seems to be trending in hip-hop circles, although i can offer no expertise on the topic. it was legitimately a chill vibe, and a good soundtrack for the moment.
--
the band that was playing when i got back to the rock tent was flowers bloom, and i can in fact be seen transiting if you look at the top right of the following video (@1:15-1:30):
i only caught a few minutes of this act and simply don't have any defined memories of them.
--
i have much clearer memories of devinition, a white rapper that came on and just made me laugh very hard. it no doubt had something to do with my experience over at the electronic tent, but it was built on a legitimate level of accidental self-parody. see, he wasn't really sure if he wanted to be tough like eminem or if he wanted to hit some kind of a beyond cliched hallmark/disney moment. it was partly the juxtaposition that cracked me up, and partly the hokeyness of it, but i was really literally doubled over in uncontrollable fits for a substantial proportion of the set. the peak of hilarity ensued over the following line:
"life is not the same since you've been gone",
which was sung off-key over a sample of a plucked classical guitar that sounded something sort of like "it's a small world after all". i was actually still laughing well into the next set; every time i thought about, it set me off again. in fact, i'm still giggling as i type this up.
--
blakdog, clearly named after the zeppelin tune, were up next - and actually started while devinition was still speaking, indicating the set had gone a little long. i should point out that a part of the hilarity was that he seemed to have a substantial media presence filming and photographing him, although i can't find any of it at the moment.
they weren't doing anything particularly novel, and likely weren't aspiring to, either. however, i managed to find a sweet spot near the front of the stage where the distortion was perfectly saturated. my subsequent enjoyment of the set was really purely on terms of guitar tone geekery, combined with being pleasantly baked - a sweet fuzz pedal through a tube amp can do that to you, if you have ears that can pick it out.
while it may seem sort of trite, the fact is that this was the exact experience i was seeking for the afternoon - floored guitar effects coming at me at high volume, while in an inebriated state. this is when i'm most content. so, i dug the face melt - but only after i found the sweet spot, where the harmonics were appropriately fucked
--
at first, bronze mambas seemed to be carrying on the psych rock vibe, but it quickly became apparent that they just didn't have the roar that they needed. see, the guitarist kept jumping back and forth between a strat sound and a paul sound. the singer was doing some kind of cedric blixler thing, which made it a little more apparent where they were coming from with the latin vibe. but, he didn't seem to know if he wanted to be santana or page, frusciante or thayil. in some ways, that's fine - a little flexibility is a virtue. but, his guitar was set up solely for his strat sound, which just killed the bottom end when he needed it.
now, i need to be clear - his strat actually sounded outstanding, when he wanted it to sound like a strat. it's when he obviously wanted his strat to sound like a paul that the only thing that actually got through was a wall of high end static.
i had a talk with him after, because he really needs to address it if he wants to be taken seriously. like, immediately. he can't possibly go on like this. it's a travesty. what i wanted to get across was that the issue wasn't too much treble. i mean, his strat sounded great. it really did. what he needed was a way to get a thicker fuzz when it was required.
so, i strongly suggested that he look into a fat strat, and i hope he does. it could convert a band that obviously has quite a bit of potential out of a sound spectrum catastrophe and into the real thing.
in hindsight, there is a second option - get a second guitarist, and make sure that person is playing with thicker pickups. whatever it is, he needs to find a way to thicken his sound when he needs to without losing his nice strat tone when he needs it, too.
i found some footage of the set:
the next few acts at the rock stage were hip-hop acts, and so i found myself more attracted to the electronic stage - and managed to get in on a pass as it came around to me, once i got there. i was present for at least a few minutes of all the acts that came on next, on all the stages, but the only one i have any real memory of is market. i actually caught the start of market's set, and stayed for most of it. it was a largely ambient/idm set that found itself periodically building into more traditional techno - which allowed for the opportunity to dance. and, dance, i did. but, i must also acknowledge that the set is a little hazy. as with the distorted guitar harmonics, though, what one wants is a hazy electronic set.
i didn't bring a clock with me, and didn't think the event was on time, anyways. so, i had to go back a few times to make sure i wasn't missing pile - which is why i caught bits of everything. i do think the electronic set was mostly on time, so the fact that i was able to catch most of market's set meant i was back at the rock tent very close to 9:00, to catch most of the 8:30 act.
i couldn't find footage, but market does have a bandcamp site:
https://marketdetroit.bandcamp.com/
--
so, i caught most of the erers, who were sufficiently raucous at the time to be enjoyable, but, overall, a little boneheaded for my tastes. i've been over this before with some other acts: it was a nice head cave, but it kind of only works in that precise context. and, frankly, *in* that context it doesn't even matter what you're playing - it's just all about the guitar tone.
i did enjoy it, but what i was thinking through the whole set was that i was really mostly hanging around so i didn't miss the start of the pile set. the other thing i remember about the set was that it was starting to get kind of cold out....
a good part of their set is up here:
pile were what they have been every other time i've seen them - loud, obnoxious and kind of ironically stupid, in a pretty smart way. that's pile. and, i got what i came for.
unfortunately, the set lost a few minutes due to a blackout, which i pick up in the vlog. besides that misstep, it was about what one expects from pile. which is what is actually in the video....
here is a full set from pile:
i wasn't sure if i was going to stay for the idiot kids or not; i figured that if somebody cancelled and things got pushed up then i probably would but was largely planning on skipping them. you also never know what the atmosphere is going to be like when you hit a show like this, or how long you want to stay. i could have been convinced to stay until midnight, if it felt right. it was clear on this night that the place was clearing out. and, while i hadn't brought a clock, i knew it was later than 9:30 (it was actually after 10:00). the real driver, though, was that i was just starting to get a little bit cold.
i warmed up as i was moving, but i do think i made the right choice to leave a little early. i didn't hear anything really interesting on their bandcamp, and the footage i tracked down wasn't particularly compelling.
the event organizers had an after party lined up on the other side of downtown, but i was more interested in catching the bus over early enough to get to a sort of a psychedelic/coldwave show in windsor. the optimistic plan was that if i could get out right at 9:30, i could be back in windsor by 10:30 and probably catch all three bands. as it happened, i got to the bus stop at about 10:45 and into phog around 11:30.
--
the bands that were playing at phog were called zones & bad channels, but i have to admit that i have no clear recollection of either of them - or which order they played in. i was actually mostly hoping to catch the first act, learning, and seem to have read the bill backwards, expecting them to play last (or maybe my logic centers were just broken that night - it does happen). what i remember about the show is consequently actually sitting and waiting for a band that had finished their set before i got there. that's ok - they're local, i'll get another chance.
i do recall that one of the bands had a guitarist and seemed to be having fun jamming over a sequencer; i remember thinking it was a little repetitive at points, and wasn't really accomplishing anything. i think this was "zones". the other band was more interesting, as it featured a live vocalist and a bit of an industrial/goth kind of feel to it [maybe the kids want to use terms that end with house or wave. whatever.]. they did quite the cover of frozen, by madonna, actually. could have and probably should have been a bit spookier, though. i think this was "bad channels".
--
i was surprisingly awake when i hit the 7/11 to get some doritos for some nachos, if not really particularly sober. i suppose that's the combined effect of caffeine, guarana, alcohol, nicotine and thc. see, here's the thing: it's actually exactly where you want to be after ten hours of drinking and smoking various things. significantly damaged, but absolutely wired. the other option is passing out when you get home, and that always sucks as you end up wasting half your intoxicants. it's the caffeine that's key. i do highly recommend ensuring you remain caffeinated when you're drinking. it's a lot more fun.
i finished the night off by watching a stiglitz lecture, and greatly enjoying the clarity of his logic. krugman does make some good points about how the most sparkling logic is not always upheld by the data, but i wasn't having any of that at the moment - i was just enjoying the clarity of thought in the dismantling of classical assumptions.
here is the vlog for the day:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/07.html
14-05-2016: taking time between unwanted naps to see basic nature in windsor
concert footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmTDg-hSLHA
review:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/14.html
tracks worked on in this vlog:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmTDg-hSLHA
review:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/14.html
tracks worked on in this vlog:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1
Saturday, May 14, 2016
i seem to be getting lots of likes on j^2.
the last few days have been weird. but i do plan on getting something done today.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153219866957114&id=41134747113
the last few days have been weird. but i do plan on getting something done today.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153219866957114&id=41134747113
Friday, May 13, 2016
a quick walk to phog and back to see an indie rock band from calgary
i really do not have a review for this show; it was an 11:00 show and i was only really out of the house between 10:30 and 12:00.
i will say that they played some new material and it is a continuation of their previous record, rather than a repudiation of it. i will also say that what i captured is a b-side that is a little more radio-friendly than their record, which leans more towards a late 90s radiohead sound.
it's worth the $5, if you get the chance. the bar seemed to like it, anyways.
here is the set:
here is the vlog for the day:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/10.html
i will say that they played some new material and it is a continuation of their previous record, rather than a repudiation of it. i will also say that what i captured is a b-side that is a little more radio-friendly than their record, which leans more towards a late 90s radiohead sound.
it's worth the $5, if you get the chance. the bar seemed to like it, anyways.
here is the set:
here is the vlog for the day:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/10.html
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
10-05-2016: boreal sons, west virginia & an unexpected early crash
concert footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfGU586YyVY
review:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/10.html
tracks worked on in this vlog:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfGU586YyVY
review:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/10.html
tracks worked on in this vlog:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
a rare night out in windsor to see a catchy punk band, and consequences of it
this was the first show i had hit in a bar in windsor in quite a long time, and i was entirely unsurprised that it was virtually empty. there were some people in the bar that were coerced into paying cover; otherwise, i only found one other person that was there to see the show.
this bar actually does more promo than any other venue in the city, which is just a very closed and insular place. what i've noticed is that the music scene in the city is driven virtually entirely by word of mouth, meaning that there isn't actually a music scene at all - there's merely a party scene. people just go to see their friends play, and bands don't seem to really aspire to get out of their groups of friends. the result is that most of the music is very bland (as it is written to please - that is, to conform) and nobody really seems to be interested in going anywhere with it.
what that means for a person like me, that strongly dislikes making friends and maintaining friendships, is that i don't get to many shows in town (and i'm happy that a more disjointed market like detroit is so close). it also means that the few shows that i do go to tend to be practically empty. i'm ok with that, actually - less people to be irritated by. but, the bands tend to be disappointed - and for good reason. if you're coming from anywhere in canada, and staying in the country, chances are you took a detour to get here.
about the only way out of this is if you know somebody in town and can get them to spread the show by word of mouth. flyers, posters, facebook events....they seem to be mostly useless, and to an extent they're even frowned upon as breaking out of the insularity and small town mindset. after all, if you put up a poster then somebody that you don't even know might show up. who wants that?
the bands were both aware of their predicament, and willing to make light of it, although - and this is the part that is always hard to hear - they actually seemed surprised by the low turnout. did they do any promo at all? i mean, i'm telling you it won't matter - but did they even do it? maybe, it should be written in some kind of a place somewhere that you can be pretty sure to be playing an empty bar in windsor unless you have some friends here, and to try to make some kind of arrangement before you bother.
--
the first act was a little poppy for my tastes, but was also fairly dynamic in their stage show. they really needed a bigger crowd to feed off of, and a bigger stage to roam on. it wouldn't have converted me or anything, but it would at least be properly experiential. the reason phog can be great sometimes is precisely because it is so small, but you need to be the kind of band that excels in small spaces for that to make any sense.
--
japanese girls made a bit more sense in the small space, and the set seemed to lack surprises - they did a good job running through some of the material on their last record and in previewing some material from the new one. there was unfortunately a gradient in terms of the material, with the newer material coming off as more of a generic, muscular kind of garage rock. the record is actually very strong, but it builds quite a bit on a good sense of melody (and a good sense of musicianship, too). both of those things seemed stripped out of the newer stuff. but, first impressions can often be misleading.
the show is definitely worth the $5 if you get the chance to see it.
--
on the way out, i noticed that there was a band playing across the street. that venue (milk coffee shop) doesn't even publish show listings, at all, anywhere, so if you want to know what's going on there, you pretty much need to know somebody - which, again, i'm not willing to invest the energy into. but, as an aside, based on what i've seen playing there, it's not really worth the effort. it's a lot of local or regional stuff of mostly low quality.
nonetheless, this bar was actually full of people. there was a heavy blues band playing. no cover, apparently. why not stop for a beer?
see, it was apparent fairly quickly that almost everybody in the bar knew each other, and they were all friends of one of the bands or friend of friends of one of the bands. this is just how things are, here.
the blues band (the stroll) was done within seconds, and a pop punk band (harbour) came on within a few minutes. it was absolutely generic, but i stayed for the beer - and was treated to a guitarist walking across the room, clearly demonstrating that the guitar was not plugged in. oops? well, maybe not: nobody seemed to care.
here's the vlog for the day:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/04.html
this bar actually does more promo than any other venue in the city, which is just a very closed and insular place. what i've noticed is that the music scene in the city is driven virtually entirely by word of mouth, meaning that there isn't actually a music scene at all - there's merely a party scene. people just go to see their friends play, and bands don't seem to really aspire to get out of their groups of friends. the result is that most of the music is very bland (as it is written to please - that is, to conform) and nobody really seems to be interested in going anywhere with it.
what that means for a person like me, that strongly dislikes making friends and maintaining friendships, is that i don't get to many shows in town (and i'm happy that a more disjointed market like detroit is so close). it also means that the few shows that i do go to tend to be practically empty. i'm ok with that, actually - less people to be irritated by. but, the bands tend to be disappointed - and for good reason. if you're coming from anywhere in canada, and staying in the country, chances are you took a detour to get here.
about the only way out of this is if you know somebody in town and can get them to spread the show by word of mouth. flyers, posters, facebook events....they seem to be mostly useless, and to an extent they're even frowned upon as breaking out of the insularity and small town mindset. after all, if you put up a poster then somebody that you don't even know might show up. who wants that?
the bands were both aware of their predicament, and willing to make light of it, although - and this is the part that is always hard to hear - they actually seemed surprised by the low turnout. did they do any promo at all? i mean, i'm telling you it won't matter - but did they even do it? maybe, it should be written in some kind of a place somewhere that you can be pretty sure to be playing an empty bar in windsor unless you have some friends here, and to try to make some kind of arrangement before you bother.
--
the first act was a little poppy for my tastes, but was also fairly dynamic in their stage show. they really needed a bigger crowd to feed off of, and a bigger stage to roam on. it wouldn't have converted me or anything, but it would at least be properly experiential. the reason phog can be great sometimes is precisely because it is so small, but you need to be the kind of band that excels in small spaces for that to make any sense.
--
japanese girls made a bit more sense in the small space, and the set seemed to lack surprises - they did a good job running through some of the material on their last record and in previewing some material from the new one. there was unfortunately a gradient in terms of the material, with the newer material coming off as more of a generic, muscular kind of garage rock. the record is actually very strong, but it builds quite a bit on a good sense of melody (and a good sense of musicianship, too). both of those things seemed stripped out of the newer stuff. but, first impressions can often be misleading.
the show is definitely worth the $5 if you get the chance to see it.
--
on the way out, i noticed that there was a band playing across the street. that venue (milk coffee shop) doesn't even publish show listings, at all, anywhere, so if you want to know what's going on there, you pretty much need to know somebody - which, again, i'm not willing to invest the energy into. but, as an aside, based on what i've seen playing there, it's not really worth the effort. it's a lot of local or regional stuff of mostly low quality.
nonetheless, this bar was actually full of people. there was a heavy blues band playing. no cover, apparently. why not stop for a beer?
see, it was apparent fairly quickly that almost everybody in the bar knew each other, and they were all friends of one of the bands or friend of friends of one of the bands. this is just how things are, here.
the blues band (the stroll) was done within seconds, and a pop punk band (harbour) came on within a few minutes. it was absolutely generic, but i stayed for the beer - and was treated to a guitarist walking across the room, clearly demonstrating that the guitar was not plugged in. oops? well, maybe not: nobody seemed to care.
here's the vlog for the day:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/04.html
Sunday, May 8, 2016
07-05-2016: whateverfest
concert footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9LyMr3_RSE
review:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/07.html
tracks worked on in this vlog:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9LyMr3_RSE
review:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/07.html
tracks worked on in this vlog:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Thursday, May 5, 2016
04-05-2016: within the twilight of archiving (and japanese girls in windsor)
concert footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JS7MfHCjn4
review:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/04.html
tracks worked on in this vlog:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JS7MfHCjn4
review:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2016/05/04.html
tracks worked on in this vlog:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/period-1
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
so, in case you've lost the plot - and i don't blame you if you have - what's going on is as follows:
1) around the new year, i quit smoking.
2) i wanted to be sure i actually succeeded, so i put myself through a low stress process of archiving old comments for future use in the alter-reality.
3) that took a long time to finish. but i'm now done. and i've quit smoking, too.
4) that means that i'm now about to relaunch.
what that means is that i'm going back to the very start and running through it with a final fine tooth comb. but, this will not be as strenuous a run through as the one that i started at the end of 2013, because i've already done most of the work. when this run is done, my first two periods of work will finally be ready to enter into the annals of history.
i can be a little hard for modern people to understand. i get that. i don't care about the moment. fuck "carpe diem". i live for the historical record. and, i create for the future.
what that means is that this page is being rebuilt, again, from 1996. but, it's being rebuilt from 1996-2003 - and it should be pretty quick. meaning, i should be back to focusing on period 3 by the summer. hopefully. right. i don't think i ever really figured out what was wrong with my phones....
that means i took about a year off between finishing period 2 and starting period 3. it's not what i planned. but, maybe it will work out for the best, in the end. i have cleared numerous things from my head over the last year - not just the smoking, but also the disability/income situation.
so, do expect a lot of finalizing over the next few weeks. i'm finally "there".
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