society verse by ross farrar

bridge 9 records put out a book by ross farrar, lead singer of ceremony, called society verse. the book is comprised of lyrics from ceremony songs re-organized with punctuation and put into stanza's. for a majority of the songs there are explanations for the lyrics as farrar explains what he was thinking at the time he wrote them. my favorite of which is his explanation for 'throwing bricks' where he explains the fight he got into that enabled him to write that song. also included in the book is 'into the wayside part iv,' a short story he wrote about growing up in rohnert park. all the photographs in the book are in black and white, and were taken by farrar. in my opinion the photographs and the short story are worth the price of the book alone. society verse is an extremely enjoyable read for anyone, whether or not they are ceremony fans.

ceremony, punch, nails and cardboard funeral @ gilman 8.22.10

gilman has easily become my favorite venue. the history has a lot to do with it, but mostly it's the little things like how they still sell copies of maximum rock n roll, or how hardcore kids and punk kids hang out together, or the black on white pictures on the wall when you first walk in. i guess when you add up all these little things, it makes every show there seem special.

cardboard funeral played first. maybe i'm wrong because i don't really know anything about them, but i feel like they are a pretty new band. their sound wasn't bad, but they just weren't for me. they didn't stop in between any songs, which i liked. but because of that they played a really short set.

nails fucking rocks. todd jones is a pretty amazing frontman considering he does what he does while shredding on guitar. this is my third time seeing them this year, and they get better every time. during their set todd said something to the effect that, "we have a new album out. you can pick it up in the back if you liked what you heard, and if not we only have two more songs. . . nobody in this band is cool. nobody in this room is cool. if you don't like something than you don't like something and that's it. don't be pretentious." i always like to hear what people have to say. i'm really rooting for this band. they're fucking great.

punch played third. this was my first time seeing them. there has been a lot of hype on this band at least among my friends, so i was pretty excited to see them. needless to say, they lived up to the hype. the lead singer, meghan, broke her ankle so she was in a huge cast and on crutches. i imagine that had she not been in crutches, her stage presence would have been incredible because despite the fact that she could not move on stage she was still really good. the fact that she is beautiful doesn't hurt either.

seeing ceremony at 924 gilman st. is a must. last time i saw them, i swore that there front man was the best i've ever seen in a hardcore/punk band. i stand by that. they opened with "the doldrums" which i thought was cool because it's a not a punk or hardcore song, but they still play it with the same aesthetic. the lead singer was on the floor just running into people for it. when the song was over they went right into "sick," and there was no going back for the rest of the set. it was loud rambunctious hardcore. meghan from punch sang lead vocals on a song which was cool. screaming, "i've got a lot of problems/i'm a fucked up kid" with a room full of people has been my favorite part of their set both times. all in all, a pretty perfect show.

wavves @ amoeba san francisco 8.18.10

i'm pretty sure we showed up right on time; in which case, wavves opened up with the new hit single 'king of the beach.' the song is unbelievably catchy and has been stuck in my head all night. highlight of the set for me was when he played 'to the dregs' off his second lp wavvves. this was my first time seeing wavves, so i can't compare the new rhythm section to the old one, but i do think that as a band they sound really great. however, for all they hype they've received over the last year and a half, they didn't really live up to it. at least in my mind when you read things like pitchfork or spin or rolling stone and people say things like best new artist and albums make it onto end of the year best of lists, one begins to form expectations. i thought that wavves would completely blow me away live, but the truth is he's just a normal dude who likes smoking weed and playing rock 'n' roll in a pretty normal band. so if you take it for what it is they are pretty catchy and rather enjoyable. the set tonight was a half hour long, and i would definitely see them again.

The Strokes @ Outside Lands 8.14.10

we were listening to the strokes from outside the gates at outside lands, and they sounded really good. after they played 'last night' they walked off stage, and security opened the gates. everyone rushed in when that happened, and the strokes played about a five song encore. it was really cool to see them play, but i would never pay money to see them again. no one in the band really moves on stage, so there set was a little boring. there sound is good, and there songs are catchy so i understand why people love them, but they definitely don't translate well on a mainstage. in my mind, they are not a headlining band. regardless, there is something really special about outside lands and golden gate park. seeing live music there is almost a religious experience; something i'm thankful to have been apart of. it is definitely one of the best locations for a festival, and i would highly recommend going if you've never been.

I'm Here - A Love Story In An Absolut World

Spike Jonze directed a short film called I'm Here. It's a love story about robots. The movie opens up in Eagle Rock, California on a bus where you are introduced to Sheldon. He is polite beyond belief. Waiting for the bus home, he sees Francesca. She is a really cool. They fall in love. She takes Sheldon to a show, and her arm tares off. Sheldon gives her his arm. Then his leg. Then his life. With a good soundtrack the movie captures a strange but beautiful world where humans and robots co-exist. In only thirty minutes, Spike Jonze creates characters more memorable than most movies spanning two hours. It's really enjoyable. You can watch the whole movie here.

hot hot heat/ weezer @ the u.s. open 8.7.10

when you've been hanging out in the sun all day waiting for free weezer, i don't care what band you are, you're probably going to be unimpressive. with that said, i don't really like the hot hot heat's lead singers voice. it's annoying. most of their songs sound the same, and the whole time they played i tried to like them, but just really wanted to see weezer. they ended with 'bandages' though which was funny because they kind of made a joke about not playing it at all.

weezer rocked. i had never seen them before, so seeing them for free with 50,000 people on the beach was a treat. they kicked off their set 'hash pipe,' and continued to play hit after hit for the next hour. seeing 'say it ain't so' live was just as amazing as i imagined it would be. rivers is still rocking out, jumping off amps and climbing on whatever he can. they were super entertaining. after playing 'beverly hills' and 'pork and beans' they covered 'kids' by mgmt and then started to cover 'poker face' by lady gaga before ending with 'buddy holly.' they were incredible. there really is not a better band to see for free.

terminal boredom reviews roman candles tape

terminal boredom reviewed the newest roman candles tape. i kind of like that they hate us. haha. you can read it here:

Shit, these guys tricked me into listening to another one of their tapes. Cloying and silly acoustic folk and soft-rock. With a fucking accordion, fusing the absolute worst parts of Half Japanese and the Dead Milkmen into one abominable creature. A genuine waste of time. Once again, fuck cassettes.(RK)