M. Ward (Live!)

o·pi·oid/ˈōpēˌoid/

Noun:

An opiumlike compound that binds to one or more of the three opioid receptors of the body. (See also, the sounds of M. Ward.) Apparently M. Ward records his albums with some vintage 2-inch tape (I have no idea what that is, but its an old, vintage-y, way of doing things.) I do know that that's how he laces his vocal chords with an opiate sheen that takes me places only junkies know. What's weird, is, he doesn't have that vintage, warm, gooey, sound live. In fact, he's sort of a rabble-rousing-guitar-god-virtuoso AND his voice, is admittedly weak live. It didn't help that he played here: Yeah. That's SLC's own Pioneer Park. Unless your name is My Morning Jacket, you're gonna have a hard time transcending the sound system there.  M. Ward did indeed lose his signature opiate-laced sound, but he was a frenetic performer and even the shoddy sound system couldn't hide his magical method of pure 60's pop on songs like: Primitive Girl Sad Sad Song Rave On (Best tribute to Buddy Holly. Ever?) All in all, I did rock the VIP again thanks to my friend at Nate Wade Subaru. This concert was officially my last summer concert. I hit some great shows this summer and well, if you're reading this blog, you know how I geek out about the importance of music and how it brings folks together and blah, blah, blah, but it does: From left to right: Matt: I've known his balls since 9th grade. He's a bigshot business man and all around good dude. Swallz: I've known this guy since the early 00's and I grow fonder of his musical genius and magical unicorn powers daily.  Me: (I look incredibly fat here. I may also just be incredibly fat. Val also says I look drunk, which is impossible.) Brock: Funny-as-hell. Sweet. Pure and simple. (And he's the guy behind my VIP experience. Buy a Subaru!) I also met my little bro and his wife and we got to talk shit about going to grad school. (They were with the poor folk, though. Not the bourgeois elite, like me...) Good times. Take home lesson: 1). Music brings me joy and brings me closer to the people I love.  2). M. Ward (Live!) is a different beast than when I chill-out to his albums with my head phones, which is cool.  Stay tuned for my ultimate summer concert breakdown!! (I can't experience music without relentless judging and raking the experience now can I?)

Norah Jones (Live!)

Norah Jones is a big deal. 

I learned this while waiting in a line than spanned from Red Butte Gardens to Ogden. 

If a single artist could draw that big of a crowd, they've gotta be a big deal.

-OR-

The artist provides such sweet, vanilla bean flavors so as to appeal to an alarmingly wide range of folks. 

-OR-

The artist is both a "big deal" and widely appealing.

After watching her in action (at the always pleasing Red Butte venue), I think Norah Jones falls in the "both" category.

I have always just been a casual admirer of Miss Jones. Valerie digs her, and will even sometimes close her eyes in serenity when a few of her hits fill the air in our home or car stereo. 

Other than those few instances, I just sorta think she's "okay." 

For the past few years, her work has done just enough eye-brow-raising to stay on my radar. 

First off, she collaborates with everybody, (even other musicians can't deny her appeal!)

Check out this list of collaborators/duets:

1. Willie Nelson

2. Foo Fighters

3. Outkast

4. Q-Tip

5. Talib Kweli

6. Belle & Sebastian

7. Okkervil River (I really dig them.)

8. Ray Charles

9. Ryan Adams (Totally love this dude.)

10. Dolly Parton

11. Herbie Hancock

12. Charlie Hunter

13. Dayna Kurtz

14. Jack White (Light candles beneath his photo.)

The list seriously goes on and on... 

Her most recent album was another collaboration produced by Dangermouse (he played some instruments too) called "Little Broken Hearts."

You can totally tell. There's this signature quirkyness to Dangermouse's work that revolves around the use of electric piano/keyboard loops and hooks. (Listen to Broken Bells and the Black Keys "Attack & Release" album for proof.) Her new song "Say Goodbye" could easily be on either of those records I mentioned. I really, really like it. 

Anyhoo, out of all of Norah Jones' collaborations, I think this one actually pays off. I think it's the "weirdness" of the two artists that finally meshes. 

Yup. I think Norah Jones is weird. I don't think she's just some smokey, jazzy muse. I think she's weird and is still sorta grappling with her crazy success and legions of admirers after 10 years of being on the scene. 

This was apparent with her strangely awkward "crowd banter" that basically consisted with about 50, or 60 "Thanks you guys," and "Thank you," and "Thanks a lot." 

On her new material, her weird factor is on display alongside her "I-can't-help-but-sound-cool-and-beautiful-every-time-I sing" ability. 

You gotta listen to the song "Miriam" to know what I'm talking about. It's now one of my favorite Norah Jones songs. 

(Yeah. You just saw that.)

But enough of my amateur career review of Norah Jones. 

What I really need to communicate to the blogosphere is this: Norah Jones' voice is the genuine article. I was floored by the sheer power and control and sweetness of her voice all night!

She's got that iconic vibe, like, a once-every-generation-voice. I think its cool that one of the iconic voices of my generation comes from such a strange, awkward place.

Norah Jones is a big deal. Norah Jones is a weirdo.

Bam!

The Dark Knight Rises: Tragedy Looms

It sucks.


Not the movie.


The movie is rad.


It sucks that we live in a world with real-life psychopaths that have access to real-life gas grenades and real-lfe assault rifles. The tragedy in Denver looms over Christopher Nolan's brilliant Batman trilogy as a reminder that no matter how hard we try to escape this world with incredible entertainment, the world will keep creeping back in.

It really ended 12 peoples lives and scarred many more. It's reality and it sucks.


I'm not gonna start some silly gun-control debate cuz lefties will be all "Ban assault rifles!" and righties will be all "Guns don't kill people, Obama's healthcare does!"


Stupid debate.


The reality is that its all much more complicated than yes/no to gun control discussion for pundits and fanatics (Is there a difference? I dunno...).


The reality is that a presumably smart, high-functioning grad student studying neuropsychology flies under the radar as being significantly disturbed and violent. That's way too many radars missing the danger, man.

Wanna know what sucks more? I work in the radar (see: psychologist) business. Kids fly under way too often. Not just in the early grades either. Grad school is a sonovabitch, and well, let's just say I've had professors that could have cared less about what was going on with me or my cohort buddies.


People have got to be checking-in with people. We gotta engage and not isolate one another.


Mental illness is not dangerous. It's actually fascinating and the folks that struggle with it have incredible insights about the human experience. In fact, I believe that more damage is done by ignoring it and pretending that it doesn't exist.


Accept it. Tolerate it. Take time to understand it. Help those that struggle with it.


Dammit! There I go, getting all "pseudo-intellectual" and preachy again!

Sorry...


The new Batman was balls!

Here's what I liked best: (SPOILER ALERT! SORT OF...)



1. Catwoman. I thought she'd bug me cuz Catwoman is a pretty campy villain and Anne Hathaway can be cheesy. Mr. Nolan's Batman trilogy is totally not campy nor cheesy. How did he get over it? He doesn't refer to her as Catwoman! Bam! (Miss Hathaway pretty much knocks it outta the park offering sweet ninja kicks and some welcome humor to such a dark movie.) Not to mention, there is a scene kinda like this iconic image from one of the best Batman comics ever.

2. Bane. Nobody will ever top Heath Ledger's JOkeR. That said, Bane was not a bad follow-up. He's pure evil and matches Batman blow for blow (both physically and strategically).

3. Supporting Cast. Christian Bale is cool and is an excellent Bruce Wayne, (especially in Batman Begins). On top of that, Mr. Nolan scores a bunch of great actors in this one. They all have cool surprises in store.

4. The Bat Jet-Hover-Thing. So effing cool looking.

5. The part when the kids on the school bus say, "It's Batman!" I teared-up. ("Titanic" Jack & Rose territory for me...)

6. This totally happens:

Anyhoo, I really do love these Batman movies. This guy from ESPN's Grantland provides the best explanation about why:

"Christopher Nolan's Batman movies are different. They are not genre exercises disguised as superhero films. They are not even really "about" the exploits of the well-known international brand that is Batman. Nolan makes superhero films that think hard about what superheroes actually are: symbols, mostly; moral quandaries come to life; fallible individuals in masks and suits who police certain arbitrary codes of behavior and who are regularly called upon to debate those codes with villains who have alternate, and perhaps equally valid, codes."

I especially like the "moral quandaries come to life" part. 

There are big questions out there and allegory is an excellent method of exploration. Batman rocks the allegory with a certain coolness and levity that makes it palpable for dudes like me. 

I mean, just check out this moral quandary (Its so important, it has German subtitles): 

My Morning Jacket (Live!)

I'm not gonna lie: I'm getting tired.

While my summertime has burned into a brightly burning sun, its headed towards an inevitable implosion into gravity's pull. I'm feeling it.

We drive miles upon miles of Utah highway. We keep my kids up too late.  They wake up with little "kiddie hangovers." (It is worth noting, however, that their behavior has provided me with some intriguing concepts for a movie called "Trainspotting: Wee Lil' Tots.")

Anyhoo...I'm not going to go out quietly, dammit! I've got a few more concerts to go to! Curfews be damned!! (Not to mention, I still need to blog about "The Dark Knight Rises!")

Enter: My Morning Jacket!!

I've previously described the sound of MMJ to friends and people in line at Costco like this:

"If Neil Young were to make sweet love to Radiohead whilst listening to Prince, the product of this affair would be My Morning Jacket."

You see, with MMJ you get the wild Crazyhorse jam-band PLUS weirdo-future sounds with a little bit of funk.

What's not to like?

So, yeah, anyways, like I've blogged about before, music is special and blah-blah-blah and it reunites friends, and blah-blah-blah, but it does.

One of my buddies from high school was able to hook me up with bourgeois VIP passes to Salt Lake City's infamous "Twilight Concert Series!" (That said, the concert series is a $5 show. So, VIP passes to this concert is kinda like putting a candle in a Twinkie), but WHATEVS!

Val and I rocked the VIP section like Kanye, bitches! (EXHIBITS A & B):

They fed us free, organic hippie food and offered us alcoholic beverages that I don't know how to consume! I'm pretty sure folks thought we were Tom Hanks and Charlize Theron! (Either that or a chubby-suburban-sorta-Mormon-ish couple). Either way, it was nice.

(Thanks, Brock. I'm buying a Subaru!)

Here's a shot from backstage where Jim James summoned the Sun God Ra to enhance his face-melting guitar skillz!

Here's another shot by a local scenester, photographer, and general good-dude-do-gooder: Aaron Coleman (yeah, if you're reading this blog, he's the dude that basically started the chain reaction of my "Music is Life" episode at Wilco a few weeks ago. You can read about it in my Wilco (Live!) blog.)

If you're unfamiliar with the genius of Jim James (aka Yim Yames), I recommend you listen to his side projects "Monsters of Folk" and "New Multitudes," plus some of his solo stuff. He has an iconic voice that will go places you didn't know existed.

The man has a place in my rock temple. I light candles at his feet frequently.

MMJ did VH1 "Story Tellers" last year. It was cool and revealing to hear Jim James talk about his music. He's all-in. Total artist. (Not to mention he has rad-Shaman-dance moves!)


Well, there you have it.  My favorite songs of the night were:

1. Phone Went West (A slow-burning plea for a "doctor to make things right.")
2. Mageetah (Classic summertime jam. Essential for your late summer listening).
3. Touch Me I'm Going To Scream, Part 2 (MMJ touching on a dance groove).
4. Off the Record (A Rock Solid Rock Song.)
5. Golden (MMJ singing about the road, the journey, and the jams!)
6. Circuital (Quintessential MMJ).

More Pics of MMJ's Rockedness: