Flipping through the pictures from last weeks Dead Weather show it dawned on me that this week's RHOTW would be easy. Alison Mosshart of said supergroup and previously of The Kills gets the nod. From all accounts she carried the action at the bowery last week and the female vocals lend Dead Weather a unique sound. All that being what it is and despite the on-stage chain smoking she's got the goods. More pics below. Check out The Dead Weather's site here and have a listen below. The Dead Weather - Are Friends Electric
I first heard about the documentary, Anvil!: The Story of Anvil, while stuck on a JetBlue flight from Chicago to New York that was delayed four hours a few weeks back. This delay was much of the buzzkill you would imagine, but my saving grace was some heavy viewing on the personal TV's w/ cable that JetBlue offers (does that make up for a questionable schedule and the delays? No). The cable package on this thing rivaled that of most people's home and I was pleasantly surprised to watch a few hours of VH1 Classic. In doing so I caught an episode of That Metal Show with guests Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner of the band Anvil (Watch it here). I had never heard of these guys but they've been rocking for most of their lives and continue to chase their dream of being rockstars. Anvil made a splash in the 80's and while some heavy hitters (Slash, Lars Ulrich, etc.) testify to being surprised these guys never broke through to megastardom, the fact is that they never did. What makes their story unique though is that as Lips and Robb have moved into their later rockin' years they haven't given up the dream. The quest continues and is captured in the new rock doc, Anvil!The Story of Anvil. The movie has received nothing short of rave reviews (read the New Yorker's here)and the band will be performing in support of select showtimes around the country. They will be airing the film in Chicago this Wed. April 22nd at Metro followed by a live performance by the band. You can get tickets here. If you don't catch this date or the others that include a live performance be sure to at least catch the movie as it gains wider release in the next couple weeks.
Watch the trailer for Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Showtimes, clips, and other info can be found at the film's homepage.
This week I saw an article from Rolling Stone highlighting a few bluegrass acts worth checking out. If you read the article, the first group mentioned is one named, O'Death. I was initially interested because I like bluegrass music but even more so after realizing the band is based in my home borough of Brooklyn. So are a lot of acts though. What inspired this post is the fact that O'Death has a tune about the Peshtigo Fire. This is of personal significance because I have been to Peshtigo, Wisconsin and visited the Peshtigo Fire Museum there. It has been some time since that visit, but this tune reminds me of family vacations that included random stops such as Peshtigo. All that aside, the 1871 fire that engulfed Peshtigo and an enormous area of Northeast Wisconsin remains our country's most deadly blaze. The story of The Peshtigo Fire is often overlooked as it occurred on the same date as the much more widely known Chicago Fire, but the details of the Peshtigo blaze are nothing short of amazing. Between 1200 and 2500 people died in the fire. An accurate death toll being impossible to calculate as a dozen entire communities were consumed along with their local population records. The gruesome details of a firestorm such as this are hard to fathom. A description from Denise Gess and William Lutz's recent Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, Its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History, "Here's a wall of flame, a mile high, five miles (8 km) wide, traveling 90 to 100 miles (200 km) an hour, hotter than a crematorium, turning sand into glass." Many that survived the firestorm did so by seeking refuge in the Peshtigo River and other bodies of water. Many that attempted to do so though drowned or were boiled alive in the intense heat. I need to pick up that book. You can too here.
The Dead Weather rocked the Bowery the other night. Sounded like a good time. HGH failed to send representation, luckily the NYTimes did not. Check out their review of the show. I'm definitely curious to witness this ensemble.
We apologize for the delay in this week's RHOTW. The Man has limited the creative output of the bunch this week by dumping a boatload of work on the crew. Such is life. With the excuses out of the way, this week's Rocker Hottie of the Week is Aimee Mann. She seems to have made a career out of soundtrack contributions (Magnolia, I Am Sam, Jerry Maguire, The Last Kiss) and I'm amazed she's 48 years young. She looks great. Have a look. Have a listen. Enjoy your week. Good stuff below.
Check out her website. And be sure to check out her tour stops this summer.
July 8 - Burlington, VT Quadricentennial Fest July 9 - Londonberry, NH Tupelo Music Hall July 10 - Peekskill, NY Paramount Center July 11 - North Adams, MA MASS MoCA July 13 - New York, NY City Winery July 14 - New York, NY City Winery July 15 - New York, NY City Winery July 18 - Lowell, MA Lowell Summer Music Series July 19 - Brownfield, ME Stone Mountain July 24 - Bay Shore, NY Boulton Center July 25 - Annapolis, MD Ram’s Head July 26 - Camden, NJ XPoNential Music Festival
Steve Earle is set to release his album of Townes Van Zandt songs this May 12th. He tells Rolling Stone he's been meaning to do just that for years as a tribute to his friend and mentor. I am eagerly looking forward to hearing the entire disc as Earle is in the unique position of having learned the songs by watching and playing them with TVZ himself. To Live's To Fly is one of the most moving tunes I've ever heard and while I still might prefer Townes' original, it is cool to hear the guy that named his son after the TVZ do his own version. Have a listen and get yourself a pre-ordered copy of the album below.
We all got holes to fill And them holes are all that's real Some fall on you like a storm Sometimes you dig your own
I just picked up tix to see The Detroit Cobras @ the Double Door. Just solid gold garage rock right out of the decaying DETROIT, MI. Loud and Raw. Should be a fun show. One of these days I'd like to purchase their 2005 release, Baby. For all you Pitchfork fans out there, here is their take on The Detroit Cobras - Baby review
Also performing that night is Dexter Romweber Duo. I got next to nothing on them but they sound promising. I'm going to dig in and research them a bit more but I like where they're at with this track I found.
We received a report about Friday night's Dr. Dog show from our friend KZ ... wish I coulda been there. Thanks KZ!
Hi HGH, Tracy was pretty aggressive Friday night.... we were the girls in the front row ;) So basically the show rocked. We showed up in the middle of The Cave Singers set. They were great. Solid sound. Kind of folky...they are from Seattle so they remind me a little of Blitzen Trapper. The lead singer got after it on the harmonica. We talked to him afterward actually. He was cool....great beard and looked like Dan Auerbach. Dr Dog came on around 1030. They played everything from Fate. (never played the girl...which I was rattled about) Those boys can jam! They love dancing around. They were literally running into eachother because the stage was kind of small. but they jammed!!!!! The crowd was full of hipsters...AWESOME! Overall a great time and for the record double door is now my favorite place to see a show. My only complaint is the staircase in the middle of the bar. (i mean literally in the middle of the bar) Happy Easter! xo, KZ
"Well ya get down the fiddle and ya get down the bow, kick off your shoes and you throw 'em on the floor..."
Alright so it wasn't Alabama, but I did get a little excited after Mr. Bird removed his shoes and tossed tem to the side after his first song. Unfortunately he didn't 'dance in the kitchen till the mornin night.' There is no question the guy is a talent, and an interesting one at that. The sounds and harmonies he creates are unique and with great attention to craft. He truly is a musician. Mastering music as opposed to an instrument. It really just wasn't my cup of tea. Or maybe that was the problem, it was music I'd love to listen to sipping tea while reading the news or diving in to a thick book, it was not music for my Friday night. The music was subdued but not nearly as much as the crowd. I have never seen a more sober and polite crowd in my life at any live music event. Honestly people get more rowdy at symphonies. One time hearing Mozart's Requiem Jim and I witnessed fans booing and shaking fists because they were displeased with the changes and liberties the composer had taken with Mozart's piece.
Anyway what can you do, can't love everything you see. Good music, blah show not sure if it was the crowd, the venue, or my mood. It was quite interesting however to see how A. Bird makes music, it is unconventional, and one thing is for sure, the kid can f-en whistle. Check him out, he is good, I know this write up isn't the best sell since its clear I didn't love it, but give a listen and reach your own conclusions. What the hell do I know? Im going to give his album a few re-listens right now.
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. For all you Pitchfork fans out there, here is their take on The Detroit Cobras - 
