Skag and Bone Man

upcoming shows, what not

2007-08-12T19:50:00.001-07:00

Dirty Pretty Things at The Fonda

2007-03-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

The following is my account of the first date of Dirty Pretty Things' North American tour, at the Henry Fonda Theater last August.

The crowd was agog as the four members of Dirty Pretty Things stepped foot on the stage of the Henry Fonda Theater the Tuesday night of August 8th 2006. After already waiting a half hour after the opening San Francisco indie rock group, Scissors For Lefty had left the stage, leaving a mark on some, unappealing to others, it was clear that the crowd was anxious, that they felt the need to be blown away, that the sound of Dirty Pretty Things needed to be heard by each and every man and woman who had taken the trouble of buying a ticket to hear an amazing band unleash their music upon a generation.

The beasts very well contained in everyone of us needed to be unleashed out of our, at that point, well contained selves. We needed the opportunity to lose ourselves in the music, which is what we all had set out to do. The moment the music began to play, it could be seen that the beasts in all of us were becoming unleashed and that it was going to be a very wild, dangerous road to ruin for each and everyone of us under the roof of the Henry Fonda Theater.

Opening with their fast paced, hit song “Deadwood”, Dirty Pretty things went off with a bang, flawlessly, the crowd being the only example that all the waiting, all the anxiety, all the edge had payed off. It was all worth it.

The intimacy between the audience and the band was amazing in part that the small size of the venue closely crowded everybody together, and the fact that the music was so well loved by everybody who came to see the show. There was not one person who was not taken aback by this outstanding performance.

Roughly five songs into this what was turning out to be an unforgettable concert, the incredibly loud, reckless Libertines tune “I Get Along” began to blast through the tens of speakers pointed downward to the floor, creating a Mosh Pit, where a few of us were lucky enough to be standing. At that point, the energy of practically every individual was at its extreme, giving us the feeling of a complete loss of control in our bodies, a feeling that the music was controlling our every movement, our every action. The last thing we wanted was for that feeling to expire.

We were the music’s prisoners, their worshipers, for what came to be the next two and a half hours of our lives, feeling like only minutes. Dirty Pretty Things, after playing their fourteen song set, came back with a five song encore. Five breath taking, incredible songs which captured all of us, giving us the feeling of bliss, for the second time that night. When it was finally over, after accepting the bitter truth that DPT had finished their show, the first of a week long, sold out United States Tour, the fun was over.

Being at this concert had been like eating an enormous slice of chocolate cake for two and a half hours, and having outstanding music consume your thoughts. This concert was a coming together of three artists: Singer/Songwriter, Carl Barat, Guitarist, Anthony Rossomando, Bassist, Didz Hammond, formally of the Cooper Temple Clause and Drummer, Gary Powell, along with an admiring audience who could identify the band's great music; many of whom had been fans of The Libertines, the influential punk band which both Barat and Powel had been a part of until late 2003, along with former singer/songwriter Pete Doherty.

Music is what keeps the world going and the people in it. It is what keeps us from going insane with everything that is happening around us. That is what Dirty Pretty Things did a fantastic job at showing us on August 8th, a night which is forever branded in our minds.

"If you have read this far..."

2007-03-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

tell me if you can nod your head and say "Yeah, I feel the same way."

"'CATCHER IN THE RYE' is one of the only books I have ever read for the fuck of it and is probably the greatest book ever written."

Well, you agree with that statement, you are an amazing person, better than everybody else. especially poor people.

COMPLEX MAGAZINE tells you, after reading the first half of the magazing, "If you have gotten this far, you are a very handsome man," I forget exactly how it goes (I dont have my only copy on hand). Either way, it makes you feel slightly elevated, and very handsome for that little while you're reading the magazine. The only two times I've picked it up were at airports. I wont let them drag my ass in to buying their shit. it just wont happen. It's a buyers guide, by the way. I mean, it could and possibly will drag me in one of these days, but normally, I have a head on my shoulders.
And I read ROLLING STONE.

I've always wondered: does the water come back through the faucet after it goes down the drain, or does it go down to the sewer and fall off one of the four corners of the earth?
if somebody could answer that, good for you. I dont have something to give you. sorry.

I'll close with this:

in the words of Anonymous,

"Kiss me, I'm shit faced."

Mountain Goats/Cold Turkey

2007-03-05T11:54:00.000-08:00

In San Francisco this past summer, watching Mountain Goats rock out at Amoeba. I'd say I'm becoming a fan, but it was by coincidence that he (they?) was there the same day I was. I dont live in SF, I'm in Los Angeles. but I did drive up to there to enjoy myself. and I did. John Darnielle was great, playing songs off of his new release GET LONELY along with older tracks, taking requests from the audience. Good songs, i'd say. Not that I've had the chance to buy the album yet.

A good six months after the show, i'm stil looking at the pictures I took that day, thinking to buy the album, at the same time procrastinatingat the same time, anticipating the Mountain Goat show i'll be seeing March 11 at the El Ray Theater. That should be an experience. i'm going with a couple friends of mine, one of which I havent seen since graduating middle school about two and a half hours ago. We'll have a great time. Getting wasted, screaming the words of THIS YEAR.

The show's not sold out, so I dont know how many people might or might not be there. and I've never been to this particular concert venue. The three concerts ive been to in the life span of my close to sixteen years on this earth have been at the Henry Fonda Theater on Hollywood Blvd. Small venue with a capacity of maybe three hundred people. so this will be different. Also, I've never had the pleasure of being at a Mountain Goats show. I mean, one that ive paid for, lasting longer than an hour.

In closing, there is one thing id like to add:

In the words of the late JOHN LENNON

"Cold turkey has got me on the run"