Freelance Whales on NPR

The Freelance Whales are one of my favorite bands to listen to. The way they mix acoustic and electronic sounds is very indicative of this generation ... wanting to move forward and yet loving aspects of the past. Their euphoric sound is catching and makes you want to come back for more. 

What caught me today was the song "Spitting Image" featured on NPR's All Songs Considered. It has more of a progressive sound with airy vocals. A little different than their old album ... in a good way! It's fun to see them experimenting with sounds. 

"Spitting Image" is off their album Diluvia set to come out October 9th on Mom + Pop Music/Frenchkiss Records. This wonderful song will be available for downloading on iTunes tomorrow. Until October 9th, the band has launched a pre-order of their new album in which you can do by clicking here. Each pre-order comes with an exclusive poster signed by the band, an immediate download of "Spitting Image," a previously-released album cut of "Locked Out" and a live version of the song recorded in June. 

Want to see Freelance Whales live? Here's where you can!

10/4 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
10/5 Minneapolis, MI - 7th St Entry
10/6 Madison, WI – Redamte
10/7 Iowa City - Maintenance Shop
10/10 Dallas, TX – Trees
10/11 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald's
10/13 Mexico City, MX - Corona Festival
10/14 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits
10/16 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
10/18 San Francisco, CA – Mezzanine
10/20 Portland, OR - Doug Fir
10/21 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
10/23 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
10/24 Denver, CO – Bluebird
10/26 St. Louis, MO – Firebird
10/27 Nashville, TN - The End
10/28 Atlanta, GA - The Loft
10/30 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
10/31 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
11/1 New York, NY - Webster Hall
11/2 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
11/3 Boston, MA - Paradise

Silverdocs - The Waiting Room

In honor of today's healthcare decision, I'll finish up my Silverdocs review with The Waiting Room, which was probably my favorite film of the festival (though I will admit it was really hard to pick a favorite this year).

I will admit I was a little reluctant to see this film - I thought it would just make me angry because of the pathetic state of our healthcare system in this country. But I went to see it with my coworker and I'm so glad I did.

The film follows several characters - both patients and medical staff - as they go through a public emergency room in Oakland, CA. The film makes it feel as if you are experiencing one day but in reality they filmed over a few months so the patients and doctors that were chosen may not have been there on the same day. But they did a really amazing job of choosing the characters - particularly the sassy nurse(?) who checks people in and takes their vitals. She is possibly one of the best caregivers I've ever seen: making people laugh, making them feel less anxious and even occasionally calling them on their bad behavior in such a way that makes them actually be nicer people. And they follow a few youngish doctors who are really doing their best to help people: from the dramatic traumas that come in via ambulance to the less exciting but pervasive problem of treating those who end up using the emergency room as their primary care because they don't have insurance and end up waiting until they run out of medicine. We see one doctor calling in personal favors to get a middle-aged guy who had a stroke an appointment at a private neurologist since the public hospital didn't have any appointments for several months (he still couldn't get him in sooner than one month in advance and the man could barely walk). "He's got his whole life ahead of him," the doctor pleads.

Throughout the film you also really get a feel for the diversity of the patients and their circumstances that have led them to be in the waiting room of a public hospital (lost jobs in many cases, substance abuse in a few, ambulatory care, and just plain poverty in other circumstances), as well as their feeling of helplessness as they wait and wait and then wait some more.  A father struggles to hold back tears as his little girl has a fever of 104, a couple has come in because the guy has a testicular tumor, a man suffers through severe back pain from back spurs, there were a couple of shooting victims in the film (one guy has come because he has a bullet in him from several days before).

And you get a sense for how the hospital works in general: how they prioritize people, how the waiting room gets so backed up (particularly when traumas come in by ambulance), why it often takes so long to get beds open for people (some of the pateints, particularly if there's substance abuse involved, have nowhere else to go and a public hospital can't release them without a discharge plan). Overall I thought the film did a great job of showing all sides of the experience, the problems that the hospital faces, etc. And the film was just really entertaining and heartwarming. It was everything a documentary should be.

Granted, I will say, just as my own side note: I unfortunately had to go through my own emergency room hospital situation with my boyfriend this week (hence the delay in reviews, sorry) and we were at what is generally considered a really good private hospital, yet I didn't feel like the situation was any better. It still took forever for me to figure out where to go in both the emergency room and then after his surgery, it took forever for him to get a bed once he was out of trauma (and he was literally in the hallway of the Emergency room with as many other people as they could fit along the hallway wall) and generally speaking everything took forever all the time. It also felt like, as we got closer to his release, the hospital's care got worse and worse - maybe because they knew they weren't going to be able to squeeze much more money out of him (just a guess). And there were plenty of people there without health insurance and with substance abuse problems. So I don't think being a public or private hospital necessarily makes much of a difference in service.

Silverdocs - Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey

Silverdocs opened with Don't Stop Believin, Ramona Diaz's (second from the left) film about Arnel Pineda, a Phillipino singer who got discovered on YouTube by iconic American band Journey and is now their lead singer. It was great to have such a joyful film to kick off the festival, and it was cool seeing Neil Shohn (fourth from the left) in the flesh - I can't believe Arnel wasn't there himself, though. That was kind of a disappointment.

The story follows Arnel on his first tour with Journey, then when he goes back to the Phillipine's afterwards. They interweave this with Arnel's personal history as well as the band's history. Arnel really is a great singer and while he doesn't seem like an obvious choice for Journey, you sort of get used to seeing them together after a little while and he gives a little international flavor to the all-American classic rock group.

The film is so much fun! And for a high pressure, extensive national tour, there's not much drama. My main critique would be that the film could be about 15-20 minutes shorter (precisely because of the lack of drama). It starts to feel a bit repetitive after a while and some stuff could definitely be taken out without hurting the story. But the music is great, Arnel is a loveable character and it was a really nice look inside the band Journey. Overall an enjoyable film and an interesting story that would be almost unbelievable if it weren't a documentary.

Silverdocs - Guggenheim Symposium

Tuesday night at Silverdocs was the Guggenheim Symposium, in which they honored filmmakers Joe Berlinger (right) and Bruce Sinofsky (left). I had been to a really interesting panel last year at Silverdocs where Joe Berlinger talked about his long-running legal struggles with Chevron over his film Crude. What Berlinger went through with Chevron is completely horrible, though that's a post for another day. But the most amazing thing about these filmmakers' prestigious career is the story of a decades-long fight to get three wrongly-convicted kids out of prison through their film trilogy Paradise Lost.

This wasn't supposed to be a trilogy. They set out to make the first film in 1994 about the West Memphis Three thinking they were making a film about 3 guilty kids but during the process of filming they soon came to realize that these kids weren't guilty at all and that they weren't really getting their due process in court. The boys were convicted: one of them sentenced to death and the other two to life in prison. In 2011, after 18 years in prison, the three men are being released due to new DNA evidence that was introduced in 2007. The reason this is an extraordinary story, though, is because none of this probably would've happened if it weren't for Berlinger and Sinofsky. They knew the boys were innocent and they never let it go. They persevered and got attention for the boys' cause. If it weren't for them, the case probably would've disappeared into history and these boys would've rotted in prison for the rest of their lives (or in one case, been executed).

You can see the Paradise Lost trilogy, as well as the rest of Berlinger and Sinofsky's body of work, at Silverdocs next week starting on Tuesday, June 26th (see the schedule here).

Unicycle Loves You: New video and MP3

A quirky, colorful and fun house party is the scene of Unicycle Loves You latest music video for the song "Garbage Dump." This song if off their new album Failure. Here is the MP3 of "Garbage Dump" [MP3].

Upcoming Tour Dates:

4/6 - Middle of The Map Festival - Kansas City, MO
4/7 - Heavy Anchor - St. Louis, MO
4/10 - Garden Bowl - Detroit, MI
4/11 - MOTR - Cincinnati, OH
4/12 - Wilbert's - Cleveland, OH
4/13 - Albert S. George Youth Center - Barnesville, OH
4/14 - Pianos - New York, NY
4/15 - Big Snow Buffalo Lodge - Brooklyn, NY
4/17 - BSP Lounge - Kingston, NY
4/18 - Middle East (upstairs) - Boston, MA
4/19 - Bug Jar - Rochester, NY
4/20 - M-Room - Philadelphia, PA
4/21 - Garfield Artworks - Pittsburgh, PA (w/ Woods, MMOSS)
4/24 - Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL (w/ Terry Malts)

Band Website

Facebook

Twitter

New Tour Dates and video: The Big Sleep

After a literal "big sleep" of several years, the Brooklyn-based duo The Big Sleep is releasing a full-length album entitled Nature Experiments. Set to be released on Frenchkiss Records this month, the album is said to be full of "restless rhythms" and "blow-out beats."

To catch a glimpse of their work, check out their video for "Valentine" by clicking here.

Below are their upcoming US an UK tour dates:

US Tour Dates

4/13 - Beat Kitchen - Chicago, IL #
4/15 - The Ballroom at the Taft Theatre - Cincinnati, OH #
4/17 - Brillobox - Pittsburgh, PA #
4/18 - The Metro Gallery - Baltimore, MD #
4/20 - Maxwell's - Hoboken, NJ #
4/22 - Middle East Downstairs - Boston, MA #

5/21 - The Studio - New York, NY *
5/23 - Rock and Roll Hotel - Washington, DC *
5/24 - Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC *
5/25 - The Earl - Atlanta, GA *
5/26 - Crowbar - Tampa, FL*
5/27 - The Plaza - Orlando, Fl*
5/29 - Bottletree - Birmingham, AL*
5/31 - Sons of Herman Hall - Dallas, TX*
6/01 - The Parish - Austin, TX*
6/02 - Free Press Summer Fest, Houston, TX*
6/04 - Lowbro Palace - El Paso, TX*
6/06 - Casbah - San Diego, CA*
6/07 - Constellation Room - Santa Ana, CA*
6/08 - Troubadour - Lost Angeles, CA*
6/09 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA*
6/11 - Bunk Bar - Portland, OR*
6/12 - Media Club - Vancouver, BC*
6/13 - Crocodile Cafe - Seattle, WA*
6/15 - Neurolux - Boise, ID*
6/16 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT*
6/17 - Hi Dive - Denver, CO*
6/18 - Waiting Room - Omaha, NE*
6/19 - Amsterdam Hall - St. Paul, MN*

* With Maps & Atlases
# With Fang Island

UK Tour Dates

5/12 - The Hope @ The Great Escape - Brighton, UK
5/14 - Music In Beta @ The Castle - Manchester, UK
5/15 - Nice N Sleazys - Glasgow, UK
5/16 - The Barfly - London, UK
5/17 - Art Academy @ LSC - Liverpool, UK
5/18 - Fleche D'Or w/ EMA - Paris, FR
5/19 - London Calling @ Paradiso - Amsterdam

http://www.thebigsleep.net/

https://www.facebook.com/thebigsleepnyc

http://www.myspace.com/thebigsleep

https://twitter.com/#!/thebigsleepnyc

Joy Formidable on Jimmy Kimbel Live

In case like me, you were not fortunate enough to attend this year's South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, you can catch a bit of the action here. The Joy Formidable, a sort of "grungey-pop" trio hailing from the UK, played on Jimmy Kimbel Live a few nights ago. I got the chance to check this group out at the Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati this past fall. It was quite a good show. It definitely has that 1990's feel mixed with poppy sounds of today.

Here are the Joy Formidable's upcoming tour dates:

March 19, Minneapolis, MN, Fine Line Music Cafe

March 20, Madison, WI, Magestic Theatre

March 22, Bloomington, IN, The Bluebird

March 23, Cincinnati, OH, 20th Century Theatre

March 24, Atlanta, GA, Masqureade

March 25, Asheville, NC, Orange Peel

March 26, Washington, DC, 9:30 Club

March 28, New York, NY, Terminal 5

March 29, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer

March 30, Boston, MA, Paradise Rock Club SOLD OUT

March 31, Montreal, CAN, SAT

April 2, Toronto, CAN, Lee's Palace SOLD OUT

June 7-10, Manchester, TN, Bonnaroo

http://www.thejoyformidable.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/joyformidable

http://www.facebook.com/thejoyformidable

Other Lives @ Red Palace - 2.21.12

Last night I went to the Red Palace to see Oklahoma-based band Other Lives. I've been a fan of them for quite a while and they have been generating some well-deserved buzz. The show was sold out and it was quite packed - they probably could've sold out an even larger venue, honestly.

First up was Australian-based Wim. I knew nothing about them before the show but I was impressed. The 5-piece all-male band had good energy, solid music and were not hard on the eyes to boot. The lead singer maybe tries a little too hard in some ways (mostly fashion-wise) but he's got a great voice and a strong lead presence. All in all, I highly enjoyed it and you should check them out. If I had to compare them to other bands, I would say they're Muse meets Locksley meets Drink Up Buttercup, all of whom I really like.

Other Lives definitely lived up to my (admittedly high) expectations. These guys are rapidly climbing my personal charts to my list of favorite bands of all time. They had so many instruments and keyboards and laptops and pedals and wires that they could hardly fit on the stage. I think every single one of them played at least two instruments. Their sound was... epic - so full and often dramatic. They have this awesome blend of rambling hillside folk and sprawling prairie orchestral (if that makes any sense...). My only complaint was that the sound mixing wasn't always the best and I'm not sure the Red Palace's sound system could really handle the amount of music Other Lives was throwing at them. I would love to see these guys in a large theater or something - somewhere that their sound can fill the space and expand/breath the way it deserves to. But seriously, these guys are going places. I wouldn't be surprised if I did see them in a big theater soon - one girl in the audience even speculated that they could be the next Radiohead. So get to know them now so you can say you knew them before they were famous.

And, of course, check out the excessive number of pictures that I took:

Other Lives @ Red Palace

Maps & Alases Teaser

Yes, I am blogging about Maps & Atlases yet again. I am excited about their upcoming album and could not resist listening to a little teaser. And now you can too:

Maps & Atlases - Winter

The song is quite catchy with a diversity of rhythms and moods. The refrain, with the repetitive and yet gradual guitar riffs draw you in, making you want more.

"The initial inspiration to write the song 'Winter' came on a freezing cold evening during the Chicago winter," says frontman Dave Davison. "The song contrasts memory and the perspective of winter as a season of possibility and creativity with the bleak, stillness of winter nights in the Midwest."

The song is quite fitting as we recently had a good snow here in Cincinnati. Winter, I'm afraid, is here to stay for just a tad longer. Maps & Atlases' newest album Beware and Be Grateful is due out April 16 on FatCat. Something to look forward to in the warmer months.

Maps & Atlases Latest

Maps & Atlases are one of my favorite bands to listen to as of late. Therefore the release of a new album is quite exciting. Fans, you'll have to wait just awhile yet as their second album, entitled Beware and Be Grateful is due out via FatCat on April 16 (USA April 17).

This new album is full of all sorts of marvelous sounds and melodies. It has definite electronic influences and some experimenting has been done with vocals and voice-sounds. It creates a very ambient feel. This video contains a bit of a preview for the album.

UK/Europe April Tour Dates:

April 16: Bristol, UK, Cooler

April 17: London, UK, Garage

April 18: Manchester, UK, Night and Day

April 19: Glasgow, UK, Nice N' Sleazy

April 20: Leeds, UK, Brudenell

April 22: Brussels, Belgium, Botanique

April 23: Amsterdam, Netherlands, Paradiso

April 24: Cologne, Germany, Gebaeude

April 25: Hamburg, Germany, Haus III&70

April 26: Berlin, Germany, Bi Nuu

April 27: Frankfurt, Germany, Das Bett

April 28: Paris, France, Fleche D'or

Like Maps & Atlases on Facebook!

Follow Maps & Atlases on Twitter!

Maps & Atlases Myspace

Maps & Atlases Bandcamp