Them: Awesome. They were a freebie download on the iTunes Store a few weeks ago, and I finally listened to them, accidentally. By now I bet last.fm thinks I’m insane, looping them for hours.

Here’s them on Letterman:

Their web site is www.rodgab.com. I’m hoping they tour to the Midwest sometime.

I wonder if the sap of the Tree of Life could be made into syrup, though.

Good movie. Xibalba, the Mayan underworld, is a fairly interesting topic.

The Tool concert scheduled for tonight at the Kohl Center has been canceled due to an illness in the band. There will be no make-up date scheduled for this show. Fans who purchased tickets through the University of Wisconsin Athletic Ticket Office will receive a full refund for the concert. Fans who purchased tickets through uwbadgers.com or over the phone through the Athletic Ticket Office will receive refunds directly on their credit cards within the next ten business days.

Crap! I was looking forward to this concert. I saw them out at Coachella in April and they were great.

We can also deduce that I have at least one MP3 with poor tagging. :-)

Some of the song names I ran into are awesome:

“I’ve Got A Dark Alley And A Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth” by Fall Out Boy. It’s off their “From Under the Cork Tree” album, and upon investigation they apparently like “Shawshank Redemption,” too.

The other name I found was the band “…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead.” OMFG, that’s totally the name I wanted.

It’s been eight years. I’m nervous. Toad is wrapped around some of my fondest, and some of my most bittersweet, memories. Of her.

I hope it’s as good as the last time.

I hope.

Well, you’re just across the street.
Looks a mile to my feet.
I want to go to you.
Funny how I’m nervous still
I’ve always been the easy kill.
I guess I always will.

I can’t help it baby, this is who I am.
Sorry, but I can’t just go turn off how I feel.
You kill me, you build me up, but just to watch me break.
I know what I should do, but I just can’t walk away.

I guess I just hope that, whatever it is, goes away soon.

What was a surprise was the range of people that showed up to see her and the twins play last night in Madison. Older folks, lots of younger people. It was encouraging. She played a bunch of stuff from her album, but also a number of songs that weren’t on the album. Excellent stuff. I always sit as close as I can to the sound board, as the sound will be good there and watching the guys provides me with entertainment when the artist isn’t cutting it. First thing I noticed was the backstage passes the crew had. It was the album photo of Brandi and the only text was a big “ALL ACCESS.” Heh, they wish.

There were some sound issues, namely the kick drum was way too intense. I’m willing to give sound guys a break as they go from place to place, but dude, turn the drum down. I’m in the back and my beer is vibrating off the table. Overall, though, I wish I had bootleg gear because it was a really good show, with a decent turnout despite the -5 degree weather. One can only wonder what the turnout would be if she was down at the Union during the summer. What an amazing voice and band.

I was thinking that going out tonight was a bad idea. My original plan was foiled by a packed bar, so we progressed into the wind to Montmartre to drink wine and be merry. When I see a band setting up I am usually wary unless I’ve checked it out ahead of time, but we had half a bottle of wine left so it was inevitable that we’d catch part of the show.

Wow. Bad News Jones is freakin’ fun to watch. They’re like Digable Planets, Arrested Development, and the Beastie Boys all rolled up into a bouncy, rappy, fun set. Their prose is pretty tight, and they looked like they were having fun. A band that is having fun is unbeatable, especially when they’re the openers.

I’m originally from the Minneapolis area, and when Toussaint Morrison of The Blend starts singing about Minneapolis streets and the U of M it’s somehow comforting. You always hear about NYC, Chicago, and California cities, but no attention is ever paid to the Twin Cities. The Blend is an erudite mix of jazz, hip-hop, and rock, with songs about Shakespeare, suicidal friends, hot women, and all sorts of other topics you’d expect from U of M students with a rabid fan following. Heck, they were taking sound board advice from the crowd, which is always a good sign. Vocals up, guitars down, me pleased.

Tomorrow night, Brandi Carlile. This is turning into a musical weekend.