Say Anything but ordinary: Show Preview

Generally speaking, it’s hard to recall any portion of adolescence that makes one cringe quite as instinctively as when the words “middle school” are mentioned. Post-cringe, a plethora of mental images usually appear when reflecting on those awkward years. For me and many of my peers, 2004-2007 was the era of MySpace, mall-hangs, and the curse of raccoon eyes that only gaudy amounts of black eyeliner could produce. Thankfully, bands such as Say Anything were there to create music that would become anthems for these tumultuous teenage years.

Needless to say, I was instantly teleported back in time to the emergence of the emo-rock era circa 2004 when I heard Say Anything would be coming to the The Blue Note.  Reflecting on the many middle school crushes I endured with “Alive With the Glory of Love” playing from my chunky, iPod Classic (remember those?), I decided there was absolutely no way I’m going to miss this show.

However, just as much as changed since the early 2000s, so have the components of Say Anything.  Since the band was first formed by front-man Max Bemis and his four friends in Los Angeles in 2000, ten past members have come and gone over the course of six albums.  Their most recent album, Hebrews, which was just released this June, conveys the trials and tribulations Bemis has faced over the past 15 years as a front-man, including become a father.

The precision with which Hebrews captures the entirety of the rollercoaster ride Say Anything has ridden since their early days is remarkable, but the composition of the album is perhaps the most profoundly shocking element of the record. Bemis, who produced the album, decided to replace traditional guitar riffs with orchestral string arrangements, taking the pop punk DNA of the band to an entirely new dimension.

Wondering what in the hell the combination of pop-punk and orchestral arrangements could possibly sound like? Here’s your answer:

If the combination of nostalgia and curiosity fueling the anticipation for the show isn’t enough to convince you it’s not one to be missed, the opportunity to see me reliving my middle school “glory” (notice the quotation marks) days is reason enough to get your ticket now.

This post was written by Elise Kuhnmuench, contributing writer for The Blue Note. 

 

Dr. Dog is going to transport you back in time

Where: The Blue Note

When: June 7, Doors open at 8 p.m., Show begins at 9 p.m.

Ticket cost: $16

Openers: The Districts, The Hawks

The first time I saw Dr. Dog, at The Wiltern Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, I felt like I should be sporting bell-bottom jeans and long straight hair. The band is generally comprised of counterculturists seemingly from some other era, but it’s hard to tell which. And it’s not just their appearance that gives off the impression, but also the vintage flair of their music.

The band has two phenomenal vocalists who switch off between taking the lead on songs. Vocalist and lead guitarist Scott McMicken is short, has an outdated haircut that pokes out from under his big, floppy hat, and has a high-pitched and unsteady voice that sounds incredibly eager. Vocalist and bassist Toby Leaman, on the other hand, has a deep and wailing voice and always wears sunglasses on stage. Both fit Dr. Dog’s sound perfectly.

Since seeing them at The Wiltern, I’ve seen them in concert over and over again because their performance is always compelling. They’re one of those bands that, even if you didn’t know any of their music, you could still go to the show and have a great time. This will be one to drag your friends to. Here is one of the first songs I heard from the band:

Dr. Dog recently released their eighth studio album, B-Room, in 2013. Make sure to check out the new album before coming to the show on June 7th!

This is a post by Chantelle Moghadam, a contributing writer for The Blue Note.

Yelawolf “Slums Up” the Blue Note: Show Recap

No, Yelawolf was not crucified in front of the audience.

“Me and Marshall Mathers both have an album coming out later this year,” Yelawolf said in the middle of the show Saturday night. “We’re like y’all; we don’t quit.”

After initially hearing this I thought, “Yela and Shady are going to do an album together?!” But upon further reflection, I’m pretty sure he meant separate. Although, Yelawolf and Big K.R.I.T. are supposedly still working on the joint album, Country Cousins, so I’m hoping that’ll still drop. I trust K.R.I.T. (I also understand the locking-oneself-in work ethic described below. That’s exactly how I’m writing this).

Show reviews are often chided in the industry as being damn near useless (it’s over, who gives a shit?), but it’s a revelation like this one that, to me at least, make them worth it.

It got me all excited, musically of course.

Watch Yelawolf’s live performance of “Trunk Muzik” at The Blue Note below:

The evening got off to a somewhat slow start. I still have absolutely no idea who the first opening rap group was. But I do remember that they were loud, although I couldn’t make out a single word they said.

The second group, Red Shirt Freshmen, rapped about being “red shirt famous,” although I’d never actually heard of them before. They also evidently wanted to fuck my girlfriend. To paraphrase: “Your girl say she got a boyfriend/I say that shit don’t matter.” This was news to me, and admittedly had me somewhat on the defensive since, ignorant of this core knowledge, I had unwittingly brought her with me. “If I’d had only known!” I thought to myself. But they did have a giant red Tellytubby dance on stage. So all is well that ends with a giant, red tellytubby dancing on stage. (Edit: I just learned what a red shirt freshman is, so to their credit, perhaps I’m not their target demographic).

Po, in the flesh. Tinky-Winky, Dipsy and Laa-Laa were not in attendance.

When Yelawolf finally hit the stage, rapping out from under a cowboy hat and glasses, his level of talent was rather obvious. He spit out lines rapid fire in his characteristic, Alabama machine-gun-syncopated flow. And some of the songs had concepts beyond getting money, getting famous, and fucking my girlfriend.

“Catfish Billy,” off his 2013 mixtape, Trunk Muzik Returns, was an early, energetic number. A nailed live version of “Trunk Muzik” is embedded above. And he dedicated “Daddy’s Lambo” to the fans that have been following him for the past three or four years.

“I do this for you all,” he said. “I know every artist says that, but I never have until this tour. Y’all have been following me for the past few, maybe three or four years, and you get and support what I’m about. You’re what I do this for.”

He also rocked “Growin’ Up in the Gutter,” another one of my personal favorites with apocalyptic levels of bass-heaviness, as well as the aptly titled club banger with Lil Jon, “Up in the Club.”

Another point worth noting: Midway through the show, Yela pulled out a confederate flag and told the crowd: “Look around you, we got all types of people in here. Don’t you ever think that I wave this flag because I’m some fucking racist. I’m just reppin’ Alabama. And I love everybody.”

So why did he say this? Well, in the lieu of Lord Jamar‘s recent comments about white rappers being “guests in the house of hip-hop” (and Jamar violently threatening Yelawolf in particular on Twitter), Yelawolf being one of the most revered of these “guests” I can think of (along with the go-to argument, Yela’s boss, Marshall), and the fact that Yela publicly invited Jamar to all of his shows after Jamar’s recent comments.

No encore though, Yela was off to the next show post-haste. Although I did get to watch a larger, gauged-ear punk drunkenly throw a swing at a dude a few inches in front of my face on the way out. This solidified the redneck, hip-hop lane Yelawolf has made for himself. I walked away feeling a little more like the slum of an American that I am because of this—exactly what I wanted from a Bud-gulping, Jack Daniels’ swilling Yela show. And I got just that. Lookin’ forward to those two Shady records releases this year, boys.

This post was written by Tyler McConnell, contributing writer for The Blue Note.