lonely beer....

Sad but true... these fellas are lonely. The crowed was sparse tonight but I also got to the show late (10:00) so I missed a few bands like Shook and Ed Bones that I wish I didn't but hey I had stuff to do. Anyway I did have a few brews to keep these guys company and it turned out to be an ok night of music on the edge of monday.

Juice box heroes... from germany?****

No. They are not from Germany but tonight they had a special (uninvited) guest from Germany who eventually got punted from the bar. But he seem to love the JBH's. I think for good reason. Last week I stated that they played a few covers... Actually this week I talked to the band and all we original. I could have sworn that one of the songs was a cover (the Reihl thing). Their sound is nirvana like but fresh. I enjoyed their set tonight and although they were a little off I am giving them the star of the night for being so good. Their songs are catchy and would do well on the radio... I have asked my friend to get Sony down to take a look. We will see. Until then they are at the 8x10 throughout march so come see them for yourself.

In the moment...

This was actually a three piece band that combined rap with a hard edge rock riffs. I highlight the guitarist because he looks like my nephew but alas is not. Also because he was the difference in the band the lead singer was good but the guitar was the edge that cut through and made you pay attention.

Jim

Jim said he had a song for Osama but we wanted to hear about heartbreak so he played a song about his girl who left and about how he is a changing man... I like Jim a lot. He stated that the song was a work in progress and it showed a little... he states that he is a changed man but apparently that does not matter because she has found someone new... I would like to know what he had changed anyway... so Jim if you are not finished yet maybe you can add that in... The last song of his was really good and showed his impressive writing skills...

Piano Man almost...

Yes, I know I am having too much fun with photoshop but hey when you don't have the best camera you have to make thing interesting. This guy was actually both piano and guitar... on guitar he played two light covers and had a decent voice but on the piano he did much better. Did not catch the name but it was a good change up.

Someone has to be last...

Christopher drew the last act tonight and it pretty much was an empty bar. He flew through his three song set. I have to say that i liked the style he was putting out. His playing sounded a little out of tune and when asked about it after he said that he likes to add something different... I couldn't tell if it was extra chords or what but the fast strumming blended well with is voice. Hope to see more

Ed Bones

Ed Bones (Teddy) was one of two rap artists to hit the stage tonight... He was late getting on which was too late for Peter Parker who had to get home (maybe next week peter). Ed almost made it as the stand out tonight. I am not a big fan of the sound track for the rap artist but there is not much you can do live with out a whole band here... Anyway Ed is very good and his flow is timed and spaced for maximum impact. But what makes him great is the stories behind the spit. The subject matter is clearly emotional for him but he shows it in subtle ways that draw the audience in ... I am not hip hop guru but I like what I hear. Hear him yourself on myspace: search for ed bones... He is also playing live at Sonar on March 31st so check him out.

Shook ****

Shook was the stand out band for me tonight. I just felt that they had it together and the originals were catchy and left you wanting more. They were also the crowd favorite (with help from their friends) but they deserved it. I am going to crank on the lead signer here as well. Not that he did not have a great voice and sang with passion but at times (more than wise) he tried to carry the tune in falsetto. Falsetto is just hard to pull off period. If you don't have it down it dilutes the whole song. They are playing the Recher Theater in Towson on may 6th and I suggest you check them out if you are in the area.

Juice Box Heroes

This is the new Monday night band for March. I enjoyed their set a lot. They mixed it up with a few covers at least I think they did... as a credit to this band the added their own style to the covers. The lead singer/guitar (Cre Reiht) put some thought into his leads which fit well with the groove that Lorn Phillips was pumping out on the bass. All in all a good show. A stand out for them is their riff making. One song can have 3 or 4 good riffs... seems like they should not fit together in the same song but the heros pull it off. My one crank is on Cre his vocals lack intensity they sound fine but at times you are wanting more power... They are around for all of march so I will get to see them again... You can also check them out www.myspace.com/juiceboxheroesmusic

Carter James

Its hard on the acoustic guitar alone on the stage but with a good voice and some chops it can be done. Carter pulled it off with a strong voice and hard strumming.

Email is Dead #2

In My Face(book)
So my niece makes a great point in the previous post about facebook and i will add to that myspace. Both of these social sites allow messages, blogs, and basically sharing content. However, they also are about control. If you have not experienced these sites you are probably too old to care about dead email. But they are more the reason to believe in emails demise.

The reason has to do with the success of these sites in the younger generation. Email is not cool. It does not provide the rich content experience. Nor any social power!!! So my niece is correct I am talking about facebook or the future of facebook.

Another Brick in the Wall(garden)
One interesting thing to note... both myspace and facebook are proprietary walled gardens. They have lots of holes but can be plugged very quickly. It got me thinking of AOL - the original myspace and facebook... are we reverting to a walled garden all over again? AOL could have had this business and more if they weren't so concern about being family friendly.... They could have started a sister company LOA (lots of access) and still be in the game. I don't know about walled gardens though as the AOL experiment proves big corporate mindsets and innovation repel. As long as they stay somewhat open in allowing new content and freedom of expression then they should continue their momentum successfully this is because people have put a lot of time investment in their pages and this "ownership" will reduce churn in the face of restrictions - but their is a tipping point.

I Remain Open... I like the open model better (hence netvibes as a recommendation) and like them better for the long term. Besides with authoring mash ups on the rise we are just now seeing the beginning of the Web 2.34509758438 to nth power.... potential. See Techcrunch (one of my fav blogs) at http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/03/02/5-ways-to-mix-rip-and-mash-your-data/
for a glimpse of what is to come...