Going back to Summerfest!

I'm not sure how or why I've been so lucky these last few years. Now five years into this “adventure” and living hundreds of miles away, we managed to return to Summerfest last night.

Every year -- at least for the last few years -- I leave wondering if it will be my last trip to the World's Largest Music Festival. But every year it offers something to get me back, and for the most part the schedule works out in my favor. ... If this is my last year -- for a while -- it was a heckuva way to go out.

It's also continuing a remarkable run of seeing some of my all-time favorite bands at the heights of their careers, in some neat venues and some pretty unique performances. Fun at Summerfest two summers ago. Guster at Summerfest on the Fourth of July. Ben Folds at the Kauffman Center with the Kansas City Symphony. Ingrid Michaelson at Summerfest. Nickel Creek at Kansas City’s Uptown Theater. The New Pornographers in Omaha.

And now. By the end of this week! I will have seen four! of my favorite bands and artists. Mind blown.  

(A disclaimer: When I say favorite bands and artists, I'm including only modern, active artists who have released an album of original material in the last five years , which excludes bands like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Chicago, The Carpenters, Simon & Garfunkel, The Mamas & the Papas and even Fleetwood Mac -- because of the modern clause -- among others. And if I were to concoct a Top 10 list -- ok, 11, because it's too hard to remove one of these -- of the bands or artists who fall into that category, it would look something like this, in alphabetical order: Ben Folds/Ben Folds Five, Guster, Ingrid Michaelson, Matchbox Twenty/Rob Thomas, Mates of State, The New Pornographers, Nickel Creek, Sara Bareilles, The Shins, Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Weepies.) 

When this year's Summerfest headliners were announced in March, my mind was blown. But the early schedules showed Mates of State and The New Pornographers both playing at 10 o'clock tonight on separate stages, and that presented a conundrum for me because, although I had seen both once before, I badly wanted to see both again. ... Then, more luck. At some point, as the acts, stages and show times were solidified, Mates of State were moved to the 6:30 p.m. time slot at the Miller Lite Oasis, and The New Pornographers were set to perform on the same stage at 10. Golden.

Also on the docket last night were The Mowgli's, who I would have liked to see only to hear this song. ... And Paris Hilton. Really. More on her in a bit.

So we departed The Farm after lunch yesterday and headed for Milwaukee. We made a pit stop at Lowe's to get ear plugs for the girls to wear at the Fest and arrived at Orrin's and Kelli's house. It's also become something of a tradition for them to join us for one night of Summerfest and provide accommodations for us before they take off for their own vacation. ... Phoebe and Brawley also have become fast friends since she joined the family last summer.

We arrived at the Summerfest grounds around 5 and let the girls play in the fountains for awhile -- next to a collection of guys beating on buckets and attracting quite a crowd. As they say, there is something for everyone at Summerfest, and this was definitely entertaining.

After splitting up on a search for food and meeting up again at a picnic table to enjoy our sustenance, we grabbed a spot on the benches at the Miller Lite Oasis. Third row!

We arrived just in time for Mates of State and it was a glorious feeling to be seeing them again. First, a tweet and a good, quick read...

PREMIERE: @matesofstate still love each other more than you’ll ever love anything http://t.co/9CvlPp2MpJ pic.twitter.com/N4kxVzMWCn

— Noisey (@NoiseyMusic) June 9, 2015

Going in, I had read that their summer tour was offering something of a greatest hits collection, which pleased me and boosted my confidence that we would hear a lot of their hits and fan favorites. Indeed, we got to hear a lot from “Re-Arrange Us,” and Kates and the girls and I shared some fun moments singing and swaying to those songs -- “My Only Offer,” “The Re-Arranger” and “Now” -- which are come of our favorites to play during our dance parties around the house.

And yet, they didn't play “Fraud in the '80s,” which makes that 0-for-2 in the times I've seen them play. Aside from “Hoarding It For Home” and “Ha Ha,” they ditched their older stuff. “Palomino” was the only track from “Mountaintops” -- arguably their strongest album -- to get any play.

They balanced their set with new stuff from their just-released EP, "You're Going to Make It,” and it was all good. I've always believed live performances should enhance your appreciation for the artists, their craft and the music they're performing -- and Mates of State succeeded last night when it came to the songs from the EP. Going in, the album's third track, "I Want to Run,” was the only one I really considered a favorite. Interestingly, they played all of the tracks from that album except "I Want to Run.” And now I'd call all of them favorites.

“Staring Contest” -- which, by the way, has a great video featuring the Mates and their kids -- was particularly great, but my favorite moment of the entire set was their finale. Kori Gardner took Jason's Hammel's seat at the drum kit while he took center stage at the mic, and they rolled into “Beautiful Kids.” Jason got about as close as he could to the crowd, kneeling at the front of the stage and making eyes with people. Then, as the song reached its climax, Kori moved to the center mic and beat her drumsticks on the mic stand while Jason continued to bounce around the stage.

While this go-around with Mates of State didn't feel as tight or intimate as my first date with them in Kansas City, their synergy remains as infectious as their music and it was a terrible shame that they were relegated to a 6:30 show and couldn't attract a larger crowd at Summerfest. Here's the end of “Beautiful Kids” ...



Mates of State's setlist ...
1. So Many Ways
2. Palomino
3. My Only Offer
4. Get Better
5. Staring Contest
6. Gonna Get It
7. The Re-Arranger
8. Hoarding It For Home
9. Now 10. Side of Boxes
11. Ha Ha
12. You Are Free
13. True Love Will Find You in the End
14. Beautiful Kids

(Updated 07.02.2015) Here's a good read about Mates of State from The Kansas City Star.

By the time Mates of State were finished, Kates and the girls had gone to make their bed times. In the meantime, my good friends from K-Town, Laura and Kevin, joined Orrin, Kelli, and I ... and the sleepy sounds of Field Report were forced upon us. Bon Iver would have been more interesting. It made no sense for them to be playing between Mates of State and The New Pornographers. Mates of State was so much more deserving of the 8 o'clock slot.

Finally, the clock struck 10 and The New Pornographers took the stage for the moment we'd all been waiting for. As I predicted to Orrin, they opened with the fist-pumping, can't-get-it-out-of my-head “Brill Bruisers.”

It was no match for my iPhone camera ...



As I'd also expected, Neko Case and Dan Bejar hadn't made the trip, which altered their setlist and made me ever more grateful for the euphoric show I got to see last fall in Omaha. While their big sound was still there last night, it was just a different show and vibe.

Just as the Omaha show, I was planted in front of stage left and mesmerized watching Kathryn Calder perform on the keyboard. She proved herself more than capable of filling in for Case, and her voice really soared on “You Tell Me Where,” “Mass Romantic” and “The Bleeding Heart Show.”

Also duplicating the Omaha show, “Adventures in Solitude” -- sounding just as sparkling and beautiful with Newman on the acoustic guitar and Calder on the keyboard -- and the sped up “Mass Romantic” were standouts of the set.

Here's a snippet of “All The Old Showstoppers."




Of course, the only way they could end it was with a throwdown of “The Bleeding Heart Show.”



Here's the review from Radio Milwaukee ...

The New Pornographers' setlist
1. Brill Bruisers
2. Moves
3. The Slow Descent into Alcoholism
4. Use it
5. Dancehall Dominae
6. Your Hands (Together)
7. Another Drug Deal of the Heart
8. The Laws Have Changed
9. You Tell Me Where
10. Testament To Youth In Verse
11. Fantasy Fools
12. Adventures in Solitude
13. All The Old Showstoppers
14. Champions of Red Wine
15. Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk
16. Backstairs
17. Sing Me Spanish Techno
18. Mass romantic

Encore
19. The Bleeding Heart Show

So about Paris Hilton. ... The crowd for The New Pornographers -- a fantastic rock band with wide appeal -- was surprisingly sparse. Why? Because the teen-to-20-something crowd had flooded the ground around the stage where Paris was not really singing or performing but playing DJ, pushing buttons, turning knobs and spinning records on an electronic console by herself at center stage.

After The New Pornographers performed, Orrin, Kelli and I wandered over to take in the spectacle. Sure enough, it was Paris doing whatever she was doing. The kids were packed in like sardines around the stage, and still some managed to dart in and out like ants off to other priorities while talking on or tapping smart phones. From our vantage point, no one was paying attention to Paris.



In other Summerfest news and observations ...

The Rolling Stones kicked off the festival last Tuesday night in what was probably the most anticipated and buzzed-about performance in Summerfest history. Tickets sold out in seven minutes and I had a handful of friends who were lucky to be there. They weren't disappointed.

Here's a good read about how Summerfest landed The Stones.
And here's a good read about Summerfest and the Stones from The Wall Street Journal. 

Sheryl Crow also played Wednesday night, but we saw her in 2010. ... Vance Joy and OK Go are playing Thursday night, and The Doobie Brothers are playing Friday night, but they don't fit our schedule. I do plan to return Sunday night for Tonic, Toad the Wet Sprocket and Smash Mouth.

Stevie Wonder played Saturday night, and it would have been great to see him again. But I'm more than content with the memories of my night with him in 2008 ... Here's an interview with Stevie from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Summerfest 2015

Here's one more sign that summer is coming ...

An email landed in my inbox this morning with a video trailer announcing the headliners for this year's Summerfest.

Watching on my iPhone, I tapped the play button with high anticipation.

There's a lot of recognizable names -- some pretty big, including Sheryl Crow, who we saw there in 2010 -- during the first minute-in-a-half. But I was underwhelmed.

Then The New Pornographers popped up. Whoah. 

Toad the Wet Sprocket, too! Yes!

And Mates of State. Boom!

I screamed out loud when that last one flashed on the screen. With some luck I've been fortunate to see all of them once -- The New Pornographers last fall in Omaha, Mates of State in 2011 in Kansas City, and Toad the Wet Sprocket in 1997 in Kansas City on the heels of their Coil album. But the prospect of seeing just one of those three bands -- all of whom are among my all-time favorites -- at Summerfest is enough to make my musical brain explode.

Now I'll be eagerly anticipating the dates of their performances and strategizing about how I can fit them into our summer vacation schedule. 

Here's the epic video ...

Mates of State: A tiny desk concert

So I caught this post on NPR today about a nice unplugged gig featuring Mates of State.

Their take of "Sway," which is one my favorite Mates song these days, sort of makes me cringe; it just doesn't work when it's stripped down the way it is here. On the other hand, the soft and sweet "Desire" is a heart-melter; it reminds me of something that could have appeared on Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours," and I can't get enough of the album version ... "My Only Offer," I think, sounds good in any setup. 

The opening paragraph of the accompanying story summarizes the music well ...

Mates of State's music isn't the stuff of unplugged busking in subway stations, or of singing listeners to sleep. It's big, broad and bold — voices shouting in unison over arrangements that swell and billow. In short, it may be too expansive to fit behind Bob Boilen's desk, let alone find an appropriate showcase at noontime on a fall day with lots of natural light.

In part because of the night I had a few weeks ago, I'm on such a Mates of State kick right now -- I'm obsessed with "Mountaintops" -- it's getting to the point of rivaling 2007 when I spent nearly half the year listening to little else but The Shins' "Wincing the Night Away." ...

After all, Paste recently named "Mountaintops" one of the top 50 albums of the year. An even better review of the record appears at Sputnik Music.

A night with Mates

I’ve just finished my graduate paper for this week. It’s been a relaxing, but extremely productive day. Now as I wind down for the night I can finally get to more pressing issues …

Reflecting on last night. Dreams came true … 

It started with a Paste magazine sampler sometime in 2006. I fell madly in love with “Fraud in the ‘80s.” I wanted more and downloaded their entire catalogue up to that point. I grew more fond of them when I learned they got their start in Lawrence, Kan. Then, I saw them backing Feist, on what is arguably my favorite musical performance of all-time on the “Late Show With David Letterman.” Then, I got hooked on Kori’s blog. Then, I bought “Re-Arrange Us.” And “Crushes.”

Yes, Mates of State were near the top of my list of bands to see live for a long time. When I bought my ticket in August, I could only hope and pray nothing blocked me from making the trip.

On this night, everything fell into place -- even amid a mini-crisis at the university in the morning. … I retreated from my office shortly from 5 and joined Kates and Phoebe for dinner (Chicken pasta!). Shortly after 7, and after filling the Little Green Machine with some gas, I was cruising toward Kansas City.

We’re approaching the two-year mark of this “adventure,” and -- Kates and I have said this a lot during the last year -- it still blows my mind to think that we’re living in the Kansas City area. The Milwaukee-Chicago corridor was so ingrained in our lifestyle for seven years that so many scenes and experiences in this new life strike us as surreal. Driving down Highway 169 and crossing the Missouri River over the Broadway Bridge, lit up in red, with the Kansas City skyline illuminated in front of me -- and Mates of State’s “Technicolor Girls” playing on my iPod -- was one of those moments …

Another “moment” occurred when I pulled up to the venue, the Record Bar. It was in a strip mall with an Ace Hardware, a Dollar Tree and a used book store, among other small shops. This was clearly a long way from the Chicago Theater, Turner Hall or The Rave. For a couple minutes I started to wonder, after driving two hours, what I’d gotten myself into.

The anxiety didn’t last long. I joined the line of people waiting to get inside and was pleased to see the crowd was mostly young adults. I got the feeling most of them were serious music fans, too. That was confirmed when the girl behind me started talking to her female companion about seeing a recent show in California and purchasing tickets for the next edition of Bonnaroo. Serious.

The Record Bar was indeed a bar, with a small stage set up in a corner. The whole room wasn’t much larger than our living room, and I knew then I could be in for something special. It was amazingly intimate. … I took a position just off the stage left corner. Just before Mates of State went on, I glanced behind me and there was Kori Gardner, just a step away and chatting with someone in a doorway. I was so close to the stage I could have reached out and tapped Jason Hammel’s drum if I wanted.

The New Orleans-based Generationals opened. I’d never heard of them, but I was impressed enough by their sound that I plan to search for more of their stuff. They played for about 40 minutes and must have buzzed through nearly a dozen songs during that time. To me, their sound reminded me a lot of Foster the People’s “Pumped up Kicks” with its reverb and groovy hooks. I liked it.

Mates of State took the stage at 11, and the crowd had grown thick. … As the band members set up, there was a charming moment when “Break My Stride” played on the bar stereo and Kori broke into a dance.

Moments later, they broke into “Get Better.” And it was good. So good. 

They moved seamlessly from song to song, playing a healthy dose of fan favorites spanning their entire catalogue. About half of their set consisted of songs from recent albums -- “Re-Arrange Us” and “Mountaintops,” which I downloaded just a couple weeks ago and it was love at first listen. But they also pulled out some oldies I’d lost track of, including 2000’s “Proofs,” which drew a good cheer from the crowd, and when they burst out with that opening line "It hardly matters!" -- so great. Hearing some of that old stuff again had me gaining a newfound appreciation for it; I refreshed my iPod tonight, giving new life to those songs that were buried in my music library.

About midway through, they asked the crowd, “Old or new?” “ ‘Like U Crazy’ or ‘Parachutes’?” They took a crowd vote by a show of hands, and “Like U Crazy” -- to my pleasure -- got the win. They never did play “Parachutes.”

Looking back now, it’s hard to pick a favorite from the night. I would have liked to hear “Fraud in the ‘80s,” but in the end it didn’t matter. All of the music sounded so good and fresh. There were moments I thought to myself, I can’t believe I’m actually here and seeing this!

The only downfall of the night, seeing them in a small venue: The music was loud. And my ears are paying for it today.

Nevertheless, Hammel makes playing the drums look so effortless, and watching Gardner shuffle her feet and jump around at her keyboards kept me smiling. Their already uptempo music had even more energy in its live forms.

Further, they're the kind of a couple that, in another life, I'd like to think could be some good friends. They don’t take themselves too seriously. Their cheerfulness is infectious, they have a remarkable chemistry. Every album is better than the one that precedes it. . They appear to be having loads of fun, and a band that does all of that will get me every time.

I'm reminded of a brilliant Mates of State bio I first read a few years ago that described their "cute" factor.

Another bio takes it a step further ...

It's “pure pop for adults who haven't quite grasped that they're adults yet.” And while it's certainly pop, it's pop in the same sense that the Beach Boys and the Beatles but also the New Pornographers and of Montreal are pop – they're stretching the limits of what the term means, of how to make music that is just as interesting as it is accessible.

Yep. The Beatles and The Beach Boys were the musical benchmarks for my childhood years, and Ben Folds Five and Toad the Wet Sprocket set the musical benchmark for my adolescent and college years. Now, it's Mates of State, Guster, the New Pornographers, The Weepies and Ingrid Michaelson doing it for me as an adult.

Today, I took a vacation day from work to recover and accomplish some things around the house. I’ve had Mates of State going on the iPod all day, and they’ll be playing for the foreseeable future. I'm enthralled with their music.

So here's a highlight video I made. As usual when I try these types of things, the sound quality sucks. But at least it gives you a good feel of the scene and vibe. And if you're a fan, it may be fun to just hear these snippets.



Here’s last night’s set list (links to official music videos/album versions)…
1. Get Better
2. Maracas
3. For the Actor
4. Unless I’m Led
5. The Re-Arranger
6. Think Long
7. You are Free
8. Sway
9. Goods
10. Ha Ha
11. Whiner’s Bio
12. Like U Crazy
13. Basement Money
14. Now
15. True Love Will Find You In The End
16. My Only Offer
17. Proofs
18. Palomino

The only offer

I nearly cried earlier this week when I saw another concert announcement involving another one of my favorite bands pop up on social media landscape. The Mates of State, those darlings of indie pop/rock, are playing the Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee.

I quickly went to the band's website in search of other dates nearby. And there were none. My heart sank -- again. What is it about Kansas City that repels my favorite bands from stopping here on their tours!? I thought.

And then.

More announcements in the afternoon. And it appeared.

Kansas City. Nov. 15.

I was overjoyed. And tonight I bought myself a ticket.

Concert bucket list. Mates of State. Check. ... Wait, I better not say that yet. Let's hope I don't get sick or something.

Summertime blues

I was afraid this might happen.

In recent years, I’ve gone to Summerfest wondering whether my run might end -- the kind of feeling I suppose an athlete has when his career is in its twilight. … At Summerfest, it’s the notion that the crowds appear to be getting younger and more immature, the music sounds louder and the array of bands less appealing.

Last year, when I went to the magnificent festival for a record-low two nights, I figured maybe the time had come. I figured my youth may have finally escaped me and my concert days were waning.

I prepared myself to move on … And I have. Literally.

Then Summerfest started rolling out its lineup for this summer …

Colbie Caillat. The Moody Blues ... O.A.R.! ... Sheryl Crow!! ... She & Him!!! (... A good read about She & Him in today's Boston Globe.)

A few weeks ago when Cubs tickets went on sale, I was gritting my teeth and doing all I could to hold back on purchasing a couple seats. The mantra “Wait ’til next year” has taken a whole new meaning now.

And then today, the most painful announcement of all. The New Pornographers are playing the Pabst Theater. The announcement via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ...

Indie-pop darlings the New Pornographers - made up of some of the best and busiest in the music scene - will play the Pabst Theater at 8:30 p.m. June 12. The eight-member outfit, including mastermind A.C. Newman and songbird Neko Case, releases its fifth album, "Together," in May.

The New Pornographers. Indie-pop darlings. Songbird Neko Case ...

The New Pornographers. A band that’s hovered around the top of my Concert Bucket List for a couple years now -- along with Matchbox Twenty (so close! ), Belle & Sebastian, The Weepies, Dave Matthews Band, Mates of State (whose “For the Actor” I've heard on multiple Royal Carribean commercials lately!) and The Shins (oh, oh, so close!)

Ugh.

Last night, an old friend of mine tweeted, "don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great."

When I saw her statement, I smiled and thought so true, especially right now ... But it won't keep me from thinking of ways I can still enjoy the great things that came with the good.

Women in music

I’m such a sucker for music featuring good-sounding female singers …

First, I caught this very cool video bit about the very cool Mates of State the other day. Good stuff …

Second, Imogen Heap, one of my real faves, is about to release a new album. She Twittered the first single earlier this week … I listened and loved it instantly. Her dreamy vocals never fail to lift me up.



Third, Ingrid Michaelson is about to put out some new stuff too … So I’m pasting this here on her behalf …

“ … Ingrid is releasing "Everybody" under her own label, Cabin 24 Records so we need your help more than ever. Tell a friend or 2 (or 10) and let's get "Maybe" to the top of the Billboard charts.”

Tuesday

... I watched last night's Heroes during my lunch break today ... Something that's quickly becoming a Tuesday ritual ...

Last night's episode -- not to mention much of this season -- had some of the best moments and twists we haven't seen since the show's glorious first season.

Claire got shot by her mother -- and of course, came back to save the day. Peter met his once-dead father and then watched Dad steal his powers. Hiro didn't exactly kill Ando. And the whole Daphne-Parkman relationship that we saw in the flash-forward a couple weeks ago has sprouted its roots ...

And Suresh. Man I'm sick of him. Stacy needs to freeze him useless real fast.

* * *

I thought I was coming down with something this weekend ...

I knew it when I awoke Sunday morning. My nose was stuffed so full I could barely breathe and I felt that lump in my throat. The kind that feels like a golf ball is blocking your airway.

Within hours, I was at our medicine cabinet, launching a war on whatever bad cells I acquired ... I was downing cold syrup as fast as the instructions allowed. I was filling myself with fluids ...

By Monday, whetever I had progressed, and I was on the brink of misery. It was evident something was going around our office because others complained of the symptoms too ... But I kept after it. More cold syrup. More fluids. And I was in bed unusually early Monday night ...

And today it's all gone. Ah, what a feeling.

* * *

I'm on a Mates of State kick again -- That adorably talented pair of musicians from one of my old stomping grounds in Kansas ...

I picked up "Re-Arrange Us" a few weeks ago -- finally! -- but didn't get much time with it other than a short drive home ...

But over the weekend, I was gathering another batch of music to give my friend Raechel for our latest CD exchange; we started this exchange thing several months ago to help each other discover new and different music, and I promised this month to introduce her to Mates of State ...

I'll admit, I told her, sometimes you have to be in just the right mood to listen to them. Kori can play a mean organ, but some of their stuff sounds like a couple of kids just yelling into microphones and making racket ...

Still, that's part of their charm -- along with the lush harmonies, and the beats and melodies that can be oh so fun to sing and dance and rock out with.

So I slipped in "Re-Arrange Us," and now I can barely get myself to press the stop button.

Unlike their older stuff, I can't find a song on this disc I don't like. The harmonies and melodies are as sweet as ever. Their chemistry blares through the speakers, and each song is packed with an emotional punch. I love it.

Here's a couple cool interviews I found of the Mates while bobbing around YouTube and trying to quench my latest kick ...




And here's a pretty sweet live edition of "The Re-Arranger." If I'm not mistaken that's the Headlights joining them on stage for the finale ...

Sweet music

I’ve been looking forward to writing this post for weeks …

There’s a new Weepies album out.

And it blew my expectations away. As if the husband-wife folk music duo of Steve Tannen and Deb Talan hasn’t made enough beautiful music to fill a lifetime, they’ve gone out and done it again with the dreamy “Hideaway.”

You could say The Weepies have been the soundtrack for us over the last year or so. I fell hard for them the first moment I heard their amazingly soothing harmonies and melodies last year, and I immediately turned Kates on to them. And then I went on a crusade to introduce them to anyone else who was willing to listen.

We’ve been playing them constantly over the last several months, and they helped make our long, cold winter so much more bearable …

And perhaps one of the coolest memories I’ll take away from Phoebe’s birth is the comments we drew with The Weepies playing in our hospital room. It was something Kates told me she wanted when she went into labor, so shortly after we arrived in our hospital room that Friday evening the iPod got plugged in and The Weepies were turned on. We had their music looping for the entire night and into the morning … And we turned the whole birthing staff onto them, too. Every time a new nurse came into our room that night, questions were asked about the music we were playing. And later, when the anesthesiologist arrived to administer Kates’s epidural, the nurse was giving him the whole giddy schpeel about the music, before he could ask about it …

Needless to say, this new album was hugely anticipated in our household this spring. The only other times I’ve looked so forward to an artist releasing new material is with Ben Folds, and that’s pretty huge considering my music interests and how long it takes me sometimes to warm up to a new artist or album …

Thanks to a couple Paste previews, I’d been listening to the title track and “Antarctica” over and over for weeks … Initially, I was a little surprised at “Hideaway,” which is a little more electrically-charged than their previous, more acoustic stuff. But like The Weepies of the previous two albums, the tune is so simple, catchy and singable, I couldn’t get it out of my head. “Antarctica,” too, is constructed of such a sweet -- and surprising -- melody that I started to believe I might be in for a real treat with the new album …

On April 22 it arrived. And I was propelled into bliss …

Indeed, the album is a little more electric and darker than their previous two releases, but it’s hardly a downfall. This album takes on a fuller sound that’s worth taking along …

The first two tracks, the twinkling “Can’t Go Back Now” and the celestial “Orbiting,” along with the title track, are easily my early favorites on the new album. The Weepies’ relatable and sincere lyrics are in “Can’t Go Back” as Tannen sings, “You know there will be days when you’re so tired that you can’t take another step / The night will have no stars and you’ll think you’ve gone as far as you will ever get.“ Then, on “Orbiting,” Talan takes the lead vocals on what might be the sweetest-sounding chorus, though the song is heartache-driven lyrically.

Still, there‘s a lot of good stuff beyond the first three tracks, too. “Not Dead Yet” is an upbeat standout. While the title says it all in “Just Blue” and “How You Survived the War” -- both songs are about loneliness, melancholy days and trying to move on when things aren’t going exactly your way …

“All Good Things,” a song on which The Weepies collaborated with Mandy Moore (a nice alternate version with Mandy singing lead appears on her “Wild Hope” album) also is a pleasant addition to the album.

The album ends appropriately with “All This Beauty,” a feel-good, upbeat gem that includes horns and sings “All this beauty / You might have to close your eyes / And slowly open wide.”

It describes my sentiments on The Weepies perfectly.

* * *

I’ve had quite a few listens now of one my other new favorite albums: Ingrid Michaelson’s “Girls and Boys.” … It took me far too long to get a hold of this one, but I finally did last week. Much like Regina Spektor and A Fine Frenzy, all I needed was to hear Michaelson’s sweet voice sailing lightly over the pianos and acoustic guitars and I was hooked. “The Way I Am” is a song I may never get sick of hearing, and “Breakable” and “The Hat” rank right up there …

* * *

I got the new Counting Crows a couple weeks ago too, thanks to my friend Raechel … Honestly, though, I had a better time hearing the new stuff live. “Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings” is good, but I don't think it measures up to the earlier stuff. Like I said, sometimes it takes me awhile up to warm up to a new album … I’m hoping that’s the case here.

* * *

One of my favorite actor / musician blogs to read is the Mates of State "Band on the Diaper Run" about touring with their kids. (Other good blogs: Zach Braff, and Jenna Fischer …)

I don't read them often, but it's fun checking in every once in awhile when I think of it. So I was on a little Mates of State kick the other night and I logged on. Good stuff, as usual … For a good chuckle, check out Kori’s post about their daughter’s love affair with Feist’s “1-2-3-4.” (Every time I think about or hear the song, I have to mention the Letterman performance, which by the way, featured the Mates singing background …So good!) ... Magnolia's multiple personalities is a good one too.

Streaming my pop culture consciousness ...

Don't mind me. Just rambling about some of the other things I've been doing / watching / listening to the last few weeks in between all the pennant races ...

(What do you think I'm doing as a I write this post? Watching the Brewers, of course ... I'd be watching the Cubs too, but that game's on ESPN, which means it gets blocked out in our region. Idiot cable ... By the way, the Cubs and Brewers are all tied up atop the NL Central heading into tonight. The Brewers just went up 2-0 on homer No. 47 from Prince, and last I checked the Cubs were scoreless ... There's still a solid week left, but judging by the last few nights, I'm really liking the Brewers chances right now ... )

... So I was holding out as long as I could, but over the weekend Hotmail made me change over to Windows Live. Me and everyone else I know who uses it agrees: We hate it ... but then again -- we agree on this too -- we've hated it every time Hotmail makes a change, only to wind up getting so attached to it that it's inevitable we'll hate the next change ...

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... With the fall TV season starting up, Kates and I have been pressing ourselves to clean up all the movies that have stacked up on our DVR over the summer and on our entertainment cabinet ... Most of them have been put off for a good reason -- we weren't that interested in seeing them, but we kept hearing good things about them and there comes a time when you feel like you have to see them whether you want to or not ...

And so we watched ...

Pirates of the Caribbean? Even with all the hype surrounding the third installment this summer, never really interested in seeing it ... But it was pretty darn entertaining. Funny. And I've enjoyed the last few Johnny Depp movies I've seen so much that it's getting to a point where I'll watch just about anything he's appearing in ...

Spiderman 2? Again, with all the hype surrounding a third installment this summer, I couldn't care less about this movie -- because I thought the first one was horrible (and I saw it in the theater ... ) ... Turned out, I liked Spiderman 2 enough to actually want to see Spiderman 3. I still thought the barage of computer graphics were so fake-looking and poor I laughed, but the action (and watching Kirstin Dunst) kept me interested ...

The Cat in the Hat. Ok, so I've never heard good things about this movie. But c'mon, it's got Mike Myers, Dakota Fanning and Spencer Breslin, and it's based on a Dr. Seuss classic. How bad can it be right!? ... Started watching it, and was happy to see Alec Baldwin, Kelly Preston and Sean Hayes too. Thought it wasn't too bad, but then again, it was being held up by Dakota, as usual, stealing the opening scenes as the primped and proper Sally, poking around on her palm pilot and making her to-do list ... Then Myers broke in as the cat, and the movie just started going from bad to worse. Kates and I fell asleep and woke up after the movie was long over. And I don't care to go back and watch what we missed.

And last night, I stayed up after the baseball games to watch Dodgeball. Yeah ... I'm going to liken this one to my experience watching Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle: A movie that starts out so silly and juvenile you want to turn it off ... but you can't keep from getting attached to the characters, and by the last 30 minutes you're rooting for them and you're glad you stayed on the ride ...


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... I've gotten hooked on watching FX's "It's Always Sunny in Phladelphia." I'd never heard of the show until I ran across a preview for the premiere a couple weeks ago. So I tuned in, and enjoyed it ... In the premiere you had a guy infiltrating a group of enviro-hippies and then sleeping with their leader's girlfriend out of revenge. Two guys (one of them is Danny DeVito's character) become so addicted to digging through trash bins they turn into bums and don't realize it. And a couple ends up painting a baby (which they found in a Dumpster and named D.B. for Dumpster Baby) brown so he might appear Latino and have better odds of appearing in a commercial ... It's good old-fashioned silliness -- almost like the kind you'd find at Second City, or any other improv comedy club. It's funny stuff.

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... I recently got a hold of Kelly Clarkson's new album. Right now, I can hardly stand to listen to it; it's too dark ... But I'm open to the possibility it could grow on me ...

... In the meantime, I've really been getting into The New Pornographers, Feist and Mates of State (Lawrence, Kan., baby!) -- who, by the way, all appeared together in a smashing performance on Letterman a couple weeks ago ... I've been clicking on "Fraud in the '80s" almost every time I've turned on my iPod for the last month ... I'm mesmerized by Kori Gardner's organ playing and the duo's punchy pop harmonies ... Check out the video ...