Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck

I am a child of the 1990s, and because of this I am a HUGE fan of Nirvana. In fact I feel that Nirvana and The Beatles are the most important musical acts of all time. When you look back at Nirvana's discography, they technically only released three albums. (Bleach, Nevermind, and In Utero. Their album Incesticide is nothing but B-sides and Unplugged is a live album.) Yet their impact on music is undeniable.

With Kurt Cobain's death in 1994, a public yearning to learn everything there is to know about him has evolved. He has become a mythical rock figure much like John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, or Elvis Presley.  Montage of Heck aims to change all of that. Produced by Cobain's daughter Francis Bean, Montage of Heck will show the very human side of this alternative icon.

The trailer for this new documentary was released last week, and after viewing it I was utterly speechless. Actually, I was very close to tears at its end. And this was just the trailer. It looks like Montage of Heck achieves its goal of showing the person that is Kurt Cobain. And I for one cannot wait to see it.

Look to the Cookie

This past weekend, March 6th - 9th, was the one year anniversary of my visit to New York City. To celebrate the occasion, I baked the cookie immortalized by Seinfeld. The black and white cookie. I always try to be humble when I cook. I don't want to come across as arrogant with my cooking. But I must this is one of those rare occasion that I will pat myself on the back. I hit a home run with these cookies. I put them right up there with my cinnamon rolls. Look to the cookie Eileen. Look to the cookie.

The Punch Brothers and Season 6 of Community

The Riviera's Marquee for the Punch Brothers

Whoa!! That's the first word that comes to my mind after seeing the Punch Brothers live this past Saturday night at the Riviera Theater. For an hour and a half, the Punch Brothers delivered an energizing, toe tapping, hit featured set. Just a few observations from the show:

1) They sounded impeccable. Step One, buy one of their CDs. Step two, put CD into CD player. Step three, listen. (I'm old fashion. You can also create a Spotify playlist.) The way they sound on their albums is the way they sound live. I was simply blown away by how great they sounded. The levels between the microphones and the instruments were perfect. You heard every word spoken or sung, yet you also heard all of their instruments. It was amazing. Plus I was able to leave a show without any ringing in my ears. Always a plus.

2) Great stage presence. The hour and half set flew by. The band interacted very well with the audience. They talked, they joked, they danced, they did it all. You could really tell that the band was having a great time. And seeing that, only added to the fun that I had.

3) Great set. They played a lot from the new album, The Phosphorescent Blues, they did a cover of Radiohead's Kid A, and a nice set of classics. I felt like they covered a vast array of great music from their catalog.

I cannot recommend enough that you go and see the Punch Brothers live. They have now joined the club of Paul McCartney, Muse, William Elliott Whitmore, and St. Vincent. Which is every time they come to Chicago, I must see them perform.

Below is their set-list from Saturday night, if anyone wants to make a Spotify playlist, I highly encourage it.

Punch Brothers Set-list 2.28.15 at the Rivera Theater:
My Oh My
Boll Weevil
Watch 'at Breakdown
This Girl
Familiarity
Movement and Location
Passepied (Claude Debussy cover)
Another New World (Josh Ritter cover)
Through the Bottom of the Glass (The Seldom Scene)
I Blew it Off
Flippen (The Flip) (Vasen cover)
Rye Whiskey
The Auld Triangle (Brendan Behan cover)
Julep
Kid A (Radiohead cover)
Wayside/Back in Time (Gillian Welch cover)
Magnet

Encore:
New York City
Little Lights

Also earlier today, Yahoo released the trailer for Season 6 of Community. It is entitled:
Community: Age of Yahoo. It is magnificent.

New William Elliott Whitmore!!!!!!

I am beyond excited right now!!! Earlier tonight, one of my top three favorite artists of all time William Elliott Whitmore, announced that his brand new album Radium Death will be released on March 31st.

This is his follow up to his 2011 album Field Songs and if the lead single Healing to Do is any indication, this will be a completely new sound for Whitmore. Which is incredibly exciting. I feel inspired when an artist takes a big risk. I respect the risk they take.

I am bummed though, because there are currently no Chicago dates listed for his tour. But that will hopefully change soon. If you have 3:29 to spare, give Healing to Do a listen to. I particularly love the organ, and the growl.

Looking for a Great Batman Detective Story

No caption needed. moviepilot.com

Over the past few years, I've become a HUGE fan of mysteries. It all started when I finally listened to my father, and read my first Sherlock Holmes story. Because of this, I am always on the outlook for great mysteries to read.

Because of this, I am on the look out for a great Batman mystery to read. After all, Batman is known as being a great detective. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Continuing My Folk Music Kick

Continuing on my folk music kick, I've begun listening to Nick Drake. Drake is an interesting person. He only released three albums: Five Leaves Left, Bryter Layter, and Pink Moon. All of these releases were not successful at the time of their release. According to Wikipedia this was partly due to "Drake's reluctance to perform live, or be interviewed, contributed to his lack of commercial success."

Additionally there is no footage in existence of Drake performing live. I find this fact to be really amazing. It adds an unique element to the Drake legend. You are only present his audio recordings, and they alone can only speak for him. That's really incredible, and I feel enhances his music.

You could almost say that Drake was an "outsider" artist. Much in the vain of a Woodie Guthrie or a Henry Darger. There's a real sense of creating the art for the art's sake. If the public discovers it, ok. If not, well that's ok too.

The Phosphorescent Blues

punchbrothers.com

As I am writing this blog post, I am listening to the new album by The Punch Brothers, "The Phosphorescent Blues". This is their 4th full length album. And I must admit I am surprise I am a such a huge fan of this band. Growing up, I was so adamantly against "country" music, or bluegrass/folk music. I really don't know why.

However I am so very glad that I got over it. The Punch Brothers have very quickly become one of my favorite bands. So much so that, before I see them live for the first time on February 28th, I went out and bought every piece of music they have released.

If you have never heard of The Punch Brothers, I highly recommend you check them out. On their Wikipedia page, they are described as: "bluegrass instrumentation and spontaneity in the strictures of modern classical". I for one could not say it better myself. There are so many layers to this band. If you aren't listening to them carefully, you could easily mistake their music as classical music only being played "folksy".

Not only that, the lead singer plays the mandolin. The mandolin!!! How cool is that. Below is the lead single off of The Phosphorescent Blues. It's entitled: "I Blew It Off".