Stars - "Fixed" (Live Version from Late Night)

Amazon has the latest album by Stars, The Five Ghosts, priced at just $3.99!

The aspect I'm glad the below clip shows: the band's insistence on throwing flowers to their fans. When I saw them live over two years ago I was wondering how much of an expense that must be over the course of a tour, for they must've tossed out three dozens.

It's becoming painfully clear to me that any woman is instantly made more attractive to me when holding a guitar and singing... Which reminds me of a show this Friday that I still haven't decided if I'm going to or not...

More music from Stars is available at the MySpace (www.myspace.com/stars) and official (www.youarestars.com) websites.

Japandroids - "Younger Us" (FREE DOWNLOAD!)

Go over to Amazon.com and download "Younger Us" by Vancouver's Japandroids for FREE!

For more information:
japandroids.com
www.myspace.com/japandroids
www.facebook.com/japandroids

Broken Social Scene - A better concert review from another

Earlier this month was the second time I've ever driven to another State for a concert. Broken Social Scene in Wisconsin is now on the list that used to just consist of Radiohead in Indiana (2008).

I'm yielding the floor to Dan Oberbruner's review... I'm no good at concert blogging. I'm there in the moment, not to detail it later for others.

However, there was one cool moment I've never seen before at a concert that I want to share:
At the end of the last song BSS played, all walked off the stage except Kevin Drew. It was sincerely awesome that Drew wasn't going to partake in the charade of If you cheer loud enough we'll come back out for an encore. He stood up there alone, publicly catching his breath and wasting no time as soon as his bandmates quickly joined him back on stage.

I've already heard rumors that Broken Social Scene will perform again at Lollapalooza next year after not being there this year. If that happens I think I will have no other choice but to finally attend that horde in Grant Park.

(That picture is from yours truly without zoom on my iPhone - I didn't think I would've gotten that close to the stage!)

Broken Social Scene - "Forced to Love" (MINKA KELLY SEXY VERSION!)

Just as I found an excuse to post about Minka Kelly on LeBlogski, I found a way to get her on this blog as well. Thank you, Esquire Magazine, for many things. For example, using a Broken Social Scene song as the background to this video:

Ladies and Canucks, Minka Kelly is your Esquire Magazine Sexiest Woman Alive!

Land of Talk - "Yuppy Flu" (Album: Some Are Lakes)

When I go to a show, I enjoy it.
It's incomprehensible to me how concert bloggers are able to make note of entire set lists.
All I know, for sure, is that they played nearly all the songs I wanted to hear when I saw them at Lincoln Hall last month: including "Yuppy Flu"

It's too bad this band is not popular enough to have had the chance to perform this song live for a television show because the album version (embedded below) doesn't capture how the drum thumps the song through and leaves the audience hanging on with every note Lizzy plays on the guitar.

In my last post I mentioned the underwhelming set of the opener, but they more than made up for it when they joined Land of Talk for almost half of their set. A band that's normally just three people can really give the audience a fresh take on the songs when they more than double the size of musicians. It's clear they've learned well from when they toured with Broken Social Scene (how I first came to know them).

One odd concert tidbit: Lizzy Powell, just like how Kevin Drew did when I first saw them, made special mention of how appreciative they were that concert goers choose to spend money on them during - to use their terms - "a really sucky economy." I can't wait to spend more money on them the next time they come into town.

John Legend & The Roots - "Wake Up" (ARCADE FIRE COVER)

Suuns - "Arena" (album: Zeroes QC)

I tend to download a lot of free music to lisen to at later times. About every two months I gather all my concert update emails from Jam and download all the free downloads for my "Freebies" playlist. If those songs are good, they make the cut into a more established, more listened to, playlist.

Such is the case with "Arena" by Suuns. However, this process also tends to make me forget what is on my iPod. When Suuns opened for Land of Talk I had told others that I had not heard of the band from Montreal (record label: Secretly Canadian). Then they played this song and I had that funny, "I've heard that before / I think it's in my iPod" feeling.

To be honest, the rest of Suuns' set was... not my cup of tea... However, all 4 Members stuck around and performed with the headliner - Land of Talk - for many songs. So although I may not be the biggest fan of Suuns, I appreciate their contribution to the collaborative spirit that makes me like this genre.

Apologies for not reviewing the Land of Talk show. I need to get to that highly wonderful show as soon as I can find a live clip on YouTube worthy of posting.