Torche were officially the loudest low-endy band I've seen at the Magic Stick. (And I've seen Isis, Melvins and Mastodon shows there). The perfect storm of gear (Orange full stack+), tuning (low A and a "bombstring") + one of the better sub systems in the area = "I gotta go pinch a loaf in the parking lot" low end. (That's not where I was going, Melody). They later told me it sounded tinny on stage, but it always does at the STick.

Can't wait to see how it stacks up to Japan's Boris, when they tour through together in July.

Sword came on after and sounded like the White Stripes by comparison, which is cool if you're into that kinda thing (awesome Geddy Lee hair!). Their 3rd album is going to be amazing, or they will fold.

The new Torche songs owe more to Superchunk than Sabbath, And that's quite a feat while playing guitars that sound more doomy than Sleep. I was never proud to be from Florida, the "Heavy Metal Capital of the World" (Dio), until seeing their set. Cuban / anglo pop metal from the wang of the nation = the next wave of QOTSA popularity.
RIde it.

Or you can ride the SLUT in Seattle.

Not to be outdone, Traverse, MI has TART, and some embarrassed women pictured on the site.

BORIS

Yes, I still drive a big road tractor with a 53' trailer.
Not too much has changed in the years of politing these beasts. Michiganders still don't know how to merge, and Massachusetts drivers are the traffic-dwelling equivalent of child molesters...
But one thing has changed: Fuel has gotten a lot more expensive. Even Michigan grads have to ask Canadians for gas:


I do notice a lot more people trying to draft (draught?) behind my truck to "save gas". I can't see the tailgaters in my mirrors, but I know they are there (don't ask how). To get a good look and to make sure it's not a cop, I can swing the trailer. But usually other drivers let me know who's back there via the CB.

Recently, another truck driver noticed I was checking to see who was behind me at a VERY close distance, on I69. He said the same guy was on his ass for the last 20 miles. The car had switched to me for some reason. and I would "not be able to shake him". Within 10 seconds he was off my ass and I got a good look at his car (Civic Hybrid) as it dove into the next lane, trying to escape the puff of smoke coming from trailer tires. "Yeah, that did it!" the other driver yelled, obviously loving it. It was totally worth leaving a few inches of trailer rubber on the interstate to evacuate the bladder of a guy who was risking his life while tailgating me on the phone.

Had I laid on the brakes much longer, or blown a tire for another reason, or run over random road debris, the Civic and driver would have hybridized crudely and bloodily: Not worth the gas savings he could get by using cruise control in a smaller car. Say hello to Croatia's Chevy... and our domestic motoring future:




I'm a company driver, so I don't personally pay the $1000 it takes to fill my two tanks with diesel twice a week. My company is actually doing better in this climate (I move replacement parts for Fords and new parts for Toyotas and GM/ Toyota ventures - NUMMI's Vibe / Matrix). Ironically, the job pays a lot more than most, so soon I can finally afford the V8 swap into the Fiero that will probably halve its efficiency and triple its horsepower. The sooner we run out of oil, the sooner things will get better, and I'll be doing my part...as is Audi:

lily_larue alerts us: Michigan Senate OKs smoking ban in bars, restaurants...

Before contracting asthma working and performing in bars, I probably would have been a "live and let live" guy on the subject, but "wheeze and let wheeze" didn't work out for me or my cancer-magnet wife.

We catch up to Wheeling West Virginia! (and NYC and LA and Chicago and...) in realizing that it is a work / public health issue in some cases.

There's a political aspect to my position: Smoking sends money directly people who send money directly to people who want to make contraception illegal, and Southern Baptism the national religion ...etc.

Then there's the cosmetic aspect. Girls who smoke tend to look much older than their years and straight guys look all faggy holding a fag when they don't intend to. And they don;t look like the Marlboro Man... more like a fat Virginia Slim...
Case in Point:
Here's what DanG would look like if he smoked (from the article):


Of course, if they legalized pot only in bars... I still wouldn't smoke it, but I'd like the thench more.

The Wheeling experience was imbiggened by the ghostly apparition of a baby at the window of an abandoned house.

The new Torche (Meandethal) is the best thing I've heard this year.
Pop goth stoner rock? Yes.
Avoidance of sophomore album sameness a la The Sword's 2nd. Indeed.

Just listen to "Healer" and try to hate them. 2:01 is all you need.

Image isn't everything:


05/13 - Detroit, Michigan @ The Magic Stick: All three bands are equally amazing.
The Sword
Torche
Stinking Lizaveta

As if to say, "Will the few remaining people in the creative class with expendable money in our state please leave Michigan", the MI state supremes said that same sex benefits are illegal.

Thanks to relocated Ave Maria Law School closet cases for further fucking our state from their new campus in Florida,... the wang of the nation.

Jessie Olson, an attorney involved in filing the challenge that was rejected by the court Wednesday, said the ruling leaves Michigan “at the bottom of the barrel. We are the worst of the worst of the worst when it comes to civil rights for same sex couples.”

“The only alternative may be just leaving,” Olson said, “joining the exodus of people who are just getting out of Michigan.”

Here's a chance to live in the past: a rock show at the Blind Pig!

At one time, the Pig had every Sub Pop and Touch & Go band on the planet swing through. I only caught the tail end of what was likely a magical time for live music in Ann Arbor. But I was also there the week some locals painted over all the the band room graffiti, including some tags by Nirvana. It was the beginning of the end of a golden era. But white hip hop, jam bands, and dance / fashion 80's parties are rockin' now too, right?

After 10+ years of dealing with the divide on one side of the Ypsi / Arbor duel o' inferiority complexes. I'm done.



Ann Arbor has lost Pfizer and is about to lose a good chunk of Borders. Its houses are worth less than Ypsi circa 2005. Conversely, Ypsi is getting gentrified very slowly, like a boiling smeetfrog - people love to talk about what should get done, but they actually / physically do nothing other than move air compared to all the talk.

The two towns are becoming each other!
Mission Malaise 2010 accomplished.


Onto Wheeling,... I hear Pittsburgh thinks they are a town full of yokels and Wheeling laughs at Pitts' new status as more sooty than L.A.!

Last weekend, the band played Pittsburgh again, and it was awesome as usual. But through luck and hochi's hard digital social networking, we also played a CD release show in Wheeling, West Virginia. Result: Chapstik's got that Wheelin' Feelin'.

It's an old town with the longest / oldest suspension bridge. Spanning the Ohio River, our drummer was only apprehensive about crossing it on foot (our van and trailer is too heavy to legally cross), after noting, "Wait, there's nothing holding it up in the middle!?".
Yeah, and I think George Washington was alive when they built it.



If the bridge looks familiar, it's an early prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge, yunno... the one destroyed in Cloverfield when New Yorkers tried to escape on foot?



So how was the show / scene?

Fucking insane...
It'll take multiple posts to describe it.

Back then, I could sleep anywhere while on tour. (Note the box to the left.)
This was in Ann Arbor, John and Stacee's floor... I was still a Texan.

Attn: hochi
Hair Supply.


Metal Tribute to Air Supply.

Could Chapstik please play out of state without seeing a car on fire?



Seriously, Fuck You car fires.

New Broken and Hearted Podcast Episode 145 is up.

An all-80’s look this time...for the ladies.
With country covers of Prince, Bollywood, anti-Pixies rants (with rare Pixies songs), Siouxsie interview, gross 10” discussions, Mission UK, Temallica, Jesus and Mary Chain, plus “how to get killed just by letting your iPod randomly pick what everyone will hear at a truck stop fuel island”. (Hint the letters used are Y A and Z).

All about Australia (and it’s fucked up trucking) next week.

subscribe! underlings!

My radio tells me I'm cool.

The fact that people are resorting to calling Obama an elitist is a possible sign that he has overcome the race thing, forcing racists to avoid the subject. This despite the fact it's a stretch for his enemies to accept an elite dominating them from a group that has been oppressed for so long by so many.

He transcends race for me because he's a guy. I can relate to a guy but not a revealed, shrillionette any day. I'd still vote for her over Magoo.

Though my truck's stereo has already absentee voted, I'm considering voting for capitalist-eating mutocats:

I've figured out the reason for the severe rash of sleepy, no-brain, borefest music- ('specially here in severe SE Michigan, USSA. Seriously, I could only sit through 2 of the bands listed.).



Wuss Rock is now being produced at alarming rates by the world's first generation to be fed formula using heated #7 plastics. These are xenoestrogenic substances, especially when warmed. xenoestrogenic! ...during the most important rock-vibe development years - the terrible twos! They have an estrogen-mimicking effect that interferes with hormone levels and ability to recognize music that truly rocks balls. I'm highly trained in this field, do not question my conclusion, pussies!



Modern toys with Hormone-Disrupting Phthalates affect girl and boy toddlers the same way: it makes them prone to listen to whispered vocals about how indie Jesus is and idolize bands with autoharps, even if there is an impending military draft affecting them and their friends.


Some escaped partial exposure with little dignity:




Others' parents couldn't afford plastic baby bottles, so they escaped any effects past a love of scarves:


Tattoo ink (and special stickers) seems to counteract the effects:

So, after wearing this T Shirt to 2 shows, only certain annoyed metalheads noticed the difference between it and a real Slayer shirt. It came from a great place in Austin that only sells independent mercantile items made in TX.

Note to white bands playing Detroit: you might want to leave songs with the chanted lyric "White Tower" off your setlist for ...for that night. Misunderstood lyrics have resulted in having used tampons thrown at you on stage... or worse.

Superchrist slayed. I noticed a compilation in their merch and said, "We were supposed to be on that, but I never heard from the guy". "You guys are on it! 2 songs before us!" From the 90's, and we're on #13 with Superchrist plus the almighty Makers. How, in a Google world, can we miss such a thing? Spelling.
Fistful of Rock CD

And now, our sponsors:
A properly-calibrated comment-section dumbassery meter explodes best on Virginia Rite to Life MySpace page

And...Honky's wives:

What's this one for? (I think it's designed to kill frogs.)

We test drove the Daewoo/ "Chevy" Aveo when it came out, as a possible sippy cup vehicle. Verdict: Crap on Wheels( and those wheel were made out of feces). Years later, we are foisted the newer version as our Texas rental penalty box. Verdict: Rock Monster that gets 38mpg and swallows a guitar half stack (with head) behind the back seat!


Austin



It's truly a tiny car. No matter what your monitor resolution, your computer is showing the vehicle's actual size in this pic, next to our campsite:

We had to swerve to avoid bugs.

Who says small cars can't have balls?


Make mine an HHR SS Panel Van (Hearse Black):

No Sarumon confusion jokes.