Josh Ritter on Halloween

Kids! It's the day before Halloween!

And where will you be tomorrow night?

Where will Red Blondehead be, you ask?

How awfully kind of you to inquire, dears. This fearsome, firesome duo will be spending the evening at Workplay--in costume, might I add--enjoying performances by Eric Bachmann and current RB favorite Josh Ritter. That's at 8:00 p.m.

Later on that night, Laser's Edge in Homewood, RB's very favorite indie record store, is hosting a supercool Josh Ritter afterparty. Here are the details for that:

What: Post-concert in-store performance/recording and Halloween party
Who: JOSH RITTER and you
Where: Laser's Edge Compact Discs. You know how to get here.
How: Bring your Workplay ticket stub or wrist band or stamped hand to the store, along with some semblance of a Halloween costume for admittance. Those who come dressed without Halloween garb may be forced to wear something of our choosing...cardboard box hats dressed-up with Sharpie art and two holes for eyes are a distinct possibility.
When: Halloween night, around 11:00 pm, immediately following Josh's concert at Workplay
What Else: A GuessTheCharacterFromAPopularSong costume contest, special prizes, refreshments, merry fellowship


Also, many of our costumed peeps will be heading to BottleTree to catch a FREE and freely spectacular show featuring Celebration, Dragons of Zynth, and Lonesome Spirit Device. LOTS to do on Halloween night, kids, so don't stay in and sulk. Put on a goofy-spooky costume and join the thousand eyes of the night!

Now, for a couple of my favorite Josh Ritter songs, just to get you in the mood!

Kathleen from Hello Starling
Come and Find Me from Golden Age of Radio

Stars at the Variety Playhouse - 10/27/07

It is my opinion that Stars is worth driving over 2 hours to see, which is exactly what I did on Saturday when they played the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta. I haven't seen them live since the fall of 2005 when they opened for Death Cab at the Tabernacle (also on the Saturday before Halloween). At that time they didn't seem to be very well-known among the showgoers in my general vicinity, but quite a few people were buzzing after their performance. They've certainly become more well-known in the past 2 years, so I was expecting a good turnout for their return to Atlanta. I guess the band wasn't because they expressed their surprise that so many people showed up in a city where they only know 2 people.

Magnet opened and he played a pretty good set but talked too much. I didn't count how many songs he played but it felt like he only played 5 because of his stage patter. I would have been happy to listen to his charming Norwegian accent if he had been the co-headliner but when you're the opener, it's time to get down to business. He also asked for audience participation on practically every song, which was a little annoying.

After a short break, Stars took the stage (which was covered in flowers and artwork) to begin their energetic performance. I don't see how anyone could have left the venue unhappy with their Stars experience because the band's joy in performing is so contagious. Some highlights included the band throwing flowers into the crowd every few minutes, Torq coming on stage in a light-covered coat during "The Ghost of Genova Heights," a lovely version of "Look Up" (which was the song that introduced me to the band in 2003), Amy Millan diving into the crowd, "Elevator Love Song" and "On Peak Hill." I wish that they had played more than one Nightsongs selection and "My Favourite Book" from In the Bedroom, but those are small grievances. It was a fantastic show.

The setlist to the best of my memory:

Take Me to the Riot
Set Yourself on Fire
Elevator Love Song
Ghost of Genova Heights
Bitches in Tokyo
One More Night
Personal
Look Up
Soft Revolution
Midnight Coward
Window Bird
Your Ex-Lover is Dead
Reunion
Sleep Tonight
What I'm Trying to Say
Ageless Beauty
In Our Bedroom After the War

Encore
On Peak Hill
Calendar Girl

A few Nightsongs
Stars - Counting Stars on the Ceiling
Stars - My Radio (AM Mix)
Stars - Going, Going, Gone

Long Time, No Blog

There's not been much time for blogging recently with my returning from vacation this week and Leah leaving for one. But I brought you souvenirs from Montreal and L.A. and Brooklyn (and Jersey, whoo! how exotic) to show you how much I missed you!

Pas Chic Chic - Sur les Écrans Statiques
Soft - Dumb Blood
Young Galaxy - Come and See
Saturday Looks Good to Me - Make a Plan
West Indian Girl - To Die in LA
Chromatics - I Want Your Love

John Fitzgerald Page loves Los Campesinos!

I planned to post about Los Campesinos! yesterday but then this fantastically awesome Gawker post and its comments pretty much ruined my productivity for the whole day. (You must click on the link. A coworker and I would randomly break into giggles throughout the day yesterday just thinking about it.)

If I ran a record label, it would be Arts & Crafts. Their taste in pop acts is right in line with my own. And they continued the trend by signing 7-member band Los Campesinos! and releasing their debut EP, Sticking Fingers Into Sockets back in July. They sound like early Architecture in Helsinki, but with less Vegemite (they're from Wales instead of Australia).

Los Campesinos! - We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives
Los Campesinos! - TheInternational Tweexcore Underground.mp3


Video for "You! Me! Dancing!"

p.s. Seriously, click the Gawker link.

Calling all spazz-dancers!(!!)

Tomorrow night, Red Blondehead presents !!! with The Field at Bottletree for what should be a fun night of electro-dance-punk music. And you know how we like to give away things so the first 30 ticketholders through the door will receive a token of our appreciation. Please spazz-dance responsibly!

!!! - Bend Over Beethoven
!!! - Must Be The Moon