(the) feelgooddrag

I give you Neverending White Lights. I thought all 6 of you might want a little something while I work on my Top 10 list.
Neverending White Lights is, in essence, Daniel Victor (I’ll try to offer you a brief background). On his album, Act 1: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies, he collaborates with many of Canada’s favorite frontmen. After writing all of the tracks he went into the studio with each vocalist and the left with a masterpiece.

Here is a song with Dallas Green (alexisonfire/City and Colour):

AFI – A Night In Review

Let me begin by saying that I have been a fan of A Fire Inside for a while now. IE: Black Sails in the Sunset, The Art of Drowning, All Hallows, etc. I admit, however, that I did not really become a big fan until Sing the Sorrow was released. It is now one of my favorite CDs that I own. I have never been one to accuse bands of “selling out”. I think it is really lame to turn your back on a band because they have achieved the success that they’ve been longing for, the success that they have put in endless hours in the studio, on tour, and promoting. Different bands do different things and progress in different ways. You, as a fan, cannot expect them to stay the same and make the exact music you want hear. People change and sounds change… that’s just how it goes. Ninety-percent of the time I enjoy a bands newest release more than their previous records. My tastes are always evolving and the bottom line is that I firmly believe in supporting the bands that you enjoy and that you believe in. anyways…

 

The evening began with “Prelude 12/21”. I call it an intro… one that leads off Decemberunderground and was a perfect way to kick-off their performance.  Next up was one of my favorites, “Girls Not Grey”. At this point I really began to take in the surroundings; the stage setup, the lights, the weather, and the crowd. All equipment on stage was white. Mic stands, heads, cabinets, drums, guitars… all white. They also were displaying a backdrop that was one in the same with the artwork for Decemberunderground.

*Side Note: Casey and I were able to view the whole show from a vip box seat provided by Casey’s work (CHJ Digital Repro). This was different for me since I am used to being right in the middle of it all, but I think it ended up being a blessing. We are both getting too old.

After blistering through a few more tracks, some new and some new and some old, they played possibly my favorite song from the new disc. “Summer Shudder” is a great song in my opinion and I think the chorus is really what draws me to this song. Davey’s vocals and the shouts of the band really give this song something special. I could try to explain it more, but you should probably just listen to it yourself. When all was said and done the boys had played a great mix of new and old, featuring a high-energy performance, great sounds and crowd interaction, and an overall sense of excitement and satisfaction, and I am happy to say that I was pleased with the experience.

listen to Summer Shudder.

I apologize for being lazy and not posting for about 3 years. it seems like all I do is work, sleep, play golf, and then waste time if I’m not engaged in one of the aforementioned activities.

On the immediate horizon is the AFI concert monday night. Free box tickets and VIP parking… does it get any better. I "saw" AFI a couple of summers ago at Warped Tour. Looking forward to seeing them headlining their own tour. Now amongst all of this, I am working on a top 10 list of sorts. I will try to make a post a day as I list my 10 favorite bands that feature/are fronted by/made up of females. If you know me… well, you understand why. So hopefully I will launch that soon and I also have a surprise feature to unveil as soon as I can get the ball rolling.

In other news:

I am in love with Katrina Kerns.

Katrina is a member of the Illinoisemakers… on tour and on the Sufjan’s last record, "Illinois". Katrina is a backup vocalist/glockenspiel player and to top it off… a model. can you say dream girl?

 

So when you buy AFI’s new limited edition album, you get a CD booklet featuring 1 of the 4 members of the band on the cover. I got Jade. I was hoping for Hunter or Adam… but I secretly wanted Jade. He’s just a sick guitarist.

It really is a solid album. Pretty much been listening to it for a week straight. Hard to tell if it is better than “Sing The Sorrow”. I don’t think it’s as dark. There is definitely some electronica/industrial/indie/metal/rock/etc. influence on this disc and a wide range of moods and messages. If you like AFI at all this release should be in your CD library.