As I said with my last post about Nerdapalooza, I wasn’t really familiar with the whole genre (or its fan base) until mere weeks before attending the festival, but I had a short list of people I wanted to see as Trevor and I shoved off from St. Petersburg last Saturday morning.

Now, I’m typing this a little under 24 hours after getting home from the festival. Showered, rested, and fed, I’m still not sure how I want to cover it. There were plenty of disappointments, such as Kabuto The Python (the #1 thing I wanted to see) not thinking to try the rapping with a mask thing out before stepping out onto a stage, which resulted in Kabuto the Mime. There was The Protomen’s set so mired in feedback that you would have thought they brought it along as a special guest. Then there was the most frustrating part of all, the festival’s complete and utter inability to stay anywhere close to the schedule (more on that later).

But this isn’t meant to be a diatribe from some outsider coming in to point at the nerds and talk about how shitty their convention was. And as I drove home, I reflected on some of the cool shit we saw. The first band we caught, Captain Dan & the Scurvy Crew, were quite entertaining both sonically and visually as they took the stage in complete pirate garb. Kabuto aside, the rest of the Scrub Club showcase was phenomenal. As a “crew” they seem to embrace a “hiphop first, nerd second” approach to their music and stage show that really appealed to me.

Then there was the out of left field “holy shit I am gonna talk about that for months” set by Schaffer The Darklord. I’d listened to his material on Myspace in preparation for the festival and was lukewarm to it at best. However, live … live is where it was at. Those lazy beats and rhyme delivery were pushed aside for an uptempo, high energy tight stage show that captivated the entire room. Watching him on stage I kept thinking, this dude is like nerdcore’s version of Col. J.D. Wilkes (for those who don’t know, read about JD here). I don’t think there is any doubt that Schaffer stole the entire festival with his shortened performance.

As a whole, I’d say Nerdapalooza was wildly successful, especially for true fans of the genre. Hell, I’ve become an avid fan of Schaffer and the entire Scrub Club crew. The organizers said attendance was higher than they were expecting, that they managed to recoup their original investment and will apparently be making a sizable donation to the Child’s Play Charity, so all signs point to a third Nerdapalooza coming to Orlando next year. On that note I’d like to offer the festival itself some friendly advice (constructive criticism). Now normally I try to avoid too much criticism, especially for shows that have long passed, as it falls in the ‘too little too late’ category. However, this thing will probably happen again so I feel it’s criticism that could bear fruit. So…

Hex and crew. You need to put a greater focus on keeping the festival running on schedule, or at least close to it. There are a ton of ways this can be achieved, but already being an hour behind only five bands into the day is terrible. Furthermore, when you see that you need to make up time, condense the sets of your afternoon performers … not your headliners.

Captain Dan & The Scurvy Crew – From The Seas To The Streets
Captain Dan & The Scurvy Crew – Flintlock Glock

Dr. Awkward – Geekquilibrium
Sinister Six – Roll The Dice
Sinister Six – Scientistik

Nerdapalooza theme song?: MadHatter and Duyahn Walker – Nerd Party

Schaffer The Dark Lord – Nerd Lust:

Schaffer The Darklord – The Bender:

For the last few months I’ve been thinking about ways I could utilize my twitter account to capture my immediate feelings about things before they have the ability to be filtered and clouded by time and/or sobriety. Then along came the Katy Perry show and I decided I wanted to go, not because I am a fan of her music (though I know her two hits), but because I thought it would be a fun show. More on that later. Somewhere along the timeline from finding out I had a press pass for the show to actually getting to the show, I decided it would be the perfect candidate for testing the “live blogging via twitter” idea out at the show. Here are those tweets:

Tweets, Review & Video after the jump

@autopsy4: CL meeting turned into Wordpress 101. *sigh* Oh Well, Katy Perry bound. Watch for live tweets.
@autopsy4: Sounds like I got here b4 she started. Hope I have time 2 get a drink.
@autopsy4: She better hit the stage soon or 1/2 the crowd will have to go to bed.
@autopsy4: Advantages of a prepubescent crowd: short lines at the bar. and it feels less crowded than it is.
@autopsy4: The shrill would indicate SHOWTIME.
@autopsy4: First outfit. Troublingly devoid of cleavage.
@autopsy4: There is a whole band up there. I figured she was electronic. Pleasant surprise.
@autopsy4: http://twitpic.com/46tqe – iPhone pic
@autopsy4: They’re literally doing the hokey pokey on stage. Huh?
@autopsy4: The crowd loves this one. You’re hot and your cold? Big hit!
@autopsy4: Honesty. She’s a pretty good performer. I could stand for a costume change though.
@autopsy4: You’re so gay. And the crowd goes ballistic. I think the 10 y.o. Beside me just had her first orgasm.
@autopsy4: Katy: “any players in the house?” Little boy on his dads shoulders raises hand…
@autopsy4: http://twitpic.com/46vqh – This boy
@autopsy4: I dunno about studio but live. They’re a 2 guitar, drummer, bass & singer rock band. Surprising but I think I said that.
@autopsy4: Rocking the 80s cover, “I don’t wanna lose yr love 2night”. Kicking it’s ass too.
@autopsy4: My hopes of seeing a scantily clad Katy are vanishing but the show is managing to keep me engaged.
@autopsy4: I may have types too soon. Katy has left the stage!
@autopsy4: Pink and black cat suit. Now we’re talking!
@autopsy4: Playing I kissed a girl. There must not be an encore.
@autopsy4: That’s all folks. Way better than I expected.

One of the most common questions I got throughout the show was what in the fuck I was doing there. Well, when I saw she was coming I thought it looked like a fun show. I spend so much time at shows full of bearded kids drinking PBR and screaming the words to every song that I thought an irreverent, silly pop show might be a nice change of pace. In that respect, I was dead on. Furthermore, while I didn’t really know any of the songs very well and she didn’t change costume nearly as many times as I’d hoped (I dunno why, but costume changes are a big part of a pop show in my mind’s eye), it was honestly an entertaining show. I even found myself smiling and genuinely clapping at one point. And the kids there, they fucking loved it! So, I gotta deem the show a complete success and if I were offered a free ticket to her next show I would go again.

The live tweets on the other hand … I dunno. I think what I got turned out good enough, but the side-effect of all the twittering was that I saw as much of my iPhone screen as I did the show. That’s fine for Katy Perry, an artist I’m not really a fan of, but that would never work for, say, Lucero or Two Cow or Jason Isbell (playing Tampa on May 6). While I’d like to think there is a happy medium, I’m not so sure. Less tweets = less story, but more tweets = less drunken show watching. For now I am gonna try it again, probably at the Jason Isbell show, and see how that turns out.

So. Yeah. Katy Perry = Good Times. Micro-Live Blogging = Undecided.

Katy Perry – Mannequin (live)
Katy Perry – Hot ‘N’ Cold (Yelle Remix)

Video-snippet of “I Kissed A Girl” from the show:

Okay, last month we stumbled, both technically and performance wise, through the debut podcast. Come month two, we’re ready to drop the cream of Americana podcasts (from one of the best Americana blogs) on you, and our tech is prepped for the amount of awesome that you’re likely to find yourself listening to multiple times a week. I know I’m coming off like the Kanye West of the Americana blogging community, but I don’t give a fuck. I like fish sticks and I’m telling you, you’re gonna love it and you’re gonna listen to it numerous times. I feel that confident.

So, here is the tracklisting for what very well may be the only thing you listen to for the rest of this week:

1. Drive-by Truckers – Nine Bullets
2. Autopsy IV Commentary
3. Strawfoot – Cursed Neck
4. Pinebox Serenade – Woven Arms
5. Uncle Sinner – When Jesus Comes
6. Autopsy IV Commentary
7. Olin & The Moon – Call Me Up
8. American Aquarium – California
9. Eileen Jewell – Sea of Tears
10. Autopsy IV Commentary
11. Drag The River – Old Sad Songs [extended] (Lucero Cover)
12. Gillian Welch & Old Crow Medicine Show – The Weight (The Band Cover)
13. Scott H. Biram – Sinking Down (FD Session)
14. Jon & Chad (Drag The River) – Dancin’ In The Moonlight (Thin Lizzy Cover)
15. Autopsy IV Commentary
16. Grayson Capps – Going Back To The Country
17. Chris Knight – Enough Rope
18. Autopsy IV Commentary
19. Two Cow Garage – Should’ve California

IF YOU LISTEN TO THIS AND ENJOY IT PLEASE FORWARD IT TO SOMEONE ELSE!

This review comes courtesy of Autopsy IV.

Justin Townes Earle: Midnight at the Movies (Bloodshot)

When Justin Towns Earle’s debut, The Good Life, came out a year ago, I hardly paid it any mind. Months later, when I finally got around to listening to it, I wasn’t expecting much — just the son of a legend fumbling through an album he only got to make because of his father’s name.

With Midnight At The Movies I wondered: Could Earle come close to the masterpiece that The Good Life was? Turns out that he may just have surpassed it, if that’s possible.

On the new disc, Justin seems more settled in his resolve to forge his own path and more comfortable with his songwriting. On tracks like “Mama’s Eyes,” Justin shows no hesitation about exposing himself to the listener, warts and all. When you couple that the ragtime hop of the track “Walk Out,” you start to uncover the true strength of this album. It’s somber, introspective and tender at its core, while still managing to maintain a country swagger.

The variety of styles on the album help to offset its greatest weakness: it’s length. Clocking in at a mere 33 minutes, it seems like the album is over almost as soon as it starts. But as Bobby Womack once said, “Leave them wanting more and you know they’ll call you back.”

With 12 tracks of all-killer-no-filler, you’ll definitely find yourself calling Midnight At The Movies back quite a bit this year. I’ll probably be calling it up come time for my year-end best-of list, but for now I’ll just call it Essential Listening.

Strawfoot is “an angry preacher and a bunch of foul-mouthed heathens” from somewhere in St. Louis. The moment I heard the track “Damnation Way” from the Rodentia compilation I was excited almost to the point of being giddy to hear more music from them.  Within 5 minutes of hearing them for the first time I was downloading their complete album from Amazon MP3.

Often in times like these you find that your hopes are met by inconsistent music that never quite measure up to the song that got you there. By the time I had gotten to the third track, “Chasing Locusts,” I knew that “Damnation Way,” the tune that had introduced me to Strawfoot, wasn’t even their best.

I’ve described the goth-country band Those Poor Bastards with the following, “Imagine yourself camping out in some remote Appalachian holler when out of the woods walks Death himself. Now imagine him plopping his ass down at your campfire with his pal and bandmate, Desperation, and they break out in song. What do you think that would sound like? What’s that? You’re not sure but you’re kind of creeped out? Welcome to the gothic-country stylings of Those Poor Bastards.”

I think that if that impromptu concert were to require an opening act,  there are few more qualified to fill the slot than Strawfoot.

Since I’ve found these guys I’ve been pushing them on anyone within hearing distance like Cialis commercials during a football game. They are the first band of this young year that I’ve gotten truly excited about. It’s like they have a conduit that leads straight to my sonic G-spot. Check ‘em out and I’m sure you’ll find them to be Essential Listening as well.

So, if you wanna see what tickles Autopsy IV’s inner ear, head on over to ninebullets.net and check out some of Strawfoot’s mp3’s.