Tampa Calling

After repeatedly hearing this new disc hyped by The Mars Volta leader Omar Rodriguez-Lopez in recent interviews as their “acoustic record,” TMV fans might be a bit surprised when they finally get to hear Octahedron.

Acoustic guitars highlight only a couple of the tracks on the new album, primarily the single “Since We’ve Been Wrong,” the over-7-minute “With Twilight as My Guide,” and “Copernicus.” The rest of the songs feature as much of the bombastic guitar and keyboard-driven rock as their fans are used to.

A special five-on-the-floor shout-out goes to track 2, “Teflon,” where vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala wails, “Let the wheels burn/ Let the wheels burn/ Stack the tires to the neck/ With the body inside.”

What strikes me as particularly “acoustic” about Octahedron is the lack of dense, arpeggiated guitar overdubs that typically define the Volta’s sound. In fact, the only guitar “solo” is placed at the end of “Luciforms,” the last song on the record.

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“I got to play with Bruce. That’s my hero.”

Trey Anastasio said that. After Phish jammed with Springsteen at Bonnaroo. The unlikely pairing joined forces for the R&B classic “Mustang Sally” as well as Springsteen’s “Glory Days” and “Bobby Jean.”

Added Phish bassist Mike Gordon, after witnessing Springsteen’s three-hour set at the festival, his first time: “It’s great to know that it’s not all hype or anything, there’s such a solid musician and songsmith standing there, and then to be so nice and such a gentleman at the same time.

Read a more detailed account.

Check out CL’s main music site.

Improvisational collective Legatto Staccato has released an exclusive new track entitled “Lemonjello’s Birthday” recorded sometime last year at the International Academy of Design and Technology in Tampa.

This recording is an excerpt from a half-hour session the band recorded using drums, bass, guitar, saxophone, percussion and various analog sound effects (including assorted balloons and toys). No word yet on whether the entire session will be released, but it’s likely. No word yet if this means more performances from the group, but keep checking their site and this blog for updates.

Leg Stac on MySpace

Legatto Staccato – Bounce.mp3

All photos by Phil Bardi.

I’ve had a long time to muse over the Phish reunion shows, to listen to the live downloads over and over again, to read the reviews and see the pictures and laugh at the outrageous (and in some cases, sad and amazing) stories on the message boards, and to plan out all the ways I can scrimp and save so I can hit some more shows on the second leg of their summer tour in addition to the three (or four, or maybe five) I’ll be hitting up on the first leg.

I had my soul cleansed in Hampton and now I’m ready and hungry for more.

But before I can set my sights on the shows that are to come, I thought I’d share some pics and other odds and ends from the Hampton shows — my observations a few weeks later, having stewed on things a bit.

It was my first time in Hampton, Va. I was underwhelmed by the town itself, though it held a certain charm I equated with its place in Phishtory. We had a prime spot at the Ramada Inn, likely the cheapest and closest hotel to the venue. In fact, our main room (we had two split between a party of four) afforded us a perfect view of the Hampton Coliseum. Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend, I am practicing restraint and missing not one but two awesome Florida festivals in favor of plunging my backed-up toilet of duties. Three if you count RibFest — but despite the fact that I could walk to it from my house, the lineup is so unappealing I can’t even manage to drum-up excitement over all that mouth-watering barbeque all in one place. But I digress.

Tonight marks the start of the Anti-Pop Music Festival in downtown Orlando, a four-day celebration of alternative indie music. This evening’s schedule is ripe with the possibility of greatness. Singer/songwriter/former Soul Coughing force-of-nature Mike Doughty and Cali singer/songwriter Matt Costa headline a show at Plaza Theatre, goodtime tongue-in-cheek rockers Black Lips perform over at The Social, and sweet-voiced acousti-folkman Jay Brannan makes tender melodies at the Gibson Showroom. Other weekend highlights that haven’t or aren’t already making stops in Tampa include Los Angeles rap artist Murs, Brooklyn electro-pop all-girrl threesome Au Revoir Simone (pictured, photo by Imma Varandela), and Mississippi bluesman Ben Prestage. Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters frontman Mark Kozelek plays a solo set as well.

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