Just got a release announcing that The Hold Steady will return to the Bay area, this time playing a special, last minute show at Jannus Landing on Thursday, June 4. This one’s on Jim Beam’s tab, which means that the show is FREE. You hear that folks — a FREE Hold Steady show! Not a huge fan myself, but they’ve got alot of loyal fans here because of that “Killer Parties” song with the infamous lyrics, “If she says we partied then I’m pretty sure we partied / I really don’t remember / I remember we departed from our bodies / We woke up in Ybor City.” Tickets are very limited (it’s a free show after all), and are available to ages 21 and up only; sign up for the drawing to get in here.

IN CASE YOU MISSED THE UPDATES: The show at Jannus Landing was postponed, the date moved out to July 2 and the band will now be playing at The Ritz in Ybor City. Tickets that’ve been reserved/printed out/whatever the damn promo included will be honored.

A selection of CDs, EPs, LPs, Digital Releases, DVDs and Box Sets that dropped today.

Arcade Fire, Miroir Noir DVD (Merge)
The Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, When Sweet Sleep Returned (Tee Pee)
Bat for Lashes, Two Suns (Astralwerks)
Black Dice, Repo (Paw Tracks)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Vs. Children (Tomlab)
Crystal Antlers, Tentacles (Touch & Go)
Del the Funky Homosapien, Funk Man: The Stimulus Package (digital self-release)
Doves, Kingdom of Rust (Astralwerks)
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, A Stranger Here (Anti-)
Erasure, Total Pop! (Rhino) [box set]
The Felice Brothers, Yonder Is the Clock (Team Love)
Gliss, Devotion Implosion (Ryko / Cordless)
Grails, Acid Rain DVD (Temporary Residence Ltd.)
Grateful Dead, To Terrapin: Hartford ‘77 (Rhino)
The Hold Steady, A Positive Rage (Vagrant) [live CD/DVD]
It Hugs Back, Inside Your Guitar (4AD)
Jadakiss, The Last Kiss (Ruff Riders / Roc-A-Fella / Def Jam)
Jimmy Eat World, Clarity Live (self-released)
Junior Boys, Begone Dull Care (Domino)
Lady Sovereign, Jigsaw (Midget Records)
Mobb Deep, The Safe is Cracked (Siccness)
Bob Mould, Life and Times (Anti-)
Pele, A Scuttled Bender In a Watery Closet (Polyvinyl)
Pontiak, Maker (Thrill Jockey)
Qemists, Join the Q (Ninja Tune)
Rascal Flatts, Unstoppable (Lyric Street)
Sharam, Get Wild (Ultra)
Storsveit Nix Noltes, Royal Family-Divorce (FatCat)
Superchunk, Leaves in the Gutter EP (Merge)
Richard Swift, The Atlantic Ocean (Secretly Canadian)
The Thermals, Now We Can See (Kill Rock Stars)
Various Artists, SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers (Merge)
The Veils, Sun Gangs (Rough Trade)
James Taylor, Other Covers (Hear Music)
Vienna Teng, Inland Territory (Rounder)
Neil Young, Fork in the Road (Warner Bros.) [CD/DVD]
The Whitest Boy Alive, Rules (Bubbles Music)

In 2008, I tried to take pictures at almost every show I attended. It’s a daunting task. Sometimes the lighting sucks, you may get stuck far from the stage or some venues may not let you bring a camera in at all. But when all goes right, you can go home with some swell shots of the bands.

These are my photo highlights of the year. Click on any image to view as full size.

(For my favorite albums of 2008, just click here)

Neptune 3/19/08 @ New World Brewery

Tailgunner Joe & the Earls of Slander 5/24/08 @ The State Theatre

Vampire Weekend 6/07/08 @ Firestone (Orlando, FL)

Apes & Androids 3/29/08 @ The Cuban Club

The Hold Steady 1/19/08 @ Czar

No Age 12/6/08 @ Czar

Les Savy Fav 12/6/08 @ Czar

Wussy 9/27/08 @ Midpoint Music Festival (Cincinnati, OH)

Bonus Pic: Me photographing Wussy (photographer unknown)

Dumbwaiters 11/22/08 @ New World Brewery

Kingsbury 11/22/08 @ New World Brewery

]]> http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/tampacalling/2008/12/23/gabes-concert-photo-highlights-of-2008/feed/ 6 http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/tampacalling/2008/12/19/tatangelos-top-10-albums-of-2008/ http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/tampacalling/2008/12/19/tatangelos-top-10-albums-of-2008/#comments Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:27:55 +0000 Wade Tatangelo http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/tampacalling/?p=3365 From Lucinda Williams to Lil Wayne to My Morning Jacket to Jamey Johnson.]]>

OK, here’s my list. Stay tuned for Top 10s by Snider and Leilani.

1. Lucinda Williams: Little Honey (Lost Highway)
On Little Honey, alt-country queen Lucinda Williams returns to the more focused, rock-oriented sonics of her breakthrough 1998 album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. In doing so, she reveals a newfound sexual confidence (”Honey Bee”) and celebrates domestic bliss (”Tears of Joy”). The singer/songwriter also manages to mine pathos for humor on the superb Elvis Costello duet “Jailhouse Tears.” Williams can still break your heart, though. “Little Rock Star” plays like a much-needed note to Amy Winehouse, penned by a sympathetic female singer who has already survived the perilous, do “whatever it’ll take to get them to listen” phase. Williams closes Little Honey with a fun treat: A surprisingly awesome swamp-rock cover of the AC/DC road warrior anthem “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna to Rock ‘n Roll).”

2. Lil Wayne: Tha Carter III (Cash Money)
Lil Wayne’s stoned, whisper-y flow and high-drama delivery is spellbinding. The dude opens his mouth, and you listen, hanging on each dazzlingly whack rhyme. On Tha Carter III, Weezy’s scattered-brain brilliance is in top form – as is the big budget production that dutifully follows Weezy’s serpentine flow like a hypnotized lover. The New Orleans native’s boasts, observations and musings are weirdly striking at nearly every turn (”I’m a young millionaire, tougher than Nigerian hair.”) Wayne still bulks at straight story telling, but to fault him for this would be like dissing Dali or Picasso for rebuking realism.

3. My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges (ATO)
Genre-hopping indeed rock outfit My Morning Jacket’s juiciest disc to date features a smattering of styles, all of which are rendered outstandingly natural by the Louisville band. There are moments of extreme sadness (”Librarian”) and utmost silliness (”Highly Suspicious.”) Leader Jim James’ versatile voice convincingly sells everything from guitar-blazing, kick drum-intensive arena rock (”Aluminum Park”) to somber country-pop (”Sec Walkin.) Unlike other ultra eclectic offerings, Evil Urges never comes across as show-y. You just get the sense that My Morning Jacket is doing what they love. And doing it damn well.

4. Robyn: Robyn (Konichiwa/Cherry Tree/Interscope)
This year former Swedish pop tart Robyn finally witnessed the U.S. release of her 2005 self-titled disc. Britney and the rest of our countrys’ brain-dead blowup dolls blew Robyn away in terms of sales, but the woman born Robin Miriam Carlsson in 1979 proved the most compelling of the bunch. By far. Over thick disco beats, jittery high hat, deep space bleeps and icy strings, Robyn subverts pop platitudes. She exudes sexiness, smarts, poise and vulnerability in a way rarely seen in a world where hottnes is defined by Paris Hilton.

5. Bob Dylan: Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 (Columbia)
The magnitude of Dylan’s late-career resurgence is brought into sharp focus here with a collection of “rare and unreleased” tracks recorded between 1989 and 2006. The two-disc set is a dud-free treasure chest featuring previously unreleased gems like the Time Out of My Mind outtake “Red River Shore” (an epic folk tale with spiritual overtones), the unreleased 2005 lament “Can’t Escape From You” and the superior Oh Mercy session version of “God Knows.” Another testament to Dylan’s genius is hearing drastically different “alternate takes” that are every bit as fascinating as the ones that made the final cut. Sequenced judicially, Tell Tale Signs plays like a stellar double-album by popular music’s most vital elder statesman.

6. Gnarls Barkley: The Odd Couple (Downtown/Atlantic)
Gnarls Barkley blew people’s minds with their 2006 debut St. Elsewhere. Its synthesis of producer Danger Mouse’s R&B-rap-future funk-fusion and Cee-Lo’s confessional vocals were unlike anything on the market. The duo’s follow-up, The Odd Couple, lacks a chart-shattering single like “Crazy.” But on balance, the new album is every bit as absorbing as its predecessor. With Danger Mouse’s spooky production egging him on, Cee-Lo continues to explore his fragile psyche and emotional well being, making for a mesmerizing foray into what we’ll call nocturnal soul.

7. The Hold Steady: Stay Positive (Vagrant)
The Hold Steady’s booze-y brand of classic rock for the indie set gets expanded, and frontman Craig Finn’s mouthful vocals become clearer, on Stay Positive, the Brooklyn band’s latest collection of gutter reports and tales of sing along song redemption. It’s a more polished Hold Steady. But a band this splendidly raw benefits from professional touches like pushing the vocals and occasional guitar solo up in the mix. And on “Joke About Jamaica,” we’re treated to the revival of the talk box. Ironic bullshit? Not to my ears.

8. Sonny Landreth: From the Reach (Landfall Records)
For nearly two decades, Sonny Landreth has been one of the most respected guitarists on the planet. But the Louisiana-based artist is also a capable singer/songwriter, and on From the Reach the slide guitar virtuoso shows he’s capable of a studio album that does more than frame his axe achievements. A cohesive blend of bayou rock, blues, jazz and touches of prog (”The Milky way Home’), the disc is a gripping showcase of excellent musicianship and emotive songs. Famous friends Jimmy Buffett, Eric Clapton, Robben Ford, Dr. John, Eric Johnson, and Mark Knopfler all make guest appearances – but no one outshines Landreth, who is at the top of his game here as a triple threat entertainer.

9. Metallica: Death Magnetic (Warner Bros.)
Rick Rubin miraculously returned Metallica to its thrash glory this year, which means the best metal act of the 1980s again reigns supreme. Metallica’s trademark recipe of whiplash-inducing riffs, slippery machine gun rhythms, and burly vocals about the innate horrors of the human existence results in a timeless mode of escapism. Especially for the male species. Glad to have ya back, fellas.

10. Jamey Johnson: That Lonesome Song (Mercury)
With a mighty pen and a gruff, expressive voice that straddles the line between George Jones and Waylon Jennings, singer/songwriter Jamey Johnson has become a key player in the latest movement to return Music City from Rascal Flatts fluff to the mature, sad country songs popularized by the so-called Nashville “outlaws” of the 1970s – most famously, Willie & Waylon. Johnson isn’t afraid to show his manly emotions on songs like the poignant, cocaine cautionary tale “High Cost of Low Living” or while singing about his WWII vet granddaddy (without getting sappy) on “In Color.” And on “Women,” Johnson has a hoot poking a little fun at the fairer sex. It’s country. The way it should be. Johnson performs tonight at Dallas Bull in Tampa.

• Top 20 songs of 2008.

• Honorable mentions: more best songs of 2008.