Those who've been reading the blog for a while know I'm a science fiction fan. Love Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate, X-Files and of course, all things Joss Whedon (the man is a genius.)

Oddly enough, I never watched Buffy, Angel or Firefly during their initial runs on TV. I bought Buffy Season 1 at Best Buy when it came out (it was a whim, I think I was attracted to Sarah Michelle Gellar), then ended up watching the bulk of the season one day when I was sick in bed with the flu. That pretty much did it and after that I bought every season of Buffy and Angel as they came out on DVD.

Now with Firefly, I did watch the "Pilot" (which wasn't really meant to be the Pilot) on Fox when it first aired. I remember being turned off in the first 15 minutes and not watching any subsequent episodes. Of course, by the time I was a few seasons into Buffy and Angel I was worshiping at the alter of Whedon, and decided to pick up all the Firefly episodes. At this point I also knew that Fox had aired the Firefly episodes out of order. On watching the true Pilot I realized that Whedon (once again) had created something new, beautiful and unique. After I watched the whole series (all 14 episodes) I was convinced that Firefly was one of the greatest shows to air, and saddened that it had been canceled without even a full season.

Unbelievably, Joss managed to get funding to film Serenity, a movie based on Firefly, which also ended up being one of my favorite sci-fi films of all time.

If you haven't seen the show I highly recommend picking up the box set, which can be found cheap at most online stores.

So it's safe to say I'm a Firefly/Serenity fan. This afternoon, I had the pleasure of seeing Jewel Staite, who played Kaylee Frye, one of the lead characters on Firefly, at the "Star Wars Fan Days II" convention in Plano Texas. She came to town for a 45 minute Q&A session, and was a total delight. With no pre-set spiel, Jewel just answered question after question for the whole session, and kept the audience in constant laughter.

Here's the first 15 minutes for your pleasure, with Jewel addressing a variety of topics, from her days on "Are You Afraid Of The Dark" to Nathan Fillion's prop stealing antics during the filming of Firefly and Serenity, to her thoughts on her StarGate SG1 character's choice in love interests. Enjoy!

Live MP3 MP3s:
Introduction
Hello
Gummy Strawberry
Are You Afraid Of The Dark
Next Project
Mechanic vs Doctor
Firefly Favorite Line
Kaylee Joss vs Jewel
Kaylee Character Dynamic
Keller Love Intrest Choice
If Jewel Was Keller
Firefly Favorite Episode
White Vines
Firefly Props Kept

Labels: audience mp3s, jewel staite, live mp3s, plano, spoken word, star wars fan days

Made the near hour drive out to Fort Worth last night to see the Cold War Kids at Lolas, and it was worth every minute of it. It was my first time out to Lolas and I think both the band and I were surprised at how small the venue was - guessing the max capacity was under 500.

Still it's a very cool little saloon - and has a seriously impressive sound system (and three bars - which might seem like overkills until you realize how difficult it is to move 8 feet in any direction due to sardine like effect of a sold out show.)

The band was fantastic, primarily focusing on their brand new record Loyalty to Loyalty that came out last month. I was expecting a more soulful rock show, but the live versions of the tracks were substantially louder and dramatically more rawk and roll then I would have guessed from listening to their records, the band brought to mind numerous bands that I really enjoy (Spoon, the Strokes - and oddly enough, hints of Led Zeppelin) while still maintaining their own unique identify.

I was fortunate enough to record the first four songs of the set, including the singles We Used to Vacation and Something Is Not Right With Me - and the tracks sound absolutely awesome. Though you can never compare to seeing a band that's turned up to 10 at a tiny little venue, the recording still gives a solid sense of how great this band is live.

Turn it up and enjoy!! If you didn't see them as they came around on this tour - be sure to catch them the next time they come through, and be sure to head over to their MySpace to check out some of the studio tracks from Loyalty to Loyalty.

Live MP3 MP3s:
Intro
Every Valley Is Not A Lake
We Used To Vacation
Mexican Dogs
Something Is Not Right With Me

Labels: fort worth, indie, live mp3s, lolas saloon, soundboard mp3s

Got a chance to see several cool little shows at the SXSW Free Yr Radio Broadcast Corner this year, including She & Him and Dave Monks of Tokyo Police Club playing a spur of the moment (and unexplained) acoustic gig.

Seeing Dave acoustic was a clear contrast to the almost dancey vibe of the full band Tokyo Police Club experience. Though the songs stood strong as acoustic tunes, it was interesting to note how much of texture the band brings to the songs, and at times I found myself singing along with the missing guitar parts.

All in all though that's what I love about SXSW, you never know what you're going to get, but it's going to be special. Check out my favorite track from the session, Tessellate, below.

The good people at the Current were also hanging out broadcasting the whole thing. So if you want more you can listen to the whole show over their site here.

If you'd like some more acoustic Tokyo Police Club check out their recent AOL Spinners session here.

Now as much as I enjoyed the acoustic session, I'm looking forward to seeing the full band opening for Weezer later this month, in support of their new record, Elephant Shell. Check out tracks at their MySpace.

Live MP3 MP3s:
Tessellate

Tour Dates:
Tue-Oct-07, Salt Lake City, UT, E Center
Thu-Oct-09, Portland OR, Memorial Coliseum
Fri-Oct-10, Vancouver, BC, GM Place
Sat-Oct-11, Seattle, WA, Key Arena
Mon-Oct-13, San Jose, CA, Events Center
Tue-Oct-14, Los Angeles, CA, The Forum
Fri-Oct-17, San Diego, CA, Cox Arena
Sat-Oct-18, Phoenix, AZ, Arizona State Fair
Mon-Oct-20, Austin, TX, Frank Erwin Center
Tue-Oct-21, Dallas, TX, Nokia Theater
Thu-Oct-23, Houston, TX, Reliant Arena
Sat-Oct-25, Atlanta, GA, Gwinnett Arena

Labels: austin, fr yr radio corner, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s, sxsw

So (occasionally) I manage to screw up a recording. Yes. It hurts to admit it, but it happens. You set the recording volumes at to high a level, and the recording clips clips clips.

Its probably happened a half dozen times to me. Sometimes you can't help it - the volumes coming across at a certain level, and its too loud. Other times you just manage to get a setting wrong and then you end up kicking yourself for ruining something beautiful.

A couple of years I had the pleasure of seeing Michael Runion and Whispertown in Houston. It was a crazy day in H-town. A massive storm had moved through earlier in the day - submerged vehicles, helicopter rescues, media madness.

We showed up to a show that had been officially canceled, hoping we could convince the bands to play a few songs. Thankfully they decided to play on for the 8 people that decided to show up.

Now I'd seen Whispertown play before, opening for Jenny Lewis in LA, but I don't think I'd ever heard any of Michael Runion's tracks. He opened the show, just him and an acoustic guitar and it was amazing. Unfortunately, when I got home I realized that the Whispertown recording came out perfect, but I'd completely misset the recording levels for Runion and ruined the majority of the show. I'm still kicking myself to this day. The good news is that two of the songs came out and you can check them out below.

After the show I picked up an EP, but on listening to it I realized that it was missing most of my favorite tracks from the show. Since then I've patiently waited for a record to drop. The good news, he recently dropped a new record called 'Our Time Will Come' produced by Jim Fairchild from Grandaddy and featuring a cast of his friends including Rilo Kiley, Jonathan Rice, The Like and Maroon 5.

I've had it on heavy rotation in my car for the last week and it doesn't disappoint. The record features all those songs I had been waiting for, including the singularly beautiful title track. Check it out below, then head over to his MySpace to check out more tracks - be sure to check out Soft Hands, another personal favorite.

Runion's also on tour right now, opening for the lovely Ms Jenny Lewis. Be sure to head out early and check him out.

Studio MP3 MP3s::
Michael Runion - Our Time Will Come

Live MP3 MP3s:
You & Me
Good For A Laugh

Tour Dates:
30th Sep - Variety Playhouse w/JENNY LEWIS, Atlanta, Georgia
1st Oct - Keswick Theatre w/JENNY LEWIS, Glenside, Pennsylvania
2nd Oct - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue w/JENNY LEWIS, Washington DC
3rd Oct - The Grand Opera House w/JENNY LEWIS, Wilmington, Delaware
5th Oct - Shubert Theater w/JENNY LEWIS, New Haven, Connecticut
8th Oct - Cake Shop, New York
9th Oct - The Ninth Ward (at Babeville), Buffalo, New York

Labels: houston, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s, studio mp3s, tour dates

To quote Adam Duritz from A Long December, "now the days go by so fast."I can't believe its been over 5 years since I saw the Counting Crows (or more accurately Adam and friends) at their secret show at the Shim Sham Club in New Orleans during Jazz Fest.

I can't believe I've been a Crows fan since 1994, since I saw them in the front row at a tiny little club on their first national tour supporting August and Everything After - it was the tour they booked before they realized that Mr Jones was going to blow up all over the radio/MTV, etc. It was amazing and I was hooked forever.

I've seen them more times than I can remember, wandering around the country over the years to see them play shows, on pretty much every tour they've ever had. They've even used one of my photos in one of their CDs. Yes. I love the Crows.

So when they went missing for a few years after their Hard Candy album and subsequent tours, it was with patience that I waited for the band to either pull it back together, or at least for Adam to put out a solo record. The wait was worth it.

The band went out on tour a couple of years ago with John Mayer, then followed it up with the excellent "Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings", a record that evoked a little bit of every era of the Crows.. the singer-songwriter sway of August and Everything After, quite a bit of rock of Recovering the Satellites, a smatter of the studio-production-experimentation of This Desert Life with a dash of pop from Hard Candy.

And as much as I like the records, the live experience is even better. The band never overplays the "new" record, drawing from all albums and always playing crowd favorites. To top it off, they always experiment with the tracks, bringing out something a little different then what was recorded. I remember the first time I saw them I was frustrated that I couldn't sing along to the tracks I knew so well, but after a while the Crows taught me to appreciate bands who brought something different to the live experience. After all, if I just wanted to hear the record, I could pop it into my CD player.

Seeing them with Maroon 5 this last weekend was no different. The band shut the night down and it was pretty much a perfect night for an outdoor show, cool and breezy - something that Dallas doesn't give us that often in the summer.

The band seemed to be in sync with the evening, opting to focus on a more acoustic, pretty set. They played for over an hour - with 2-3 songs from every record, including the singles that everyone in the amphitheater wanted to hear. It was a great way to see one of my favorite bands, with my favorite person, and be reminded of some great times from the last decade and a half. I could tell that about 15k other people felt the same way.

And to complete the concert experience (like you needed more), after you see them you can even buy the show from livecountingcrows.com . The band's posting every show within a few weeks, and you can download them in whatever format you like, lossless or MP3. The band was good enough to let me tape the first few tracks of the set. If you like what you hear - head over to live counting crows and buy the whole set when its released, or one of the shows from earlier in the tour.

If you've never seen the band, take a friend, your girl, your guy, anyone and check them out the next time they come to your town. They're continuing to wander across America for the next month or so, then heading over to the UK for some shows with Ben Folds.

Oh, and get familiar with the records - it's so much better when you can sing along.

Live MP3 MP3s:
Le Ballet d'Or
Omaha
Richard Manuel is Dead

Labels: concerts, dallas, live mp3s, major, soundboard mp3s, starplex, tour dates

So my bad luck is your good fortune!

Unfortunately I have a prior commitment and can't make it out to Matt Keating show at the Fairmont in Fort Worth this coming Monday (Sept 8th).

The good news is that I'm giving away my tickets to whoever would like them!

First person to email me will have two tickets waiting for them at Will Call! Second person to email me gets a free copy of Matt's new double CD, Quixotic. You can find my email over on the right side of the page, under About Lullabyes or use admin at lullabyes dot net.

I picked Quixotic up about a month ago - its packed full of poppy goodness, in the vein of Elvis Costello. Check out some videos below.

Good luck!
Matt Keating - Runaway Clown (live)


Matt Keating - Saint Cloud


Tour Dates:
September 7 - Hi-Tone Cafe - Memphis, TN
September 8 - The Fairmount - Fort Worth, TX

September 9- Scoot Inn- Austin TX
September 10 - Dan Electro's Guitar Bar - Houston, TX
September 11 - White Water Tavern - Little Rock, AR
September 12- Wonder Root- Atlanta GA
September 13- Common Grounds- Lexington KY
September 14- The Milestone- Charlotte NC
September 15- The Cave- Chapel Hill NC
September 19- NYC Housing Works Benefit- New York NY
September 21 - The Elevens - Northampton, MA
September 22- Hi-Fi Concert Club- Lakewood OH
September 24- The Frequency- Madison WI
September 25- Reggies- Chicago IL
September 26- 400 Bar- Minneapolis MN
September 27 - Sam¹s Saloon - Indianapolis, IN
September 28- Club Café- Pittsburgh PA
October 10 - Java Cabana - Memphis, TN
October 11- House Concert- Little Rock AR
October 23 - CMJ - New York, NY
November 2 - Zuzu's - Beacon, NY
December 6 - Mocha Maya's - Shelburne Falls, MA

Labels: fort worth, free concert tickets, tour dates

Shy Child -




The Faint