You Know You've Made It When...

Remember when I tipped you back off to The National WAY back in 2005 (if not go here)? Well they have officially made it big. You know how I know? No, its not the Barrack Obama ad posted using Fake Empire (watch it here if you're into that sort of thing). Frankly I think its a total misuse of the song and not something you should be associated with a Presidential campaign. It reminds me a bit of Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. and Reagan' s misuse of the song in the 80's. Anyway, that is not why I think The National have made it big.

This is why. Check out this photo I took at the duty free music store at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv yesterday:

Given the stores limited selection it was impressive. And no Mrs. Hops they didn't have a single Nine Inch Nails albumin the store... I checked. Though my co-worker did remember them coming to Tel Aviv on tour as it was a big deal. They only get about 5 decent concerts a year in Israel. I actually passed on the Deep Purple show at Hanger 11 while I was there. Apparently Israeli's will stay pay near $100 to see a group that had two hits 20 years ago.

That said I did see my second ever concert in Israel: Aerosmith in Tel Aviv way back in 1994. I even bought a concert t-shirt featuring the pierced cow udder. It was probably one of the worst concert purchases of my life. I'm pretty sure that shirt still exists some where in my parents' house - oddly enough Big Mama Hops wears it around the house when no one is around. I can pretty much guarantee she doesn't know one Aerosmith song so I dont know what the appeal could possibly be.

I take full credit

After a long break from this site due to some holiday and business travel I am happy to let you know that major media publications are starting to see eye-to-eye with Hops. My favorite music magazine, Paste, just declared The National as the Best Record of 2007. Sure they're a bit late to the party but its really exciting to see this band get the kudos they deserve. Fantastic news.

Concert Etiquette

So many factors can impact your concert experience. The primary components -- your pre-concert mood, the venue, what you have going on the next day and of course THE BAND usually are what they are. Sure, you can try to get yourself pumped up for the show or forget about work the next day but for the most part there is only so much you can do to influence the concert. Some people choose to be "on a good mixture" as The National once said or go with a cool group of people to make the show better. My strategy is simple - when attending a general admission show I usually go with Mrs. Hops and we get there very early in order to snag a spot that will work for our short stature.

All that said there is one other thing that has a major impact on a concert - the crowd. A great crowd that is supporting the band can really elevate a show to another level. It is why bands love to play cities where they know they'll be supported well and always step up their game for those events. This is exactly why nothing pisses me off more than annoying people at concerts. You know the people - they can really ruin the show for everyone near them (and sometimes far from them).

Here are a few things I wish people would never do at a concert:

1) Make out - sure you can sneak a kiss or cuddle during a romantic moment but I don't want to have to watch two ugly people grope each other next to me. I remember a great My Morning Jacket show where this gross couple made out for the first 30 minutes of the set and didn't watch a thing. Of course they were standing RIGHT in front of me on the balcony. Luckily the girl had to leave to go puke in the toilet rescuing my night and ruining her dates. Ha ha.

2) Text - maybe one text per show or a text during the openers to let your friends know where you are but this annoys me during the show. First of all its disrespectful to the artist. Second, the light from your phone is very distracting. Third, its hard to get really into the band when the people next to you aren't paying attention.

3) Try and Steal My Spot - these people are at fault on multiple accounts. First there are those who come late and try to run up to the front right when the show starts. If you want a good spot get there early. Otherwise, don't try and steal one from the people who worked hard to earn it. Second, when I go to the bathroom or the bar don't try to squeeze into my space. You know I'm coming back and we'll all be much happier with a bit of space to dance. I hate having to make myself "big" when Mrs. Hops goes to the bathroom so some jerk doesn't try and steal it. Finally, I hate the nudgers. You know those people who are pushing you constantly trying to gain an inch in a non-existent turf war. We're all trying to see the band, please stop making everyone worry more about their territory than the music. I once had a girl slowly take her hand and grab the rail in front of me. This somehow signaled that she had a spot in the front row because she could reach out and grab the rail. Who can't see over me? I'm 5 foot 6...and Mrs. Hops is 5 foot flat. People should flock to our section just so they can stand behind us.

4) Yell stuff at the band - They're the center of attention not you. Why can't you just accept that?

5) Talk - Ah...this kills me. If you don't want to be there then go home! Stop chatting during those moments when the band is trying to play a quiet song...and stop yelling to shout over the loud ones. Talkers, I hate you. So does Jeff Tweedy:

Mistaken for Strangers

As those of you know I've been hyping up one of my favorite bands, The National, for a while. Well the world seems to be catching up and they are currently a "buzz" band in the main stream media as well as the blogosphere. Their new album, Boxer, is absolutely fantastic. I'm still digesting it, as their albums are a bit more dense lyrically than most. But I am really enjoying it. One of my favorite tracks on the album actually has a video. The National with a proper video, who would have guessed it? Check out "Mistaken for Strangers":




I recently got to see them again open for Arcade Fire. I was really nervous that they would be met with an empty auditorium who would not be into them. I was totally wrong. There was a decent crowd present and the completely won people over. A few of us were fans too, as I heard several requests shouted out.

I'll be seeing them at the 9:30 club in June (i have an extra ticket if you're interested).

Concert Review: The National @ The Black Cat 10-26-06

Last night I got to see The National at the Black Cat for the second time in a year. They opened their March leg of their tour in DC as well a few months after releasing Alligator. My initial worry was that the band’s songs, so personal and emotional, would lose a bit of their punch after months of touring. I was totally wrong. They had incredible energy, and singer Matt Berninger was clearly in the proper headspace as he sang, and screamed, at the top of his lungs with his eyes closed; grasping the microphone for dear life while staggering around the stage. After one song, “Abel”, I think he was actually shaking when he was done.

One possible reason for the great energy (besides just the fact they are fantastic live band) might be that the band hadn’t played in several weeks and this appears to be the last show they will play before their new album comes out early next year. They played a few new songs (and resisted the urge to announce they were new to the crowd). All appeared to be a bit tamer compared to the Alligator material, but that could just be because they were more careful playing them and haven’t really figured out their ins-and-outs yet. I liked several of them instantly. Another great motivator for the band must have been the crowd. When Mrs. Hops and I saw them in March I wrote in my All You Need Is Hops review “It’s so nice to see a small band in a small club giving it everything they have. You know they aren't huge rock stars who don't understand how lucky they are to have an audience.” Well this time around the crowd was WAY more into the show where last time we felt only a few people were really rocking out. They played a lot of the songs off of Alligator and the crowd really responded and you could even hear them sing along on several occasions. In between each song they were getting a dozens of song requests from the crowd. Quite a jump in popularity since they last time they played the Black Cat. Highlights of the show included a great version of “Wasp’s Nest”(affectionately referred to as “the jingle bell song” by the girl next to me) which morphed into a rocking “Murder Me Rachael”, “Abel”, “All the Wine”, “Mr. November” and of course “Secret Meeting”. Frankly, the entire show was awesome, big thumbs up! Everyone should go see them when they stop by your city.

As for the openers the night got off to a decent start with a band call The Devastations from Australia. As far as openers go they were enjoyable. When they decided to rock out I definitely dug their sound. I was less interested in some of their slower songs. Either way its tough playing a fairly empty room two hours before the headliner gets on (The National didn’t get on until 11:15 … I’m old). A bit hit and miss, but they have some potential.

The middle band was a DC based outfit called Nethers. I really enjoyed their set. They feature four members, including a female lead singer. I appreciate the fact they didn’t really fall into any rock clichés at all and had their own sound, which was still accessible. Their songs had structure but they still jammed them out creating a sometimes dissonant atmospheric sound (that is supposed to be a compliment). I would have even bought a CD after the show but I was 12:45 and I needed to get home. Luckily you can buy their album via iTunes and on their website. You can also stream the album for free which I recommend doing. I listened once before the show but I really appreciate it more now – I sign of a good live band. In fact, I’m listening right now.

Concert Review Roundup

Well Mrs. Hops and I completed ourmarathon 2 week tour seeing 3 shows. Well, its a marathon for old folks like us who have to wake up and go to work after these bad boys. We really got to see the three corners of rock:
Coldplay - massive band in a massive venue with a massive amount of annoying people at the show. It was still awesome
Nine Inch Nails - angry freaks joined together to destroy the House of Blues in Atlantic City. You know how Mrs. Hops felt about the show, it was pretty outstanding
The National - We finished our trio off with The National last night at the Black Cat in DC. The show was the cool indie band where people show up just to be listening to the band of the moment. And the band knows it. Here is their lyric from Lit Up:
And everything surrounds you, and it doesn't fade Nothing like this sound I make That only lasts the season A and only heard by bedroom kids who buy for that reason

I have to say they were AWESOME. Had such a good time. Its so nice to see a small band in a small club giving it everything they have. You know they aren't huge rock stars who don't understand how lucky they are to have an audience. Rock stars don't write lyrics like this opening line from Baby We'll Be Fine:
All night I lay on my pillow and pray For my boss to stop me in the hallway Lay my head on his shoulder and say Son, I've been hearing good things

I highly recommend this band.

All in all 3 shows, all were amazing. Not much more you can ask for than that. I really live a good life.

Top 5 of 2005

I mentioned my favorite albums of 2005 list, but I forgot to post it on here. So here it goes:

The Top 5 of 2005
1) Z by My Morning Jacket
2) Alligator by The National
3) Silent Alarm by Bloc Party
4) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (self-titled)
5) Apologies to the Queen Mary by Wolf Parade

Honorable Mention Goes To:
Give Up by The Postal Service - not in the Top 5 because it wasn't actually released in 2005
Kicking Television by Wilco - awesome album but it's tough to put on here over original material
Chaos and Creation in the Backyard by Paul McCartney - because its pretty suprising I'd really enjoy a new Paul McCartney album