Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
More than 50,000 people were there to see it, but I think it’s still worth sharing that U2 would dedicate “Walk On” to Aung San Suu Kyi at the Big A. No one loves the camera more than Bono–who is equally comfortable on stadium Jumbotrons or Oprah’s couch–but I think it’s rad that he isn’t afraid to use the big stage as a soapbox. On Saturday night, he used the democratically elected, unjustly jailed, and somewhat recently released leader of Burma as an example how involvement with an organization like Amnesty International can make a difference. But it wasn’t all politics. There’s more beer-drinking than activism going on at U2 shows, and this one had two and a half-hours of old and new hits. It’s crazy how some of the younger fans seemed to know all the words to “Beautiful Day” (introduced by astronaut Mark Kelly to his recovering wife, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords) but not “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (which was dedicated to Quincy Jones). U2 has churned out a crazy and constant amount of hits while most of their Band-Aid peers have become trivia question answers, and despite all the names that were dropped (Tom Brady, Gisele, and other ONE supporters) the nearly two-and-a-half-hour show was clearly focused on the four guys onstage, their music, and their progressive, positive message. There might have been a little downtime when the Claw lowered, you couldn’t even see the band, and the drum machines warmed up, but U2 is unstoppable even in the biggest of venues. Critics and cynics will point to the band’s massive profits but I can’t think of another band that has elevated its ideals at the same time as its business model. From garage band to stadium band, from “I Will Follow” to “We will make giving a shit and getting involved cool” on individual, corporate, and national levels. And then end the encore with a tribute to fallen E Street Band sax player and friend Clarence Clemons to make it personal again. The funny thing is I never cared for U2 much back in high school when War came out or even college when The Joshua Tree took over. I was (and still am) more of a fan of The Clash. I am convinced that the band from Ireland was (and never will be) as cool as Joe, Mick, and Paul, but I have to admit that they still manage to matter.
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Following the sudden exit of singer Dean Wareham from “slowcore” pioneers Galaxie 500 in 1991, Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang went on to craft their own genre of sad and smart psychedelic folk. Going into their second decade as a duo, Damon and Naomi have released False Beats & True Hearts, the eighth and (somewhat) happiest album yet. Contributions come from many familiar names, including avant sax player and arranger Bhob Rainey, Ghost and Boris guitar god Michio Kurihara, and Ghost’s main man Masaki Buto, and the accompanying tour featured guest musicians in every city. I had the pleasure of spending some time with my old friends before and after their L.A. stop at The Satellite with Amor de Dias, and couldn’t let Naomi go without a quick Q&A. MW: The new album is great! Now that reviews are pouring in, do you feel like listeners hear it the same way you did when you recorded it? NY: What has been very gratifying is that the reviewers do really seem to have heard what we were trying to do. This time we were consciously trying to write a more upbeat album than the last one and the response has been really positive; we can’t complain that we are misunderstood! MW: Although you are a duo by definition, you’re always playing with friends. Some regulars (Kuri, Bhob…) and a few less frequent (Alasdair, Smokey…). Can you talk about the always-changing dynamics? NY: We love a good collaboration. Working with Kuri and Bhob over a long period of time has allowed us all to grow into the music together and so playing with them feels very natural, but this last tour, due to the fact that Kuri couldn’t play with us in the U.S., we had the opportunity to have more spontaneous collaborations. We were excited about all the players: Alasdair MacLean (Amor de Dias, The Clientele), Mac McCaughan (Superchunk, Portastatic), Wayne Rogers (Major Stars, Magic Hour), Smokey Hormel (Johnny Cash, Beck, Tom Waits…), and Chris Martin (Kinski) along the way. Mary Lattimore (Kurt Vile, Thurston Moore) also sat in with us one night on harp. It’s a very different experience but also really fun to hear everyone’s interpretations of the songs. MW: You’re not known for playing covers, but… Every time I hear “It Changes” or “Lila’s Theme,” I can’t help think of D&N. Not sure why. What do you think? NY: Wow, those songs are super-sad… I think a lot of our music is very emotional, and the loss/the passage of time is often in the lyrics, either explicitly or indirectly. Those aren’t the typical subject for pop songs but it is something that we find in a lot of music that listen to that moves us, and song seems like a very good way to express these sort of emotions… But actually, we have always played a lot of covers, going even back to the olden days of Galaxie 500. It has always been a way for us to...
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Yes, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is newer and the Scripps Aquarium in La Jolla is fancier. Monterey Bay is justifiably famous. But the Cabrillo Aquarium is the most punk rock, and not just because it’s in ‘Pedro, home of the Minutemen. Although the structure was designed by Frank Gehry, it has a blue-collar feel with chain-link fence, exposed wood, and steel framing the humble collection of modest-sized tanks. The aquarium’s collection focuses on local sea life of all kinds and artifacts, and ranges from baby sharks to whale bones, but I am always drawn to the drifters. So ghostly and soothing. Although I was bummed for the visitors trying to take pictures with flash, I stopped short of giving suggestions. My bad. One exhibit allowed visitors to turn on black lights to create an extraterrestrial effect on some smaller jellyfish. Eloise and her best friend/cousin Lucia liked this part so much we had to try it out a second time. In the nursery, you could see baby jellyfish lit up with normal light. This was informative but disillusioning. They seemed less supernatural and more like a cold plate of appetizers at a Chinese restaurant. Also interesting is the taxidermy, which not only sits in glass display cases but swoops from the ceiling. It’s from the old world and creepy but cool. Luckily, my daughter and niece are too young to be freaked out by it. The suggested admission is just 5 bucks for adults and 1 dollar for kids. That’s a pretty cheap day trip and, to sweeten the deal, tide pools are short walk away. A tide chart is conveniently posted at www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org. Lucia and Eloise found heart-shaped rocks! Maybe you will, too, but don’t take them home because the area is a nature preserve…
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Rick Nielsen, Eddie Van Halen, Prince–Michio Kurihara too has a custom guitar pick. You might recall seeing them packaged as a bonus with his excellent Sunset Notes CD when he toured with Boris and Damon & Naomi way back when. These days he’s selling them to benefit safe energy in Japan. Too bad the shredder’s paperwork got stolen in the U.K.and he was stopped at the border coming over to the U.S. with D&N, but he sent picks along with the acid folk duo with the hopes of raising some money nonetheless. Look for them at D&N’s merch table as well as at his future gigs with everyone’s favorite psychedelic ambient doom rockers. More on Damon & Naomi to come…
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I first met Raghunath Cappo in 2002. A couple of hours before he played Chain Reaction, we sat on parking blocks in the parking lot and talked about his evolution from fronting the hardcore band Youth of Today to becoming a monk at an ashram in India to forming Shelter, which combined youth crew energy with Krishna consciousness. His energetic, outspoken demeanor onstage is unchanged off it, and his unflinching honesty and true excitement make him a very likable guy. We not only kept in touch afterward, but I asked him to contribute articles about everything from attending Muay Thai camps in Thailand to sharing raw food recipes. Sometimes we’d meet at Govinda’s for lunch just to catch up, and often I just ran into him there. I haven’t seen Raghu since he moved to New York to become a full-time yogi, so I couldn’t miss yesterday’s Youth of Today show at the Glass House. It was the band’s first L.A. show since 1989. First up was Outspoken. The well-respected Orange County band from the early ’90s is bolstered with many new members, including a young singer who probably talked too much about listening to the band when he was in high school and it being his second show. Even so, everything was fine when the music started. I was super psyched to hear “Survival,” the first of a few anti-meat songs to be played in the evening… Mouthpiece was next and was way more aggressive. A super burly and fun set that got the pit going, culminating in “Can We Win.” They’re from New Jersey but paid tribute to the local straight edge scene by busting out Chain of Strength’s “True Til Death” with singer Curt Canales (not above) for a bonus song. Finally, Youth of Today. I love it when Raghu sings for Shelter but YOT is a totally different animal with less melody and way fewer hooks. It’s straight-up riffs, shouts, and singalongs, and Raghu’s fresh diet and regimen of yoga means that he can still jump around with the best of them–not to mention throw in a handstand. The set had everything fans wanted to hear (“Positive Outlook,” “Make a Change,” “No More,” “A Time We’ll Remember,” “Break Down The Walls”…) plus some well-chosen covers (“Minor Threat,” “Young Till I Die”) and all the reminiscing and explanation you could handle. I didn’t get a chance to talk to Raghu amongst the sold-out craziness but he threw me a shaka from the stage, which was good enough. It seemed like there were members of bands left and right (Chain of Strength, Strife…), not to mention two of his sons appropriately singing along to “Youth of Today.” It was like a straight edge family vacation, reunion, and raging pit all in one! The drizzle felt good as the sweaty masses exited into the streets of Pomona’s Arts District, where I heard that hardcore punks came from as far as Malaysia, Singapore, and Korea. One more show in Pomona...
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