“As a woman who was raised in Nampa, Idaho, I know what the politics there can look like, and it’s usually pretty bleak,” Built to Spill’s Melanie Radford told New Noise. “But (Monday’s event) was a ray of hope.”
Archive for the Concert Reviews Category
Built to Spill Bassist Says Bernie/AOC Rally Provided ‘Ray of Hope’
Posted in Concert Reviews, Interviews, Reviews with tags Built to Spill, Melanie Radford on 04/18/2025 by Kurt OrzeckFrom The Vault: QOTSA End Year On A High Note; Josh Homme Reunites With Kyuss Singer In L.A.
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags John Garcia, Josh Homme, Kyuss, QOTSA, Queens of the Stone Age on 08/13/2024 by Kurt Orzeck
As has been widely reported but woefully under-discussed in the national conversation about the future of news in the U.S. and around the world, Paramount recently vaporized the online archives of MTV News, which it owns. The vault included thousands upon thousands of news stories, artist interviews and other historically critical pieces of reporting created by me and my former colleagues at the culturally iconic organization.
Paramount’s surprise and shocking move marked the latest in a seemingly unending series of body blows against journalists and exemplified efforts by corporate America to eliminate the trade of journalism, which is already withering on the vine, altogether. (Read the best take on the matter by founder and all-around great guy Michael Alex on Variety‘s website.)
Continue reading‘Weird Al’ Proved He’s The ‘Weirdest’ Of Them All
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags weird, Weird Al, Weird Al Yankovic on 08/03/2024 by Kurt Orzeck
Speaking of “weird,” everyone’s favorite costume-wearing musician, “Weird Al” Yankovic, proved he’s the weirdest one of all at a Hollywood Bowl concert in mid-2016. Check out my FLOOD review of the show.
Take that, politicos.
Top 100 Best Live Performances Of 2023: Mars Volta, Be’lakor, Hexis, Covet
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Be’lakor, Cloak, Covet, Deafheaven, Hexis, Jason Isbell, Jesus Piece, Mars Volta, Portrayal of Guilt, Show Me the Body on 01/17/2024 by Kurt Orzeck
Toro y Moi, Chai, Liz Phair, Acid King Rock Treefort Music Fest ’19
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Acid King, American Football, Black Mountain, Built to Spill, Chai, Ealdor Bealu, Liz Phair, Mandolin Orange, Rituals of Mine, Sonic Titan, Toro y Moi, Treefort, Weeed on 02/21/2023 by Kurt OrzeckWith just 30 days until Boise’s Treefort Music Fest kicks off — and shortly before the Bad Penny rolls out an exciting interview series surrounding it — here’s a look back in photos (and some words) at 2019’s installment.
(Originally published by Music Connection.)
Scratch Acid, Big Black, Man … Or Astro-Man? Give Chicago Hope At Touch And Go Bash
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Big Black, Calexico, David Yow, Didjits, Enon, Killdozer, Man ... or Astro-man?, Monorchid, Negative Approach, New Year, Pinback, Rob Crow, Scratch Acid, Shellac, Steve Albini, Supersystem, Ted Leo, Touch and Go on 02/20/2023 by Kurt Orzeck
… And here’s my review of the Touch and Go Records’ three-day anniversary concert from September 2006.
CHICAGO — Touch and Go’s three-day anniversary bash wasn’t just a lesson in the history of the seminal record label. It was a Cliff’s Notes-like recap of the last 25 years of indie rock itself.
Underground granddaddies Big Black, Scratch Acid and Killdozer spit forth a lethal dose of abrasive, confrontational brutality, while !!!, Ted Leo and Enon courted the crowd with dance-rock appeal. And therein lied the clear distinction between the challenging approach taken by yesterday’s bands and the sheer accessibility of their successors.
Continue readingLooking Back: Steve Albini, David Yow, Rob Crow Chat About Touch and Go’s 25th Anniversary
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Big Black, Calexico, David Yow, Man ... or Astro-man?, Monorchid, Pinback, Rob Crow, Scratch Acid, Steve Albini, the Jesus Lizard, Touch and Go, Yeah Yeah Yeahs on 02/20/2023 by Kurt Orzeck
Now here’s a blast from the past. A blast from the past from the past, actually.
Touch and Go Records 4 eva.
Before Fall Out Boy, before the Academy Is … — hell, even before the Smashing Pumpkins — there was Touch and Go Records. Like those bands, the trailblazing record label’s reach has extended far beyond its Chicago base of operations, but come September, it’ll be enshrining its 25 years of influence with a massive anniversary gala designed to dazzle indie rock’s shrewdest scholars.
Scratch Acid, Big Black, Man … or Astro-man?, Killdozer — while they’re not exactly household names, the underground goons that shattered eardrums and tore punk rock a new one decades ago will be wreaking havoc once again in commemoration of the label that sustained them. Think of it as “A Mighty Wind” for the indie-rock masses.
Continue readingLive Review: Lucy & La Mer at LA Vegan Beer and Food Festival
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Lucy & La Mer on 02/17/2023 by Kurt OrzeckDug up this October 2015 article for Music Connection in which I reviewed Lucy & La Mer playing at — of all places — a vegan beer and food festival in Los Angeles. Click on the photo or title below, and you’ll be directed to Music Connection, which houses the entire review. The group’s most recent release was “Don’t It Feel Good,” a single issued in June.
We Saw Spirit Mother Play Live — And So Should You, Motherfuckers
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Spirit Mother on 11/08/2022 by Kurt Orzeck
It’s not clear what Boise did to deserve two heart-pounding performances in one year by Spirit Mother. They are one of the best new psych-rock bands on the West Coast — which is saying a lot, given that it’s currently the favored strain of indie music from Seattle to San Diego.
The Bad Penny had the honor of speaking with frontman Armand Lance before Spirit Mother headlined a gig at Neurolux on June 9. And last night, we had the equally great opportunity to finally watch them do what they do best: cause the jaws of dozens of music fans to collectively drop.
Continue readingMemento: A Spellbinding Set List From Bewitcher
Posted in Concert Reviews, Features, Mementos, Reviews with tags Bewitcher, Brain Tourniquet, Cloak, Infernal Magus of Nocturnal Alchemy, Shredder, Unholy Weaver of Shadows & Incantations on 07/04/2022 by Kurt Orzeck
Bewitcher, Portland’s most scintillating speed-metal band since Toxic Holocaust, blew the garage doors off the Shredder in Boise once again on Friday night. It was an exhilarating set played by the band that played the same venue with Nile in mid-April, and with Exhumed and Creeping Death in November 2021.
The 50-or-so attendees danced and rubbed knocked elbows during each song, before and after which Bewitcher’s gracious frontman — who goes by the tough-to-memorize moniker Unholy Weaver of Shadows & Incantations — frequently expressed his appreciation for the crowd.
The Bad Penny (beta) 