Dead, or, In a comatose state for some time

I guess this thing has kind of died since I no longer am really in the loop with shows and whatnot. I kind of miss it, though, since it was an outlet for my writing. I guess I get plenty of that working as a journalist and trying to keep up with my family blog.

Whenever I get back in the loop, maybe I'll through up some updates. Until then, read something else, wieners.

In case you were wondering, the photo was taken on Richfield Main Street about two blocks away from the nearest grocery store.

Capstone Magazine

Despite the lack of posts to the blog as of recent, I have still been building up a number of reviews and articles. But I have compiled my catalogue of music writing from my experience at UVSC into a magazine as my capstone project.

I have uploaded the PDF final version of the magazine, which I've titled WDC! Music Magazine. WDC! is just an acronym for When In Doubt, Clap! For the present time, I am hosting the file as a download on Mediafire. Here's the link:

http://www.mediafire.com/?4mj1eyd31ag

Instructions for download: For those not familiar with sites like Mediafire, just clikc the link and when the page comes up, there will appear a link on the left side of the page that says "click here to start download." Click that blue link and the file with the magazine will begin downloading to your computer.

Hope you enjoy the magazine. For optimal viewing of the layout itself, make sure you adjust your viewing option in Adobe Reader so that you can view two pages side by side, like a spread. For reading the articles, however, the closer the better.

I'm looking forward to hearing what people think, so don't be afraid to leave a comment.

Chad

Where the Hood meets the Net

The forces behind some of the hottest mash-ups on the Net

Sometimes the line where one music genre begins and another ends is not that clear. One group riding that line pretty hard these days is The Hood Internet.

Despite a name that sounds like any number of things dealing with marrying the Internet with the ghetto, The Hood Internet is just a couple of white guys, ABX (Aaron Brink) and DJ STV SLV (Steve Reidell), on their laptops that, with help from their “interns,” match quirky indie beats to smooth hip hop, R&B and rap lyrics.

With a current discography, if that’s what you can call it, that consists of two “mixtapes” of their mash-ups and another mix that features The Pack matched up to a few different indie artists’ music, The Hood Internet have a repertoire that easily establishes them as a force in the world of marrying two songs into one.

In fact, they have gained a lot of notoriety recently for their work, which is all – including a massive collection of tracks not found on the mixtapes – available for free on their blog, their Facebook page and their MySpace page. They have been featured in a number of popular music blogs, in a few different mash-up lists and compilations as well as being featured on Pitchfork’s Forkcast numerous times.

For a taste of what these guys do, imagine Rihanna singing over Chromeo or Soulja Boy put over top of a Digitalism tune. The list of R&B and hip-hop lyrics put up against electronic and indie tunes goes on and on. In all ABX and DJ STV SLV have put together about 120 tunes between them.


The entire collection of The Hood Internet mash-ups can be found (and downloaded for free) at the following Web sites:

thehoodinternet.com
myspace.com/therealhoodinternet
facebook.com/profile.php?id=666934421

Photo Credit: Rob Warner, hosted on myspace.com/therealhoodinternet

Tops to bottoms: The official When In Doubt, Clap! 2007 album list

Chad and Greg Wilcox team up to bring you the best and worst in music from 2007

Every year everyone creates these lists of their favorite (or least favorite) albums released during that year. This is yet another one of those lists, completely arbitrary and decided by Greg and I. This is by no means definitive, but based solely on what we listened to during the year (i.e. indie, punk, rock, etc.). Without further justification, I present you with the ten albums dubbed When In Doubt's ten most loved of '07 and ten albums that definitely could have been better.

From the top:

1. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver

James Murphy and crew put out a brilliant follow-up to their 2005 self-titled release. The disco-punk outfit’s second album, Sound of Silver, shot the band somewhat into the mainstream, as did their fall tour with Arcade Fire. The use of tinfoil on the album cover and in the video for "North American Scum" didn't hurt either. Standout tracks include “North American Scum,” “Someone Great,” “All My Friends” and “Get Innocuous.”

2. Arcade Fire- Neon Bible

The Canadian group’s sophomore album was released to varied reviews, but over the course of 2007, it has proved to have staying power that many albums released this year lacked. Their tour with LCD Soundsystem that finally brought them to Utah didn’t hurt either. Good tracks on the album include "Black Mirror," "Intervention," "Keep the Car Running" and "No Cars Go" which was actually a new version of a song they had previously released.

3. The National - Boxer

After the success of Alligator, The National was up against some serious scrutiny from fans and critics, but with songs like "Fake Empire," they pulled off one of the best and most unique albums of the year.

4. Radiohead- In Rainbows

This album was the surprise of the year. Not until right before Yorke and the band self-released In Rainbows was it even much on the radar. But when it finally hit the Internet (at whatever price you decided) and the airwaves, Radiohead catapulted themselves further into music history.

5. Kings of Leon – Because of the Times

The southern rockers put out their third full length to polarizing results. Because of the Times took a chance on not just being another southern rock album and pushed the envelope on what people knew about the Kings of Leon. This album deserves recognition if, for nothing else, being the album to take a chance and catch on with a majority of people who were open to listening.

6. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare
Though not necessarily a sequel to Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not, Favourite Worst Nightmare proved that the Arctic Monkeys had the power to stick around and not fade out after an amazing initial release, like so many bands in their position have in years passed.

7. Stars- In Our Bedroom After the War
Canada’s Stars took stand when battling the super early leak of their album In Our Bedroom After the War hit the Net months before it was set to be released officially. To combat the leak, the band took a different turn than most bands have done before them, they advanced a copy to online music outlets like iTunes and eMusic so folks who wanted a legal, real copy of the album wouldn’t have to be tortured for months with the music being readily available.

8. Eliott Smith- New Moon
Even from beyond the grave Elliott Smith makes the list with his amazing b-side album featuring unreleased material from this incredible singer/songwriter.

9. Feist- The Reminder

Leslie Feist reminds the world why she is such a good artist with The Reminder. How could tunes like “My Moon, My Man” or “1 2 3 4” be overlooked when considering the music that made 2007 great?

10. The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
Wincing the night away is not something a listener of this album would be doing. Following up their success with Chutes Too Narrow, sparked by Garden State, The Shins keep the stone rolling with a real solid effort here.

Great albums that didn’t quite make the list: Justice - †, White Rabbits – Fort Nightly, Fiery Furnaces – Widow City, !!! – Myth Takes, New Pornographers - Challengers.

Hold it down:

1. Blaqk Audio – CexCells

Imagine AFI going trying to make it as an electro-new wave band and you have Blaqk Audio. Davey Havok and Jade Puget should stick to what they’re good at - being members of AFI.

2. Liars - Liars

There’s a fine line between art and crap. It rhymes with art and begins with the letter “f.” That’s about the best comparison for this album. It stinks and should never be present in social situations.

3. Say Anything – In Defense of the Genre

Their next album will be entitled In Defense of Our Last Album – and defending it needs, badly.

4. Portugal. the Man – It's Complicated Being a Wizard

Trying to figure out what drugs these guys were on when they put out this EP is more complicated than being a wizard. This album which begins with the whole album as one track then splits them up and repeats them, was floppy and likely sounded better on drugs than it does to a sober ear. Luckily, they also released Church Mouth this year which reminded everyone that Portugal. the Man are really a decent band.

5. Cartel – Cartel

They made the album in a giant bubble. What more needs to be said, it’s a gimmick within a gimmick.

6. Saves the Day – Under the Boards
Since being dropped from their major label deal, a more angry, stripped Saves The Day have tried to make a comeback and prove that the drop was a mistake. With this new album, the second in a series of three albums that are supposed to comprise some sort of story, Saves The Day are showing the world just why they were lost in the major label shuffle.

7. Fall Out Boy – Infinity on High
The name of the album describes the exact opposite of the final product. Sometimes it’s better not to try so hard to reinvent yourself.

8. B-sides albums collectively
A lot of bands tried to release albums chronicling all of the songs they never put on their other albums. The result: albums with songs most fans of the band had years ago.

9. Motion City Soundtrack – Even If it Kills Me
Faced with trying to top their last album, Commit This to Memory, Motion City Soundtrack stepped up to the plate, but Even If It Kills Me was a swing and a miss.

10. Apples in Stereo – New Magnetic Wonders
This album wasn’t THAT bad, but it wasn’t that good either. That’s why it only barely makes an appearance here. At least everyone can stop wondering what an apple would sound like in stereo.


2007 was a year of great music and terrible gimmicks. 2008 seems to be shaping up to be about the same.

...And we're back

After taking the holidays off, getting back into school, becoming a parent and so on, I've kind of fell off the horse with When In Doubt, Clap! But now I'm back and ready to start this thing up again, since so many people read this these days...

Anyway, I've got some good articles to post up, and if I can ever get some videos I've done onto YouTube, I'll post all 'em up as well. Just FYI, the videos I'm referring to include a mini documentary that I put together and a series of news packages I put together for school. Nothing super impressive, but still pretty cool.

And now back to our regular programming...

Super fan or super freak?

An Iowa man wants his name change to reflect his one true love

After Microsoft Zune super fan Steven Smith, better known as the Zune Guy to the online communities that know him, got his third Zune-themed tattoo the question that begged answering was what’s next?

The answer came when Smith posted in the zunescene.mobi forums that he is now in the process of changing his name to “Microsoft Zune.”

Within the post Smith made it clear that he wanted to make the change all-inclusive. “Also if I get what I want and this goes through I will be changing all my important documents over to my ‘new name.’ So look back sometime for a Iowa driver's license with my new name, lol.”

Smith also claims that he has done some initial research on the feasibility of changing his name to that of a trademarked product. He claims that, according to what he found, that the change could be made as long as the person changing their name is not benefiting from the change or doing it to harm the company or product in any way.

Naturally once major technology blog sites caught wind of this news, the “Zune tattoo guy” was quickly a topic of much discussion, drawing both encouraging and negative feedback from various places on the Web.

Steven Smith’s dream of becoming Microsoft Zune may not be as farfetched as it sounds. American professional wrestler Brian Hellwig, best known as the Ultimate Warrior in the WWF, legally changed his name to Warrior in 1993 in order to use the name outside of the WWF.

A man named John Sterling reportedly changed his name legally to Sony PlayStation after becoming obsessed with the game console. And who could forget in March 2005 when Terri Iligan auctioned off her name on E-Bay and legally changed her name to GoldenPalace.com, the winning bid, for $15,000.

Currently any further information about Smith’s quest to become Microsoft Zune is still under wraps. But he has promised that he will be making video posts to document his quest in the zunescene forums.

Since when did the genre need defending?

New album proves why the band is called Say Anything

For fans of the new double disc opus from Say Anything, In Defense of The Genre, the October release date could not come fast enough. Now the album is finally up for release and it’s time to take a look at whether all the fuss surrounding this defender of genres was actually deserved.

Max Bemis has never really been a polished vocalist, whether considering his crude lyrics, forced rhymes or the fact that throughout half of the album he sounds like he’s passing a stone, Bemis definitely doesn’t try to sugar coat his messages on this album.

From the get-go on the first disc of In Defense it becomes obvious this album is, as Bemis himself puts it, “a comet of verbal vomit” as well as all over the place in terms of musical stylings. While In Defense sticks pretty close to its rock groundings, it also bounces between dirty ballads, synthesized pop, hardcore, emo and a variety of other random attempts to be somewhat of an all encompassing defense of exactly what genre?

The album hits its lowest point (excluding the heavy sprinkling of f-bombs throughout most of the tracks) comes in the form of a heavy puking sound right in the middle of, ironically enough, “Hangover Song.” The vomit splattering over the top of vulgar lyrics pretty much epitomizes the depth of the lyricism involved with In Defense. That and the line “so I’ll go out and get crunk with my friends.” Just because “crunk” made it into the dictionary, it doesn’t mean you have to use it.

But in defense of the album, a more-than-healthy dose of vocal guests appear on the album join up with Bemis to mask his sketchy, rough singing. Guests include Pete Yorn DJ Swamp and members of Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory, Paramore, Taking Back Sunday, The Almost, My Chemical Romance, Circa Survive, Saves The Day, Dashboard Confessional and The Starting Line.

Kenny Vassoli even provides some pretty brilliant vocals. His pleas that accompany a string arrangement that support the actual song create an amazing close to “Plea” and the album itself.

In Defense of The Genre has its moments where it shines through (“Baby Girl, I’m a Blur,” “That Is Why” and “Plea”) but overall it’s only maybe worth a single spin through. That is, if you can make it through songs like “This is F***ing Ecstasy,” “An Insult to the Dead,” “Died a Jew,” “Spores,” “Spay Me” and “You’re The Wanker, If Anyone Is.”

Happy November + The Mystery of the B-Side Albums

November is finally here, which means Thanksgiving, having Christmas everything crammed down your throat for the next month and half and last, and more relative to When In Doubt, Clap!, a number of bands are putting out albums of unreleased material and b-sides from previous albums.

Included in the list of bands putting out albums full of not-so-new material during November are Copeland, The Format, The Killers, Thursday and Anberlin.

Coincidentally, three of these albums (with the exception of Kill The House Lights by Thursday and Sawdust by The Killers), a deluxe two-disc edition of U2's Joshua Tree and an album of material from Taking Back Sunday off of Tell All Your Friends will hit shelves on exactly the same day - Nov. 20.

Even though Thursday's album was released Oct. 30 and The Killers released Sawdust Nov. 13, you've got to wonder, what's the mysterious fixation surrounding this pre-Thanksgiving release date?

That's what I'd like to know. Was there some sort of contract time where they couldn't do anything with these songs after Thanksgiving or vice versa? I really don't know what the reasoning is, but I would love to find out.

Interpol saves the show

Despite some lack luster support by Liars, the show remains successful

Monday, Oct. 15, was an extremely packed evening for live music. The legendary Morrissey played Thanksgiving Point, indie folk band Lucero played in Salt Lake City and also playing SLC at In The Venue was Interpol.

The New York hipsters strolled into Utah with special friends Liars and surprise guests Shout Out Louds, who were charted to play another venue that same night, but opted to join up with Interpol and liars to add an additional punch to the overall show and a little extra incentive for those who may have been thinking about going to the show to give in and drop $30 for a ticket.

A lot of people were definitely willing to put up the cash, because the venue was near capacity by the end. It took a little while to get everyone in the doors, so to get the ball rolling Shout Out Louds, who are a Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm, took the stage and played a quick set of their infectious songs from both their new release, Our Ill Wills, and their debut, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff.

The Shout Out Louds’ set was very impressive with infectious, light-hearted songs like “Please, please, please” and “Impossible” and a passion for performing that really lit up the stage beyond the meager light show that accompanied it. The only drawback to the Swedes’ set was that it could not continue longer. They were only able to get out about eight songs before they had to pack it up to let Liars set up.

Los Angeles art rockers Liars put on quite the show themselves. The lights were well timed with the songs, vocalist Angus Andrew was really kooky and the drummer, Julian Gross, had an awesome pink coat that looked neat under black lights. The music, on the other hand, sounded like something an autistic group of five year olds could have put together with some time and practice.

From the looks of the crowd and their general indifference toward the band during most of their set, it’s safe to say the Liars’ performance wasn’t much of a winner. Though a handful of the songs from their new self-titled album were somewhat listenable, most of their performance was garbage.

The bad taste lingering from that set quickly faded when Interpol took the stage in front of a projection of the cover art from their new album, Our Love To Admire. Interpol’s live sound was full and rich, far beyond even the cohesiveness of their three full-length releases.

Stand out tracks from Interpol’s set included the first single from the new album, “The Heinrich Maneuver,” the single “Evil” from Antics, and a slew of other songs from all three albums, each one sending the crowd into a frenzy.

The music wasn’t the only thing that caught the attention of everyone in attendance; the lights for the show were spectacular. A series of colors timed to the music, images projected up onto a large backdrop behind the stage and panels on stands that were programmed with different lighting functions that were visually masterful.

The show overall was impressive, even if it took a little extra effort by Interpol to make up for Liars who nearly squandered the memory of what could have been a perfect show.

The future of When In Doubt, Clap!

Updates, changes, and a few photos

I'm currently working on a few updates, primarily working on some ideas for new headers for the blog. I have the robotank design that was up for a while, this new ghost one and I'm working on one with a gun. We'll see how that goes.

Right now I'm working on a review of the Interpol show from Monday (yeah, that was a while ago). That review will be my last show review for a while as I have a few other issues, primarily involving school and family, that will not allow me time for shows until some point after New Years most likely.

But fear not, there will still be updates to this site, I may even venture into a little less formal format, and take on including some music news and opinion beyond my usual show reviews and CD reviews and the like. Hopefully that will add up to more posts to draw a more regular readership.



Here are a few photos from the Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem show taken by Weston Colton. The photos are from a film camera. That's right they're the real deal. The photos of me are also from that show and were shot by Weston.

Note of thanks: Weston Colton has taken a number of photos at shows we've been to in the past, but since I usually don't give much credit to photos, I figure he deserves some credit. He took the John Vanderslice photos, some of the Modest Mouse photos and some others.

Gregory Hunt also has taken a few photos at some shows we've been to. I'm not sure which if any have been posted on here, but I would like to thank him for shooting some photos for me as well.

Two pretty good shows make one great one

Scheduling changes bring Interpol, Liars and Shout Out Louds to the same stage

The band that epitomizes the term “New York City hipsters” will be hitting up Salt Lake’s In The Venue on Monday, Oct. 15. Interpol is currently touring to support the release of their new album, Our Love To Admire.

But this trip to town for Interpol has had its fair share of twists and changes. First, the tour was scheduled for the McKay Events Center with Cold War Kids. Then Cold War Kids decided to take a spot on the White Stripes’ tour that never happened. Now the show has changed to In The Venue, which provides a little more intimate atmosphere.

Currently taking the supporting role for the show, opening up for Interpol is another group who got together in New York City and recently released an album – Liars (that’s the name of the band, not an accusation). Liars’ new self-titled album hit shelves at the end of August.

Then to shake things up a little bit, Oct. 15 was also the night Swedish indie pop outfit Shout Out Louds planned to play a show at Urban Lounge in Salt Lake City. Turns out Morrisey and a couple of other shows are scheduled for the same evening.

So, as confirmed just this past week with Postfontaine, who organized both the Shout Out Louds and Interpol shows, the Shout Out Louds cancelled their appearance at Urban Lounge and have now been added to the bill for the show with Interpol.

Unless you’re a die-hard Smiths fan or love Morrissey’s ravishing chest hairs, Oct. 15 at In The Venue is the place to be. Three of indie’s hippest bands on the scene right now will be all together in the same place on the same night, united by a series of scheduling changes that created the next in a series of must-see shows coming to the area over the course of the fall season.

The show is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. that evening and tickets are priced at $27 if purchased in advance or $30 the day of the show. Tickets, regardless of when their purchased will also have a service fee of $4.50.

The Smashing Pumpkins persevere

I reviewed the Smashing Pumpkins show that passed through on Sept. 28 for the College Times. The Pumpkins came to UVSC's McKay Events Center with support from The Bravery. It was a good show, and I collaborated on the write up with Greg Wilcox, who also writes for the newspaper as a Life writer. He deserves a lot of credit for the details of the show, I deserve credit mostly for the photo. Here's the link to the article on the new, revamped Web site for The College Times. I like the new format and feel I should support it a little bit.

The Smashing Pumpkins persevere

And since I took a bunch of photos and only one gets any real recognition, here's a few more to blow your mind...

Arcade Fire warms up the cold night

Despite cool fall weather two great bands draw big crowd

Never having played a show in Utah previously, Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem decided to make the trip together, playing Thanksgiving Point’s Electric Park on Wednesday, Sept. 26.

Both bands are currently touring together to promote their latest releases. Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible has received quite a bit of acclaim, and on the back of their initial release, Funeral, the band has achieved a mass audience and gained a fair amount of popularity.

James Murphy’s LCD Soundsystem has earned quite a bit of buzz in its own right. The new album from the dance-punk outfit, Sound of Silver, has definitely lived up to the standard set by their Grammy-nominated release, LCD Soundsystem.

The hype generated by these two phenomenal releases generated an awesome crowd Wednesday evening, despite the fact the show was set outside and it wasn’t exactly warm after seven that evening. Both bands brought their A-games and satisfied the crowd that had anticipated the day this show would finally materialize.

Murphy and crew got the evening going right on time and in great style. Opening with their stand-out track, “Daft Punk is Playing at My House,” everyone got to dancing and the dancing did not stop for the rest of the night.

One of the most intense moments of the set was when Al Doyle (guitarist, also a member of Hot Chip) shredded his guitar to death at the end of “Movement.” Doyle went to town on his strings and on a myriad of other instruments throughout the set, but the way he took of during “Movement” was truly compelling.

Other than that, Murphy and the rest of the crew were pretty stationary, but that’s their style, and it works. LCD Soundsystem performed well with a good mix of new songs, “North American Scum,” “Someone Great,” and “New York I Love You, but You’re Bringing Me Down,” as well as the classic songs from the self-titled album.

Comprised of ten members and countless instruments, Arcade Fire was impossible not to enjoy. Opening with “Black Mirror” Win Butler and wife Régine Chassagne led the crew through a twisting set of emotional stories unveiled through song. The lights and video that accompanied the group helped turn the set into an experience instead of a concert as well.

They moved between the four “Neighborhoods” from Funeral and hit “Intervention” with the booming organ throughout and hit “No Cars Go” as well. Butler even dedicated “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” to his grandpa, Alvino Rey, who, according to Butler, took him and his brother William into the surrounding mountains fishing numerous times. He also hinted at the fact that those memories made it hard for him to be back here, perhaps one reason they’ve only passed through Utah on tour until now.

Ending the set with an encore preceded by the rambunctious “Rebellion (Lies),” Arcade Fire put on a spectacle that tops the list of live performances which have come through the state this year. Despite the cold night air and large numbers of people crowding around to take it all in, this show was void of filler and full of incredible music and performance.

Both Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem would be more than welcome back for another show anytime.

One legendary band, one stellar album and two shows impossible to miss

Zeitgeist of Pumpkins, Bravery, LCD Soundsystem and an Arcade Fire

Biblically, after the feast comes the famine and vice versa. If this ideological maxim holds true in all aspects of life, then the return of Billy Corgan's "machine," Smashing Pumpkins is a great example.

In 2000, after the release of Machina: The Machines of God (and an online release of a series of songs called Machina II: The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music), Corgan's supergroup called it quits. Since that time, there has been a Smashing Pumpkins famine. For seven years the alternative rockers that were a dominating force in music remained silent.

Then, on June 25, 2005, in a full-page advertisement in the Chicago Tribune, Corgan announced plans to reunite the band. Though only drummer Jimmy Chamberlain jumped back on board with Corgan to reform the band, the two forged on to tour and produce the bands seventh album, Zeitgeist, which was unleashed in July.

While the album takes a different direction than the Pumpkins' previous albums, Zeitgeist stays true to the heavy, emotional style the band is most famous for. Corgan himself summarized the themes of the album as "love, loss and the government." The last topic is most apparent at first glance of the record. The cover pictures a sun-lit Statue of Liberty robe deep in water -- an obvious statement about current global warming trends. Song titles like "United States," "For God and Country" and "Doomsday Clock" solidify the message being put out in concern to political issues and trends.

But Zeitgeist isn't just an avenue for Corgan's political views to be expressed, the second single, "That's the Way (My Love Is)" attests to the well-rounded attempt Corgan and Chamberlain made to hit the "love, loss and the government" themes. "That's the Way" seems to echo Machina era Pumpkins and is arguably the catchiest track on the album.

Of course each track is good in it's own right, but, even so, Zeitgeist is not comprised fully of hit material. In fact, the album as a whole takes some getting used to before it's committed to memory and becomes a go-to album. An initial listen actually leaves the listener wondering where the transitions between songs even is most of the time.

The album tends to start really heavy and get lighter and lighter toward the end. It makes the listen flow, but also a little one-sided. It feels unbalanced at times but somehow, with each additional listen, it seems to even itself out and take on a more solid feel overall. For the listener spinning Zeitgeist for only the first or second time, do not worry that Corgan is going the way of his solo release.

Smashing Pumpkins are back, with a vengence, and with each unique listen a new track will mean more and gain more favor as the progression to loving the entire album becomes possible. Corgan, Chamberlain and the new crew stay true to the sound that is Smashing Pumpkins and Zeitgeist should be a perfect fit in completing any fan's catalog of the band.

In step with supporting the new album, Smashing Pumpkins are out on the road and will making an appearance in Utah at UVSC's McKay Events Center on the evening Friday, Sept. 28. Doors for the event open at 6:30 and ticket prices range from $36.50 to $47.50 depending on how close you want to be from the action.

Directly supporting the Pumpkins on this leg of the tour is The Bravery. The Bravery also recently put out a new album, The Sun and the Moon, which includes the hit song "Time Won't Let Me Go."

This is one of the must see events of the fall, as is another show which will be coming through Utah only two days prior to the Smashing Pumpkins concert.

Wednesday, Sept. 26, marks a most rare event for music fans in Utah Valley. Indie superheroes Arcade Fire are actually coming to perform in the state of Utah. In support of their incredible release, Neon Bible, and with direct support from LCD Soundsystem, this is a concert that anyone with any taste for indie music cannot miss.

Held at Thanksgiving Point's Waterfall Amphitheatre in Lehi, gates will open at 6:00 and the show will get underway at 7:00. The amphitheatre is a grassy venue and blankets are exceptionally handy for seating. Tickets for the show are $36 for general admission. Between the energy and ingenuity of Arcade Fire and the dance-punk infusion of James Murphy and LCD Soundsystem, whose latest release, Sound of Silver, has been well-received worldwide, this show cannot be missed.

So This week it's the battle of the two super shows in Utah County. Smashing Pumpkins and Arcade Fire. The Bravery and LCD Soundsystem. If there is any possible way to catch both of these mammoth-sized events, it's highly recommended.

In anticipation of Sept. 26, here is an old review/preview combo

Note: The following post is made up of a review for the LCD Soundsystem album Sound of Silver and a brief preview of Arcade Fire's Neon Bible which I wrote before it came out (obviously the information is dated, but it's about showcasing some writing I have done previously about the band and the album). I'm posting this review/preview combo in lieu of their upcoming visit to Thanksgiving Point on Sept. 26. It is looking to be one of the best shows on the year and you should expect a full rundown as soon as it's over on When In Doubt, Clap! So for now, enjoy a review/preview combo of each respective band's latest release.


Sound of Silver sounding more golden
New release by acclaimed disco-punk outfit aims for aesthetics

Sound of Silver, the latest release by LCD Soundsystem, is a major staple in dance albums produced this year.

LCD Soundsystem is the side project of James Murphy, co-founder of Death From Above (DFA) Records. Sound of Silver is the follow-up record to the 2005 self-titled release that made everybody want Daft Punk playing at their house.

LCD Soundsystem’s Sound of Silver was released through DFA/Capitol. It hit stores until March 20 in the United States. The record also leaked onto the internet months before the release date, and numerous fans had already put in a few good listens before the album ever touched the shelves. Those who wanted to get a preview, but not just a pirate copy, got a taste of what’s on the new album on the band’s Web site.

This new effort by Murphy is a standout, sporting tracks that could have been on the self-titled album as well as new standouts that are sure to perk up a lot of ears. Must-here tracks on the album include “North American Scum”, which is the first single from the record, “All My Friends”, and “Someone Great.” “Someone Great” was extracted directly from a 45-minute track Murphy put together for Nike and iTunes, aptly titled "45:33," in 2006.

Despite being a well-put-together release, Sound of Silver does have a couple of the nine tracks that quickly become mundane and overly repetitive. One track in particular, the opener “Get Innocuous”, lives up to its meaning. It fails to catch the listener’s interest throughout its seven-minute plus duration. Murphy and the sound system are in full force on this sophomore effort. He continues expanding his sound on the album, sampling from other influential artists like Bowie, Talking Heads and New Order.

Sound of Silver is possibly one of the most anticipated dance/disco/punk albums of the year. Clips of the new album on the LCD Soundsystem website, lcdsoundsystem.com


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Music Noteworthy of the New Year

A new year means a fresh chance for some excellent music. A number of artists are taking advantage of this by releasing their albums right away in the first few months of 2007.

Numerous releases doesn’t necessarily mean loads of excellent, listen-worthy music. To help alleviate some of the stress of picking through what’s promising and what wasn’t worth the cost of printing, there are some albums worthy of recommendation out there.

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Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

Canadian super group Arcade Fire, masters of utilizing large numbers of instruments as opposed to digitally combining their sounds using technology, bring forth their new effort, entitled Neon Bible, March 6. Neon Bible rings true to the band’s patent sound, and seems to pick up where their initial release, Funeral, left off. Singles like “Intervention” and “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations” make this effort seem a very listenable album that will be worth the anticipation.

In an effort to build some excitement about the release, earlier in January the band created a toll-free phone number which was answered by the first single of the album, “Intervention”. Though not the first to try this technique of getting a song into the public without the cliché internet “leak”, Arcade Fire is working hard to create a buzz about Neon Bible, which, hopefully, and likely, the album can match.

Sleeping With Giants in Salt Lake City

The Academy Is... headlining tour sweeps through In The Venue

As part of their headlining tour, which is better known as the Sleeping With Giants tour, The Academy Is..., brought friends Armor For Sleep, The Rocket Summer and Sherwood to Salt Lake's In The Venue Wednesday night, Sept. 12.

The tour began Sept. 5 and is scheduled to run until the end of November. Still on their first leg of the tour, most of the bands were partial, so far, to a wild, dancy Utah crowd that showed up despite stiff competition from a slew of other concerts in town that same evening.

The show started off with California five-piece group Sherwood. The group had a little trouble getting going as they experienced some technical difficulties with a microphone. But after realizing how distracting from the song the problem was, the guys quit playing, tackled the technical stuff and took it from the top.

Though they were only opening up the tour and it was still early, the Utah kids in attendance were ready to dance to Sherwood's poppy music and crowd surfed the Sherwood set away. Once Sherwood finished up, the crowd intensified in anticipation for Bryce Avary's The Rocket Summer.

By now most every pop-punk fan knows the name Bryce Avary. Since releasing Do You Feel back in July, The Rocket Summer have taken off with their single "So Much Love." The Rocket Summer have been to In The Venue a couple times previously this year, playing with The Early November and headlining with Daphne Loves Derby.

Despite The Rocket Summer's good track record with putting on energy-rich, fun performances, their new-found fame really turned the crowd that turned out to see them into a mob of crazed teens pushing, punching and kicking their way to be Avary's number one fan.

It really put a damper on the experience of the set. Between that and the fact that Avary and crew put on the exact same show (including the confetti cannon) as last time, almost song for song, this trip The Rocket Summer was a bit of a let down.

The surprising act of the night was definitely Armor For Sleep. Though they were the number two band on the bill for the evening, they drew by far the smallest crowd. But everyone that bailed after The Rocket Summer really missed out as Armor For Sleep put on an amazing set.

Playing from their two current releases, What to Do When You Are Dead and Dream to Make Believe, and playing a couple songs from an upcoming album, the boys from New Jersey brought a good energy onto the stage, though their music was a bit heavier and felt a little out of place with the other bands on the tour.

Even though Armor For Sleep was the surprisers for the evening, headliners The Academy Is... really brought the show together and made the evening worthwhile.

With the relative success of both their debut and sophomore albums, Almost Home and Santi respectively, The Academy Is... has achieved about as popular a status as a band of their nature could without"blowing up," as many of the bands on their label, Fueled By Ramen, have in recent years (Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes and Panic! At The Disco come readily to mind). And they proved it with a non-stop power set that hit on near every song in their two-disc library.

Much of the band's draw, as most critics would say, comes from the honest, melodic delivery of vocalist William Beckett. But the entire band deserves credit for the spectacular performance of their stop at In The Venue. Every song was spot on in every possible way, and the presence of each and every member contributed to the power the performance brought into the venue.

Of course, the crowning performance of the night had to be the first single off of the new album, "We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands," which the crowd went nuts for. And with good reason, as Beckett and crew fed into the energy and intensity of the crowd and played it up for all it was worth.

Though the Sleeping With Giants tour met with some serious competition as both Muse and Rise Against were in town on that same evening, any fan that picked The Academy Is... over the competition that evening did not leave disappointed. Even if the success of the show rested squarely on the shoulders of the headliners, The Academy Is... brought the skill, energy and stage presence that made the Sleeping With Giants tour anything but a giant sleeper.