Note: In a few weeks, my students will read this entry as part of a music analysis lesson. That is why some of their achievements appear in it. ;)
There are many perks to being a teacher: working with hilarious students/colleagues, creating meaningful lessons, seeing students improve, etc.
One specific perk I get every November is participating in Rock and Cole. In the Rock and Cole project, students create their own mixed CD, matching five characters from the novel Touching Spirit Bear to five songs. (The project gets its name from Spirit Bear’s central character, Cole Matthews.) In the days leading up to the in-class concert, students scour book passages and song lyrics to find things that connect. On concert day, each student analyzes another student’s CD, trying to match the characters, songs, traits, and quotes. It’s also a pretty entertaining day, considering the desks are filled with 30-plus CD players, boom boxes, and headphones, and several students rock out as they work.
The best part for me is that I get to listen to all the CDs. New discoveries this year were Mumford and Sons’ “The Cave,” Mumford and Sons’ “Sigh No More,” Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker,” and Disney’s “Colors of the Wind.” (Ok, so the last one wasn’t a ‘new discovery.’ I had, sadly, heard the Pocahontas song 300 times before.)
Student award winners for this year included:
-- Star Performers LB, BP, CB, BB, BH, MB, C S-T, NH, AR, ZB, JN, BB, LH, LP, BN, LB, MW, or AM. These students proved they did not need a band or stage to perform. They could rock out in a DESK!
-- Star Reviewers IS, KM, SC, BM, HC, CJ, JT, JG, KK, KZ, NR, CV, JJ, DR, CB, MF, CB, TP, AM, KS, BS, SM, EK, ND, SY, SK, KA, SM, HR, LB, NW, and AK. These students reviewed their CDs with the precision of professional rock critics. Wonder if Rolling Stone magazine is in any of their futures…
--- Music Royalty JC, MF, AO, KH, and JD, for earning the right to use / sit next to ST’s awesome Cars boom box.
--- Music Miracle Man RM, for rescuing BM’s awesome Pirates of the Caribbean boom box. BM’s dog had become a bit too friendly with the boom box cord, rendering the boom box useless. Well, useless, until RM took it home, replaced the cord, and made the boom box good as new!
-- Rock Survivors DE, CS, BM, KK, IS, CV, DR, EG, SR, EK, JN, SY, and JTT, for making it all the way through their CDs, despite multiple CD / headphone debacles. (JT gained an extra ‘T’ by memorably describing the ‘technological turmoil’ she went through.)
-- Rock Comics TK, SS, AL, CU, JT, CT, VJ, JW, FO, and CJ. These students should be recognized for filling the concert with funny moments. VJ, TK, AL, and SS, got amusingly angry at how many songs matched Spirit Bear’s main character. All of them asked the same basic question, “I get that Cole is a round, dynamic, three-dimensional character, but does EVERY song have to fit him?” It was also funny hearing CU shriek “most intense string orchestra ever” in the middle of one of his songs, hearing JT shriek “I hate country” after every one of his, seeing CT try to get a addicting out of her head, and seeing VJ and JW flip out after each song on FO and CJ’s CDs. RM, FO, and CJ’s CDs prompted further amusement days later when each of the classes heard parts of them at the end of the period. After hearing all of them play, few students would argue that Spongebob’s “F.U.N. Song,” “I’m a Little Teapot,” Frank Sinatra’s “Happy Birthday,” and “I’m a Gummy Bear” weren’t among the year’s most memorable songs.
-- All students, for making this Rock and Cole the best one in five years. Each year’s concert has been successful (previous ones have earned a B+), but this year’s was the best. More students submitted full folders than ever before, all students were able to find classmates’ Favorite Word on their folders, and very few students encountered logistical problems. In the end, I think SS and RT said it best: “Couldn’t we listen and learn from music every day?” If only…
Grade: A
Thursday, December 29, 2011
100 -- Trans-Siberian Orchestra -- Sunday, November 20, 2011 -- Giant Center –- Hershey, PA
The Gospel does not give an indication one way or the other if Jesus liked monster trucks. If he did like monster trucks, though, and he liked thoughts of them in his Christmas music, he would have loved Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The performance featured cannons, lasers, flash pots, fireworks – the whole thing felt like a collaboration between Michael Bay and Jacob Lusk. Initially, all of this was kind of hard to handle – the homeless man skit seemed to never end, and the first act narrator made Doakes from Dexter seem subtle.
A few songs in, though, I decided to accept everything for what it was; I decided to embrace the melodrama. After that, I could not have been happier with the concert. Some of the many highlights of the show included:
-- Seeing how close our seats were to the stage.
-- Seeing the drummer toss his drumstick into pitch black – and catch it on the way down!
-- Seeing Inspector Gadget set on fire. The 90’s cartoon hero may not have actually gone up in flames, but the pyrotechnics during the Gadget-esque “Mountain” made it seem like he did.
-- Listening to the solo of a future female Idol winner, “Christmas Canon Rock.” (In general, the female’s voices were much stronger. I also recognized that I am much more willing to accept histrionics from female singers than male ones.)
-- Listening to the solo of a future male Idol winner, “Back to a Reason [part two].” (This guy was an exception to female-male rule. He was awesome.)
-- The way they literally represented their Night Castle album. Amid a sea of sparking castle lights, performers made their way up a ‘moat’ platform that nearly reached the arena roof.
-- The way the guitarists lifted in the air during “Sarajevo,” smoke surrounding them, angelic and demonic elements alternating with each verse.
The final highlight of the show was seeing Hark Tagunicar flip out during “Wizard of Winter,” his favorite song. To see Hark get that excited – to see him have the reaction I often have during concerts – the reaction two Trans-Siberian students of mine had when they found out I was going to the show – made it all worth it.
Grade: A-
Random Endnote: I ate at Outback Steakhouse for the first time ever on the way to the concert. Hark, Alex Bush, and Parissa Farahi Far were shocked that I had never been to Outback before. I will certainly go again.
A few songs in, though, I decided to accept everything for what it was; I decided to embrace the melodrama. After that, I could not have been happier with the concert. Some of the many highlights of the show included:
-- Seeing how close our seats were to the stage.
-- Seeing the drummer toss his drumstick into pitch black – and catch it on the way down!
-- Seeing Inspector Gadget set on fire. The 90’s cartoon hero may not have actually gone up in flames, but the pyrotechnics during the Gadget-esque “Mountain” made it seem like he did.
-- Listening to the solo of a future female Idol winner, “Christmas Canon Rock.” (In general, the female’s voices were much stronger. I also recognized that I am much more willing to accept histrionics from female singers than male ones.)
-- Listening to the solo of a future male Idol winner, “Back to a Reason [part two].” (This guy was an exception to female-male rule. He was awesome.)
-- The way they literally represented their Night Castle album. Amid a sea of sparking castle lights, performers made their way up a ‘moat’ platform that nearly reached the arena roof.
-- The way the guitarists lifted in the air during “Sarajevo,” smoke surrounding them, angelic and demonic elements alternating with each verse.
The final highlight of the show was seeing Hark Tagunicar flip out during “Wizard of Winter,” his favorite song. To see Hark get that excited – to see him have the reaction I often have during concerts – the reaction two Trans-Siberian students of mine had when they found out I was going to the show – made it all worth it.
Grade: A-
Random Endnote: I ate at Outback Steakhouse for the first time ever on the way to the concert. Hark, Alex Bush, and Parissa Farahi Far were shocked that I had never been to Outback before. I will certainly go again.
99 -- Foo Fighters -- Friday, November 11, 2011 -- Verizon Center -- DC
Normally, when writing reviews, I’ll sift through my iPhone concert notes, and condense the notes into a review. I can’t bear to type any more, though, and it is December 25. As a gift to myself, I am simply going to cut and paste my iPhone notes. Hardcore Foo Fighters’ fans would probably also appreciate the extra info. Merry Christmas!
Blackness descends. Moody feedback. Spot on "Bridge Burning" intro -- plink plink plink.
Oh the hair flop. He's having so much fun.
“Rope.” Nice rhythm shift 2/3rds through.
Lol, I like how he's hamming it up at the beginning of “Pretender” -- like he's good naturedly mocking its popularity. First F of the night. Won't be the last... “Pretender” is clearly the best so far.
“My Hero” is actually better. It's soaring, not just aggressive. Everyone joins in the anthem.
I've grown so used to small venue indie shows that this feels euphoric. It's arena done right.
Hmm, could live without the straight up "hey" screeches.
"It feels good to be home, guys. First time I sold out the arena in my hometown. How about we just play every song then?" Probably untrue, still good to hear.
F count just hit double digits and we're not half an hour in -- HA.
“Learn to Fly” was decent. Yay "my sweet Virginia" reference in “Arlandria.”
"This goes out to all the mid 40s Honda Odyssey fans out there." Hey, I'm a mid 20s Honda Fit fan, and I appreciate “Breakout”! The line at the beginning made the song that much better. Performers really should talk with the audience. Grohl doesn't even have a good live voice, but he makes up for it with such charisma!
"How many of you have never seen us play before? (Wow, the vast majority of the audience?!). Glad you waited 16 f'ing years to see us."
"Stop giving me all this attention. I can't take it. It sucks to be famous."
"You know how cool Taylor is? He's from VIRGINIA." HA.
Hmm, now I know why he's the drummer and not the lead...singer.
“Stacked Actors” is jagged cool. HUGE guitar solo. The back stage is fifteen feet tall. Heh -- "stacked to the rafters" -- get it?
“Walk.” The best song off their new album? It was the best live.
"You guys done yet? We're not even close." Sweet.
“Monkey Wrench”!!! Whoa, reinvention. A bit indulgent, but I dig the attempt.
“Let It Die.” Such an underrated song. Better than “Pretender,” for me.
“These Days” -- nice Veterans Day tribute.
“This Is A Call” -- really early song.
“In the Flesh,” Pink Floyd?
"Done, done, I'm on to the next one, done, done..." So good.
Ha, the grainy backstage video. Oh, silent comedy. :). Lol, five songs -- the crowd goes wild! They're so easy to please. Six! SEVEN!
Springfield Mall reference! "I found all my old report cards. I was a bad student." And you went to TJ, Dave – a school most brilliant kids at Frost couldn’t get into? Not believable.
Ha, "when the wheels come down" is only popular in Germany.
Omg, they're going to come back and play at the 9:30 Club!!! For four hours!
"Only recently did I realize that I can make 19,000 people do the wave...with my face."
Acoustic “Best of You” brought such crowd unity.
Wow, One by One was made in a basement in Old Town Alexandria?! “Times Like These” fits perfectly. And a transition back to rock!!!
“Dear Rosemary” -- Giver reference? ;)
Wow, a remarkable story about when Grohl was in 7th grade. The most beautiful girl in the world, Sandy, told him she didn't want to get tied down. And Sandy is in the audience tonight!
Evvvvverlong.
9:30 Club, here I come...
Grade: A
Blackness descends. Moody feedback. Spot on "Bridge Burning" intro -- plink plink plink.
Oh the hair flop. He's having so much fun.
“Rope.” Nice rhythm shift 2/3rds through.
Lol, I like how he's hamming it up at the beginning of “Pretender” -- like he's good naturedly mocking its popularity. First F of the night. Won't be the last... “Pretender” is clearly the best so far.
“My Hero” is actually better. It's soaring, not just aggressive. Everyone joins in the anthem.
I've grown so used to small venue indie shows that this feels euphoric. It's arena done right.
Hmm, could live without the straight up "hey" screeches.
"It feels good to be home, guys. First time I sold out the arena in my hometown. How about we just play every song then?" Probably untrue, still good to hear.
F count just hit double digits and we're not half an hour in -- HA.
“Learn to Fly” was decent. Yay "my sweet Virginia" reference in “Arlandria.”
"This goes out to all the mid 40s Honda Odyssey fans out there." Hey, I'm a mid 20s Honda Fit fan, and I appreciate “Breakout”! The line at the beginning made the song that much better. Performers really should talk with the audience. Grohl doesn't even have a good live voice, but he makes up for it with such charisma!
"How many of you have never seen us play before? (Wow, the vast majority of the audience?!). Glad you waited 16 f'ing years to see us."
"Stop giving me all this attention. I can't take it. It sucks to be famous."
"You know how cool Taylor is? He's from VIRGINIA." HA.
Hmm, now I know why he's the drummer and not the lead...singer.
“Stacked Actors” is jagged cool. HUGE guitar solo. The back stage is fifteen feet tall. Heh -- "stacked to the rafters" -- get it?
“Walk.” The best song off their new album? It was the best live.
"You guys done yet? We're not even close." Sweet.
“Monkey Wrench”!!! Whoa, reinvention. A bit indulgent, but I dig the attempt.
“Let It Die.” Such an underrated song. Better than “Pretender,” for me.
“These Days” -- nice Veterans Day tribute.
“This Is A Call” -- really early song.
“In the Flesh,” Pink Floyd?
"Done, done, I'm on to the next one, done, done..." So good.
Ha, the grainy backstage video. Oh, silent comedy. :). Lol, five songs -- the crowd goes wild! They're so easy to please. Six! SEVEN!
Springfield Mall reference! "I found all my old report cards. I was a bad student." And you went to TJ, Dave – a school most brilliant kids at Frost couldn’t get into? Not believable.
Ha, "when the wheels come down" is only popular in Germany.
Omg, they're going to come back and play at the 9:30 Club!!! For four hours!
"Only recently did I realize that I can make 19,000 people do the wave...with my face."
Acoustic “Best of You” brought such crowd unity.
Wow, One by One was made in a basement in Old Town Alexandria?! “Times Like These” fits perfectly. And a transition back to rock!!!
“Dear Rosemary” -- Giver reference? ;)
Wow, a remarkable story about when Grohl was in 7th grade. The most beautiful girl in the world, Sandy, told him she didn't want to get tied down. And Sandy is in the audience tonight!
Evvvvverlong.
9:30 Club, here I come...
Grade: A
98 – Wu Lyf – Sunday, November 6, 2011 – The Rock and Roll Hotel – DC
Seeing Wu Lyf perform was like seeing Protomen perform. It wasn't bad exactly, and it certainly wasn't boring; it was just strange. Strange can often good, and there certainly were a number of memorable moments during the show:
1. When frontman Ellery Roberts came on stage to a chorus of lupine growls. You don’t hear that at, say, an Avril Lavigne show.
2. Whenever Roberts beat his chest, thwacked his face, and stared at the white cross glowing above his head.
3. Whenever the ghostly reverb kicked in between songs. The surround sound and cool breeze added another layer of mystery.
It was hard to embrace the show overall, though, because these eerie moments were undercut by ridiculousness. Funny as it is to hear someone howl “spit on blood, spit on blood, spit on blood” and “the dollar is not your friend,” it makes it hard to take the person seriously. They clearly want to be taken seriously: Wu Lyf, Wolf is Life, get it?! Mannered non sequiturs like these, however, do not help their cause: “What’s up, Washington? That much is up!…I just ate some fried chicken; pot pies those are the worst; welcome to America, b----.” Huh? Growling during a specific song can be effective; talking to the audience in nothing but growl-speak cannot.
Grade: B-
1. When frontman Ellery Roberts came on stage to a chorus of lupine growls. You don’t hear that at, say, an Avril Lavigne show.
2. Whenever Roberts beat his chest, thwacked his face, and stared at the white cross glowing above his head.
3. Whenever the ghostly reverb kicked in between songs. The surround sound and cool breeze added another layer of mystery.
It was hard to embrace the show overall, though, because these eerie moments were undercut by ridiculousness. Funny as it is to hear someone howl “spit on blood, spit on blood, spit on blood” and “the dollar is not your friend,” it makes it hard to take the person seriously. They clearly want to be taken seriously: Wu Lyf, Wolf is Life, get it?! Mannered non sequiturs like these, however, do not help their cause: “What’s up, Washington? That much is up!…I just ate some fried chicken; pot pies those are the worst; welcome to America, b----.” Huh? Growling during a specific song can be effective; talking to the audience in nothing but growl-speak cannot.
Grade: B-
97 -- Ra Ra Riot -- Wednesday, October 26, 2011 -- 9:30 Club -- DC
Ra Ra Riot is my most reliable chill band. If I’m ever riled up about stuff after school, I slip on earbuds, slip into Rhumb Line, and everything’s calm again. (The Mountain Goats’ Heretic Pride is another reliable de-stressor.)
Effective as this calmness is, it creates a potential problem live. Serenity can work well on a CD; it can also make for a really boring concert.
Fortunately, Ra Ra Riot was able to up the energy a bit and put on a convincing live show. “Ghost Under Rocks,” “St. Peter’s Day Festival,” and “Boy” were especially strong. The excitement generated by these songs enabled songs like “Winter ’05” to make an impact. Quiet could work because you had a contrast.
Unquestionably the high point of the show was “Dying is Fine.” Of all the different bands’ songs featured in class that year, “D.I.F.” may have been the most popular. This is quite an accomplishment because philosophy-driven violin pieces do not usually appear on middle school playlists. It’s hard to not like the song though, and with the extended jam session and band-crowd high fives, it was hard not to enjoy it in concert. Who knows – perhaps the next time Ra Ra Riot comes to DC, a few seventh graders will pass on B.O.B. and Justin Bieber, and check out some solid indie rock...
Grade: B+
Effective as this calmness is, it creates a potential problem live. Serenity can work well on a CD; it can also make for a really boring concert.
Fortunately, Ra Ra Riot was able to up the energy a bit and put on a convincing live show. “Ghost Under Rocks,” “St. Peter’s Day Festival,” and “Boy” were especially strong. The excitement generated by these songs enabled songs like “Winter ’05” to make an impact. Quiet could work because you had a contrast.
Unquestionably the high point of the show was “Dying is Fine.” Of all the different bands’ songs featured in class that year, “D.I.F.” may have been the most popular. This is quite an accomplishment because philosophy-driven violin pieces do not usually appear on middle school playlists. It’s hard to not like the song though, and with the extended jam session and band-crowd high fives, it was hard not to enjoy it in concert. Who knows – perhaps the next time Ra Ra Riot comes to DC, a few seventh graders will pass on B.O.B. and Justin Bieber, and check out some solid indie rock...
Grade: B+
96 -- Givers -- Tuesday, October 18, 2011 -- The Black Cat -- DC
Dark almost always beats light. You remember Scar, not Simba; Beast, not Belle; Darth Vader, not Luke. And yet, in a two-night showdown, with Smashing Pumpkins at the 9:30 Club and Givers at the Black Cat, light won! The Smashing Pumpkins’ show was enjoyable; the Givers’ show was INCREDIBLE. Sketch, Deej, Evan Rochkind, and I stood a row from the stage the entire time, jumping, shouting, clapping, slapping, amping up all possible energy. Givers had only released one album, so almost everyone knew all ten songs. For those 52 minutes, it felt like everyone in the audience was a groupie; everyone experienced the same rush.
Immediately after the show, I bought a t-shirt -- only the 8th band t-shirt I’ve ever bought. For the first time ever, I was actually able to talk with the band, telling the lead singer that the kids in my class really liked one of their songs, asking him whether the band got its name from Lois Lowry’s novel (they didn’t), and congratulating him on a heckuva show. I then went out to text/call James Oberndorf and Hark Tagunicar, insisting that, for their own good, they needed to come to the next Givers’ show. Same goes for anyone reading this: if you ever notice Givers are touring in your area, check them out. Everything will start “up,” keep going “up,” and soon you’ll be “up up up” and away.
Grade: A+
Immediately after the show, I bought a t-shirt -- only the 8th band t-shirt I’ve ever bought. For the first time ever, I was actually able to talk with the band, telling the lead singer that the kids in my class really liked one of their songs, asking him whether the band got its name from Lois Lowry’s novel (they didn’t), and congratulating him on a heckuva show. I then went out to text/call James Oberndorf and Hark Tagunicar, insisting that, for their own good, they needed to come to the next Givers’ show. Same goes for anyone reading this: if you ever notice Givers are touring in your area, check them out. Everything will start “up,” keep going “up,” and soon you’ll be “up up up” and away.
Grade: A+
95 – Smashing Pumpkins – Monday, October 17, 2011 – 9:30 Club – DC
This Smashing Pumpkins show was not as good as the previous one. The newness that I felt from the start of the last one was gone, the organ section in the middle was a bit dull, and the overall vibe felt more generic than psychedelic.
Fortunately, Billy Corgan was still Billy Corgan, so you left entertained. First, he blinded everyone with ultra bright lights; then, he invited everyone to “come down where the crickets love”?! At one point, he croaked “bang bang you’re dead, hole in your head;” at another point, he screeched “Sally sells seashells by the seashore”?! Most surprisingly of all, he actually pointed to and thanked the audience at the end. Way to confound expectations by doing what you expect from every other performer!
The most rewarding part of the concert was seeing it with James Oberndorf. To see a person care about the music as much as I did, to hear him describe how he’d “gone through a time warp” and reconnected with his youth, was thrilling. He eagerly explained drop d tuning, he wooo’d through “Siva,” “Soma,” and “Cherub Rock,” and when “Butterfly” came up as the last song, he flipped out. He wasn’t the only one...
Grade: B+
Fortunately, Billy Corgan was still Billy Corgan, so you left entertained. First, he blinded everyone with ultra bright lights; then, he invited everyone to “come down where the crickets love”?! At one point, he croaked “bang bang you’re dead, hole in your head;” at another point, he screeched “Sally sells seashells by the seashore”?! Most surprisingly of all, he actually pointed to and thanked the audience at the end. Way to confound expectations by doing what you expect from every other performer!
The most rewarding part of the concert was seeing it with James Oberndorf. To see a person care about the music as much as I did, to hear him describe how he’d “gone through a time warp” and reconnected with his youth, was thrilling. He eagerly explained drop d tuning, he wooo’d through “Siva,” “Soma,” and “Cherub Rock,” and when “Butterfly” came up as the last song, he flipped out. He wasn’t the only one...
Grade: B+
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