Bleeding Neon

I get a lot of CDs in the mail to review and I have little time to get to all of them. Plus, I really don’t like reviewing things. (Yes, it’s sort-of part of my job. Whatever.) So when I can, I’m going to try to do quick round-ups of the latest music releases to come my way. These are opinion-filled and may actually skirt the actual reviewing of an album, so, um, deal.

The Library E.P.: The publicist for this band tried to sell me on it by promoting the fact that Mark Needham, who worked on a few Killers albums, “produced” the Library’s debut E.P. Well, first, he’s an engineer, not a producer, and second: So what? The Library sounds like Under the Influence of Giants kinda mashed up with Terence Trent D’Arby. I like both those artists. I do not like The Library. It’s uninspired disco-pop with vocals that annoyingly veer into the falsetto range. I can do without.

The Staxx Brothers – We Are The Blaxstonz: I first saw this Seattle-based funk/hip-hop/classic rock ensemble live at Bumbershoot last year and really dug their sound, performance and delivery. After briefly reviewing their set on a music website I used to run, they dropped their self-released first album, 12th Street Blues, on me. I dug it. So I had pretty high expectations for We Are The Blaxstonz.

The new album continues with the blend of bluesy rock riffs, soul singing and rap flow that defines The Staxx Brothers sound, with lead vocals traded off between band leader Davin Michael Stedman and MC Decurrian. But for the first half of the album, the songs miss the mark a bit. While the riff in “1992″ is catchy, the rap in the middle section is clunky. “Almost Got Shot in North Minneapolis” is tight, but its gangsta-land storyline feels out of place. And “Oh Carolina” changes things up with its slow-burn, Southern-fried soul, but still feels lackluster.

However, the band picks things up with the upbeat, irreverent, head-bob-inducing “Name Dropper” and “Game Recognize Game,” which, despite its (presumably tongue-in-cheek) refrain of  “money, cash, hos,” is just the kind of funky jam that got my notice on that sunny day in Seattle last year. Your best bet is to see the eight-piece band live, where your biggest concern will be how hard your ass is shaking — and that’s really the only thing that matters.

Silversun Pickups – Swoon: There’s not a sophomore slump in sight for this Los Angeles-spawned, shoegazey, alterna-rock band. On its second album, the quartet comes on strong with more of its signature quiet-to-loud, rasp-to-wail sound. And that’s not a bad thing. Let’s face it: This is what we all wished Smashing Pumpkins still sounded like: Dreamy, lush, full of youthful yearning — not selling cars.

Silversun is all about subtleties and nuances on Swoon: layered guitars, keyboard flourishes, those everpresent, machine-like drums.  From the jaunty, buzzing opener, “There’s No Secrets This Year,” to the hypnotic, chilly “Growing Old is Getting Old,” Silversun reminds us that there is some joy left in alternative rock, even if there’s not much originality. The frantic lead single, “Panic Switch,” deserves a permanent spot on rock radio. A great band both on record and live, I highly recommend picking up this disc and checking out Silversun Pickups if they come through your neck of the woods.

Hey, remember I wrote that I’d be singing with my fake band, SP7.3, at the Harrah’s Total Rock, Total Rewards “Rock Band” competition on Tuesday?

Yeah, that’s done.

Scott, Cindi, Josh and I brought the thunder and tore up the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer.” While at least three other “bands” chose Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Give it Away” in order to rack up millions of points to like, win or something, we decided to put more emphasis on performance and not worry about silly things like scoring or whatever. And … hell, we got a better reception that my REAL band usually does! (Ha, just kidding Tim, Mark and Rick! Really! Don’t fire me!)

I’ll eschew the boring details and go right into the video and photos, because, well, that’s why you’re here, right?

Patrick Berge, John Meglen, Carlos Santana, Mayor Oscar Goodman and Randy Kwasniewski cut the cord on the new Joint. (Photo by Erik Kabik / Retna)

I was not a fan of the Joint concert hall inside the Hard Rock Hotel. Oh, sure I saw dozens of shows there — including Modest Mouse, Morrissey, Marilyn Manson, No Doubt and Air — but its cavernous, boxy design, poor sightlines, impossible bar situation, echoey sound and irritating traffic flow made it somewhat less than a stellar live music venue.

But with the property-wide remodeling of the Hard Rock, the Joint has been shuttered (closed down with a two-night stint by Motley Crue) and across the casino floor, an entirely new Joint has been erected. The $60 million venue is double the size and capacity of its predecessor — adding 700 fixed balcony seats and seven VIP suites  — yet retains the relatively intimate feel audiences have come to know, with no seat more than 155 feet from the stage.

Designed by renowned Montreal architectural firm Scéno Plus, the new concert hall incorporates new features such as wireless internet access, a full blogging station for media and 38 flat screens throughout the venue. Oddly, the blogging station, located near the main doors next to the balcony escalator, is not within sight of either one of those flat screens or the actual stage.

Despite that minor complaint, I have to admit: It’s a beautiful improvement over the old Joint. The general floor area now has multiple, staggered levels (unlike the two sharp drops in the original). The bar area, which caused much misery due to its proximity to the exits and its understaffing, is now greatly expanded and enclosed behind half walls. With glass and steel accents, lighted guitar fretboard walls and multiple viewing levels, this new Joint feels like a real, modern concert venue and not a makeshift gymnasium — a distinction it had to make once the much-better-equipped Pearl concert hall opened at the Palms a few years ago.

Of course, the real proof of success will come when the first shows hit the new Joint this weekend: The Killers on Friday, Avenged Sevenfold on Saturday and Sir Paul McCartney himself on Sunday. Not that you’d be able to get tickets to the Friday or Sunday gigs, but Aveneged Sevenfold — if that’s your thing — still has spots available. If anyone goes to any of this opening weekend’s shows, swing back by here and let me know how they went. I’m curious if the sound in the new Joint is as much of an improvement over its predecessor as its aesthetics already have proven to be.

It makes sense that my two stories in this month’s issue of Six Degrees Las Vegas are published back to back in the magazine (pages 44 and 46). The Killers opening the new Joint concert hall at the Hard Rock Hotel ties in directly to the Vegas-spawned quartet’s headlining of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, as both events take place the same weekend, and not by coincidence.

One great side effect of Coachella’s relative proximity to Vegas is the visits by a number of bands and artists scheduled to play that three-day festival in Indio, Calif. right here in Sin City the same weekend. This year, all three headliners are performing pricey (and mostly sold-out) shows: The Cure on Friday, April 17 at the Pearl inside the Palms resort, Paul McCartney on Sunday, April 19 at the Joint, and the aforementioned Killers show opening the new-and-improved Joint, also on Friday.

Of course, I’ll be going to none of the above shows. I’ve seen the Killers enough times to last me a few years, Cure tickets were mind-numbingly expensive and Sir Paul … those tickets went in the blink of an eye. Really, there are a number of concerts I’d love to hit that are coming to Vegas soon, including Depeche Mode and the once-in-a-lifetime (since Lollapalooza) combo of a fully reunited Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails. But ticket prices for these shows (both at the Pearl) have been so exhorbitant ($95 at the low end for JA/NIN and $200 on the high for DM) that no reasonable person, especially not in this economy, can afford them. But given that they’ve been selling briskly, there are apparently a lot of unreasonable people out there.