It was an impromptu set by Julian Casablancas last night atThe Handlebar in front of a capacity crowd, many of whom were giddy with excitement at the opportunity to see The Strokes frontman. His at first unannounced “secret show” suddenly became announced around noon yesterday as a fan at One Eyed Jacks in New Orleans the night before was privy to the news that Julian’s next stop on the way to SXSW was Pensacola. He relayed the news to the Consequence of Sound music blog which promptly posted it and that was all she wrote. For those who have seen The Strokes before, it was pretty much the norm, band gets on stage and rips through a series of songs and then it’s buh bye. But this time Julian Casablancas was joined by a group of musicians know as The Voidz, and they tightly ripped through a set of…
So two nights ago Beav Kenoyer, the guy who books pretty much all the shows at Pensacola’s The Handlebar, told me that Tuesday night was a night that I didn’t want to miss, but that he couldn’t tell me who would be playing.
It was a secret.
Tuesday morning at about 10am I got a text from Jpegasus guitarist, Travis Noonan, letting me know that Julian Casablancas was going to be playing tonight at The Handlebar.
My heart began racing and didn’t stop until, well, after the show ended. And even then I was still kind of in shock/disbelief of what had just happened.
I arrived to the show at about 915 -930, in time to catch part of the local act (Erik Lollar)’s performance and get there in time to make sure not to miss any of Julian Casablancas + The Voidz set.
After wading through the sea of humans and waiting for service from the overwhelmed bar staff (I love you Jimmy), I finally got the ten bucks I needed to pay for my ticket and a little baby 12 oz PBR and made my way outside for some fresh air while I waited for The Voidz to get their stuff set up.
I noticed a handful of dudes walking around who looked like they could pass as extras from the set of Billy Madison or Footloose and assumed they were from the band but wanted to keep my cool card in my pocket and didn’t approach them or anything.
Maybe 5-10 minutes later and me and my friends notice what we think MIGHT be Julian walking in our direction, towards the front door to the venue. None of us are quite sure that it is him until we see him walk up to the stage and grab the mic to begin the show.
We then take a moment to appropriately enjoy a quick gayboy/fanboy moment and then carry about our business as cool, indie rock kids.
They got right into the music, playing songs that I didn’t recognize, but did enjoy, and I figured that they must be stuff from the new album that will be released later this year at a date yet to be revealed. The music has a grittier, more punk rock feel to it than what we have gotten in the past from Julian (solo or with The Strokes), save for a few songs like “Juicebox” or “Vision of Division” perhaps. It was definitely this dance punk kind of sound that left me unsure of whether I should be moshing or snapping my fingers and dancing around with my eyes closed.
A couple of songs later and Julian is talking to the crowd about God knows what because I couldn’t hear a damn thing he was saying. I guess the mic wasn’t up loud enough or his signature vocal distortion was turned up a bit too much. I think I heard him say something about a cover song, and if that was the case, I didn’t know the song they covered because I didn’t recognize any of the songs from their set. Well, I recognized one song. About halfway through their set (and in my mind at the time, it was only about a quarter of the way through their set) they broke out with “River of Brakelights” from Julian’s 2009 solo release, Phrazes For The Young.
This is the first song I recognized from the set and unfortunately (relatively speaking, I suppose) the last song that I recognized. I had searched through Instagram prior to the concert with hashtags like #juliancasablancas #thevoidz #secretshow for hints at what I could be expecting from the show and I saw one video of them playing “Reptilia” and a picture of a setlist with songs listed from Phrazes as well as a couple Strokes songs, so I had that hope built up in my mind.
So I’m excited because I finally recognize a song, and now I feel connected and all that fun stuff that happens when you see one of your favorite artists playing a song that you know. They continued playing, other stuff from The Voidz I’m sure, and after a couple more songs, they put down their instruments and walk off the stage.
Everyone in the audience starts looking around, confused and still hungry for more, so we start the “encore chant”. A couple minutes of this go by before the lights come on and the boys in the band start packing up their equipment. I’m heartbroken, confused, let down, but also still hopped up on the high of finally getting to see Julian in person.
People start filing out the door to go home, or to Sluggo’s where there is another show (unfortunately for those bands) happening also.
I decide against asking to take a picture with any of the band members because I guess my ego is too big or something, I don’t know. But I do approach one of the guys in the band to tell him that I enjoyed the show and stuff. I find out his name is Gus. This is a nutshell version of our chat:
Me: Hey man, great show. Gus: Thanks dude. Me: How’d you guys map out what cities you were gonna be playing? Did your tour managager line them up? Gus: No, they were actually just places that Julian likes. (I think to myself, ‘Julian knows Pensacola exists and chose to come play here??’) Me: Oh, that’s cool. So I saw some videos and stuff on Instagram from your other “secret shows” and saw that you played some Strokes material, like Reptilia. I notice y’all didn’t play that tonight…I guess you just played mostly new stuff from The Voidz? Was your set list just improvised or did you have it laid out already? Gus: Yeah, that was last night actually I think. Me: Yeah, I think you’re right. Gus: No, we had a set list made up already. Yeah we played a lot of stuff from the new record tonight. We played a couple Strokes songs too. (I think to myself, ‘No you didn’t. Or maybe I’m just a crappy fan and didn’t know the songs.’) Me: Word. So how did you meet these guys? Are y’all all friends from New York City? Or… Gus: I work for The Strokes. Me: Ah cool, like in the studio and stuff I guess? Gus: Yeah. Me: Right on. So where are y’all headed tonight? Got any other shows lined up? I guess I saw y’all are playing South by Southwest this year..? Gus: Yeah, I think that’s the next show we have coming up. Me: Cool man. Well hey, great show again. What was your name? Gus: Gus. Me: Cool, I’m Josh. Nice to meet you man. Have a good night. Gus: Thanks, you too.
[When I got home later that night, I Googled “The Strokes Gus” and found out that he is the guy who produced The Strokes’ album, Angles, and has also done some work with production of Albert Hammond Jr.’s (guitar/keyboard for The Strokes) solo music. His full name is Gus Oberg.]
I accepted this as the end of the show and after some friends mentioned going over to Sluggo’s to see White Gold play, I decided I’d head there too. So that’s what I did. There were like 10 people in the crowd for that band but we still had fun. Sucks to have to compete with Julian. They were champs about it. The singer for them made a joke about it saying that “all of our shows are secret shows.” It was funny.
Anyways, I got there in time to hear their last 2 songs. Left that show when it ended, got some Whataburger, and headed home to pass out. And that was my night with Julian Casablancas + The Voidz.
It was great. No denying that. But I think the best way for me to describe it would be like having sex without….finishing. It was great, but I left the show with blue balls.
Oh well, it was great while it lasted Julian. Thanks.
Mogwai, an instrumental post-rock five piece hailing from across the pond in Scotland, have been making ripples in the great lake of instrumental music for the last 17 years or so now. They released their eighth full length album, “Rave Tapes,” on Sub Pop Records in late January of this year as a follow up to their 2013 release, “Les Revenants,” which actually served as the soundtrack to a French TV series by the same name about zombies.
In this “EDM” ridden era of music that we are living through, the album title merely reflects Mogwai taking a bit of a jab at themselves as well as critics who have cast a negative light on the introduction to the use of synthesizers and analog electronic sounds to a few songs on the album, rather than sticking strictly to their uniform style of guitar-driven space rock (which still holds a notable level of prominence on this record, mind you).
[photo courtesy of Sub Pop Records]The sarcastic naming of albums is nothing new to Mogwai, looking back at previous releases like “Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will,” from 2011 and “Come On Die Young” from 1999, boasting “Punk Rock” as the title track from that album.
“Heard About You Last Night” is the introductory track to “Rave Tapes,” incorporating slow-moving drums with their signature ambient guitar sound and an almost spacey xylophone guiding the listener through the song from beginning to end. This is the kind of music you’re supposed to listen to when watching time-lapse videos of footage from the International Space Station or the oceans portion of the Planet Earth DVDs.
This track is followed up by “Simon Ferocious,” which has a wavy sound to it that might take some listeners back to tracks like “The Sun Smells Too Loud” from Mogwai’s 2008 release, “The Hawk Is Howling.” Being driven by synths for the most part, this serves as a bit of a pre-cursor to some of the other more electronically oriented tracks making appearances further down the road, such as “Remurdered” and the drone-y, vaguely hypnotic, “Deesh.”
In spite of their common recognition for being an instrumental band, Mogwai will, on occasion, throw some vocals into the mix. The first voice to make an appearance on the album comes from a sample of a 1981 Michael Mills sermon warning us of the “subliminal satanic messages” that can be found when certain Led Zeppelin records are played backwards.
Two songs later and you arrive at “Blues Hour,” an exceptionally calming number that will undoubtedly draw comparisons to the likes of Yo La Tengo, but in a good way. Put some headphones on and this can easily be likened to an aural astral projection of sorts, especially paired up with the repetitious and almost mantric lyrics, “Train rides going nowhere/ No destination found.”
Mogwai bid us farewell with “The Lord Is Out Of Control,” an opiatic song that finds the band using a vocoder to filter the vocals, yielding results that feel something like having a robot sing you to sleep. They released a music video for this song as well, that can be found on YouTube.
In the end, it’s worth noting that Mogwai is a band known for producing music with a more introspective attitude versus something that you would put on at a house party, for example. Taking that into consideration, “Rave Tapes” would be perfectly at home on a night drive or in your headphones as you look up at the sky and design your own constellations in an area void of light pollution. In other words, this isn’t an awful time to introduce your ears to Mogwai.
The Pensacola City Council met on Thursday to discuss and potentially resolve issues surrounding the so-called “homeless ordinances” as well as whether or not a certain pot-bellied pig would henceforth be referred to as livestock or a domestic pet.
Out of respect for the Kirkman family, who were at the meeting to plea the case of their pot-bellied pig, the council agreed to address their case early on in the meeting.
The ordinance, sponsored by Councilor Sherri Myers, would be exempting Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs from the definition of livestock. In addition, it would provide restrictions allowing for only one animal per residence, no breeding, neutered at four weeks of age, and that the animal be harnessed or leashed when in public, among all other ordinances typical to household pets.
Molly Kirkman, 9, and her brother Butch, 7, gave a presentation to the council in the form of reading aloud from a book about pigs and citing the differences between these pigs bred for livestock and their pot-bellied pig, Buttercup.
Laura Kirkman, mother of the two, and her husband , David, were at the podium as well answering any questions the council had and providing insight and research of their own.
“Livestock by definition are animals that you intend to benefit from monetarily in some kind of manner,” Laura Kirkman said. “We have no intentions of doing anything like that.”
Molly, as bold and brave as a nine-year-old girl can be in front of a city council, stated adamantly that they did not plan on eating Buttercup.
“Would you eat a dog or a cat for breakfast or dinner,” Molly asked. “No one would want that.”
Councilor Larry Johnson was not having any of this and remained unaffected by the Kirkman family’s presentation.
He asked who would be “burdened with the task of monitoring these pigs” in relation to their being neutered.
Johnson also mentioned that he had received a number of complaints from citizens, including one who expressed health concerns stating that if the pig were to be bit by a mosquito, disease might travel to the owner. He also stated that he “did a quick Google for pot-bellied pigs [on his] iPad and the first thing that came up was aggression.”
Myers responded to Johnson by citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website showing that each year 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs in the United States, half of which are children.
Pensacola City Councilwoman Sherri Myers. [Photo courtesy of Gina Dickerson]“I have never had to worry about a pot-bellied pig chasing me down the street while I am riding my bicycle or walking,” Myers said. “I think there is no justification for not allowing people to have pot-bellied pigs. It’s not like the city is going to be overrun by pot-bellied pigs.”
She later added that “if we outlawed dogs and cats because people filed complaints against them, we wouldn’t have any dogs or cats in the city.”
The council passed the ordinance with a vote of 5-3.
Laura Kirkman asked the council if this meant that they won. Council President Jewel Cannada-Wynn acknowledged that it did signify a temporary win but that the issue still had to be brought before the board of county commissioners.
Kirkman responded with in an outburst of victory with both arms held high, “Yes! Woohoo!”
Later in the evening, the time came to vote on an ordinance that would postpone the ability to make any amendments to certain “homeless ordinances” prohibiting people from activities such as washing up in public restrooms.
There was a strong presence in the audience from a number of homeless advocates who intended to voice their opinions on the matter.
Alistair McKenzie, a local attorney who represented the Occupy Pensacola movement in the past, took to the stand first.
Local attorney Alistair McKenzie voicing his opinion on the “homeless ordinances”. [Photo courtesy of Gina Dickerson]“What is obvious about this, is this is all a public relations gig to try and shove this whole issue aside until after the election is over so the people will forget about the homeless people,” McKenzie said in reference to the suspension of amendments to the city code. “That’s despicable. Do you think the citizens of Pensacola are that ignorant?”
Councilor Myers insisted that these ordinances were not merely “homeless ordinances” and that they affect all citizens of Pensacola.
“These ordinances unfairly impact every citizen and visitor to the city of Pensacola and it is an embarrassment to me,” Myers said. “This has a chilling effect on people’s constitutional rights, our freedom to not be discriminated against.”
Councilor Charles Bare expressed his disinterest in passing the ordinance as well.
“I think we are in territory we don’t need to be in,” Bare said. “I think we need to vote this down.”
Michael Kimberl, an advocate for the homeless in Pensacola, said it was “ridiculous” for the councilmembers to be saying that these ordinances were not directed at the homeless.
Michael Kimberl, a local advocate for the homeless of Pensacola. [Photo courtesy of Gina Dickerson]“Councilman Bare asked if he shaved in the bathroom, would he be arrested,” Kimberl recalled from the last meeting about these ordinances in May of last year. “The chief of police said no, he wouldn’t be. It was more than obvious that these issues were directed at the homeless.”
Councilor Johnson addressed the lack of faith in the council being voiced by those who had signed up to speak, assuring them that the council is looking for solutions. He was interrupted by a member of the audience who laughed out loud. Johnson paused, clearly upset by this, and thanked those who had spoken to the council in a respectful manner.
Councilor Myers also expressed her gratitude to everyone who had voiced their opinions and concerns, noting that she appreciated seeing citizens exercise their First Amendment rights.
In the end, the citizens’ concerns did not pay off as the ordinance was passed with a vote of 5-3. Later in the evening, however, the ordinance prohibiting the use of blankets in public was repealed with a vote of 7-0 (Councilor Wingate was absent for the vote).
Also at the meeting, the council approved an ordinance to bring ST Aerospace to Pensacola International Airport with a vote of 8-0. This will have Escambia County loaning the city $3.2 million and providing $4.8 million. These figures combined provide the funds necessary to bring the Singapore-based company to PIA. The ST Aerospace will open 300 job opportunities and is set to be holding its first job fair on March 20th.
![[photo courtesy of Sub Pop Records]](https://eighthundredfifty.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/mogwaiband.jpg)
![Pensacola City Councilwoman Sherri Myers. [Photo courtesy of Gina Dickerson]](https://eighthundredfifty.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/dsc_0244-e1394083748467.jpg)
![Local attorney Alistair McKenzie voicing his opinion on the "homeless ordinances". [Photo courtesy of Gina Dickerson]](https://eighthundredfifty.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/dsc_0240-e1394084103554.jpg)
![Michael Kimberl, a local advocate for the homeless of Pensacola. [Photo courtesy of Gina Dickerson]](https://eighthundredfifty.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/dsc_0245-e1394084465153.jpg)
eight hundred fifty 