Amanda Palmer, WFNX Interview (Live at Best Music Poll 2008)

Amanda Palmer, "Creep (Radiohead cover, Live at Best Music Poll 2008)"

In only her second show since vocal-cord surgery, Amanda Palmer took the Best Music Poll concert stage to preview a bunch of tunes off her forthcoming solo debut, Who Killed Amanda Palmer?, most of 'em at the piano -- although she began with her patented showstopping ukulele rendition of "Creep" and ended, with Dresden Dolls drummer Brian Viglione on guitar, by howling a cover Neutral Milk Hotel's "Two Headed Boy." Here's "Creep," plus her interview on FNX, but stay tuned -- Amanda also consented to be our behind-the-scenes BMP guide, and we'll have some exclusive backstage treats to post soon.

5/18/2008 7:04:00 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Bob Mould: Best Music Poll Interview 2008


Bob Mould, "Wishing Well (Live at Best Music Poll 2008)

We knew Bob Mould had gotten his feet wet a few years ago with a brief foray into electronic music and a monthly DJ night, "Blowoff," down in DC. What we hadn't realized is that a) Mould is back to making very Sugar-like rock music, and b) that his DJ tastes have evolved to the point where he's become a huge Paris/Ed Banger fanboy. In this interview, conducted backstage a few minutes before he went onstage last weekend, he big-ups Justice, Kavinsky, and Sebastien, and talks about his remixes for Interpol, Low, Tokyo Police Club. Plus some clips from his solo-electric set at Best Music Poll 2008. Then click below for the full clip of "Wishing Well."

5/14/2008 10:02:00 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

When the ladies of the Phoenix art department came running up to us at Best Music Poll in full-hyperventilation mode, we hoped that their excitement meant that someone had just uncovered a secret stash of drink tickets, or maybe an electric blanket. When we managed to calm them down, they claimed to have spotted Jim Halpert wandering around the venue. The Office hottie? At our party? And he wasn't even on the guest list? Naaaahhhhh, we pshawed. An extensive search of the grounds, with multiple photogs in tow, turned up nothing. But after we'd abandoned the hunt, the art girls found their prey: Newton homie John Krasinsky, just hanging out and watching his pals Death Cab for Cutie, with whom he was scheduled to rendezvous after the gig. Above: snaps of their brief auditions for the role of Pam, should the need for a replacement ever arise.

5/12/2008 1:02:00 PM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

 
Presidents of the United States of America

Death Cab for Cutie

Amanda Palmer

 
Bob Mould

Eli "Paperboy" Reed

All photos (c) Carina Mastrocola

It's a wrap: the 2008 Best Music Poll Concert is in the books, and as far as we know, no one died of hypothermia. Fuck, was it cold. As we're uploading this, it's 65 and sunny. This couldn't have happened 18 hours earlier?

This was our first year putting on the BMP exclusively at the Pavilion -- in recent years we've split the action between the tent and the clubs on Lansdowne Street, but with Lansdowne Street in its current state of demolition (as if Dropkick Murphys' pipebomb fantasy had finally come true), we stuffed everything under one roof. Death Cab were epic, and Chris Ballew's Presidents were far, far better than we had any right to suspect (and we're not just saying that because they covered the MC5 -- we'd forgotten how much OKGO owe their careers to the POTUSA blueprint). Bob Mould, in solo-electric mode, came out and played a bunch of hits, not to mention some Husker Du. Amanda Palmer played just her second show since vocal-cord surgery and unveiled a bunch of new solo material, then brought out fellow Dresden Doll Brian Viglione to play guitar on a shrieking version of Neutral Milk Hotel's "Two Headed Boy." Passion Pit went on first, for an audience in the hundreds -- but trust us, by next year there's gonna be a couple thousand people claiming they were there-when. (Alas, they went on before our photogs showed up. If anyone's got snaps, let us know.) For our money the scene-stealing act of the day was Eli "Paperboy" Reed, who delivered the same shockingly, effortlessly house-shattering soul set he's been plying in clubs -- but on the big stage it felt even bigger.

We're still recovering from the after-party, but we've already got a shit-ton of photos up in case you missed it. And you'll probably want to check back soon: we'll be uploading interviews, concert videos, and a few special treats throughout the week.

BMP 2008 PHOTOS: Death Cab for Cutie
BMP 2008 PHOTOS: Presidents of the United States of America
BMP 2008 PHOTOS: Amanda Palmer
BMP 2008 PHOTOS: Bob Mould
BMP 2008 PHOTOS: Eli "Paperboy" Reed

5/11/2008 4:55:00 PM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

VIDEO: Big Digits, "Chairs Electric (Live at Great Scott)"

Digitos Grandes stepped in as last-minute replacements on our last BMP showcase, filling in for Pretty & Nice, who had to cancel due to injury. Was nice to see TD and Mac again in full sweatbox mode -- that's TD in the chain-mail bank-robber mask and the Mickey sweatshirt -- and we finally got a glimpse of DJ Wii-J Mark E. Moon rocking a party with his custom-tweaked Wii controller. BMP results will be announced in a couple weeks, just in time for the annual Best Music Poll Concert at BOA Pavilion on May 10 with Death Cab for Cutie, Amanda Palmer, Bob Mould, POTUSA, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, and more.

RELATED: TD from Big Digits rates the Phoenix's mustaches

4/28/2008 1:27:31 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Hallelujah the Hills, "Nurses Five Float Past (Live at Great Scott)"

Hallelujah the Hills + Ho-Ag, "Rain Dogs (Tom Waits cover; live at Great Scott)"

It's not like either Hallelujah the Hills or Ho-Ag lack for members; and it's not like they're such natural collaborators that they were bound to appear on the same stage eventually. In fact, we're still not quite steady on why the hell HTH & Ho-Ag keep going all Voltron and forming the Hallelujah the Ho-Ag superband. (While we're on the topic, dudes, we hereby suggest that "Ho-Ag The Hills" rolls off the tongue a little more smoothly.) But all that aside, it's for shizzle that this is a formula for getting really fucking loud and weird, which is why we toted the cams up to Great Scott to capture this strange apparition in all its frazzled majesty. The pairing lost none of its spontanaeity by this being the second time they'd joined up, and it having been HTH's second show that day  (the first having been a rare family matinee and the same venue). Our audio-recording device said fuck it and died at the beginning of the set, so double thanks to HTH for providing us with a backup track. Whew. What you get above: a standout track from HTH's headline set, drawn from their recent 100-percent-free-online-EP Prepare to Qualify, and a tag-team HTH/Ho-Ag pile-up on Tom Waits' "Rain Dogs," Tom Waits being one thing that intellectual folks-rockers and gonzo spazz-punk behemoths can still agree on. Speaking of which, this is probably a good time to suggest a Scar-Jo/Ho-Ag throwdown. Tell us in the comments which name they should go under: Scar-Ho or Jo-Ag?

4/22/2008 4:04:12 PM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

Faces on Film, "Natalie's Numbers (Live at the Middle East)"

If we had a Best Music Poll category for most-improved, Mike Fiore's FACES ON FILM would've had another notch in their belt, not to mention a pretty-much unimpeded cakewalk to the victory. As it is, he's up for best local singer-songwriter, for which we apologize because we didn't know quite where else to put 'em. The live show has gotten to the level of stunning motherfuckers, and it doesn't seem to matter whether he's onstage by himself, with a stripped down trio (we highly recommend their recent Flophouse Session over at Band In Boston), or -- see above -- with the full band plus friends, recorded live at the Middle East during one of our recent Best Music Poll showcase concerts.

Voting, of course, has ended for this year's BMP. Results will be released May 9, just in time to preview the Best Music Poll Concert at Bank of America Pavlion on May 10 with Death Cab for Cutie, Bob Mould, Amanda Palmer, and a couple of recently-announced BMP winners: Eli "Paperboy" Reed and Passion Pit. Tickets are still available, but not for long.

PREVIOUSLY:

• VIDEO: Tulsa, Live at the Middle East
• VIDEO: Viva Viva, Live at the Middle East

COMING SOON!: Hallelujah the Hills, Big Digits

4/22/2008 10:17:38 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

So, Best Music Poll is a little thing we do with our brothers and sisters over at FNX every year, as yet another way of drumming up bragging rights for local rock/rap/pop/jazz/dj/etc supremacy. It's a time-honored tradition to bitch about who got nominated, talk shit about how your favorite band is way better, and stuff the ballot box for the Dresden Dolls -- or at least, that's what we do in-house. But the voting is also open to you fine people, and the general idea is Grammy-like, in that it's a process of dubious scientific value that produces great publicity for everyone involved, and is generally an excuse for us to throw parties, bring in huge bands, sprinkle the internet with great mp3s, and cause a ruckus. In other words: a real good time.

Past BMP concerts have been pure insanity. Usually we shut down Lansdowne Street and pack every club, as well as an outdoor stage, and then we throw an even bigger gig over at the Pavilion. This year, with Lansdowne Street temporarily a construction zone, we thought we might end up with a slightly less antic affair, since it's just the big stadium-rocking Pavilion show. Then they decided to book Amanda Palmer. Amanda, you may recall, has this weird thing where she turns into a batshit stripper whenever she gets within eyesight of a BMP logo. So who the fuck knows. Also on the bill: Death Cab for Cutie, Bob Mould, Presidents of the United States of America (still together: who knew?). Last year, we also added more than bragging rights to Best Music Poll: we gave out the opening slots to a bunch of the winners. This year that'll continue: two of the winning bands will open the Pavilion gig. So start clicking; your favorite bands will thank you later. Tickets for the Best Music Poll Concert, May 10 at the BOA Pavilion, go on sale this Saturday at 10 am.

For our money, the best category in the whole poll is Best New Artist: some of us think that this year's Best New Aristist nominees are actually way better than the bands nominated for Best Local Act. But this is no one dude's poll, so feel free to tell us how fucking wrong we are on all counts: there's a write-in option for every category, which means if someone wants to stuff the ballotbox for Tunnel of Love, Turpentine Bros, or Motherboar, we won't be mad at you.

In any case, let's kick off what we hope will be a running argument about who the best new band in town is, defined loosely as "a band that hasn't been nominated for anything in Best Music Poll before." You can jump right to that category here, or just point your browser to www.bestmusicpoll.com anytime you please.

DOWNLOAD: Drug Rug, "Day I Die" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Passion Pit, "Sleepy Head" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Pretty & Nice, "Grab Your Nets" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Tulsa, "Shaker" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Wild Light, "New Hampshire" (at MySpace)

3/20/2008 4:33:18 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |