Got another bag!

Okay you’re probably thinking I’m sick and have issues, which is sort of true, but let me explain myself first.

I originally got the the Crumpler Karachi Outpost so I can carry all my gear with me when I travel, but I decided at the last minute that I really didn’t want to wear a backpack all the time when I visit Boston and Maine (pictures coming soon) for vacation.

I did some more research and looked into many companies, but I always end up going back to Crumpler. I didn’t want something too expensive and most importantly something just to carry my Canon 40D with lens attached, one more lens, spare battery, extra memory cards, and cleaning tools. I wanted to keep the size to a minimum as well so I can move around  freely through the city and of course at a baseball game.

I was originally going for the 4 Million Dollar Home, but read on other forums and blogs that a 40D would be too tight. I finally decided on the 5 MDH and it was the wisest decisions I ever made regarding gear.

After I received the bag and took pictures of course, I then brought out the gear that I would be using in the bag. A Canon 40D minus the battery grip (it will definitely not fit), a Tamron 17-50 2.8 attached, and a Sigma 10-20 f4-5.6 EX DC HSM and the other smaller items. I adjusted the inserts and everything fit nicely! I was worried though that the 5MDH didn’t come with a shoulder pad for the strap, but I will tell that part of the story later.

The materials they used on the bag seems very sturdy and rugged, and I read on the site they use water resistant  materials on the outside so your gear stays dry on the inside. This will be tested by the way, and not by choice. Crumpler thought about the details when making this bag. They considered the possibility that sometimes you need to be discrete and have these handy panels that go over the velcro in the front to keep your bag silent when you open it up (third picture in the gallery). Other parts of the bag that I found really helpful was a zipper mesh pocket that is under the flap and another separate front velcro pocket to keep your smaller items like batteries or memory cards. Also, they have these side pockets on each side that can store items like a gronola bar or a cellphone. I’m telling you this bag can hold some serious shit!

So how did the bag do during the actual trip? It was a champ and I had it on me all the time. In a previous part of this long winded review I mentioned the shoulder strap and my concern with weight. It didn’t bother me even with all my mentioned gear, now add a small umbrella that I fit inside across the top, or a rocket blower, or even a small water bottle. This bag distributes the weight well. Crumpler made the strap wide enough so it doesn’t dig in your shoulders and I believe there’s a sweet spot to wearing this bag. When the bag is worn more behind your back like in the product photos on their site, you really don’t feel the weight. I wore this bag all day around Boston, during rush hour on the subways, high traffic tourist areas and no complaints. The thing I complained about was the weather and my flat feet.

Speaking of weather, the first three days in Boston had some pretty good showers. When we were at Fenway the sky just opened up. Luckily I had a poncho to cover my bag. but it did get rained upon bad in the beginning. I was so worried about my camera, but every time I checked everything under the flap was dry. I was relieved to say the least. I now know that if it starts to rain and I see the water start to bead up on the bag, I have some reassurance.

So you must be thinking that there has to be something that you didn’t like about the bag or something that you would like to see improved upon. I thought about this and maybe would of like a dedicated water bottle pouch or something on the side, but that’s really about it.  Everything else I really have no complaints. The bag is the perfect size, not too big and not too small. It carries enough of the essentials and then some. The bag is reliable and definitely durable.  That’s everything I would really want in a camera bag.

Tuesday night was a great kick off for the summer concert series with Camera Obscura. They were at the Glass House in Pomona and I was glad that it was only thirty minutes away.  Cara, my friend Rob and I got there around 7:30pm, which is pretty damn early to think of it.  We didn’t realize until later that they had two bands opening for them, actually a DJ and a band called Agent Ribbons.  Camera Obscura wasn’t going to play until 9:40, so we took our time and Rob bought tickets for the Band of Horses concert at the Glass House box office.  They’re actually playing at the newly restored Fox Theater in downtown Pomona in late August. I still got to get the tickets.

Hurry up payday.

After Rob and his girlfriend Suzie got a bite to eat (Suzie showed up later), we decided to finally show our faces at 9:00. It was an interesting scene to say the least. I overheard the singer say to the audience that they will cut their show short due to her voice, but that wasn’t the interesting point. It was a man with a bird mask hitting a tambourine against his left handed boxing glove which caught my attention. I felt like I was in a David Lynch movie. The stage was very Twin Peaks with the red drapes in the  background, so I guess it makes sense. I wish I had a picture to show you, but this might do.

Camera Obscura came out as promised at 9:40 and I believe they opened up with “My Maudlin Career”. I have to say they sounded really good live and Tracyanne’s voice just resonates so well. When she sings, it just pierces through the air. They played a couple of songs from their new album like, “James”, “Swans”, and of course the danceable “French Navy”.  They went back in the archives and played “Eighties Fan” which is off of Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi. They played many of their other songs especially off of Let’s Get Out of this Country, probably their most popular album. Of course they played “If Looks Could Kill” and their encore song of choice,  my beloved “Razzle Dazzle Rose”.  They did mess up in the beginning and had to start over, but I’m totally fine with that. They’re human after all and it was funny to hear Tracyanne joked that they played this song for two weeks and they still screwed the song up.  After they found their sync, the song was amazing live  just as I imagined it would be.  It was at the end of the song where it was a glorious chaos of instruments all playing at the same time with the signature horn keeping it all together.

If I had the time and money, I would definitely see them again in LA. They’re a great live band and I wished they would of played for another hour. I believed their set was roughly around a hour and fifteen minutes. If they would of gone more, I’m sure nobody would of complained.

I would say the only weird thing about the night, besides bird man, was the vibe of the crowd. Some people were getting into the music and I understand not all of their songs are danceable or upbeat, but it just felt like the crowd was not all there. It was like a group of zombies staring at the stage. Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but you would think people would be more excited about a band who rarely comes out to the states to be more into it.  I’m pretty sure bird man was excited.

Here’s some videos for your entertainment.

Okay here’s a gem. This is their cover of “Some Guys Have All the Luck” by Rod Stewart. Golden.

“French Navy”

“Let’s Get Out of This Country” aka “Let’s Get Out Riverside” for my version.

I was reading a review of this band called Glasvegas the other week and I was quite intrigued. A Scottish band that has the likes of former countrymen Jesus and Mary Chain mixed with the sounds of the girl bands from the 50′s. So after listening to the 30 second tracks on Itunes for awhile, I couldn’t help but figure which songs I wanted. I had about 12 dollars worth of credit left and I came to the conclusion the reason why I was having a hard time deciding was that the whole album sounded good, and I should just buy the whole damn thing.

If you like bands like The Raveonettes or old time Jesus and Mary Chain, Glasvegas should be a sure buy. This album is meant to be played loud. This is going to sound corny as hell, but I felt like I was 17 again listening to these songs. Catchy big beats of the 50′s with vocals from a singer who’s meant to be singing in a rock band, reminded me when I actually played my music loud out of my 92 Honda Civic DX. I never really thought I would ever buy an album like this, since it seemed to be filled with angst meant for young people, but I’m glad that I did. Hell, I was young once. The lyrics are strewn with vulgar language (maybe that’s what made me feel 17 again), but who really cares. This is what rock should sound like.

Here’s a video for you to enjoy. The name of the song is called Geraldin. I would of put more videos for you guys, but all the videos on youtube weren’t video enabled but here’s the link to more.

On my last post I mentioned that I got The Cure’s 4:13 Dream and I had a chance to listen to it over the weekend. It’s not too bad, but it’s not Disintegration either. Of course, I don’t think there will ever be another Disintegration, that CD came at a good time in my musical life.

Anyways, a couple songs that caught my attention was Underneath The Stars, The Only One, The Reasons Why, Sirens Song, and The Hungry Ghost. I think these songs had that certain nostalgic Cure sound that I grew up with. If you want something new to listen to from The Cure, then you might want to check this album out. Hardcore Cure fans are probably going to enjoy this album no matter what, but the casual might want to check out some of the songs before hand.

And here’s a video to take you guys back.

I’m really ashamed to even mention this, but I finally got Neil Halstead’s second solo album, Oh! Mighty Engine. I know, some fan you are Archa, you damn charlatan. Why the long wait? I can’t give you a real good answer to that. Yes, I could of downloaded it from Itunes or Amazon, but when it comes to my favorite bands I will always by the CD. I just like having the actual CD in my hands to look at. Another reason is that on Itunes the album isn’t DRM free and I really hate that. I was actually surprised when the album was released eons ago that it wasn’t on Itunes Plus. I just don’t know why new albums aren’t automatically put on Itunes Plus, but that’s a whole other story.

I’m definitely enjoying the album. It’s a good progression from Sleeping On Roads. The album is overall soft and quiet like. You just can’t help to think that you should be lying under a blue sky with puffy clouds on a big field somewhere and to add to that, drinking some lemonade.  His comparison with Nick Drake from many of the professional music critics are accurate. Neil’s a great singer/songwriter and I’m glad that I was able to meet him when he was touring with Mojave 3. He’s a nice guy and was very approachable.

Some songs that I first took noticed was Paint A Face, Oh! Mighty Engine, Elevenses, and Queen Bee. There are of course  other noticeable songs on the album worth looking at. So if you’re into soft, warm, quiet, folk like music, this album has your name on it.

Oh, I also finally got The Cure’s 4:13 Dream as well. More on that later…

10pm rolled around and my wife and I decided to get off the couch and see what the hoopla was all about. We got to the place and waited for an hour and the band finally made it to the stage. I think the place was having sound difficulties or what not and they were running behind. It was definitely a interesting mix of people that’s for sure. Oh, let me just start off and say it was in Riverside so you know where this is going. First off,  Bros don’t mix with Depeche Mode. It’s like water and oil, it just doesn’t mix. You have a group of muscle bros with their flat bills and cool (fill in blank) t-shirts just looking utterly out of place. I don’t know, you think they would have a better time at a bar that plays Disturbed or something.  The rest of the people were either regular dress adults, college kids, goths, all black dress people, creepy old men, and old men with their old girlfriends who look like they should be listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Now you know why I said it was an interesting night.

The band actually did a pretty good job covering Depeche Mode. There were all dress like the 3 band members except one of the members looked more like Alan Wilder than Andy Fletcher.  I felt sorry for the the guy who dressed like Martin Gore, man those were some uncomfortable short, shorts. Maybe he’s used to them by now. The singer had all the David Gahan moves down especially the microphone twirl that Gahan does at every concert. They played everything from Photographic (I take pictures…) to the poplular Enjoy the Silence. Their set was about and hour and a half, so they played the gamut.

Overall it was fun, but like my wife and I were discussing, we enjoyed hearing the songs; however,  we couldn’t get too excited because it wasn’t like a real Depeche Mode Concert. I think we just didn’t know what to take from the situation.  Maybe we’re getting old or something.

I do give credit to Blasphemous Rumours though, they do cover many of Depeche Mode’s songs well.  On a side note Depeche Mode is working on their next studio album and are preparing for the “Tour of the Universe” in 2009.

Here’s a video of one of my favorite Depeche Mode songs that they didn’t play.

The National is what current good Indie Rock sounds like. I’m glad that bands like this exist. The album Boxer is filled with great songs and takes multiple hearing sessions to grasp all the songs. The 5 peice ensemble is from New York and two of the members are brothers. A song that’s going to get your attention first is probably going to be Fake Empire. It’s like you should be walking through a big city when listening to this song. Mistaken for Strangers is a definite hook as well and the chorus is going to get you. You can try to fight it, but you can’t.

After diving into the album further, you notice songs like Gospel, which is a beautiful song. Yes, I’m a male and I said beautiful. The Slow Show and Start a War are other great songs from the album. I don’t really want to spoil this moment for you if you’re looking for new music. The National has other albums to boast and could be something worth your attention. Enjoy.

Well, another Nocturnal Festival has gone and so is my hearing. I always remind myself to bring earplugs and I always forget. I guess I’m fulfilling my characteristics of being old. Add memory loss and deafness to my list please. This year’s event, at least to my friend and I, seemed different from last year. I think there wasn’t an age limit this year, because it seemed like a bunch of junior high kids roaming around with glow sticks and disturbing clothing that you wonder, does your parents know you wear clothes like that? We definitely felt a bit out of place. We probably looked liked we worked there instead. When the event was held in LA in 07, the crowd was much more older. I’m thinking at least 18 on up and it appeared the crowd was much more experienced in this type of event. You got a good mix of electronica enthusiast that go for the music and blended in was the the whole rave scene culture as well. Nocturnal 08 was predominantly rave scene culture and the majority under 16. I don’t know if it was the location of the event or what, but there was a different vibe this year.

Now on to the bands. Hands down the best set was Uberzone. They brought the house down and they know how to work the crowd. Funky, groovy, hard hitting mad beats is the only way I can describe their live set. The highlight of the show was when they mixed in Eddie Grant’s Electric Avenue. Growing up to that song surely brought me back to a time of innocence. I hope Uberzone comes back again, because it was well worth it to see them live. I would check out the song Fubar if you want to hear what I’m talking about.

Above and Beyond was my next favorite set from Saturday night. If you haven’t heard of this band yet, then I highly suggest you should. They’re a trance group such the likes of Paul Van Dyk and Oakenfold. Their music is very uplifting and they have great vocalist tracks to boast as well like Can’t Sleep and Alone Tonight. Other songs worth mentioning is Indonesia and Air For Life. You might as well just buy the whole damn Tri-State album.

Next on the list was Richie Hawtin’s set. I believed if I was more into House, I would of probably enjoyed it more. This is not to say I didn’t like it or anything, but it’s not as moving to me. Richie Hawtin aka Plastikman is still a great DJ and it was a pleasure to finally see him live. He was part of the Detroit’s Techno scene in the 90′s and it’s very evident in his live set. System 7′s Alphawave acid house mix by Plastikman is still one of my favs.

This year Nocturnal Festival was pretty cool, even though my friend and I felt like the “Elders of Electronica”, we still had a good time and that’s all that matters. I’m curious where the venue is going to be next year and if they’re going back to LA or not. Oh, eating at Denny’s at 3 am is still good times.