Shane Handler

Death Cab for Cutie: Plans

Plans fails to pick things up a notch in the rock department where Transatlanticism teased us in believing DCFC would be the next great experimental guitar band. There is a load of keyboard sap and wish washy ballads to deal that makes Plans a rather soft affair.

Maybe next time instead of recording in New England in the dead of winter, these west-coasters should stay in overcast Seattle and stick with a familiar formula. The true Death Cab sound is still here at times, but at the end Plans leaves you asking, “what is all the fuss about?”

Read More

Feist: Let It Die

Having sung with Canadian indie-popsters Broken Social Scene to female rapper Peaches to the Kings, Leslie Feist has paid her dues. But it

Read More

Phish: The Island Tour

If any four night run is a moment in time for Phish, the Island Tour epitomizes the power of a snapshot. It

Read More

Pink Floyd: The $250 Million Dollar Question

In 1982 Don Henley said “hell would freeze over before the Eagles would play together again.” Sure enough, the apocalypse never arrived and the Eagles were delivering their feel-good California rock twelve years later in one the most anticipated reunion tours ever.

But who would have thought Pink Floyd would reunite? There were better odds of Barbara Streisand marrying Tommy Lee than seeing Roger Waters and David Gilmour spit out “Comfortably Numb” together on stage.

But sure enough it did happen, when a Pink Floyd reunion stole the show at Live 8 last month in London. That’s right, all four members, minus of course the mysterious recluse Syd Barrett took the stage together. In Live 8 terms, it’s pretty common knowledge that Pink Floyd band leaders David Gilmour and Roger Waters see about as eye to eye as George Bush and Bono. But there was Waters, along with Gilmour and Nick Mason and Rick Wright performing “Breathe,” “Money,” “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb.”

Read More

The Thieves: Tales From The White Line

The Thieves probably want you to believe that they are the last great rock band standing. Like The Darkness who have rekindled the lore of Queen and Thin Lizzy, The Thieves strive on proving that rock and roll is meant to be good clean fun. With lines like “gimme some lip boy and I

Read More

View posts by year