April 23, 2007

HT Baseball Preview: Rob Salzer’s Mets

For the final installment of the first annual Hidden Track Baseball Preview, I spoke with U-Melt’s Rob Salzer about his band and his beloved Metropolitans.

Scott Bernstein: How closely are you able to follow the Mets from the road?

Rob Salzer: Honestly, it’s hard to watch all the games. But we keep up pretty well. Some of us have Internet on our phones, so we are able to follow the team. Finding hotels with wireless internet is key. Unfortuntely we don’t get to see as many games as we would like, but we are able to keep tabs on the Mets.

SB: Are the other guys in the band into baseball?

RS: Everyone in the band is a fan of baseball. Myself and Zac, the keyboard player, are big-time Mets fans. My drummer and bass player are both Yankee fans, so we’re split right down the middle.

SB: How does that dynamic work?

RS: It’s actually fun. We’re outnumbered if you include our manager Jason, because he’s a big Yankee fan too. But he’s not on the road with us. There is a little bit of a rivalry; it’s not to too bad, especially since the Yankees haven’t been that succesful in the last six years. It was very, very painful losing to them in the World Series back in 2000. I’m definitely not a Yankee hater; I definitely like the Yankees. It’s a good-natured rivalry.

Read on for more about the ballclub and the band from Rob and Scott’s chat…

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Picture Show: Flaming Lips @ Brown

Neither of us can successively operate a camera. We take out-of-focus pictures and shaky amateur videos, but we can’t get it right. Thankfully some of our friends have at least a modicum of talent, and occasionally they pass along some photos for Show & Tell. Our man Danfun from Who’s Driving the Bus? caught the Flaming Lips this weekend, and he was kind enough to share. Take’r away…

Perfect weather, frozen lemonade, confetti and balloons — oh, just another day with The Flaming Lips, this time at Brown University.

Coyne

The Flaming Lips have always been one of my go to bands, having seen them countless times over the past 11 years. Their albums are amazing and transcendent, but their live shows are even bigger, greater, always a huge extravagant production to absorb. The band also happens to feature some the nicest and most endearing musicians in all of rock and/or roll.

Although their live concert has essentially been the same show for the past five or six years, it’s one that I personally can never pass up. It’s a lot like watching your favorite movie over and over again: You know how it’s going to end and you don’t care, because it just means that much to you. I have taken dozens of people to see the Flaming Lips for their first time, and almost every single one of them has left knowing they were just at the best party going on in that particular time zone.

FLbubble

So Saturday morning I decided to head up to Brown University’s Spring Fling Weekend to catch Stardeath and Whitedwarfs, Missions to Burma, Yo La Tengo, and, of course, the Flaming Lips. And boy I’m glad I did. Read on for more photos and more thoughts about the show…

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RAQ Brings the Heat…and the Fire

To be completely honest, this year’s Green Apple Music & Arts Festival lineup in New York was, to borrow an expression from the Torah, lamer than FDR’s legs. You know

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Monday’s Hors d’Oeuvres (now with setlists!)

There was a time when Bob Dylan tours were few and far between. Now the Lucious Bobby Dylan barely takes a break from the road, as you can see from the extensive North American tour he just announced. Dylan is currently on tour in Europe, where reviews have been positive. I’ve had mixed experiences seeing Bob, but I’d be down with seeing the legend perform again. Onto the rest:

And read on for some setlists from a great weekend of music, including !!!, Flaming Lips, Disco Biscuits, Spoon, RatDog, Wolfmother, G-Mule and more…

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The Week That Was: It’s Sprung

A Nor’easter one weekend, a glorious spring day filled with tank-tops the next. I played a little indoor bocce, caught four bands and stood in the, what’s this?, sun for

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Feist Launches US Tour Dates

Feist will hit the road this June in support of her stunning new release, The Reminder, in stores May 1st on CherryTree/Interscope (all dates below).  The tour will launch June

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LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver

Given that LCD Soundsystem’s 2005 self-titled debut nailed most critic’s best of lists, it’s easy to presume the pressure was on LCD's James Murphy’s for his follow-up, Sound of Silver.

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Menomena: Friend and Foe

Menomena bang out songs like they are exorcizing demons. The Portland-based trio ignites fires beneath hook-ready compositions, adding melodic tension to their auditory experimentation. Friend and Foe, the band’s sophomore release, manages to maintain an explosive urgency within accessible throwdowns.

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Rock Plaza Central: Are We Not Horses

Nothing short of brilliant, Are We Not Horses sends its complex concept to listeners with twelve tracks of sonic bliss.  Its troubadour-pop, neo-chamber folk-rock sound is the perfect platform for the ambiguous story of giant, robotic horses.

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