Youth and Beauty Brigade: Decemberists Make Welcome Return to West Coast

November 30, 2008

Words and Photographs by Luke Pimentel, Editor

November 30, 2008

Tuesday, November 25th, San Francisco. Even though it’s early in the week, the mood in the city is bright.  The streets are still awash in the giddy afterglow of Obama victory parties, and the prospect of Thanksgiving holiday is fresh on the horizon.

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A Sort Of Homecoming: Kings Close US Tour With Amazing Nashville Night

November 26, 2008

By Kris Andrus

Photos by Patty Arriagada

November 26, 2008

On Wednesday, November 19th, the Kings of Leon returned home to end their US tour with a bang. It had been a very big tour for them. Only By the Night had just been released and they were enjoying success unlike they had ever seen in the states. After two solid sets from openers The Whigs and We Are Scientists, the crowd was ready for the Kings.

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Not So Easy on His Knees: Balancing Faith with Celebrity (Part Two)

November 18, 2008

By Laurie Britt-Smith

November 18, 2008

Editor’s Note: Now, another installment in the serialized work of Dr. Laurie Britt-Smith from her exploration of Bono’s rock-n-roll rhetoric. In this post, she further explores issues related to the tension between faith and celebrity with a discussion grounded in the concept of a Discourse community as introduced in this post.

Bono’s primary Discourse community was his mixed marriage Dublin home; Protestant mother, Catholic father.  He has commented many times on how this, as well as the violence and political upheaval that religion has caused in Ireland, has made him a spiritual person who absolutely loathes organized religion. He once stated, “I have this hunger in me . . . everywhere I look, I see the evidence of a Creator.  But I don’t see it as religion, which has cut my people in two . . . Religion to me is almost like when God leaves-and people devise a set of rules to fill the space.”

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Kings of Leon Kick Toward Greatness

November 13, 2008

By Andrew William Smith, Editor

November 13, 2008

Since 2008 has brought us so many instant classics–like the recent offerings from Fleet Foxes, My Morning Jacket, and TV On The Radio (to name three)–we’re hardly greedy for another stab at stellar greatness. But Tennessee’s Kings of Leon would still like an audience with those betting on the best album of the year. Enter Only By The Night.

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Sound Tribe Mesmerizes Music City

November 10, 2008

By Andrew William Smith, Editor

Photos by Landin E. King

November 10, 2008

We’ve all been to the shows where people just stand around and stare, looking smart and soulless. Even when the band comes on, their butts remain unmoved. But some gigs defy this sad hipster drama to become dance parties with a purpose. With the genre-suspending and musically-mesmerizing magic of Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9), standing still is simply impossible.

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