Completely Conspicuous 132: All the World's a Stage

Jay Breitling joins me again on the podcast to discuss the power of live rock. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Kumar only went to arena rock shows in the '80s

- The Worcester Centrum was the big rock venue in the Boston area back then

- Started going to club shows in early '90s

- Breitling camped out for Stones tickets in '89

- Chloe lets rip a mighty screech

- Breitling saw a ton of club shows

- We saw a drunken Hold Steady show in '06 that was awesome

- In late '80s/early '90s, Kumar started seeing bands play in rock club in Beverly, Mass.

- Breitling's friends were playing in bands

- Club shows are great for seeing bands on the way up

- Half time = bath time

- Listen to Ric Dube's More Lost Time podcast

- Big arena shows now suck because of corporate influence

- Kumar and Dube saw the Go-Go's play a JVC private party at CES in 2001

- People got annoyed because we were jumping around

- People don't pay attention at shows anymore

- Only really huge bands and teenybopper acts sell a lot of tickets now

- Established acts like the Eagles and AC/DC are doing store exclusive deals, charging huge ticket prices

- Wear earplugs, people

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

!!! - AM/FM

The Kominas - High Noon

EELS - Looking Up

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. Find gear from top brands such as Nike, Adidas, Asics and more. Use promo code AFCOMP15 for 15% off any order at Eastbay.com, AFCOMP20 for 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay.com and AFCOMPFL for 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

The !!! song is on the forthcoming album Strange Weather, Isn't It? on Warp Records. Find out more and download the song for free from the band's website.

The Kominas song is on the EP Escape to Blackout Beach. Find out more and download the EP for free directly from the band.

The EELS song is on the forthcoming album Tomorrow Morning on E Works/Vagrant Records. Download the song for free at the band's website.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 131: Double Live Gonzo

I'm joined this week on the podcast by special guest Jay Breitling as we discuss the power of live rock. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Breitling thought we were going to talk about beer

- It was much easier to see bands before becoming a parent

- Chloe's trashing the place

- We saw The Feelies play six encores recently

- Remembering Dread Zeppelin

- Hammer of the Gods is a classic rock biography

- Fond memories of cranking Triumph and Bad Co.

- Gotta love when bands open and close with the same song

- House of Pain had a wussy posse

- Breitling was inspired by seeing classmate's band in high school

- Breitling's first concert: Super '70s Fest with BTO, Guess Who, Dr. Hook, Grand Funk Railroad

- As a 12-year-old, Kumar hoped to see Led Zep...but then Bonham died

- Kumar's first concert: Cheap Trick, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Lita Ford

- Twisted Sister had a great live show

- Cheap Trick was one of the first bands to play old albums in their entirety

- Now everyone's doing it

- Bands can alienate audience by playing entire new album

- Some bands you want to see while they're still around

- Seeing bands in smaller venues is preferable

- Breitling saw The Cure, The Grateful Dead and Nitzer Ebb in same week

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Iron Maiden - El Dorado

The Melvins - Evil New War God

The Black Angels - Bad Vibrations

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to Budget.com/CompCon and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental.

The Iron Maiden song is on the forthcoming album The Final Frontier on EMI Records. Download the song for free through the band's website.

The Melvins song is on the album The Bride Screamed Murder on Ipecac Records. Download the song for free at RCRDLBL.

The Black Angels song is on the forthcoming album Phosphene Dream on Blue Horizon Records. Download the song for free at the Black Angels' website.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 130: Over the Hills and Far Away

I'm joined on the podcast by special guest Matt Phillion as we conclude our conversation about his experiences in Ireland. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- In Ireland, liquor stores are called "off licenses"

- They loves the hard cider

- Not a great beer selection in stores

- No anti-American sentiment

- The Irish call McDonald's "Maccy D's"

- Matt bonded with the immigrants

- Irish don't pronounce "th" sounds

- Fashion: They rock the popped collar

- Matt left a few shirts behind to avoid getting his ass kicked here

- The skinny jeans incident

- Mullets live on

- The women are "makeup ninjas"

- Tales of airport security

- Tough to break into Irish acting scene

- Shocked to get some modeling offers

- Sorting out customs paperwork

- A care package of 6 lbs. of Twizzlers

- Missing Dunkin' Donuts

- Metric still confounds

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Black Mountain - Old Fangs

Japandroids - Younger Us

The Vaselines - I Hate the '80s

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. Find gear from top brands such as Nike, Adidas and Asics. Use the promo code AFCOMP15 to get 15% off any order at Eastbay.com, AFCOMP20 to get 20% off any order at Eastbay.com and AFCOMPFL to get 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

The Black Mountain song is on the forthcoming album Wilderness Heart on Jagjaguwar Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Japandroids song is on the band's Younger Us 7-inch. Download the song for free at Pitchfork.

The Vaselines song is on the forthcoming album Sex With an X on Sub Pop Records. Download the song for free from the Vaselines' site.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 129: Whiskey in the Jar

Special guest Matt Phillion joins me on the podcast as we continue our discussion of his adventures in Ireland. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Running in Ireland: Matt gets racially profiled

- Rarely see runners there

- Irish drivers are either really slow or really fast

- Drunk driving laws are much stricter

- "A distinct Irish ear"

- TV in Ireland: Lots of American shows air

- Law & Order: London (real show)

- Matt wants to audition for the Irish soap opera Fair City

- Gaelic version of American Idol

- Gaelic is subtitled on TV

- You can see boobs on regular TV

- Call a restroom a "bog" or "jax," not "the loo"

- Following baseball from abroad

- Fantasy baseball challenges

- Spotting Americans

- Eating strange foods for sport

- Eating flies on the run

- Matt discovers cows and "flying chickens"

- Matt's girlfriend coming here for a visit

- Irish moonshine = "holy water"

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Bottled in Cork

Johnny Foreigner - With Who, Who and What I've Got

Ugly Casanova - Lay Me Down

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. Find gear from top brands such as Nike, Adidas and Asics. Use the promo code AFCOMP15 to get 15% off any order at Eastbay.com, AFCOMP20 to get 20% off any order at Eastbay.com and AFCOMPFL to get 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

The Ted Leo and the Pharmacists song is on the album The Brutalist Bricks on Matador Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Johnny Foreigner song is an unreleased track you can download for free here.

The Ugly Casanova song is on the soundtrack to the documentary 180 Degrees South on Brushfire Records. Download the song for free at Stereogum.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.

Completely Conspicuous 128: Stranger in a Strange Land

My guest on the podcast this week is Matt Phillion, who discusses his adventures in Ireland. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Matt moved to Ireland in late February

- Followed a girl

- Had never been out of the U.S. before

- Fun with Irish border agents

- Home straightening out his paperwork

- Massive life change

- Culture shock: Lack of water pressure

- Matt's proud to be an American

- Food's fine if you don't eat Irish

- Guinness makes a meal

- Matt ate a lot of lamb, Chinese food

- (Visit from my 6-year-old)

- Saw Hope Sandoval play

- In Ireland, everything requires a conversation

- Picking up different pronunciations

- Tipping differences

- Irish moonshine tastes sweet, smells like turpentine

- Hurling is Matt's new favorite sport: Kill the man with the ball

- Irish follow rugby, soccer, hurling--but not cricket

- Matt confronts Polish bouncer with unintelligible accent

- Never turn down a drink in Ireland

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

The Hold Steady - Hurricane J

The Roots with Jim James - Dear God, 2.0

Wolf Parade - Ghost Pressure

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The show is sponsored by Budget, the country's premier car rental service with 900 locations. Go to Budget.com/CompCon and save 10% off any reservation or $30 off a weekly rental.

The Hold Steady song is on the album Heaven is Whenever on Vagrant Records. Download the song for free at Insound.

The Roots song is on the forthcoming album How I Got Over on Island Def Jam Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Wolf Parade song is on the band's album Expo 86 on Sub Pop Records. Download the song for free at Soundcloud.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.