Happy Thanksgiving! How 'bout some free music?

Today I will be without internet for most of the day. One day I will convince my parents to get wi-fi. Either way, I've got two good nuggets for you to make it through your day, namely TWO free album downloads.

The first, from Matt Pond PA, is a free EP available for download from the official site here.

From the press release:

Mister P. and his party have taken themselves captive to become the their own producers, manufacturers, and distributors. It was a deferential revolt against inertia, a clearing of the throat to answer the quiet. Or maybe it was an inevitable reaction to seeing Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

In adherence to their demands, these songs were recorded in a cabin in Bearsville, NY, as a simple sonic manifestation of their opinions concerning the arguable value of a waterlogged paperback.

A Free EP prospectively titled: The Dawn before the Dark Leaves or Water off a Black Dog's Back or Amazing Life or Butterfly Mornings and Wildflower Afternoons or May we never go go mental, may we always stay stay gentle or The Fear of not Being Afraid or The Warmth Within the Warren or Dreaming of Sleeping or Saying It to Keep It From Happening or This is not the Dark Leaves or Living for Liv Ullman or The Odds of a Sunrise or Whispering Pines or You'll be the Rhythm and I'll be the Beat and I'll be the Rhythm and You'll be the Beat or The Grass Harp or Goodbye Barcelona or Why is my copy of the Moviegoer Floating in a Puddle Beside the Car.

Or simply, The Freeep.

The second comes from The Vacation.

After being dropped from American Recordings after successfully releasing their first album and touring with the likes of Alice Cooper, Living Things and more, The Vacation didn't lose any steam and released their sophomore record themselves.

Get Used is now available thanks to Playboy Magazine and trueAnthem.com for FREE to all. In fact, the album is downloadable from a widget that can be posted on any website, blog, social networking profile, etc. Sharing is caring.

Check it out here.

I hope to see lots of people out tonight after you've had your fill of turkey, tofurkey, pot roast, ham, turducken, or whatever it might be that fills your belly on this day of thanks.

xo,
rosey

Weekend Recap: The Vacation, Mohair, Razorlight

A weekend of total debauchery and I really only did about half the things I intended to do.

Starting with Friday, I skipped Meg & Dia at M-Theory and also decided that it was not in the cards for me to drive to PB for the opening of Fresh. Instead, Troy and Andrea came over and we pre-drank and then headed to the Beauty Bar for The Rinse and The Vacation, arriving late and completely missing the first band. The Vacation was really good though, and especially photogenic. The singer was all over the stage and fits in well with bands like The Colour. I don't think this is a band I would listen to at home or while I'm working, but the Sunset Strip vibe translates well onstage.

After the band finished, we booked it out of BB and headed back to Kensington. Andrea called it a night but Troy and I proceeded to the Ken Club to catch A Scribe Amidst the Lions. We missed them, apparently, and instead saw this band, The Here, but opted for just the cocktail side of the bar instead.

Come Saturday, I was feeling pretty crappy and considered just being a shut in all day, considered selling my ticket to Razorlight but somehow mustered the energy to head out. I am so glad I did. The opener was a band called Mohair and they were really good, really energetic, and really, really cool guys, taking the time to sign posters, cd’s, and take numerous pictures with anyone who asked, despite half the guys having a bad stomach flu. I talked with Alex, the keyboardist for a little while, who explained how this organ amplifier works.

Their set was great and inspired me to buy a CD. I recorded a song, which the band assured me would be ok to upload on YouTube and that their label would actually appreciate it, so here’s the title track from their album, “Small Talk”.

I was really impressed with the speed that the stage was converted for Razorlight because there was a ton of equipment filling up the whole corner of the bar. When the setlists were laid down, I was happy to see “In The Morning” listed as the first song because I knew I wouldn’t last up front for long with the sold out crowd and everyone with a camera vying for a good vantage point…so here are some pics and their performance of “In The Morning”. I wasn’t familiar with Razorlight but for a few songs, but I know they’re huge in England and I didn't wanna miss the opportunity to see them in a small venue. I’m a huge Neil Finn fan and while the music is more rock, the vocals have a Neil Finn quality. I bumped into Porter and we ended up hanging out for most of the show and going to the Ken Club when the show ended by 12.

Sunday was kinda wasted for me, too. I got up, grabbed lunch, and headed to the Starlight Bowl for the Staring At the Sun show, but after circling the parking a few times, seeing that the box office was charging $10 (not a "suggested donation" as far as I could tell), and realizing that it was probably 80+ degrees and I would end up roasting in my jeans, I headed home. That ended up being the theme of my Sunday as I skipped Robert Randolph and really wanted to see Orion Frequency’s final show at Chasers but once again got sucked into “The Winner” followed by the repeat of Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher. Sorry I missed the finale, guys. The weather, the time change, the heavy boozing…it all lead to me opting for a quiet Sunday at home.