So I caught one of Spoon’s 3 sold out shows at the Henry Fonda last night. For as great as that band is on record and as amazing as they sound live…its unbelievably disappointing how boring they STILL are live. They make Interpol look like freakin’ Freddie Mercury. Anyway, on to the positive stuff… The highlight of my night, other than flirting with a cute little brunette, was the opening band (also from Austin) Black Joe Lewis. Oh boy are these guys awesome live…..and the word ‘raw’ doesn’t do these guys justice. Joe spoke to the audience twice: once to say they had merch and hope to get “paid damn good tonight” and another time which was almost impossible to understand. All I really caught was that it was his first time outside of Texas and something about palm trees. The only negative things I could say about the show is that they should incorporate a harmonica and the lead guitarist should turn down the Justin Timberlake just a little. Check out the song Bitch, I Love You on their myspace page and then check em out at Emo’s Sept 21.

Also, chiggity check this one people… Wooden Shjips. Out of San Francisco, these guys are as unique as anything you’ll hear these days. Think Black Angels meets Tinariwen…but a much bigger sound. Makes me want to quit my job, go buy their album and do heroin in a corner for a couple months. I also happen to be up in San Fran this weekend for Treasure Island and I am definitely going to be checking their club show out Saturday night. Needless to say, you’ll be hearing from me about them again.

- Blackbird