got to catch their show in town last night.  all i can say is holy shit!  what a great performance.  it was definately a different kind of experience seeing them and knowing that no one had a true expectation of what was coming.  sure there are clips and short videos out on youtube, but they didn’t really give me a full understanding of what i was about to see.

in the times that we live, it is a rare thing to go into a concert and not have any idea what you are in for.  maybe if the band is new and just starting out or local and can’t afford any recordings, then you would have no idea what you are in for.  but for a band of this calibur, with 3 huge rock stars in it, to have heard basically nothing before you see them is pretty much incomprehensible.  i have to say it was a great experience and was not disappointing at all!

let me just come right out and say that john paul jones was the member that surprised me the most.  dave grohl was a total monster on the drums, as i expected, and josh homme was his usual stoner rocking self.  but john paul jones!  holy shit.  he played a different instrument on about every song.  i saw him play 4 string bass, 6 string bass, 8 string bass, keyboards, a fucking keytar (!), and then one on of the last songs, an instrument that i didn’t even know existed; a slide bass (!!). i guess i knew he had to be a pretty amazing musician, given the output of led zepplin, but i had no idea that i’d be in for that kind of virtuosic performance.

the one horrible thing about seeing a band like that and then not having any recorded music to listen to is the fact that as soon as it was over i wanted to listen again.  i’m settling for some bootlegs i found online to tide me over until the new album comes out.

i would tell everyone i knew to see them if they get the chance but i have no idea how much more or extensive touring they will actually do.  it will definitely be an album to keep your eye out for though!

them crooked vultures official site is here

found the bootlegs here (in the downloads section)
[edit 11.18.2009] looks like the site i got the bootleg from is gone, but the album is out now so you should be able to find it (legally or otherwise)

hard to realize it’s already mid january, but here’s my top 10 from last year.

not so much metal as 2007, but 2008 was definitely another banner year for rock for me

1. torche – meanderthal

2. all the way rider – the eagles revenge

3. black sheep wall – i am god songs

4. the death of her money – spirit of the stairwell

5. a silver mount zion – 13 blues for thirteen moons

6. russian circles – station

7. kowloon walled city – turk street

8. gregor samsa – rest

9. man man – rabbit habits

10. yak ballz – scifentology 2

and the notabale runner ups (in alphabetical order):

the black keys – attack and release
don caballero – punkgasm
intronaut – prehistoricisms
local h – twelve angry months
meshuggah – obzen
mogwai – the hawk is howling
mouth of the architect – quietly
one day as a lion – one day as a lion
spylacopa – spylacopa
zozobra – bird of prey