Saw Them Crooked Vultures last night

Jared Lash · #1 11-20-2009, 09:36 AM

At the Fox in Oakland. Massively awesome show. I'm exhausted for work but so worth it.

For the uninitiated: Josh Homme on guitar/vocals, Dave Grohl on drums, John Paul Jones on bass. Live they have an additional guitar player. It sounds like what you'd expect from these three. But besides Zeppelin, QOTSA and Foo Fighters there's this bluesy, sludgy, Alice in Chains vibe to it all.

JPJ was incredible. Some keys, but mostly bass (10-string included). The room is naturally a bit boomy for concerts and the opening act (Mini Mansions I believe) was good but a very different vibe than TCV but overall it was one of the best shows I've been to in a long time.

If you have a chance to see them you should.

http://www.themcrookedvultures.com/

RONQUITO · #2 11-20-2009, 09:44 AM

I am green with envy...

That one has got to be one of the tastiest shows around.

jonnymac101881 · #3 11-20-2009, 09:45 AM

I saw them last month in Philly. Like you said awesome show. I picked up their album on itunes on Tuesday as well and I've been listening to it all week at work. I wasn't digging the Mini Mansions too much however I did laugh when they covered Blondie's "Heart of Glass."

AndGabrielFell · #4 11-20-2009, 09:49 AM

I got to see them at Austin City Limits Music Festival this past October. I have to be honest, I was expecting a bit more. I thought they sounded like Queens of the Stone Age with an all star line-up.

Jared Lash · #5 11-20-2009, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndGabrielFell

I got to see them at Austin City Limits Music Festival this past October. I have to be honest, I was expecting a bit more. I thought they sounded like Queens of the Stone Age with an all star line-up.

With Josh Homme fronting the group that's going to be hard to avoid, but I like this album more than any Queens of the Stone Age album. Of course if the rumor that Mike Patton was going to front the group actually had ended up being true I can't imagine how awesome the record would have been.

And this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrl4m3-zAbo

Sounds to me like vintage Cream for most of it with a dash of of King Crimson. I dig them a lot.

bongomania · #6 11-23-2009, 01:24 AM

OK, I just got back from their show here in PDX...

Meh.

Really? Yep. When I heard the lineup of this band, I bought show tickets without ever listening to any of their tracks first. With JPJ, Grohl, and some stoner-metal dude, how could it not be awesome? Unfortunately, their music is a mess. There are almost no hooks, either melodic or rhythmic. It's nearly impossible to tell the melody of one song from the next, with only a few exceptions. Josh is a terrible frontman--he can't sing well, his playing is uninteresting and messy, and he has no charisma.

JPJ is a god of course, but he hardly played any interesting or heavy or groovy basslines! He was just a loud thump along with the kick drum most of the time. The sad thing is, too, he had a collection of awesome-looking custom basses there, but they all sounded pretty much the same in the mix. The only exception was in one of their more rhythmically "open" attempts at groove, when he played a 10-string (octave pairs), he laid down a mighty tone that time. But even when he played the 8 and 12 string basses, those tunes didn't have any groove or space to hear him. And the opening tune featured him on what is probably the most awesome instrument ever invented: a glitter-red 10-string slide-steel bass with a light show built in... I couldn't even hear it. His slide hand was gliding up and down the neck, but all I could hear was monotonous mud.

The best moment in the entire show was a bit over an hour in, when JPJ played a truly epic piano solo. It was awesome! Very dynamic and interesting and complex, and it seemed like he was having fun. Too bad that was only about 5 minutes of the show.

You know who kicked butt the whole time? Grohl! I was never a huge Nirvana fan, and I don't care for Foo Fighters at all, but holy crap that man can play the drums! He looked like "Animal" from Sesame Street the entire time. He was a monster! As far as I'm concerned, that concert should have been booked as "Dave Grohl solo on drums, with piano interludes by John Paul Jones".

Anyway, sorry to pee in the Crooked Vultures lemonade here, but my mileage certainly did vary.

Deluge Of Sound · #7 11-23-2009, 01:46 AM

FWIW, I think the album is fantastic, even if I haven't gotten a chance to see 'em live yet.

The reactions I've heard so far (both of their live show and the record) tend to be pretty mixed, with about as many Bongo-esque responses as unabashed love.

kugelspot · #8 11-23-2009, 02:12 AM

Ya opinions of these guys seem to very as much as people's description of their sound. I heard one of their songs on the radio (I believe it was called New Fang) and it was kinda meh. Not bad, but I was expecting much more from these guys. I haven't really gotten around to giving them a serious listen though

Geddyfleaharris · #9 11-23-2009, 10:20 AM

I would still go and see them. Just because. But I am disappointed that they added a second guitar. Power trios rule.

I bought the CD on the weekend and have only had a chance to listen to the first 5 tunes. So far I am digging it. Probably more than I thought I would after another thread on TB that was pretty mixed about the CD. I hear it has an updated Zeppelin-ie type of a thing as far as the music goes. Lots of bluesier hard rock riffs. The singing obviously not. It does sound modern anyways.

I have never been a QOTSA fan but I do like Grohl. Anytime I have seen vids of his drumming he is a monster.

Jared Lash · #10 11-23-2009, 11:10 AM

It's an interesting sound. Bluesy, yes but also very sludgy. The album came out the day before the concert in Oakland so I listened to it several times during the work day. I already knew I dug the music before going to the show. But yes, it does have a bit of a QOTSA on steroids type feel for better or worse.

Grohl was a monster. And JPJ's piano solo was the highlight for me as well.

stoneboy26 · #11 11-23-2009, 04:18 PM

I am going to see them when they hit Australia in January! I can't wait.

The album is one of my favourites from this year. I got tickets on the basis of hearing 30-odd seconds on youtube.

Muse are also in the country at that time for Big Day Out festival and hopefully a sideshow will be announced for them soon - it is around the same week, so it could be a hectic one full of great gigs!!

Valerus · #12 11-23-2009, 04:22 PM

Lucky dogs! I would love to see them. Their record keeps growing on me.