Back in ‘97, when Notorious B.I.G. went to the b.i.g. 50-floor project building in the sky, he left a mystery worthy of a great Hardy Boys story. If you have any tips, please leave a comment so I can claim the $50,000,000 reward.

David Mack
The main suspect in the shooting, detailed by a former LAPD detective as being a fellow officer. Alleged cover-up by higher ranking cops as part of a massive drug ring, and Biggie was one of their biggest mules. Biggie reportedly told Mack that he wanted out of the game, and wanted to concentrate on his rapping. Mack didn’t like that idea.

Magic Johnson
According to various documents found in Biggie’s office, he had plans to start a movie theatre chain. When Magic found out, he reportedly shot a ceiling fan; the bullet ricocheted and went through a picture of Biggie that was sitting on his desk. He then told his assistant, “See that??”

Cigarettes
B.I.G.’s driver claims that Biggie wanted to light his cigarette and thought he had one of those fake-gun lighters, but it was real - and loaded - and he capped himself.

Bloods
Reports suggest that Bloods in the area at the time of the murder were playing bullet tag, and a stray shot may have hit and killed Biggie. The game is the cause of over 30,000 gang member deaths a year.

Mad props to the crazy mook dudes in the middle of the pack looking like Christian convention-goers on crack. Paradise was pretty full, even full enough to squeeze a couple guys into crowd-surfing: Them Editors’ lead guitarist and one of his gangstas.

We missed the Bon Savants’ self-described “best show evar”, but they always say that. Lake Trout was some serious yawnage, flopping around on the deck with their collars popped.

Editors ripped a few pages out of their own book with a by-numbers performance, but kept it loud and was enough to whip the crowd into a 1/4 frenzy. The lead singer quirked around most of the time, as if victim of a nuclear wedgie. Played pretty much everything from The Back Room, with “Lights” and “Munich” (I think) for the encore, inexplicably leaving out their cover of Lionel Richie’s “Say You, Say Me”.

Let’s go to the instant replay:
Editors - “All Sparks” (My youtube clip, arrr)
Editors - “Fall” (And another, for ma boy N8)

Click pic for bigger version
Yes, I made this. (and all of these)

Midlake kicked it off with their splashy tunes, at times, punchy enough to make crushes swoon. And these guys have more instrumentation per capita than any band I’ve ever seen. The stage looked like a NASA control center. Their sober melodies and pinching innocence were the solid foundation of a long night of action.

Cold War Kids, whose hype most of the kids showed up for, were next and delivered a bustling, frantic set full of fine indie shrieking. They splashed the crowd with jangling mojo and there were slight moments of brilliance, but overall, the scales weren’t tipped. Then half the peeps filed out.

Finally came the saucy posse, SOUND Team. On a side note, a friend brought me a shirt she designed and out front the show, the ST bassist caught a glimpse and beseeched her to borrow it. Thinking he was in a band @ the Middle East, she declined, but after much pursuit of said shirt, I gave him the OK to rock it on stage, which he completely did. The shirt’s covered in awesome images of various meat products, and was even mentioned before the start of a new song of theirs as a possible title, “Meat Carpet”. Anyway, the dudes pounded through their set with Texas-sized swagger - popped it and locked it, like a freight train bouncing down the tracks. Solid as hell.

My Youtube clip of “No More Birthdays”
My Youtube clip of “Back In Town”
One more coming…

Related: Cold War Kids’ tour diary

Hamburger
You’re popular among everyone for many reasons. Flame-kissed pattie, juicy tomato, crisp lettuce. Even weird vegetarians secretly love you.

Dog in a Bucket
You like attention, no matter how cheap it is. Your relationships consist of unintelligible conversations and heavy petting. You probably work in the movie or music industry.

Violin
You make sweet sounds, but only in the right hands. You want to be a Stradivarius but might be a fiddle.

Sunglasses
Everyone sees through you. You darken peoples’ worlds even on the sunniest days. You’re a bad person.

Copy Machine
You can’t think for yourself. You consistently fall victim to trends, religions, and governments. You probably own a Che Guevara shirt.

Unique set of circumstances last night at The ‘Dise. They rolled up to the place a few hours late, there was an Ozz Fest Party in the Lounge, and we got to sit absolute front & center - yes, sit - since they had about 100 folding chairs set up. New to me.

It’s basically a crime against humanity that I didn’t have my camera with me, as I would’ve taken hundreds of ridiculous close-ups and video of the whole thing. We may have some pics coming though.

Lytle and his backing buddy had a little table with a night lamp and a Kerr jar of drum mallets surrounded by a Casio, synth, and an acoustic guitar. Oh, and the canned mic for the fuzzvoice. They started with “Summer It’s Gone”, which has been in my head ever since. They busted through a wide variety of Grandaddy tunes (despite the “torture chamber” next door), which made them all organic, original, and even more beautiful. It was basically the perfect way to pour one out for our now-defunct homeys.

Highly similar setlist from NYC (via The Music Slut)
Huge review with pics @ Nonphenomenal Lineage

1. Genus Panthera
Lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars. Crème de la crème. You already know how much they rule. If we didn’t invent guns, we’d be living as their pets right now. Btw, what you call panthers are actually mutants.

2. Black Panthers
A major part of the counterculture, these fiercely anti-white socialists spread ideology more than violence. I always fuddle Huey Newton with Huey Lewis & the News, though.

3. Carolina Panthers
Highly successful expansion team that lost Super Bowl XXXVIII to the Pats. Known for its nasty defense and even nastier stadium.

4. Pink Panther
Owns one of the most famous theme songs ever and served as a lucrative home insulation salesman. Blundering detective films in the ’60s made him a supercartoon.

5. Jagdpanther
The fifth Panzer model was easy to move, heavily-armed, and had a roomy interior. It destroyed all types of vehicles, especially the British Gazelle and American Tasty Pig.

David Pajo has been around. He started with Slint in the ’90s and hooked up with Stereolab, Tortoise, Matmos, and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, among others. Afterwards, the Louisvillian even spent time with Zwan. Heh. This is his second solo album, and “1968″ (yes, with quotes) features more instrumentation than his vastly acoustic, road-written first.

Down-tempo, acoustic tracks of mellow vocals and light electronics make the album ripe for late-night chillin’ and more Elliot Smith comparisons. A humming current of electricity has been developed for “1968″, just enough to give the sound a buzz. Worthy of a listen, fo sho.