Well, tomorrow at 6 freaking AM, I’m busting out to San Fran for the sweet, sweet Download Festival. Muse, Beck, TVOTR, Rogue Wave, etc. Stayin’ at the W Hotel, and rumor has it, they have penguin butlers.

When I get back on Sunday, it’s straight to the Orpheum for Massive Attack, then possibly the Middle East for What Made Milwaukee Famous. Gonna be a looooong day.

There will be as many pics, videos, and reviews of all of the above as I can possibly muster posted on QROmag.com. Wish me luck.

Here’s a soap ad (I randomly chose Aveeno) that I came up with that needs to be sold to an agency on my behalf for ONE BILLION DOLLARS. (Click for bigger version)

Well, this crud is still making progress. Our Q4 goal is to get a column written by midgets. Seeking help.

My review of Beck’s The Information
” ” The Early Years‘ self-titled
” ” Kasabian @ The Paradise, Boston
” ” Bent’s Intercept!

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Yes, I made this. (and all of these)

Arr, ya scurvy-filled pusbags, I’m going to see Aberdeen City and Electric Six in a few.

For yer British fix, check out new albums by:

Bent
Nicky Wire
The Bluetones
Isobel Campbell (not nearly out yet)
The Early Years

If ye don’t talk like a pirate, walk the plank!

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

1. Ferdinand Porsche
Technically born in Austria-Hungary and not still alive, he was the father of the Porsche empire of ridiculously cool cars. By that virtue, he may be the coolest man that ever lived.

2. Gaston Glock
Inventor of the Glock, he has armed militaries, police, and petty thugs all over the world against each other. More caps have been busted with Glocks than any other gun.

3. Hermann Maier
World and Olympic Champion skier who once saved thirty orphan babies from a burning monastery on top of Austria’s highest, most dangerous peak. He adopted all thirty.

4. Wolfgang Puck
Master chef and inventor of the hockey puck. Was the first Austrian to make a burrito, and has a statue of him cooking spaghetti in Vienna. Trains sharks in his free time.

5. Christian Fennesz
Electronic artist has made several albums that I officially approve of. The first Austrian to use a synthesizer for good and not evil. Once ate ten blueberry pies in one sitting.

Snowflake, the world’s first known albino gorilla, was a pioneer in being held captive in a crappy zoo, as he spent nearly his whole life in the Barcelona Zoo (aka El Agujero del Infierno). Among his accomplishments were fathering no albinos, being on the cover of Basement Jaxx’s Rooty, and defeating an alligator in hand-to-hand combat. He died, predictably, of skin cancer at the age of 40, so if you have any albino gorillas at home, please make sure they wear sunblock.

PBS Nature: Snowflake
12″ Snowflake REAL FUR Replica Ape Monkey

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

It had been a while since I’d last seen the Flaming Lips live. It was from the side grass after I passed out at Coachella 2004. This time, we were 5th row center on a cool night at the BoA Pavilion, a great big tent for the circus-y Lips show. The stage was set up with two sets of cheerleading choirs, one group dressed as aliens and the other as santas. Ol’ Wayne was in his usual white suit, Michael was in a skeleton costume, and I forget what Steven wore. Relatively minor details…

They came out and blasted us with confetti and big green balloons that we batted around during the whole show. There was a massive videoscreen behind the band showing Wayne’s face up close among other strange visuals. With all of the sensory extraload, it was more like a party than a concert. “Race for the Prize” was the 1st real song and rocked serious sockage. The sing-a-long to “Yoshimi Pt. 1″ was amazing and same goes for the “Yeah Yeah Yeah Song”. The sing-a-long for “She Don’t Use Jelly” was backed by hilarious old videos from The Jon Stewart Show and 90210. “Do You Realize?”, my all-time favorite Lips track, finished the main set, and pretty much finished me.

The encore consisted “A Spoonful Weighs a Ton”, and the second encore was a Beck-baby-esque happy birthday song to a gal named Emily, and “War Pigs”. I left with confetti and streamers stuffed in pockets, completely satisfied, and perma-grinned from the superfun spectacle that is a Lips gig. Whew.

Setlist from Boston show + Pic 1 - Pic 2 - Pic 3