Robert Schwartzman @ Webster Hall Studio

Last night — November 10th, 2011 — Robert Schwartzman played at the Studio at NYC’s Webster Hall, opening for Ocean Grove and Voxhaul Broadcast.

He sailed through tracks from his solo album Double Capricorn. “Second Chances” was the catchiest song in the set. It was weird seeing him play with a non-Rooney backing band, but he played an acoustic version of Rooney’s “When Did Your Heart Go Missing” for the last song.

Here are 5 photos I took from the show:

Misc. Note:

A new artist named Zander Bleck played before Robert Schwartzman, and I was completely unimpressed with his set. But, he has the backing of a major label (Interscope), has worked with Lady Gaga’s producer RedOne, and toured in Europe with Lady Gaga, so he’ll definitely get major radio play and press when his album comes out in 2012. Just a name to keep in mind…

Robert Schwartzman: Double Capricorn

Robert Schwartzman’s debut solo album Double Capricorn came out yesterday.

Watch a video interview about the album at The Hollywood Reporter here, and read the interview that After The Show did with Robert before the release of Rooney’s last album, Eureka.

After The Show: What’s your favorite lyric from the new album Eureka?

RS: “It’s the same old story, the same old movie, but when you’re with me it’s a masterpiece.”  It’s from the song Only Friend.

After The Show: How did the band choose “I Don’t Wanna Lose You” as the first song to share with the world?

RS: It was the first song we recorded for the album and it’s the one we tried with a few different producers.  It has our sound and has something new…represents the album in a good way.

After The Show: What is the hardest part about transitioning from a 5 piece to a 4 piece band?

RS: Well, we tried the 4 piece setup for a few rehearsals, but it didn’t feel right.  I like playing guitar in Rooney and it’s been my thing for the last 8 years in the band.  We have a bass player with us…names Brandon Quinn…awesome guy and terrific musician.  It’s great to have a new energy in the mix.

After The Show: Matt [Rooney's former bassist] called Eureka the “best record we ever made” in his farewell note. Assuming you agree, what makes Eureka even better than your previous albums?

RS: It has the strongest songs and it sounds the best.  It’s a good representation of who we are and what we’re made of.  The playing is really good from everyone and it just feels the closest to home.  We made it on our own, produced and engineered, which wasn’t the easiest thing for us, so it feels like a big accomplishment.

After The Show: How have the songwriting duties been shared among the band on previous albums, and how were they shared while writing Eureka?

RS: I’ve written everything for the band so far.  Eureka has two songs that I didn’t write…Into The Blue, by Louie Stephens and The Hunch by Ned Brower and Taylor Locke.  We started Rooney with my songs and it’s just been our thing…shaped our sound. The other guys are working more on writing and wanting to contribute, so this was there first chance to put music on a Rooney album.

After The Show: What is your song “Suckceed” about?

RS: It’s about some of the characters at our old label.  Some of the things I witnessed or felt while working with them.  How people pass the blame and how people do whatever it takes to make it…keep your job.

After The Show: What do you see as the role of collaboration in Rooney’s future? What about collaborating with other artists (Ben Lee, Jonas Brothers) in your own SoloBob music?

RS: I like collaborating and I’m loving the more and more I do it.  Perhaps there will be some other artists featured on Solobob. As long as it makes sense for the music.

Taylor Locke: September Tour Dates

Taylor Locke & The Roughs are touring in September with Sloan:

September 13 -  The Bell House – Brooklyn, NY - BUY TICKETS

September 14 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA - BUY TICKETS

September 15 – Bowery Ballroom – New York City, NY - BUY TICKETS

September 16 – Maxwell’s – Hoboken, NJ - BUY TICKETS

September 17 – North Star Bar – Phildelphia, PA - BUY TICKETS

September 20 – Starlight – Waterloo, ON, CANADA - BUY TICKETS
September 21 – The Venue – Peterborough, ON, CANADA - BUY TICKETS
September 22 – Barracuda Pretty – St. Catharines, ON, CANADA - BUY TICKETS
September 23 – The Music Hall – London, ON, CANADA - BUY TICKETS

Sunset Junction 2011 Line Up

Here are a few bands scheduled to perform at this year’s Sunset Junction, on August 27-28 in Los Angeles:

Butch Walker, Cary Brothers, Hanson, Rooney, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Belle Brigade, Dum Dum Girls, Carina Round, and Olin and the Moon.

For more info, click here.

 

Rooney: Live at the El Rey

Last night – Friday, June 24, 2011 – Rooney headlined a concert at the El Rey, the last date of the touring cycle for their latest album, Eureka.

Opening with “Blue Side,” Rooney played a mix of old and new songs. Highlights included “Holding On,” “Shakin’,” and the final song “When Did Your Heart Go Missing.”

Rooney also invited two saxophone players to join them during “The Hunch,” and a member of Weezer played guitar on a cover of “Woman” by John Lennon.

Exclusive photos and video  from the concert taken by After The Show:

Alliterative Songs

Here is a collection of good songs with alliterative titles:

“Silvery Sleds” by Army Navy:

“Coughing Colors” by Tilly and the Wall:

“Bratty B” by Best Coast:

“Little Lungs” by An Horse:

“Demon Daughters” by Phantom Planet:

“Sunny Sunday” by Leona Naess:

Honorable Mentions:

“Daisy Duke” by Rooney

“Why Worry” by All American Rejects

“Get Gotten” by Ben Lee

“Runaway Run” by Hanson

“Big Brat” by Phantom Planet

The Art of the Set List

A set list is a sheet of paper, usually taped to the floor of the stage, that lists the order of songs that a band intends to play during a particular concert.

Band members use set lists so that they can briefly glance down and determine what song to play next.

As we’ll see below, set lists can look quite different from one another — some are handwritten, some are scribbled messily, some have misspellings, and some are typed.

In addition to ticket stubs, set lists can be great souvenirs of a concert, and people at the front often snatch the set list when a show ends.

Some set lists include pre-determined songs for the encore, indicated below by the dotted line and the diagonal line:

Figure A:

Figure B:

As we see in the above set lists (Rooney and Ben Kweller, respectively), it’s interesting to see how an artist will abbreviate certain song titles. For instance, “ISHBAY” in Figure A is shortened for the song “I Should Have Been After You.” Similarly, “Tree” and “Sun” in Figure B are short for the songs “Family Tree” and “Sundress.”

Another interesting abbreviation is the portmanteau in the second song, called “Badd Business,” in Phantom Planet’s set list below. The question marks also leave flexibility to cater to either the performer’s whim or suggestions from the audience.

If you’re lucky enough to be at the front of the crowd (and are able to read upside down), you can know what song the band is going to play next before anyone else in the crowd. Even more useful, you can determine if you should hold out hope for an encore (or encores), as the Nada Surf set list below indicates:

One band can have variety in its set lists from show to show. How rushed a band is before the show can mean that song titles are further shortened, as they are in the first set list below.

Set lists can also be typed and display the band logo, requiring the use of a printer which may not always be available at the venue. Good examples of professional-looking set lists are from Eisley and Tegan and Sara:

Finally, the most intricate set list I’ve ever seen belongs to Kaki King. In addition to listing the songs, it has alternate guitar tunings next to each song as well as the different instruments (ovation guitar, banjo, 7 string guitar) needed for each song:

Eisley: “The Valley” Acoustic

Eisley just released their new album, The Valley (definitely worth the wait) and are currently on tour with Rooney.

Watch an acoustic version of the album’s title track, “The Valley,” below: