I always thought you'd be my shining star

Abra Moore asked me to be her Myspace friend. It's not the first time a musician or band has asked me first, but she's the first national act to do so. I and the several hundred others she's asked feel all warm and tingly.

I saw the Frames and Josh Ritter last Friday, and it was most excellent. Ritter does the singer/songwriter thing very well, and had a full band backing him up. They'd apparently actually spent time doing full band arrangements and practicing, which isn't always the case with backing bands, and it showed. Very, very nice, and I'm digging his records as well. The Frames were awesome. They have a largish catalog (6-7 albums), and I'm not familiar with all of it, but some of the new to me stuff was fantastic, as good or better than the album that got me into them, Burn the Maps. It struck me at the time that one way to describe their music would be Cat Stevens fronting the Pixies. There's a certain vocal similarity, and some of their slower songs wouldn't be out of place on a Stevens album, but they do the soft/loud thing incredibly well, and without being the whole point of the song. They also have a very skilled violinist, and rather than just adding ornamentation to the rhythm parts like some bands, he played more vocal/melody type lines, and it seemed to me like the arrangements were constructed around the vocal and violin parts.

Tonight I'm going to see a set from Monofog, then to another bar for The Sleepers, tomorrow night is Gang of Four, and if I have any energy left after that there's about 8 other bands I want to see play. It's a good problem to have, but there's so much good music playing in Denver I often have to choose between 3 or 4 shows, especially on the weekends.

The Hold Steady are playing the LL again on the 25th, and I'm eagerly anticipating that show. Earlier in the day they're playing at Littleton High School, details here. It's not open to the public, but I think I can pass for 17.

Mark your calendars for November 11, as well. Reigning Sound, The Detroit Cobras, and Call Sign Cobra. More fuzzy blues rock than you can shake a telecaster at.

People keep calling Alan Right Said Fred