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Post by WestStainesMassive on Apr 5, 2007 10:33:23 GMT -5
Let me start my saying i love the mars volta with exception to their second album. i hear people rave about their shows all the time but the scabdates live cd is absolutely terrible and the only person i know who has seen them play couldnt even tell what songs they were playing. im pretty sure the scabdates cd has only 2 songs on it and the rest of the tracks are white noise. can someone explain this cause im a little bit more than confused. id still love to see them play roo though.
Post by herbalicious on Apr 5, 2007 10:54:22 GMT -5
I'm not one of these mars volta fanatics, but I will give you a little of my perspective on their live show. I stumbled upon them at vegoose about 20 minutes after they started, I didn't have hi expectations but was interested in checking them out. I ended up staying for the whole thing because I was way impressed. They have about 10-12 people on stage and they are all contributing to a vast soundscape of music that flows continuously in a circular motion. I think their setlist was only 4 songs. They had so many different sounds and noises, wild vocal effects, slashing guitar riffs, insane bongo solos, wailing horns all flowing together to create a musical orgasm. A psychedelic circus if you will. I enjoyed closing my eyes and taking it all in (along with a couple whip-its). I've never really enjoyed their albums, but the music they played that night was like nothing i've ever heard - seriously, if they recorded that sh*t it'd be awesome. If you enjoy intensely psychedelic music, go see these guys (if you can handle it).
Post by stuckinutero on Apr 5, 2007 11:56:47 GMT -5
Well, set lengths all depend on the tour. If they headline they'll play for about 3 hours. If they tour with a crap factory like the Chili Peppers they'll only play for about an hour.
Here's a recent set-list from a show at the Berkeley Community Theater.
Setlist: 1. Fela Kuti's "Expensive Shit" (pre-show music) + Fistfull of Dollars Intro 2. Rapidfire Tollbooth (new) 3. Roulette Dares 4. Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus 5. Viscera Eyes 6. Idle Tooth (new) 7. Drunkship of Lanterns 8. Vermicide 9. Tetragrammaton 10. Meccamputechture 11. Day of the Baphomets
I don't know the exact lenghts, but 7 of the songs normally run over 10 minutes when performed live. Some well over 15. The Roo '05 set was cut by over 30 minutes due to tech problems.
Barebones, Scabdates is a 3 track CD (Take The Veil, Concertina, and Cicatriz). Take the veil has 3 parts, concertina has 1, and Cicatiz has 5. I can't stand throwing that CD on because the very first track is a baby screaming at the top of his lungs and I always forget to skip it. Redemption comes with the fact that Take The Veil was recorded at a Cinco de Mayo show that I attended. I have a boot from the show, but nothing compares to a pristine, mixed and mastered SBD.
As far as them live, its the same as any other band. Really no live recording is ever going to give you a proper perspective on how a band sounds live. There's alot of aspects that don't translate to disc. Especially the fact that you're standing there listening to something thats louder than all hell which in return causes your body to start pumping out all sorts of adrenaline and neuropeptides that give you that jacked up, concert experience feeling.
In a nutshell, if you like TMVs albums then theyre definitely worth the $40 to see live. If they're just some band you heard about and have a chance to take them in live, you'll probably be disappointed. Jockhead, f*ckface, Chili Pepper fans tore them apart on most of the tour last year.
I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged needing a shave and shouted 'Time Square, and step on it!
Post by unplugdacusticaz on Apr 5, 2007 16:56:59 GMT -5
I am absolutely in love with Deloused in the Comatorium, and Frances the Mute was good too, but for me, Amputechture was sh*t. I mean, I have tried to listen to that one cd over and over, because for me, I don't get into the Volta albums until after a few listens, but Amputechture, no matter how many times I give it a listen, just sounds horribly wretched, drab, thrown together and noisy, I don't hear much music in it.
Post by stuckinutero on Apr 5, 2007 17:40:24 GMT -5
unplugdacusticaz said:
but Amputechture, no matter how many times I give it a listen, just sounds horribly wretched, drab, thrown together and noisy, I don't hear much music in it.
Don't worry, you got a large group of people behind you in regards to that opinion. It has flashes of brilliance, like the first 5 minutes of Tetragrammaton and in various other places.
I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged needing a shave and shouted 'Time Square, and step on it!
HoodooOperator
Stanky McNasty Smells of bar & bad decisions
Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.
I like De-Loued, but not nearly as much as Frances the Mute and Amputechture (both of which, I would probably place in the top 10 albums of the decade). And Scabdates I dont really put up there at all. It was decent and everything, but eh. Not as good as the other three.
Post by poopzilla33 on Apr 5, 2007 23:43:38 GMT -5
stuckinutero said:
unplugdacusticaz said:
but Amputechture, no matter how many times I give it a listen, just sounds horribly wretched, drab, thrown together and noisy, I don't hear much music in it.
Don't worry, you got a large group of people behind you in regards to that opinion. It has flashes of brilliance, like the first 5 minutes of Tetragrammaton and in various other places.
i enjoy listening to amputecthure a lot, but i wouldn't put it in the same catagory as the toher volta albums. i don't know what it is. it doesn't really flow....that being said i'd still choose it over many many other albums and lisen to it often; its just my least fav volta labum
I love Amputechture, I'd definelty put it before Fances. And in regards to Scabdates, it is very common to find Mars Volta fans who do not like this album, the album is not a great example of how they preform live; I've seen them live twice, the last time I saw them, in October at the Aragon in Chicago, was probably one the the best concert experiences I've ever had.
Post by stuckinutero on Apr 6, 2007 12:13:43 GMT -5
dudezer47 said:
I'd love to see Mars Volta live, but sometimes I think their musical taste and talent outweighs their actual songwriting ability.
You can throw that one right on Omars shoulders. Almost everything you hear since Deloused has been the work of Omar. He pretty much writes everything, save a little help with the drums.
One thing I was overjoyed and a little surprised to hear was the large string and horn arrangements on FTM. I don't understand why that got thrown out the window on Amp.
I still love this band every bit as much as I did when I first heard them. One of my few complaints is that Omar needs to realize that he's not Miles Davis. He just needs to loosen his control on the band. It was never said, but I would put money on his control being a big reason as to why Jon left/got booted.
I was extremely impressed by the production quality of Amp. The work Omar did for that album in the studio really is a step up from FTM. The drums weren't buried in the mix, the vocals were much crisper, etc. Even with all that in mind, I still don't like Omar producing. Rick Rubin made that band sound better than they ever will. In a strange way he kinda kept a leash on them in the studio.
I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged needing a shave and shouted 'Time Square, and step on it!
Post by unplugdacusticaz on Apr 6, 2007 15:01:29 GMT -5
stuckinutero said:
dudezer47 said:
I'd love to see Mars Volta live, but sometimes I think their musical taste and talent outweighs their actual songwriting ability.
You can throw that one right on Omars shoulders. Almost everything you hear since Deloused has been the work of Omar. He pretty much writes everything, save a little help with the drums.
One thing I was overjoyed and a little surprised to hear was the large string and horn arrangements on FTM. I don't understand why that got thrown out the window on Amp.
I still love this band every bit as much as I did when I first heard them. One of my few complaints is that Omar needs to realize that he's not Miles Davis. He just needs to loosen his control on the band. It was never said, but I would put money on his control being a big reason as to why Jon left/got booted.
I was extremely impressed by the production quality of Amp. The work Omar did for that album in the studio really is a step up from FTM. The drums weren't buried in the mix, the vocals were much crisper, etc. Even with all that in mind, I still don't like Omar producing. Rick Rubin made that band sound better than they ever will. In a strange way he kinda kept a leash on them in the studio.
Really? You would think that Cedric would have some say in the writing process when it comes to the music since he is the guitar extraordinaire. Does Omar even play any instruments to be able to write music? I thought he only contributed the words.
Post by ellisintransit on Apr 6, 2007 15:33:25 GMT -5
I agree stuckinutero.....with the way Omar's solo stuff is sounding, why not let loose the reigns on TMV a little bit? I love his solo stuff, but a lot of it sounds like TMV rejects to me. The sound is so similar. If you have two vehicles with complete control over both, why not pass the power around? It can only serve to expand boundaries. IMO at least.
That said....I'm as big of a TMV fan as I was the day Deloused came out. Regardless of the sound of the albums, they always manage to challenge my ears, and that's a lot of what I look for in my music. Scabdates is by far my least favorite. It's the noise/music ratio I think. At the same time, there's monster jams on that thing that I love. It's an intersting dichotomy.
Post by oatmealschnappz on Apr 6, 2007 23:07:25 GMT -5
I think that Omar & The Mars Volta have kind of painted themselves into a corner. After the phenomenal genious of "Deloused" and "Frances", it's going to be almost impossible for them to out-do themselves. They raised the bar so f*cking high in the beginning that they now face scrutiny and ridicule if they don't re-invent the wheel with each new disc. If any other band had released "Scabdates" or "Amputhechture", they would be considered two of the best records in years. They're one of the most original, innovative and talented bands i've ever heard and, yeah, I do expect (nothing less than) great things from them but, they are only human...and they're entitled to a (relative) clunker every now and then. I'll still be first in line to buy the next record! Granted, it may be impossible for them to ever recapture the essence and artistic magnitude of the first few records but, i'm thrilled and excited to listen to them try!
Post by stuckinutero on Apr 7, 2007 16:12:16 GMT -5
leafsfan7524 said:
For those who don't like Ampetechure just skip tracks 1, 5 and 8...the rest of the songs are honkey donkey amazing!
I seriously think I've listened to Vicarious Atonement and El Ciervo Vulnerado all the way through maybe twice. Asilos Magdalena on the other hand is a great track in my honest. It can become very repetitive, but I think Cedric uses a beautiful vocal melody in that song.
I'm bored and its sh*tty out, so I'll briefly break down my problems with this album as I've never done so before. I'm going to try to concentrate mainly on the things I dislike as going through the things I enjoy would take longer. Vicarious Atonement & El Ciervo Vulnerado- Cedric always provides entertaining lyrics, but Omar needs to get his sh*t together on stuff like this. I have no problem with them using soft melodies, ambient noise and even the occasional noodling, but these 2 tracks are pretty much filler. Tetragrammaton- The first 4:47 is probably my favorite part of this album..... 4:48- WTF Omar? This track does finish very strong however. Its the shining gem on this album IMO. Vermicide- First track I got to hear off this album and I still enjoy it. I'd really love to see them layout their albums more like they did on Deloused. I don't have a short attention span when it comes to music, but I'd like to see more 5-8 minute songs on their albums.
Meccamputechture- I initially thought the beginning of this album was the single most embarrassing moment in TMV history. It has since grown on me greatly. I'll never complain about songs that run 10+ minutes, but this song really drags after the first 5 because they pretty much just reuse the chorus and verse for 7 minutes. It's very unfortunate that they cut down the horns on this album. They actually had a large section on FTM while they only use Adrian on this album. I absolutely love the ending of this song.
Asilos Magdalena- Too repetitive. There's never anything wrong with a verse, chorus, verse structure...... Just not for six and a half minutes using the same verse and chorus. I do however enjoy this track to a degree. Seems like it was extended to take up space.
Viscera Eyes- Cedric lacks a bit on this track. I really don't care what language someone is singing in, its all about the vocal melody and the ones Cedric uses on this track just aren't too strong. It is however some good old balls to the wall TMV. Omar should really swallow some pride and get some help tracking drums. Its the toughest thing to track and he's never obtained the sound Rubin got on Deloused.
Day Of The Baphomets- I love that Juan gets to flaunt a little in the beginning. I was also very surprised to hear Cedric start spewing out the lyrics from A Plague Upon The Hissing. Another track were I don't like Cedrics choice of vocal melodies. This song constantly falls apart and tries to pull itself together. This is probably the best example on this album of material that they probably had, wanted to use, and just threw together in a big clump. I almost forgot. I take back everything I said. My absolute favorite part of this album is (Just go listen) Track 6- Viscera Eyes 5:47- WILD STALLIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All in all its still one of my favorite albums from '06. Its just a bit of a drop off in quality. Supposedly it was all old material according to Omar, so lets all look forward to a brand spanking new TMV album for '07, and hopefully an appearance at Bonnaroo.
I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged needing a shave and shouted 'Time Square, and step on it!
For those who don't like Ampetechure just skip tracks 1, 5 and 8...the rest of the songs are honkey donkey amazing!
I think those songs, along with #2 and # 4, are the best tracks on the CD, especially #1. Just goes to show how diverse TMV's music can be. We could both be the biggest TMV fans but we hate the songs that the other loves.
My opinion: TMV is the best live act going right now, with the exception of Radiohead. They are so different, but I love what they do on stage.
I also agree with above statements that FTM and DITC are both so good that it's hard to follow them with new music. Perhaps Omar's head is stuck up his own a$$, but I think it's that exact quality that spawned the methodical madness of Frances the Mute. Their music is very self-indulgent but there's nothing wrong with that; they still give the fans what we want.
^ true, if you ask me Frances was the biggest jump of all. Rubin made Deloused feel more accessible, like to the emo crowd, while still being cool and experimental. Personally I love the direction they are going now more than the Deloused formula. While I love "Amputechture," I'm pretty sure Frances is my favourite. Scabdates was kind of a let down for me, I hated what they did with the last 20 minutes of Cicatriz.
Post by poopzilla33 on Apr 8, 2007 14:27:48 GMT -5
i love deloused. its my fav volta cd. its so original. it was kinda like them shedding their at the drive in skin. frances the mute is an absolutly rediculous album and deffinatly one of my favorite albums of all time. i can't wait to hear the new album, i didn't dig on most of amputechture, i kinda wish they ahd spent mroe time on it. man i want volta at rooo soooooooooooo bad
*edit*not to sya i didn't love amputecthure cuz i did, i just kinda expected to be absolutley blown away and i wasn't. it was the first volta album that had filler imo
I guess I just liked how the later albums were more challenging than Deloused. No doubt though, Deloused is a great album, I just like Cedric and Omar either punk or completely out there, not as much in the middle.
edit: Which I guess means you can say I like certain ATDI albums more than Deloused ( "Vaya" and "in/CASINO/out", specifically)
