Kenny S. McGuane – The Daily Vault

19 Dec

Top 10 Albums Of 2008

Kenny S. McGuaneBest Of

10. The Dears -- MissilesSome fans have described Montreal’s The Dears in concert as “the sonic equivalent of seeing the face of God.” As outlandish a claim as that may be, listening to a Dears record, you at least get a sense of just what said fans are talking about. Missiles is a magnificent display of melancholy indie-pop where front man and chief songwriter Murray Lightburn flexes his muscles as a mope-rock visionary. Having rescued the writing from what on previous Dears albums was an overt and seemingly unapologetic tipping-of-the-hat to The Smiths, the songs on Missiles are concise and…

Free Fallin’ in SoCal — Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live at the Irvine Amphitheatre

Kenny S. McGuaneFeature

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine sucks. It used to be called Irvine Meadows. Been there a few times to see various other acts and every time is a letdown. Don’t get me wrong; it’s never the performer’s fault. It’s the outdoor theater’s fault. It seats uncomfortably about 15,000 people. Just like most other outdoor theaters, the acoustics are god-awful…extraordinarily bad. So bad it often makes it hard to enjoy the music, or rather, always makes it hard to enjoy the music. Last Friday’s Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers show was no exception. But there were other factors that made for…

Don’t Shoot Him, He’s Only Elton John

Kenny S. McGuaneFeature

Disclaimer: I adore Elton John. I mean, really love him. Growing up, the music of Elton John was shoved down my throat the same way some children are force-fed the Bible. One of my earliest childhood memories is being in my bed, supposed to be napping, while my mother played Blue Moves and Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Piano Player brain-scramblingly loud on the record player. It always seemed to me, and still does, that Elton John’s music was unusually and distinctively sophisticated for pop; there’s really nothing else like it out there. Between Elton’s gift for composition, Bernie…