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Dave Pachence is the singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist behind Draw Tippy. A DIY artist in the truest sense -- he played every instrument on the album, which was recorded in his New York City bedroom -- he has more recently had the surreal experience of hearing his music plastered across the international airwaves courtesy of MTV. The music is a frothy mix of acerbic punk-pop and the smartest '80s club music made since, well, the '80s. Dave and I caught up via e-mail recently.  Daily Vault: So. You made an album in your bedroom and now snippets from it are showing up all…

The sounds emanating from the Pabst Theater Wednesday night belied the ornate trappings and sculptures that surrounded them. What we were privy to were some of the great pop classics of the last half of the 20th century, as well as one of its greatest achievements performed in its entirety.Since the late '90s, Brian Wilson has been slowly recapturing his legacy, performing to audiences for the first time since his days as a Beach Boy. With the help of his backing band (the Wondermints), his attempts have been largely successful. But his greatest triumph has come in the past year,…

The pairing sounded mismatched and totally perfect at the same time -- The Roots and Wilco. One represents a glowing beacon for hip-hop; one represents a glowing beacon for alt-country. Both are known for their live shows and their willingness to turn a simple song into an extended jam session. Each band reached headline status about five years ago. The prospect of seeing Wilco live almost made me throw down the cash to see them at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The inclusion of the Roots made the show one of those shows that you had to see, regardless of the funds,…

The cool basement of Sokol auditorium in Omaha -- known as the Underground -- was a haven from the wall of humidity that had settled in for the past week. My roommate let out a few sneezes on the way to the show "12 hours into my f*$&ing 24-hour Claritin." Both he and my co-concertgoer grumbled about the 9 p.m. show (with all due credit, all of us had to work early). Still, Neko Case is one artist that you gladly sacrifice sleep for - without question. The crowd initially was made up of a lot of aging hippies and…

Any time a band reunites with core members, it's not unusual for the group to do a few "warmup" shows prior to launching a major tour in order to work out the bugs in the set. In the case of the speed-metal band Anthrax - which was performing with its classic line-up for the first time in 13 years - their second night at the House Of Blues (and third show prior to leaving for a major European tour) proved there still were many bugs left to be squashed.Following a roughly 20-minute movie covering the band's history and the reunion,…