Dudemonkey: Admiral Radley is my new Grandaddy!

Went to the Granada in Dallas for St. Patrick's Day to see one of my musical idols, Jason Lytle, perform live with his new band, Admiral Radley, for their first show. Jason has joined forces with former Grandaddy drummer, Aaron Burtch and former Earlimart members Aaron Espinoza and Arianna Murray. It is the perfect fit between these new bands. I was a little apprehensive of their new sound because they were wedged between two folk acts, The Fox and the Bird and The Low Anthem. However, they did not disappoint and it's nice having a female influence in the group. Jason and Aaron took turns on lead vocals and it's just like having Grandaddy's awesome lo-fi surf rock sound back again. I have missed Grandaddy a lot since they disbanded about five years ago. During The Low Anthem's show, I was able to meet Jason and Aaron out in the lobby and there is nothing like getting to meet your musical hero for the first time. Huge, huge fan!! In addition, the Granada is probably the best music venue I have ever attended. What an outstanding concert site. All my needs were met and I couldn't have been more satisfied. I tried to post my videos to the blog, but blogger wouldn't let me, so you'll have to settle for this stripped down version and some pics. I also can't post a song, because they have not released an album yet. You can follow their shenanigans as they play 'Where's Waldo' before the album is released. There's a link to the website below. Enjoy.

Website

In addition, I also got to witness two remarkable folk bands. The first is The Fox and the Bird. A six piece folk band from Dallas that captivated the hearts of the audience. I hope we get to see them here sometime soon.

MP3: Rome

Myspace

The headliner for the night (but not my headliner, obviously) was The Low Anthem. These guys had just been at Rose State opening for The Avett Bros. I was skeptical at first, because The Avett Bros. lean a little too country for me, but I was pleasantly surprised by their Appalachian mountain music. I was even more fascinated by the instruments they were using. Some of the most unusual were the harmonium, a saw, a refurbished WWI pump organ that used to be taken into battle and the crotales, which are a cymbal percussion instrument, but instead were used with a bow to produce a strange feedback sound. Very somber and beautiful music.