Two perfect tracks for the way the weather is headed. Here is the skinny:
"The origins of Octoberman can be traced back to Marc Morrissette's itinerant summer of 2003. Temporarily abandoning his newly-formed collective (Kids These Days), the Vancouver songwriter embarked on an expedition through Asia and Europe. By his return to North American shores, the pages of a travel journal had been blackened with lyrics inspired by his experiences abroad. The reunited Kids These Days then undertook an industrious period of touring that allowed Morrissette to discover further metropolitan muses in New York City, Los Angeles and Portland. With a wealth of new songs at his disposal, he adjourned to Experience Sound Studios with co-producer James Henderson and commenced a yearlong recording project that would result in the debut Octoberman record: These Trails Are Old and New." [Link]I don't know what draws me to imperfect, sometimes off-key vocals (Jeff Magnum, John Frusciante). I think I like the fragility of it. The thought that it isn't perfect is appealing to me, and in a way, more sincere. Even when I look at people who have the gift of great vocal ability, I love the points when their voices are pushed to the limit, and occasionally broken. Octoberman's frontman Marc Morrisette will not overpower you with his vocals, but he will catch you by surprise. Very good stuff.
MP3: Octoberman - "Ex-Pat"
MP3: Octoberman - "Merci Cornerstore"
The first thing I noticed when Rollins took center stage, in his tradional uniform of absolutely nothing except for a pair of black athletic shorts with black spandex underneath, was how incredibly ripped he has been able to stay in his older years. I'm talking...ripped. Aside from his gray hair and the addition of perhaps .5% bodyfat, he looked in his prime...
The second thing I noticed is that everybody in the band rolled in bare feet, 
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Rollins is fucking insane...
Rollins does the whole spit/spray thing better than all in my opinion. He does it using his own sweat, sometimes licking it off of his body, which earns mad style points compared to the likes of 
"Liar" was by far both the crowd mover and the crowd pleaser. The song slows down into a jazzy swagger, lyrics are warm and soft spoken, and for at least one song the focus goes to the band and their musical talent. You see the crowd move their heads, shuffle their feet, and close their eyes - everybody's heartbeat slows down for the first time all night. Until, ENTER HENRY FUCKING ROLLINS! This emotional rollercoaster is the equivalent of drawing a red-marker dot on your chest cavity and slamming a giant syringe of adrenaline Pulp Fiction-style into it. The crowd erupts, screaming the chorus in unison (unlike the sound of doves crying)...
Rollins' performance on stage was nearly flawless - quite impressive in his older years. He manuevers himself like a predator ready to attack and kill, in his gladiator's arena consisting of 4 center speakers, all facing inwards (no earplugs for Henry of course). For whatever reason, everytime he does his little routine with the bobbing head, pelvic thrust, side-swagger, and acrobatic lean-over, it reminds me of the those mean-ass velociraptors from Jurassic Park. You know, when they break out, but temporaly pause and do their little swagger with the cameras zoomed in before they go out on the town. Kind of wierd; sorry. But if you read his T-Shirts (I was the proud owner of the only long-sleeved one I saw there; call me old school) he is PART ANIMAL. PART MACHINE. Anyway, despite his impressive performance, he did slightly trip over his mic cord once during his set...
There was only one 'spoken word' segment to Rollins' set, inserted either after the first four songs or the second four songs. He said something along the lines of 'There are people here in this city (DC) 
Random note by me: 
Before posting the set list, a final Rollins quote...one that shows even this machine has a little soft in him, you know, underneath all of that scar tissue...
