Moment of Clairification

I got the pleasure last week of finally getting to see a Jupiter One show (Beauty Bar, May 15), and you should do the same. It’s a band from New York consisting of K, Zac, Dave and Pat. Zac (by far the coolest of the four since he is an Austinite) is a bi-mutual friend, meaning that he’s good friends with two of my good friends who I know through totally different means and don’t know each other (OK, so I made that word up).

Long story short, I’ve heard about Jupiter One — a lot — and it’s for good reason. When it comes to fun, heartfelt, super-happy pop rock sprinkled with impressive instrumentals and a cherry on top in the sunshine, Jupiter One owns that image. It’s music that kids would play videogames to (their song “Countdown” is actually on the game Madden 08), that teens would be obsessed with, that 20-somethings can rock out to at a live show, that would remind 30-somethings of their favorite 1990s alt-rock hits, and that would remind over 40-somethings of The Police (K sounds strikingly similar to Sting).

Honestly, I don’t usually seek out such freakishly poppy glittery rock — think Bloc Party, the only band I have ever seen stop mid-song several times at an ACL taping because they wanted a do-over — lame! Jupiter One is definitely the Bloc Party style (which many dig) but takes that style to a level that anyone can appreciate and most can enjoy, mixing in some of those classic, retro elements you’d get from a Best of David Bowie album. Jupitor One also has a track that sounds very similar to King Crimson, which makes my toes curl with happiness, and they played some very bluesy new song at the show that I had never heard before but is by far my favorite.

But I hate how some music reviews just compare bands to other bands and tell you nothing about the people making the music or the why’s and how’s of what they do. I’d rather know what’s in a band’s CD player than what band people say they sound like. Good people are the guys of Jupiter One, and they happened to arrive in the Lonestar state on my very first day of recreation and freedom from school and work (seriously, I was graduating that very day), so I was glad to spend a small amount of my recreation time with them. These guys have some good energy, and dude, they met in the circus — ‘nuf said! …. except that seconds ago, sitting here at Little City on Congress, a man with a cane and rhinoceros necklace — both made entirely of aluminum foil — just introduced himself to me. And he complained of the smell in the bathroom. And now he is reading a book, also made of foil.

What? Go check out Jupiter One, or catch their next show.

http://jupiteronemusic.blogspot.com/

I just checked out the band’s blog, which chronicles their adventures. Day 64 looks like the best day of their tour for sure … and Day 61, two photos under the one of me and K chatting (or something) is one of my friend Ashley’s tattoo, a shot Dave was intent on taking for the namesake. Funny, Dave. But it’s her dad’s name. Still, I appreciate that these lovely gentlemen spend countless days in a van to show the country (every freaking part of it) what their feelings sound like, and it was cool to be part their narrative. After all, they were definitely part of mine.