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Round Three Contest Submissions

1/26/07, 5:58 pm EST

Meet Our Round-Three Contest Finalists!

Anyone can go to a concert (except those kids from that town in Footloose, sigh). But not everyone can write up a concert. Describing the venue, turning music into text, capturing the mood of the audience, evaluating the performance. It’s a daunting task, and it’s the assignment we asked you to submit for week three of our “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition. We had some great submissions. A few entries made us ponder the definition of a “concert.” We like pondering. And then we had the bad apples who 1) went over word count (a major magazine no-no), 2) told us “This is a concert I went to last year” or 3) wrote schmaltzy fan-boy and -girl pap. No, no, no! Follow the rules, people! For the F students, it’s a trip to the back of the class with a big dunce cap, but for one of these twenty honor-rollers, they’ll be bringing home a First Act SFA Edition Lola CE120 guitar and a Rhapsody Sansa MP3 player. Your concert review didn’t make it? Well, we’ll have a brand-new contest on Monday at noon EST, allowing you another chance to wow us with your journalistic skills.

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1/26/07, 5:55 pm EST

Assignment Three Finalist: Andrew Cleary on subway musicians (New York City)

Think you can do better? Prove it, by entering our contest. Win prizes and get your work published. We’ll announce week four’s assignment Monday, 12:00 p.m. EST.

Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.

by Andrew Cleary
Age: 23

Two major musical forces came together that night, January 19th in Union Square Station; Weeping Acoustic guitars and a furious drummer beating on some three gallon plastic tubs. It was the drumming that lured me back in, at first in my hurry to get to the closest bar and drink myself unconscious, I didn’t really take notice of the music and nearly ran through the turnstile but fortunately my compatriot accidentally dropped his wallet. While he scurried back to get it, I noticed the truly savage beating that man was giving those white tubs. A crowd of on-lookers seemed to have long been assembled they stood around wearing looks of complete awe for what was happening. It didn’t seem like the singer/guitarist and his rhythm section knew each other, I would guess that they’d probably never seen each other before in their lives, but they were so in sync, the soft calculated notes accompanied by this maelstrom of sound worked so harmoniously, coupled with the quivering voice of the shaggy looking singer.

The crowd was not traced along scene lines, guys in ultra tight girl’s pants, stood next to the 9-5 button down business men, & some guys in baggy jeans. I left there truly having enjoyed discovering some music that will probably be heard again. It was a jam session (See: Nothing Like Phish Jam Music; it was a conversation through strings and beats, never exceeding 5 minutes per song) between two street performers who may never get together again, I hope lightening strikes twice though if they do. Looking back let me just say; it was real live music that came without frills, it came without jumbo-trons and slick dancing skills, it came without ticket master or overpriced drinks, it came without Pete Wentz and it was good music neither simple nor plain.

-- Rolling Stone

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1/26/07, 5:55 pm EST

Assignment Three Finalist: Mike DiMaiolo on The Hold Steady (Asbury Park, NJ)

Think you can do better? Prove it, by entering our contest. Win prizes and get your work published. We’ll announce week four’s assignment Monday, 12:00 p.m. EST.

Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.


THE HOLD STEADY - 1/19/07

by Mike DiMaiolo
Age: 25

There are nights when Craig Finn thinks Sal Paradise was right, “Boys and girls of America have such a sad time together.” But on this particular night, Finn did his best to prove him wrong. As the crowd and the band together chanted the lyrics to the regular opener, “Positive Jam”, the mood was set for an evening of sniffling indie kids getting down, but holding steady.

While the band worked its way through their setlist, mixing older songs (Banging Camp, The Swish) with ones from their newest album (Stuck Between Stations, Chips Ahoy), there was an omnipresent feeling of relevance hard to ignore. When Finn mentioned a British journalist was in attendance to research the similarities between he and another local legend who would frequent the same club, even the unassuming got the point.

The parallels were there. And as Craig Finn continued to perform on the same stage where Bruce Springsteen once got his start two or so decades prior, that feeling of relevance resonated through the audience maybe deeper than the music itself. The Hold Steady absolutely rocked, but Finn’s connection with his fans during songs like “Party Pit” made the comparisons substantial and the performance unforgettable. Bruce could write lyrics that captured the spirit of his fans’ everyday lives. Finn does him one better by living out his lyrics in front of his fans’ very eyes.

While the crowd sprayed beer and confetti onstage, Finn returned the favor with his own sweat and saliva, chugging beers and liquor in between songs with the rest of the band. By the time they returned for their second encore, well past 1am, they were noticably drunk. No one seemed to care though, so were we (obviously).

-- Rolling Stone

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1/26/07, 5:55 pm EST

Assignment Three Finalist: Lauren Glucksman on Amy Winehouse (New York City)

Think you can do better? Prove it, by entering our contest. Win prizes and get your work published. We’ll announce week four’s assignment Monday, 12:00 p.m. EST.

Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.


AMY WINEHOUSE - 01/16/07

by Lauren Glucksman
Age: 18

London’s Amy Winehouse may not be a household name yet, but she will be. With a stunning new album, “Back to Black” due for American release, Amy is about to lose her anonymity.
Her look might surprise some, when compared to her voice. With tattooed arms, big black hair, eyeliner and red lipstick, she could just as easily front a punk band as sing the gritty, attitude-filled soul that she does. To say she was simply “soul” would be a lazy summary, as she mixes hip-hop, blues, jazz, soul and rock to create a live performance unlike any other.
Backed by a full band, Amy struts confidently through her new album. “Rehab” rallies the audience as they chant along with her, “They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, No, No, No!” whilst current single, “You know I’m no good” comes from an obviously personal place. Using an “Ain’t no mountain high enough” sample for “Tears dry on their own” demonstrates her guts, carrying with it a funk that its original creators would have been proud of. In between songs Winehouse takes gulps of her Amaretto Sour, and during “Wake up alone” she croons, “I stay up, clean the house, at least I’m not drinking” with straw in mouth, Amaretto in hand. She gives a sheepish grin and it’s these moments where you see Winehouse in all her honest glory. She is confident without any obnoxiousness, soulful because it’s within her not because it’s an impersonation and most importantly her performance exudes such passion that you wonder whether it is a struggle to re-live these moments with an audience. Perhaps what is most endearing about watching a Winehouse performance is she makes no apologies for being herself, after all, who else is better qualified?

-- Rolling Stone

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1/26/07, 5:54 pm EST

Assignment Three Finalist: Clint Goulden on Murder By Death/Metal Hearts (Cambridge, MA)

Think you can do better? Prove it, by entering our contest. Win prizes and get your work published. We’ll announce week four’s assignment Monday, 12:00 p.m. EST.

Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.


MURDER BY DEATH/METAL HEARTS - 1/3/07

by Clint Goulden
Age: 25

Of all the world-of-mouth venues that share a floor plan with an Asian restaurant, the Middle East has to be, like, no lower than fourth best. But most of the time the acts that come through here are first rate, and Metal Hearts job of supporting the infrequently headlining Murder By Death was far from an exception.

The audience murmurs and bar shuffling was silenced by Metal Hearts, and if one didn’t know better, there were no more bands to play this night. Instead, the audience’s feet came to a complete arrest when the clearly-created-for-concert “Boy Decide” opened an offbeat set, followed by track-list-following “One More Notch,” before deviating for some “Killbot 2000” and serious ‘Breakdancing’.

A blistery “Dynamite Mine” and a Johnny Cash-in, which never pretended to be something it wasn’t, “Sometimes The Line Walks You,” were at the thick and height of a sweaty performance for a mild winter evening in the northeast.

But unlike most bands earning their stripes, this carriage is drawn by two ponies—rather than relying solely on Adam Turla’s rusty pipes, (“Shiloh”) it is Sarah Balliet that might be the star of this show, feverishly soloing away on the cello like her bff’s life depends on it. The performances are so complete they imitate the album’s soliloquies in top-notch form (“Steam Rising.”)

If the steam rises as expected, Murder By Death will be household names by next year—should they chose to steer the carriage in the direction they have so far avoided. The evening in the cellar closes wisely with the floor rattling and lyricless but pounding “Those Who Stayed.” From the looks of the Middle East’s drippy basement, it was quite a few, too. When congratulating Turla on a transcendent set after hours, he looked around and said, “Who? Me?”

-- Rolling Stone

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