[truncated]

A friend of mine has invited me to stay with her in August to go see ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead (I'm using their name in its entirety because if khchris were here, he'd flagellate me for abbreviating it). It's in Germany, and all it'd cost me is the plane ticket.

Pro: It's GERMANY, with a free place to crash.
Con: Trail of Dead has broken my heart with its last two albums.

Weigh in, fellow fans (or former fans). I so thoroughly enjoyed their Eponymous and Madonna; my affection waned a bit with Worlds Apart; then my aural heart was stabbed mercilessly with So Divided and then stepped upon with Festival Thyme. Should I listen repeatedly to the less favored albums in hopes of discovering diamonds in the rough, or is it a lost cause? Should I go just because it's GERMANY?

Oh Conrad, what have you done?

[Genteel Death]

If you go with the mindset of a person who still lives in 1998, you should be fine.

[EVOLghost]

Meh....

[the ikara cult]

I stopped listening after So Divided as well, I actually think Worlds Apart gets a really bad press, its alot better than people give it credit for.
I saw them twice around 2005 when Worlds Apart came out and they were still good fun so if it only costs you a few quid for a plane ticket and you can see Germany and your friend too its probably worth it.

[truncated]

The friend has a baby and babies are gross, so she doesn't factor in. I've never seen them live and I've heard they put on a good show, but if they're promoting their newer music, I'll be sad.

Conrad himself once said they were striving for a more progressive rock sound, and I think I cried that day.

I suppose it's my own fault, and it's the nature of being a fan, but sometimes my tastes don't evolve with the band's work. I'm doomed to be a hermit pariah in a hoodie, sitting amongst piles of newspapers with my turntable and pining for musical yesteryears.

I bet Jason fought this! I BET!

I don't speak German.

[floatingslowly]

do it. best live shows ever.

saw them about a year ago, I got to sign along with Caterwaul and got a drumstick.

also: Conrad makes awesome art.

that said, the price of a flight to Germany makes that pretty steep. I think I paid $13 for my ticket and the last time they played in austin, the show was free!

[Savage Clone]

You are unemployed and you don't like the band as much as you once did.

And there is a BABY involved.

[hevusa]

they have sucked since they got "sober"

[truncated]

I think my final decision has been made by the fact that yes, as Savage Clone reminded me, there is a BABY involved. And, I have no idea how to pronounce the thing's name. We've been talking via the Inter Web instead of the phone ever since she moved, so I've only ever seen the thing's name in print, and I'm too ashamed to admit to her that I have no idea what the fuck that kid's name is supposed to sound like.

Can someone please spell "Saskia" phonetically for me? It's Norwegian. Thanks bunches.

[Derek]

"Saskia \s(a)-skia, sas-kia\ as a girl's name is of Danish and Old German origin, and the meaning of Saskia is "the Saxon people". From "sachs". Also possibly "valley of light". Name of the wife of the 17th century Dutch painter Rembrandt. Use of her name in the Netherlands can be traced to her; however, the derivation of Saskia from the name of the Saxon people is uncertain. The name could also possibly be of Slavic origin, and related to Sasha, a short form of Alexandra. Actress Saskia Reeves."

So.. Sas-keyah?

[truncated]

Thank you Derek! Very informative, and, after some Googling, confirmed as accurate.

Dumb name. And she's Norwegian - what's she playing at? POSER.

[Savage Clone]

I hope they put that baby in full corpsepaint all the time.

[the ikara cult]

Originally Posted by truncated

The friend has a baby and babies are gross, so she doesn't factor in. I've never seen them live and I've heard they put on a good show, but if they're promoting their newer music, I'll be sad.

Conrad himself once said they were striving for a more progressive rock sound, and I think I cried that day.

I suppose it's my own fault, and it's the nature of being a fan, but sometimes my tastes don't evolve with the band's work. I'm doomed to be a hermit pariah in a hoodie, sitting amongst piles of newspapers with my turntable and pining for musical yesteryears.

I bet Jason fought this! I BET!

I don't speak German.

Jason's owned a bar in Austin for at least 5 years or so, if i recall correctly. I do think his influence has been missing to some degree for a while, if i remember right he didnt sing a single song on So Divided.

Conrad's drawings are really good, even though some of the album artwork for the last couple of albums has been a bit... well, i dont know much about Art but i know what i like. He's never been a great singer live but he usually carried it off as far as i recall.