Video: Tool - Vicarious

Tool - Vicarious

Monday Morning Coffee Break

I finally made it back home from my extended weekend trip to Las Vegas. Vegas isn't my favorite place in the world, but we had a great time! Jazzfest finished up this weekend and you can check out a complete roundup here. It also appears that we will be getting more dates for Tool's highly anticipated summer tour. Here is some news and video of my favorite MMJ song to get your Monday moving.

• Eminem rips Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger in new song
• John Lennon's "A Day In The Life" lyrics to hit the auction block
• Members of Keane, Mumford & Sons & The Killers climb Mt. Desolation
• Ozzfest returns with Motley Crue, Black Label Society, Rob Halford & more
• Max Weinberg & Conan O'Brien are parting ways
• Watch The National perform "Terrible Love" in a castle

My Morning Jacket - One Big Holiday

Tool to Hit the Road this Summer, New Album Underway

It's hard to believe, but it's been almost four years since Tool released 10,000 Days, but Maynard and company are ready to hit the road. They are also in the beginning stages of writing their next record. Below are the first set of Tool dates to be released.

"Members of the band are still in the process of writing new material (three days a week)… it shouldn’t be long before the dry-erase board is filled with a bewildering array of color-coded intros, progressions, agitatos, con sordinos, crescendos, diatonics, inversions, resolutions, transitions, variations, obbligatos, consonance, and endings – the arrangements that millions will attempt to down-load [sic] off the internet.”

Tool 2010 Tour Dates
Jun. 19 @ UNO Lakefront Arena - New Orleans, LA
Jun. 20 @ Toyota Center - Houston, TX
Jun. 23 @ Ford Center - Oklahoma City, OK
Jul. 7 @ Rexall Place - Edmonton, AB
Jul. 9 @ General Motors Place - Vancouver, BC

Video: Brann Dailor & Danny Carey Drum Jam

This kicks some major ass!!!!

Brann Dailor & Danny Carey Drum Jam

My Trip To Kuma's Corner

Lately, I have been on a bit of a Mastodon kick. Blood Mountain & Leviathan have been in rotation in my car for the last week. With that being said, my friend Emily & I decided to take a trip to Kuma's Corner last night for a gargantuan hamburger. We arrived a little after 7 PM and the wait for a table was 90 minutes. The bar is very small and the tables are even smaller. We decided to wait it out and it was definitely worth the wait. After about 45 minutes, a spot at the bar opened up so we decided to take it.

The list of burgers on the menu is rather impressive with all of them being named after metal bands. On my first trip to Kuma's, I ordered the Mastodon burger, which is topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, bbq sauce and frizzled onions. This time I went for their famous Kuma's Burger, which has cheddar cheese, bacon and a fried egg! You may think a fried egg on a burger sounds gross, but it was divine! Emily ordered the Lair of the Minotaur, which was topped with caramelized onions, pancetta, brie cheese and bourbon soaked pears. Both burgers were good, but the Kuma's Burger took the prize. You can check out the rest of the menu here.

What would a good burger be without a good beer. Kuma's boasts a solid beer selection. Last night we tried the JuJu Ginger Ale & Warrior IPA from the Left Hand Brewing Company. We also tried the Indica IPA from The Lost Coast Brewery & Crooked Tree IPA from Dark Horse Brewing Company.

Ok..... back to my Mastodon kick. Guitar Center's Drum-Off will conclude with the finals being held at L.A.'s The Wiltern on January 8. The night will feature a tribute to the great John Bonham by his son Jason. If that wasn't kick-ass enough, the evening will feature a collaborative performance by Tool's Danny Carey and Mastodon's Brann Dailor. Let's hope that the footage will pop up on YouTube. Paste has the low down here.