After Frightened Rabbit closed their set with “The Loneliness and the Scream” there was barely time for a quick walk to exercise your legs before Death Cab for Cutie took the stage and the crowd erupted as if someone had just detonated a bomb. They dove right in and opened with the eight and half minute long “I Will Possess Your Heart.” They then played an incredibly tight 18 song set, occasionally pausing for some brief dialogue from Ben Gibbards about everything from his drinking olive-oil onstage to preserve his voice to an audience member in the front row who was sporting a She & Him tee. After their 18 song set, which had just about every well known song in their repertoire; everything from the heart-on-sleeve ballad “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” to the sublime title track of their new album “Codes and Keys.”

Following a mere 30-45 seconds of applause after they closed their initial set with “Marching Bands of Manhattan,” Death Cab took the stage yet again to play not two, not three, but four encore songs; closing with two songs from their 2003 album “Transatlanticism.” The first being sing-along, television commercial-ready single “The Sound of Settling,” followed by the 8-minute epic title track, “Transatlanticism.”

A dynamic show by two dynamic bands. I heard they played an equally fantastic show the next evening in St. Paul, Minnesota, which was the last date on this tour. As Death Cab takes a month off to prepare for another leg of touring and Frightened Rabbit go on to continue promoting themselves as they begin to break through over here in the States, I will be anxiously awaiting new music, shows, and even philanthropical efforts from these bands (check out www.invisiblechildren.com for more information about a charity supported by both Death Cab for Cutie and Frightened Rabbit) that are already creating cultures and influences all across the board.

About 40-50 years ago, coffee shops started to pop up more frequently around America. But not until about the mid ’90s and early ’00s did coffeehouses suddenly become an incredibly pop culture phenomenon. I think there are many reasons for this, one of which being the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, which raised drinking age to 21. I believe that coffeehouses and cafes became more of a part of college life after it became a reality for the majority of college students that they weren’t going to be allowed in bars.  I mean, you’ve also got to figure in the fact that many Americans have slowly been shifting to try to live a healthier lifestyle, and a cup of coffee and a muffin offers a much healthier alternative to something like a bowl of Lucky Charms and a glass of orange juice both of which are most likely loaded with artificial sugars and sweeteners. Anyway, whatever the reason is, coffee has come to represent class and sophistication in modern society.

A businessman on his way to work. A college student on summer break around mid-morning on a Saturday. A young couple out for an afternoon stroll; maybe going to see a movie later. These are just a few candidates ready to cough up 4-5 dollars for a decent-sized latte or cappuccino. This has become modern day reality. Be it Starbucks, or an off-beat, funky, independently owned coffeehouse, the people of America want coffee. Why? Some of the reason for this comes from the indie-hipster crowd. The group of people who sport tight pants, vests, a casual beard, and berets. The people who listen to the most obscure music on the market, just so they can say they knew a band months before you did. But, as pretentious as they can be, they’re classy and cultured; two things the people of America love. And aside from the influence of this group of people, why else drink coffee? A few maybe like the taste. But the vast majority is just in it for the image. Anyone with a cup of coffee in their hand is automatically classy. With drinks like frappuccinos and mochas, you don’t even have to like coffee. Basically, you can drink a frappuccino (which is essentially the equivalent of a milkshake or malt in nutritional value and taste) and still get the classy persona that comes with drinking coffee. So, this beverage that began thousands of years ago as Montezuma’s favorite hobby has become a defining characteristic of our generation.Coffee has gone from merely a wake-up beverage in the morning to representing the culture of an entire generation.

On another level, I feel that maybe this isn’t the best way to handle his death, on a national security level. I have pondered the idea that this reaction to the death of a “hero” in Al Queda’s eyes could cause even more bitter hatred of Western society. But from a different perspective, the death of Hitler cause a breakdown and the near immediate fall of the Nazi empire. Although, the Nazi empire had some level of organization and built society, in which Hitler’s death caused a type of trickle-down effect that caused the whole empire to breakdown. Al Queda is far from organized, they’re an organization scattered throughout several countries in the Middle East with allies and connections dispersed throughout different corners of the world. To destroy an organization like this, it will definitely take more than the death of one figure in their alliance, a key figure though it was.

What comes next is shrouded in mystery; will this cause a ripple effect and destroy Al Queda? Probably not, but who knows. Is our nations jubilant reaction to the death of Bin Laden just fueling Al Queda’s hatred of Western Society? Time will tell.

At this point, I would like to share with you some links to the ways I’ve been trying to get myself out there and get my music out to the world:

First and foremost is my Facebook Bandpage where I post the majority of my music: The August McWake Facebook Bandpage

Secondly is Myspace. Myspace is the place for every musician these days. If you’re a serious musician, you have a myspace: My Myspace.

Next are YouTube videos. Here are some of my performances that I’d like to share with you:

“Wildflowers” by Tom Petty-cover

 “Graceland” by Paul Simon-cover 

“The Way” by August McGinnity-Wake-original song 

“While My Guitar Gently Weeps” by George Harrison-cover 

“You Can’t Be Too Strong” by Graham Parker-cover 

“Humbled & Forgotten” by August McGinnity-Wake-original song 

“Let it Be” by Paul McCartney-cover

most prestigious award that can be given to a musician. Every young, budding artist dreams of receiving one, and most all who have earned a Grammy are among the most respected musicians in the industry. The Grammys (then called Gramophone) Awards began in 1958 and have held an annual ceremony since.

For me personally, this year’s Grammy’s is an opportunity to redeem themselves, in a sense, after last year’s disastrous winning of Taylor Swift for Album of the Year. Unfortunately, I fear this year will turn out no better considering soon-to-be released album of Swift’s, “Speak Now.” Last year was also full of awards won by Lady Gaga, Kings of Leon, and the Black Eyed Peas. None of these artists are above average or satisfactory in my book. Lady Gaga is known for stage performances and dance music and the Black Eyed Peas for their heavy electronica beats.

This year I hope the Grammy’s will get back to their roots and actually nominate excellent albums and musicians. Now, my pick for Album of the Year is Peter Wolf’s “Midnight Souvenirs.” This album if tremendous. It’s a fantastic rootsy blues rock album in which every song is dynamite. There are great collaborations with artists like Cyndi Lauper, Shelby Lynne, and even Merle Haggard. It’s one of those albums if the Grammy’s are still interested in being respected among musicians and the entire music community they just cant overlook in the upcoming awards. So will the Grammy’s continue down the road of awarding Top 40 uninteresting pop, or will they stop in their tracks and consider the consequences? Only time will tell.

But there was not a word spoken concerning the iPod Classic, which is the iPod that started the revolution back in 2001.  The Classic may not have all the fancy gadgets and apps of other iPods, but it holds one thing over it’s competitor iPods: space.  The iPod Classic has 160 gb of space, more than double the 64 gig iPod Touch, which would be the iPod with the most space if the Classic were to vanish.  Although the Touch and Nano outsell the Classic by far, Apple would be making a big mistake if they were to do away with the iPod Classic.  The iPod Classic still has quite a following. There are plenty of music fans who need the 160 gb and space for 40,000 songs.  Even myself, who has owned an 8 gig iPod Touch for the last few years, was considering investing in a Classic considering how limited my space is.  I decided to wait until September when I suspected Apple would release a new iPod Classic.  I was obviously wrong.

So, is Apple discontinuing the iPod Classic? Only time will tell, but I feel they would be making a huge mistake.

Not only is the music fantastic, but the cause Farm Aid is based around is a noble one.  Farm Aid’s mission is to raise national awareness about the large decrease in family farms around the country and to try to help keep family farmers on their land.  The cause has raised millions for family farmers.

So, great music, great cause. What’s not to love about Farm Aid? I’d say thats a tough question, because I definitely do not have an answer.

I found Inception very easy to watch.  It was comfortable to watch.  Although, I felt it very “done up” and like it was made to be a big blockbuster film.  It was obviously extravagantly expensive as the special effects were, though I thought they were a bit over the top, very spectacular.  I feel that Inception was trying to be the psychological thinker that it just really wasn’t.  When it comes to such movies, I feel that a movie like Shutter Island, per say, was much more effective at getting it’s idea across and at least being the movie it wanted to be.  I am glad I saw Inception but mostly just so I can have my opinion.  In other words, I don’t need to see this movie again in my life.