Current location:	Home
Current mood:	discontent
Current music:	"Smells Like Teen Spirit", Nirvana
Entry tags:	103.3 the edge, andrew volpe, broken bride, disturbingly pre-pubescent jennifer conn, drunken lament, go-getter greg, labyrinth, lake pontchartrain, love me dead, ludo, matt palermo, nextwave, st. louis, you're awful i love you, youtube

"You're Awful, I Love You", Ludo

You're Awful, I Love You
Ludo
Island, 2008

There's this strange phenomenon that I've experienced a couple of times in my life wherein I come across, something I've never heard of before, on a commercial or billboard somewhere. Could be a person, a product, anything. And although I take no particular notice of it at the time, I can't swing a dead cat for the next two weeks without hearing some sort of mention of that particular thing. It's beyond the point of coincidence; nothing will reinforce my belief in a divine being faster than the idea that someone's playing a slightly cruel omniscient joke on me and my sanity, and I can see some God-like figure sitting in the heavens, on some throne, laughing his holy ass off at me.

Honestly, it'll drive me up the wall. I doubt my dead cats take kindly to it, either.

Anywho, the latest version of this practical joke, which has permeated my summer thus far, is the discovery of St. Louis emo-pop-punk outfit Ludo. I first heard mention of them on 103.3 The Edge, a Buffalo-area alternative rock radio station. Every Sunday night from 7 to 10, The Edge has a segment called Nextwave, which features a variety of new tracks from underground artists, although the lineup is oft-speckled with bigger names (last week's show included tracks from the latest Foo Fighters, Staind, Disturbed and 3 Doors Down albums).

I was listening to Nextwave while driving home in early May, and I turned it on during the middle of a this song that sounded emo, still had balls, was incredibly melodic, and had a kickass guitar solo. Afterwards, they announced the name of the band was Ludo, the song was "Love Me Dead", which was off their 2008 release You're Awful, I Love You. I was a little disappointed after the song ended, fairly certain that I'd forget the name and, like so many other songs I took a mild interest in on the radio, would evaporate into the back of my brain, only to be recalled months down the line while kicking myself for not remembering that band's name.

Luckily for me, Ludo and 103.3 had other plans. Out of sheer coincidence, I caught the next week's Nextwave segment. This never happens. And, as fate would have it, DJ Josh Potter played track #2 from the same Ludo album; this time, the song was "Drunken Lament". And this one, too, kicked ass. In fact, after these two tracks, I think my cheeks were bruised. I can't remember anything about those two listens except for the fact that this inner voice was screaming at me, "Dude, you have GOT to check these guys out." After the song, God throws me a rope and has Potter say that, "Oh, by the way Buffalo, Ludo will be opening for The Spill Canvas this Wednesday in Williamsville." I summarily called my best friend on the phone, told him that no was not an option, and we made plans to see them at Club Infinity.

Now, here's where the story starts getting a little, well, creepy. The next day, Monday, was my 21st birthday, which I spent at a bar about 40 minutes from my home simply because there was supposedly a Guitar Hero competition there that night (I know, I'm sick). Although the competition didn't materialize, I did spend a good night with some close friends, including one kid I hadn't seen for a couple of years, Pij. Pij, me and my best friend, Paul, were talking about music. I mentioned that I had gone to see The Reverend Horton Heat (see previous entry), and that we were planning on going to see The Spill Canvas that Wednesday in Williamsville:

Me: "But, actually, we're more interested about the opener."
Pij: "Who's opening?"
Me: "Not sure if you've heard of them, called Ludo. Heard a couple tracks on The Edge."
Pij: *does doubletake* "Wait, Ludo Ludo? Broken Bride Ludo?"
Me: "...um, what?"

So Pij regales Paul and I with this story of how, during his days as a DJ for University at Buffalo radio, he came across this CD from 2005 by Ludo called Broken Bride, which he listened to on a whim. Pij then explains the plot of Broken Bride, a rock opera, which, apparently, is the story of a guy living with his girlfriend, his girlfriend dies in a car accident on the way to work, so the guy goes and invents a time machine to save her. He goes way too far back in time, ends up in prehistoric dinosaur times, rides a dino, then goes forward. Bad news again: ends up in a crazy futuristic world where evil zombies rule, and he has to fight off these zombies to get back to his time machine. So he takes it back in time, but reappears just before his girlfriend takes off. Unable to stop her, he simply jumps in the car with her, both of them riding to their deaths. Cue: "Awwwww...."

Me: *turn to Paul* "Holy shit, dude, we have GOT to see this show."

We don't end up seeing that show. Again, as fate would have it, I had an Evans Town Board meeting to cover that night, and we scrapped the plans. But I had heard too much to go back now; I ended up purchasing You're Awful, I Love You from SecondSpin.com, and made a mental note to go back for Broken Bride at some point. It took a few weeks for it to arrive (SecondSpin.com: Awesome prices, shitty delivery time), and in that time span, Paul and I spend a night hanging out with an actor friend of ours from high school, this kid Nathan. Again, we start talking about music; again, "Yea, went to go see The Reverend Horton Heat not too long ago." Again, Ludo pops up again, I'm not sure how.

Nathan: "Oh, yea, Ludo. Broken Bride, right?"
Me: "...um, yea."
Nathan: "Weird. I was in that show over in Chicago. They put on a performance of it, and I was in the cast. We actually got to meet the band."
Me: "...Weird is fucking right."

Needless to say, I was scooping the brick I shat out of my pants for the next few hours. Finally, after all this buildup, I get the CD in the mail, throw it in, and say, "Impress me."

I was impressed.

Ludo is freakin' nuts. The band is emo, despite anyone's best efforts to say otherwise; too many of their songs can be characterized as 'anguished love songs', in particular "Mutiny Below", "The Horror Of Our Love" and "Such As It Ends". But in Andrew Volpe, Ludo has one of the ballsiest emo lyricists I've ever come across; the opening lines to "Love Me Dead" are - "Love me cancerously/ Like a salt-sore soaked in the sea/ 'High-maintenance' means/ You're a gluttonous queen/ Narcissistic and mean." And his voice, a high-pitched tenor, doesn't evoke the same squeal-whine that many more well known artists fall victim too.

If you can take the time, go on YouTube and look up some of the live Ludo performances; I was able to catch both "Love Me Dead" and "Go-Getter Greg" played live on Jimmy Kimmel. Although it could be entirely inadvertant, Volpe has a performance technique that I think is strikingly brilliant: he never stops smiling this stupid, goofy smile. And when you're watching a front man for an emo band smile while singing lyrics like "You're a parasitic psycho, filthy creature/ Finger-bangin' my heart/ You call me up drunk/ Does the fun ever start?" (Again, "Love Me Dead"), you can't help but smile too. Really, Ludo's about good music, but is more about having fun: how else do you explain the videos of the band singing "Love Me Dead" (who says you can't pimp a single song into oblivion?) while brushing their teeth in front of the bathroom mirror. And, again, those videos are on YouTube and are hilarious.

As far as the actual songs on the CD are concerned (I guess I should get to this sooner or later), my favorites are those first two I heard, lo so many months ago on The Edge, "Love Me Dead" and "Drunken Lament", as well as "Lake Pontchartrain", a song about three friends who take a vacation to Louisiana and have a fatal run-in with a murderous lake, and "Go-Getter Greg", a well-delivered send-up of a guy stalking a girl who just moved into his apartment complex. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you wince.

All in all, Ludo's music is infectious, and I still kick myself for being unable to get to that show back in late May. I still have that mental note to revisit Broken Bride (I failed to mention, that rock opera is five tracks and thirty minutes long. Dense). It's music that you'll want to pump in your car, singing at the top of your lungs, but in no way on pitch, with your best friend, going 65 down the interstate. Just make sure you don't land near a sign saying Lake Pontchartrain.

Wiki-Trivia

• Gets its name from the character Ludo in Labyrinth, the 1986 fantasy film with David Bowie and a disturbingly pre-pubescent Jennifer Connelly. You might remember him, he's that weird looking orangutan thing with the horns. In fact, look at the album art for You're Awful, I Love You. See? See????
• Ludo has been putting on themed shows for the past few years at The Pageant in St. Louis. Show titles include HalLUDOween, A Very Ludo Christmas and Cinco de Mustache.
• I can't find any proof of this anywhere, but drummer Matt Palermo can't be more than 16 years old. Look at that baby-face. Listen to the drum work on "Drunken Lament". And stand in awe of the man-child.