Post-rock duo Talkdemonic is wrapping up their tour. They stop by Eugene’s Sam Bond’s Garage on Friday night (2/24). The first of two LOOK Sessions was posted the other day… “Summer Glass.” Check it!
3/1 update: “Revival” from the same Look Sessions…
~Dan – np: Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 2
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Montreal’s Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra appear to have an identity crisis. They’ve been known as A Silver Mt. Zion, The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band with Choir, and Thee Silver Mountain Reveries. For short hand, I’ll simply refer to them as Silver Mt Zion. I’ll admit, I am new to their music… I got into them via ambient post-rock giants Godspeed You! Black Emperor, who share three members with Silver Mt Zion (singer/guitarist Efrim Menuck, violinist Sophie Trudeau, and bassist Thierry Amar).
More on Silver Mt Zion later…
The opener was a one-man band called Total Life. He played a 25-minute, ambient/drone guitar & loop set (his clear guitar to the right). It had a slow burn, then quickly morphed into a wall of sound.
For most opening gigs, this would not do, but for a post-something crowd, Total Life’s 25 minute experiment showed the audience’s patience and respect. All bundled up, he was barely moving making the sounds, but sweat started dripping down his forehead and nose until the final note.
While GY!BE tend to stay in the ethereal, ambient, sweeping post-rock movement, Silver Mt Zion are a little more difficult to pin down. They have many components similar to GY!BE, but they definitely write more in a “song” vein, with vocals. Yet, I wouldn’t call them a singer-songwriter troupe. The first two “songs” alone clocked in at 35 minutes. They sweep, they go places, come back. The vocals sometimes have choruses, and sometimes it more resembles lofty prayers… to whom? I do not know.
Their label describes their influences as “free jazz, community sight-singing, Minimalism and American folkways – still anchored to a punk-rock take on neo-classical and modern music tropes.” If that narrows it down for you, well, you’re more forgiving of “genre-fication” than I. Whatever you want to call them, they made great music on Saturday night at Mississippi Studios in Portland.
Setlist: about 90 minutes
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
They only have a select number of dates on this tour. Definitely go see them if you have the chance! Check out more tour dates below.
Next shows for me… back-to-back Secret Chiefs 3 & Dengue Fever co-headlining in both Eugene (2/6 WOW Hall) and Portland (2/7 Dante’s).
~Dan – np: John Zorn – Film Works IX: Trembling Before G-d
THEE SILVER MT ZION MEMORIAL ORCHESTRA PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2012 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Thee Silver Mt Zion — 2012 Jan/Feb Tour Dates
The frontman from sludge/drone/doom metal pioneer’s EARTH is coming out with a solo album via Kickstarter…
(Dylan on the far left)
Dylan Carlson is creating his first major solo project outside of earth. There will be a limited edition lp/dvd/book and cd/dvd/book (500 of each format) and a special pressing of 150 copies (lp only) with personalized ex libris by Simon Fowler (who will also do the cover and end papers). The illustrations will be by Kiyo Lappalainen. The limited edition books will be pop-up style. There will also be an open edition with regular flat printing in a cd booklet and flat lp printing.
The recording will combine field recordings from various megalithic and other sites of human/fairy encounters across the UK, also the use of ritual and folkloric magical practices. The expedition will be filmed by Clyde Petersen. These recordings will be layered with Dylan’s interpretations of classic Scotch-English ballads about human/fairy encounters from early modern England and Scotland (15th-18th century). It will also feature guest vocalists to sing the songs.
This is not being done through a label, as earth’s output has, but is a labor of love/obsession of Dylan’s. Being primarily of Scotch-English descent, this is an historical journey to his personal and cultural past, embracing music/folklore/the occult dimension and history. This is also result of personal experience’s of ‘the other side’. His blog has details, if interested. The field recordings will be accomplished in April-May of 2012. The rest of the recording/mastering will be finished in summer and early fall, the artwork is an ongoing process, already begun. Dylan is planning to have it all done for a May 2013 release. Join in the restoration of magic, a return to a world of spirits. Where all objects have a will of their own and a language they speak in, and we have learned how to speak with them again. It will be titled “Coleman Grey presents Falling with a Thousand Stars and Other Wonders from the House of Albion.”
You can join in on the Kickstarter HERE. Despite the May 2013 release date, this project needs funding by February 12th, 2012.
~Dan – np: Frank Zappa – Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Time for this year’s mix CD, except I decided to go CD-free this year. It’s still formatted to stay contained on one CD (20 tracks ~77 mins); so if you want to download the whole shebang and burn to a CD – go for it!
Check out 2009′s mix over here and 2010′s mix over here. No major theme this time like some of my prior mixes (4 Elements & A-to-Z mixes)… the only rule I placed before myself was that everything is current (i.e.- released in 2011). This year’s mix ended up mellower than most mixes from me. There are a few rock songs, but whilst re-listening, it’s definitely less rocky. I hope you enjoy.
The following songs were put on the mix from mostly lossless sources where possible and for promotional purposes only (read: free direct market advertising to people who decidedly love music). Most of the artists on this compilation are independent (put out the music themselves) or signed to smaller, independent labels. If you like what you hear, check out their music / support them with your wallet if you are able. The artists’ Webpage, Facebook, and Amazon links are available for each song below. I’ve also included concert review links if I’ve seen the artist recently.
Download the ZIP File (136M) available *HERE*, extract then drag & drop the mp3 files to your iTunes (or other playback software).
All Songs Streaming Playlist (click arrows to skip back & forth… for individual songs find them below. Note: Track 20 has explicit content.)
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01 Puscifer “The Green Valley” from Conditions of My Parole
Tool / A Perfect Circle frontman Maynard James Keenan makes wine and makes other music in his time off from Tool and APC. I loved Puscifer’s debut and the subsequent EP, but this album tops it all. It’s a brilliant record, recorded in one of his wine cellars with his friends – featuring backing vocals from Carina Round. It’s self-released by Puscifer music with a small distribution partner (available in indie shops, primarily). While there are some rockers (maybe 1/3 of the album), this song is fairly representative of the feel of the album. It’s my #1 album in 2011.
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02 My Brightest Diamond “Be Brave” from All Things Will Unwind
Shara Worden (aka My Brightest Diamond) took some time off since her last album – 2008′s A Thousand Shark’s Teeth. She put out some stunning collaborations in the past three years (including her first kiddo); so the lapse in studio work was a-OK. On this album, Shara teams up with NYC-based ensemble yMusic to create a lush backdrop for her gorgeous voice. It’s my #2 album in 2011. I can’t praise it enough!
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03 Ric Hordinski “My Pretty Bagatelle” from Arthur’s Garden
Guitarist extraordinaire Ric Hordinski (formerly of Over the Rhine – in their rockier days) has been a favorite of mine for a LONG TIME. He’s the kind of guitarist who is subtle and unassuming in his approach, but you end up wracking your brain how he gets such lush and complex sounds out of the frets. This album was part of a Kickstarter campaign, and while the physical manifestation hasn’t hit my mailbox yet, I was happy he sent it out to Kickstarter funders early. It’s such a great record… you can get it now on bandcamp!
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04 Goddamn Electric Bill “Sin” from Jazz
GdEB is the one-man brainchild of Jason Torbert. He hits the spot for organic electronic meets post-rock for me. Ambient at times, melodic other times. His latest work has featured some vocals, but he’s primarily a groove-induced soundscape kind of guy. Chirps and glitches, too. Excellent stuff!
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05 Radiohead “Codex” from The King of Limbs
I could probably put the “indie” icon next to Radiohead, too… I think technically they put TKOL out by themselves. But they’re a huge superpower of a band. I like this record, but I’ll admit that it’s still sinking in… I need to give it some more spins. This album spawned a seven 7″ vinyl remix set. The video for “Lotus Flower” also spawned a silly “Thom Yorke dancing” meme… one of my favorites being the tennis/fish and the “Single Ladies” editions.
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06 Garage A Trois “Assault on Precinct 13” from Always Be Happy, But Stay Evil
Skerik, Stanton Moore, Marco Benevento (who replaced Charlie Hunter) and Mike Dillon make their way through Oregon quite a bit. They are a sight to see – you don’t know exactly what kind of show you’ll get, but it’s definitely a fun time. Fun, groove-oriented “new jazz.”
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07 dredg “The Tent” from Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy
I love this band. I hate the album title, but I love the band. Modern progressive rock, tons of talent, thoughtful lyrics, none of that “prog wankery” that is generally detestable. While it’s hard for them to follow-up the stunning The Pariah The Parrot The Delusion, this new album does a hearty job of maintaining their quality rock standards.
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08 Tres Mts. “Makes Me Feel” from Three Mountains
Supergroup made up of dUg Pinnick of King’s X, Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, and Richard Stuverud of the Fastbacks. They jangle through about an hour of solid rock tunes… more closely resembling a soulful King’s X trajectory vs. Pearl Jam – mainly due to dUg’s vocal duties. This is a great trio that I hope isn’t a one-off. With King’s X on tour in 2012, I doubt we’ll hear more from Tres Mts for a while, though.
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09 Chamberlain/Krauss/Phelps “Everest” from Modular: Sonic Explorations
Gorgeous soundscapes from Matt Chamberlain, Viktor Krauss, and Dan Phelps. The Modular Project is the collaboration of the aforementioned musicians working together to “discover what the spontaneous and organic manipulation of sound can yield. Inspired by the world around them, they set out to discover what it might sound like when continents shift, clouds form, and roots push through soil.” This track, “Everest,” features one of my favorite cellists – Eyvind Kang (who has worked with Secret Chiefs 3, John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Mike Patton). It’s a great mix of cello, vibes and soaring atmosphere. It’s only available digitally or on vinyl (it’s a luscious triple-gatefold!)…
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10 Jeffrey Foucault “Passerines” from Horse Latitudes
Jeffrey Foucault is a favorite Americana artist that I got turned on to by singer-songwriter/storyteller Peter Mulvey. Jeffrey and Peter work together in the band Redbird (with David Goodrich and Jeffrey’s wife Kris Delmhorst). I didn’t pick up Jeffrey’s albums until the past year and a half. He’s definitely more on the cusp of country than I tend to traverse, but I dig his authenticity, poetic wit and charm. He’s a delight on stage and a fantastic Prine-esque songwriter for the new generation.
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11 Peter Mulvey & David Goodrich “Drumlin Trail” from Nine Days Wonder
Peter Mulvey has toured all over the US and the world for about 2 decades. Some of the first times I saw him in concert, he had “Goody” with him on backing guitar. They don’t get a chance to tour together much lately, but they did find some time to hole-up inside a studio to write and record some instrumental guitar duets. While I love Peter’s vocal storytelling, it’s nice to hear his and Goody’s instrumental interplay tell a different story.
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12 Steven Wilson “Home in Negative” from Grace for Drowning
Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson is a hard worker. Whether he’s producing albums for others or making albums & touring with PT, Blackfield, No-Man, Storm Corrosion, or solo – he’s always busy each and every year. 
This year brought his second solo album and a small tour. The album is a bit more stripped down from his other projects. It is reminiscent of Pink Floyd in spots – specifically this song “Home in Negative.” He also rocks out a bit in the almost two hour double album… check out the video for “Track One” here (it’s a bit bleak then startling). Gorgeous work.
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13 Wussy “Pulverized” from Strawberry
Well, I was super happy when I found out that Wussy was putting out their fourth full-length studio album this year. They’re a fantastic rock quartet made up of Chuck Cleaver, Lisa Walker, Mark Messerly, and Joe Klug. They write catchy, poppy choruses and meld it perfectly with Midwest Americana-meets-indie-rock grit (or “Midwestern drone” as their press says). Vocal duties are traded off with Chuck (of Ass Ponys) and Lisa (of Magic Words).
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14 Pomplamoose “Telephone” from The Album You Bought At Our Show…
This is the song that got me into Pomplamoose. It’s a cover of the collaboration between 
Lady Gaga and Beyoncé (whose ridiculous but still kind awesome original video has 129 million hits as of Dec 2011). Pomplamoose does “video songs,” and this was the hook to lure me in. Click the image at the left to see their video of the song. The CD came out this year as part of their first tour ever… which I caught in Portland. Excellent, fun band!
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15 David Bazan “Wolves at the Door” from Strange Negotiations
Continuing in his solo expressions after the official ceasing of Pedro the Lion, David Bazan manifests wit, a sharp tongue, and a questioning mind into his DIY-indie rock. This year, he toured quite a bit, solo and with a band. An album last year (Curse Your Branches), an album this year, and another on the way. He’s slogging away, trekking all over the country, and making some great music on the way.
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16 John Zorn “Song of Experience” from At the Gates of Paradise
“Channeling the work of Romantic visionary William Blake and ancient Gnostic writings from the Nag Hammadi archives, At the Gates of Paradise is the newest installment in Zorn’s ever growing catalog of mystical works. The music is filled with bright light and a childlike innocence, and ranges from long form compositions with constantly shifting time signatures that unfold with a compelling inner logic to mysterious ballads and hypnotic moods.” The album features a quartet that I know and love from many jazz/avant outfits: drummer Joey Baron (Masada and many more), bassist Trevor Dunn (Mr Bungle, Fantômas, Nels Cline Singers), keyboardist John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood) and vibraphonist Kenny Wollesen (Sex Mob, Electric Masada, etc).
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17 Over the Rhine “Days Like This” from The Long Surrender
For those that don’t know Over the Rhine, they started out as a four piece in Cincinnati in 1989 and put out their “post-nuclear, pseudo-alternative, folk-tinged art-pop” indie debut ‘Til We Have Faces in 1991. After about a decade as a four-piece, Ric Hordinski (guitars) & Brian Kelley (drums) left. Karin Bergquist (vocals) & Linford Detweiler (keys) carried on the Over the Rhine flame throughout the years… moving away from a rockier feel to a more folky-pop-Americana thing. What I like about Over the Rhine is they continually change and evolve into a different band with each album and each outing. I’ve seen them rock out, I’ve seen them jazz it up, I’ve seen them happy, I’ve seen them somber, I’ve seen them celebratory, and I’ve seen them tell stories that will make you laugh and cry. This tune was written by fellow Cincinnati singer-songwriter Kim Taylor (it originally appeared on her 2008 EP The Greatest Story). I’d highly recommend checking her out as well.
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18 Elysian Fields “Sleepover” from Last Night On Earth
Brooklyn-based sultry art rockers Elysian Fields don’t really tour outside of NYC often. Jennifer Charles and Oren Bloedow find their way to Europe on occasion, but most U.S. fans only really have their studio albums to sate their musical desires. This is their sixth full-length album in their near 16-year career. Well crafted, well produced, lush vocals and folk meets dusky jazz.
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19 Kevin Moore “Hypnogogic” from Shine
This is a little palette cleanser for the mix CD – right before the end. Kevin Moore’s main projects are the trippy/sample-heavy Chroma Key & heavier prog collaboration band O.S.I. (with Jim Matheos). Shine is the soundtrack to the 2006 Turkish film Küçük Kiyamet (“Little Apocalypse“). It came out in early 2011 after a successful Kickstarter in 2010. The next album from O.S.I. comes out in February 2012 on Metal Blade. I can almost guarantee it will be my Top album of 2012, and I haven’t heard a shred of it yet.
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20 Childish Gambino “Heartbeat” from Camp (warning: explicit content)
I first heard of Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover) like many people – via television. Donald plays Troy Barnes on NBC’s Community. I’ve heard a few of his albums, but this was his first full-length with a wide release. This song almost didn’t make the cut, but the melody in the chorus and the grinding keyboards just made it to difficult to ultimately cut from the mix. Brilliant song about the messiness of dating. If you’d like the “clean” version of the song, there is a “clean” version of the whole album on Amazon.
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Near misses from the mix: something from Earth’s Angels of Darkness Demons of Light 1 & Opeth’s Heritage (songs are too long) and Azealia Bank’s “212″ (infectious as hell)… plus songs from several other albums that’ll still be on my Best of 2011 lists (coming soon).
Let me know what you think… If you enjoyed what you heard, please support the music. Definitely feel free to pass the link the mix along:
http://tinyurl.com/MixyD2011
~Dan – np: Florence + the Machine – Ceremonials
there are no torrents, free mp3 or other downloads available
Portland post-rock duo Talkdemonic just premiered their video for “City Sleep” (from their newest album Ruins) on MTV Hive. The video was directed by Alicia J Rose. And don’t worry, the high-pitch buzz goes away about 2:30 minutes in as the video gets really interesting…
Talkdemonic is Kevin O’Connor & Lisa Molinaro
talkdemonic.com
Radiohead also just announced that their The King of Limbs – Live from the Basement performance will be released on 32-page booklet DVD, Bluray and digital download on December 19th. There are also performances of “The Daily Mail” and “Staircase,” which haven’t been released yet. “Supercollider” has been added as a bonus track. It’s available on TKOL.com and in other shops (and Amazon) near the end of January.
Tracklisting:
1. Bloom
2. The Daily Mail
3. Feral
4. Little By Little
5. Codex
6. Separator
7. Lotus Flower
8. Staircase
9. Morning Mr. Magpie
10. Give Up The Ghost
11. Supercollider
~Dan – np: Jeffrey Foucault – Shoot the Moon Right Between the Eyes (The music of John Prine)
Last week, Sigur Rós put out an enigmatic trailer titled INNI without any details. Speculation of a live film was an easy guess… “Inni” is the shorthand name for the second track (“Inní mér syngur vitleysingur” aka “within me a lunatic sings“) on their last full-length album, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust. Today they released the initial details about the upcoming release…
Inni is comprised of a double live album and seventy-five minute film of Sigur Rós’ last show before their well-documented “indefinite hiatus” at the end of 2008.
Recorded and shot over two nights at London’s Alexandra Palace at the close of the world tour around their fifth full length album, með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, Inni sees the band at the peak of their powers, captured on film for the first time as a core four-piece since they were joined by string section amiina at the start of the century. Directed by Vincent Morisset (Arcade Fire’s Miroir Noir), the film is set to debut at this year’s Venice Film Festival on September 3rd, 2011.
THE FILM
Inni is Sigur Rós’ second live film following 2007′s hugely-celebrated tour documentary Heima. Whereas that film positioned the enigmatic group in the context of their Icelandic homeland, providing geographical, social and historical perspectives on their otherworldly music, Inni focuses purely on the band’s performance, and stands as a stark counterpoint to Heima’s kaleidoscopic richness. Where Heima was lush and colorfully expansive, Inni is spare and near-monochromatic in its tunnel vision. Filmed in a manner that invites both intimacy and claustrophobia, Inni cocoons the viewer in a one-on-one relationship with the band, eschewing the audience for closeness, depicting how it feels for both band and fan to experience Sigur Rós live.
The film’s elegance and atmosphere are enhanced by Morisset’s re-filming of the original digital footage on 16mm, which was then re-filmed again, sometimes through prisms and other found objects, allowing Inni to look and feel like something recovered from the past. Interspersed with this is archival footage drawn from the band’s previous decade, dating back as far as 1998. This juxtaposition gives viewers the full scope of Sigur Rós’ origins, evolution, originality and influence.
THE DOUBLE LIVE ALBUMThe live album Inni – a first for the band – is comprised of the full set from Alexandra Palace, played in order with just one omission, and clocks in at one-and-three-quarter hours. Recorded by Sigur Rós’ in-house studio engineer Birgir Jón Birgisson, Inni’s live audio recording is far and away the best way of replicating the full-force effect of standing in front of one of the world’s most extraordinary bands for an evening.
When taken in together, Inni’s film and live album give us an incredible account of one of the most celebrated and influential rock bands of recent years, showing where they’ve come from, where they’ve been, and like all things Sigur Rós, where it is they will be going next. More details of how, when and where Inni will enter the world will be made available shortly on sigur-ros.co.uk.
~Dan – np: Sunny Day Real Estate – How It Feels To Be Something On
On Friday, Eugene photographer Kari Spohn and Eugene “post-something” band Mankind hit the Wandering Goat with two very different artistic openings. Kari’s black & white photography was throughout the coffee shop… her opening starting at 5:30pm. I dig her work – very “beauty in the everyday” and nice use of lines in concrete and steel in my opinion.
Delightful bites of caprise bread slices and sounds from the espresso machine’s froth fuzz soon gave way to the post-rock / post-metal bombast from Mankind at 6pm…
photo by Wes Hurd
Mankind is a great find for post-rock fans in Eugene. They played a fairly tight set of some fantastical heavy instrumental music that sucks you in. Mankind is James Madson on bass, Joe Harvey & John Hurd on guitars and Courtney Stubbert on drums. For fans of Explosions in the Sky, think a touch heavier. “Explosions in the Isis” perhaps. Definitely recommended for fans of Explosions, Isis, Mogwai, et cetera. And I’m glad Mankind are in Eugene. I look forward to seeing them play a show where they can stretch their legs – the Goat’s stage is a bit small!
And don’t worry… the sonic takeover of the art opening wasn’t intended as a clash. It was a compliment to the photography (Kari and Mankind are kindreds).
Over at Bandcamp, you can download (for free) the first batch of demos from Mankind. You won’t be disappointed:
The Appropriate Linkage:
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Next show for me… possibly Tin Hat at the Mission Theater (Portland) on 5/19 or Blackfield at Aladdin (Portland) on 6/1. Or, I assume some other stuff will pop-up in May…
Breaking news as I was writing this review up… Barack Obama announced that a special force killed Osama bin Laden! Mission Accomplished (for real this time)! I’m not celebrating the death, but rather the justice.
Sorry for not having much new to post as of late. I did recently get the following CDs… all of them great in their own right, and all of them worth checking out! Click on the album covers for mp3 sound samples.
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
melodic hard power rock
Explosions in the Sky – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
moving post-rock, brilliant packaging
Shara Worden & Co – Letters to Distant Cities
short & sweet indie rock, spoken word
~Dan – np: Foo Fighters – Wasting Light 
Post-rockers Explosions in the Sky have a new album coming out called Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. It drops on April 26th, and it’s available for pre-order now. The packaging looks wicked cool…
(click for larger)
It’s available for pre-order on the Amazons:
Compact Disc
quad-gatefold LP (with download code)
digital mp3/FLAC (soon)
~Dan – np: Tres Mtns – Three Mountains
Video flickers “hope” on loop. Slow build with piercing tones presumably of guitar mixed with cello & screams in the violin pickups. The vapors turn into steam, the bowing more frantic, random percussive shakes. Eight minutes, the first hits on a high hat. The steam now turning into an impending waterfall. “Hope” still flickers. The impending waterfall never comes. The sounds fall away into sweepy hallways.
Clean guitars, gentle malleted vibes, as the guitar soars upwards with the violins. The screen text and numbers jumble. The pace expands and explodes, then stabilizes. Guitars are the backbone, the drums brisk, the xylo/vibes, on the other hand, are furious. Gasping. Grasping. They’re trying to escape. The drums take over, the other players fall to the side. A stringed étude tucks it away.
Violin warming up, workshop hammering percussion until the sounds become like a train leaving the station. This one built quicker than the prior pieces. More Mogwaian versus Sigurrósient. Churning turns into hints of melodic keys. Maybe they were just car keys… it’s turned more into a tumultuous rock instrumental. Rush.
That was the first forty minutes. The rest of Godspeed You! Black Emperor‘s two-plus hour set was full of highs and lows, and all the things that make post-rock so wondrous and confounding. Sweeping movements with The Anatomy of Melancholy text and images flashing above the band’s heads. I think sprinting away from convention is what makes this music so magical. Shying away from the press definitely adds to the mystery.
Setlist: (thanks Jason & others)
Sorry for no photos from the show… t’was too packed, dark and I decided to hang back and enjoy anyway. My opinion of the opener in the comment section.
The Appropriate Linkage:
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Check out more tour dates below.
Next show for me… Nik Barstch’s Ronin as part of Portland Jazz Fest next weekend.
~Dan – np: Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1
Godspeed You! Black Emperor Tourdates
February 2011
16 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ Vogue Theatre
17 – Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox at the Market
18 – Portland, Ore. @ Crystal Ballroom
20 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Great American Music Hall
21 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Great American Music Hall
23 – Los Angeles, Calif @ Music Box at the Henry Fonda
March 2011
16 – Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Masonic Temple
17 – New York City, N.Y. @ Church of St. Paul the Apostle
19 – Philadelphia, Penn. @ Trocadero
20 Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
22 – Athens, Ga. @ 40 Watt Club
24 – Nashville, Tenn. @ Cannery Ballroom
26 – Chicago, Ill. @ Metro
27 – Chicago, Ill. @ Metro
29 – Detroit, Mich. @ Majestic Theatre
Texas post-rockers Explosions in the Sky come at us with their 5th studio album in April. Take Care, Take Care, Take Care will release on April 26, 2011.
1. Last Known Surroundings
2. Human Qualities
3. Trembling Hands
4. Be Comfortable, Creature
5. Postcard from 1952
6. Let Me Back In
It was recorded on a pecan ranch in West Texas by their good friend and frequent collaborator John Congleton. Esteban Rey did the artwork. And of course, the proverbial… “the music on it feels different than anything else we’ve done before and we’re very excited for you to hear it.“
www.facebook.com/ExplosionsInTheSkyMusic
www.twitter.com/EITS
www.myspace.com/ExplosionsInTheSky
~Dan – np: Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger – Acoustic Sessions
Sludge metal, drone craftsman Earth come back with a new album in February called Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1. This follows up their stupendous 2008 album, The Bees Made Honey in the Lion Skull. Angels/Demons comes out on Southern Lord, and frontman Dylan Carlson and percussionist Adrienne Davies brought in former Nirvana cellist Lori Goldston and K Records artist Karl Blau to join the lineup. Classic 1993 album Earth 2 producer Stuart Hallerman is again at the controls.
This album is definitely high on my anticipation list for 2011. They’ve been around for a long time, but I didn’t get into them until 2008 with Bees Made Honey…, and then I saw them at WOW Hall in June 2008. Brilliant show.
~Dan – np: My Brightest Diamond – Shark Remixes
The few websites that aren’t RSS feed-able that made it to my “must check every day” list… Daytrotter is great, and they just hit us with a live in the studio session with post-rock heros El Ten Eleven…
Go here for the free music:
http://tinyurl.com/elten11-daytrotter
1) The Sycophants Are Coming! 2) Living on Credit Blues
3) Indian Winter 4) Falling
Past Daytrotter Sessions I’ve blogged about and dug (links and free music not guaranteed on these old blogs): A Weather, Tegan & Sara, Clare and the Reasons #2, CocoRosie, Portland Cello Project, Matisyahu, Tori Amos, The Swell Season, David Bazan #2, Copeland, Bad Veins, Nellie McKay, Clare and the Reasons #1, My Brightest Diamond #2, Damien Jurado, Talkdemonic, Aimee Mann, Ani DiFranco, Bad Veins #1, Kaki King, Holy Fuck… and David Bazan, My Brightest Diamond, Erin McKeown.
~Dan – np: dredg – Catch Without Arms
Scottish post-rock force Mogwai announced their tour dates. U.S. & Canadian dates are below. If you are going, be forewarned, they are LOUD.
And I don’t mean it in the casual sense. I go to a lot of shows. I go to a lot of loud shows. Mogwai is the loudest I have ever seen – and not necessary in my opinion (they’re not a metal band). Prepare yourself to be raped in the eardrum.
I plan on hitting Portland. I need new earplugs, maybe rated for cannon blasts and machine gun.
Mogwai’s 2011 North American DATES
19 Apr: 9.30 Club, Washington DC
20 Apr: Starlight Ballroom, Philadelphia
21 Apr: Webster Hall, New York
22 Apr: Webstar Hall, New York
23 Apr: Paradise Rock Club, Boston
25 Apr: Olympia Theater, Montreal
26 Apr: Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto
27 Apr: Mr. Smalls Theatre, Pittsburgh
28 Apr: St. Andrews Hall, Detroit
29 Apr: Metro, Chicago
30 Apr: Slowdown, Omaha
2 May: Bluebird Theater, Denver
3 May: In The Venue, Salt Lake City
5 May: Wonder Ballroom, Portland
6 May: Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver
7 May: Showbox at the Market, Seattle
9 May: Regency Ballroom, San Francisco
10 May: Mayan Theater, Los Angeles
11 May: Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach
13 May: Sunshine Theatre, Albuquerque
15 May: Granada Theatre, Dallas
16 May: Stubbs Waller Creek, Austin
17 May: Warehouse Live, Houston
19 May: Workplay Theater, Birmingham
20 May: Center Stage, Atlanta
For dates for the rest of the world, check out http://www.mogwai.co.uk/
~Dan – np: Damien Jurado & Richard Swift – Other People’s Songs Vol 1
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
First off… if you haven’t seen the adorable and infectious new music video for Holy Fuck‘s “Red Lights,” you need to go check it out now. OK, now that you’re back, on to the review…
This was the first time to the Holocene for me. It’s a nice venue, trendy looking bar, good beer on tap (Double Mountain IRA for me). They had a few side rooms with colorful lights, practically unusable mirrors in the bathroom, and odd fabric or paper christmas tree looking things in the performance area. In other words, everything that makes Portland its quirky, trendy self.
I got there near the middle of the first opener’s set. Clipd Beaks, from Oakland, were good from what I heard. Fuzzy rock with somewhat melodic vocals, use of trumpet, but primarily traditional rock sounds coming forth. I didn’t get any usable photos from their set as the lights were in force, yet.
Next up was Indian Jewelry, a four-piece from Houston, put out a 40 minute blast of tom percussion, dirty guitars and keyboards. They were a little warbly, drone-y in spots, and switched off between male and female vocalists. I enjoyed them, but I couldn’t really “re-sing” any of their songs… nice and percussive, genre-less but not aimless. I can see them working way better live than on record, but then again, I’ve been wrong about that before. Anyway, I’d recommend checking them out if they swing by your neck of the woods… cracked cymbals and all.
Holy Fuck started setting up immediately after Indian Jewelry’s set ended. They went on right around 11:30 and played a full hour, with encore. Not dissimilar from their Mississippi Studios show from earlier in the year… lots of tunes from Latin – which I am legally required to state in every mention of its name… it’s the best album of 2010 so far. Great groove-based live/organic electronic.
There were a few absent fab live tunes (Royal Gregory, Super Inuit, Milkshake), and I think I’m going crazy, as now I’m doubting my own note-taking… did they end with Lovely Allen? Or was it Safari? Or am I going crazy? Anyway… they played Red Lights, which smoked! I love Punchy’s bass on that track…
Setlist: about an hour
Great show as usual from Holy Fuck. But… severe lack of dancing again… or at least in comparison to the grooves. This seems to happen (i.e.- not happen) in Portland; so I don’t blame the band at all. They should swing down to Eugene next time… we’ll show ‘em how to party! Pretty please!
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Metallica – S&M
HOLY FUCK & INDIAN JEWELRY PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Holy Fuck Fall 2010 Tour:
08-28 Leeds, England – Leeds Festival
08-29 Reading, England – Reading Festival
09-08 Louisville, KY – Zanzabar
09-09 Birmingham, AL- Bottletree
09-10 New Orleans, LA – Howlin’ Wolf
09-11 Austin, TX – The Mohawk
09-12 Houston, TX – Walter’s on Washington
09-13 Mobile, AL – Alabama Music Box
09-14 Athens, GA – New Earth Music Hall
09-15 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
09-17 Washington, DC – Black Cat
09-18 New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
09-19 Boston, MA – Paradise
09-20 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
09-21 Buffalo, NY – Soundlab
09-22 Pittsburgh, PA – Brillobox
09-23 Cincinnati, OH – Midpoint Music Festival
09-24 Urbana, IL – Pygmalion Music Festival
09-25 Cleveland Heights, OH – Grog Shop
09-26 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick (Fucking Awesome Fest)
09-27 London, Ontario – London Music Hall
09-28 Hamilton, Ontario – Studio Theatre
09-29 Toronto, Ontario – Phoenix Theatre
09-30 Montreal, Quebec – Espace Dell’Arte
10-02 Ottawa, Ontario – Capital Music Hall
10-03 Guelph, Ontario – Vinyl
10-05 Winnipeg, Manitoba – Pyramid Cabaret
10-06 Saskatoon, Saskatchewa – Louis Pub
10-07 Toronto, Ontario – Republik
10-08-09 Edmonton, Alberta – Pawn Shop
10-11 Victoria, British Columbia – Element Nightclub
10-12 Vancouver, British Columbia – The Rickshaw Theatre
10-13 Seattle, WA – Neumos
10-14 Portland, OR – Holocene
10-16 San Francisco, CA – Treasure Island Music Festival
10-17 Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex
10-18 Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room
10-20 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
10-21 Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre
10-22 St. Louis, MO – Firebird
10-23 Indianapolis, IN – Radio Radio
Canadian live-electronic groovesters Holy Fuck recently did a great little three-parter for Dickie’s Sounds where they totally geek out about their gear. Music nerds, watch now!!
Matt about his drums…
Brian and his keyboards, film reel, etc…
Graham on his keyboards and V-Tech…
No fourth part with Matt McQ’s bass… alas, maybe another time. For those not in the know about Holy Fuck… they’ve put out one of the best albums this year – LATIN. Go get it… you won’t be disappointed.
~Dan – np: Illy B (Billy Martin of Medeski Martin & Wood) – Drop the Needle
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
On May 18, 2010, post-metal powerhouse ISIS officially called it quits. They did everything they wanted to do, and said everything they wanted to say… and this May & June tour would be their last. It was a good run: 13 years and 5 brilliant studio albums.
The break-up news was deeply saddening news to the fans, but at least we get one last hurrah.
The show opened with Jakob (a three-piece from New Zealand). They played a solid 40-minute set of instrumental post-rock. They had heavy moments, but they were decidedly the “calmest” of the trio of bands last night. They were really tight and created a great, building wall of sound. Great for fans of a harder edged Explosions in the Sky. Jakob’s debut, Solace, is out now.
Tombs (a four-piece from Brooklyn) were more in the metal category. Guttural vocals, double kick drum blasts, but more building in their guitar sound compared to other metal fare (e.g.- similar to ISIS versus Slayer). A great 40-minute onslaught to our ears. Check out their album, Winterhours.
ISIS went on just before 11pm and came out hard and heavy… while both Jakob and Tombs were tight, it seemed as though things got kicked up a notch when Isis hit the stage. The audience crowded the stage to be pummeled by the sweeping and soaring musical backbone amidst Aaron Turner’s powerful voice…
They played a hauntingly brutal mix from Wavering Radiant, In the Absence of Truth, and a few oldies thrown in as well. There were a handful of moments of Aaron’s more melodic vocals, but that was few and far between… the show tended to show off Isis’s more pained vocal cuts. They played about 90 minutes…
Setlist: (thanks for corrections from a fellow fans)
It’s sad to see Isis end, but at least they are ending with a kick ass tour. Also, if you go to one of the shows (see below), there is a TON of merch… they’ve brought about everything each member has ever been involved in. I dropped some coin for the Japanese limited edition Panopticon, Oceanic, 7.23.06 live, and the Melvin split 12″ vinyl. That was barely scratching the surface for this excellent “Isis Garage Sale.”
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
Check out the final tour dates for ISIS below.
~Dan – np: Ellery – This Isn’t Over Yet
ISIS, Jakob & Tombs PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
ISIS – 2010 TOUR DATES
May 26 2010 The Casbah w/ Jakob & Tombs San Diego, California, US
May 29 2010 Wow Hall w/ Jakob & Tombs Eugene, Oregon , US
May 31 2010 Rickshaw Theatre w/ Jakob & Tombs Vancouver, British Co, CA
Jun 1 2010 Neumo’s w/ Jakob & Tombs Seattle, Washington, US
Jun 2 2010 Doug Fir Lounge w/ Jakob & Tombs Portland, Oregon , US
Jun 4 2010 Great American Music Hall w/ Jakob & Tombs San Francisco, California, US
Jun 5 2010 The Troubadour w/ Jakob & Tombs Los Angeles, California, US
Jun 12 2010 Bonnaroo Festival W/ Clutch, Melvins, Flaming Lips, etc. Manchester, Tennessee , US
Jun 14 2010 40 Watt Club w/ Melvins Athens, Georgia , US
Jun 16 2010 9:30 Club w/Melvins Washington, Washington, US
Jun 17 2010 Theater Of Living Arts (TLA) w/ Melvins Philadelphia, Pennsylvan, US
Jun 18 2010 Webster Hall w/ Melvins New York, New York , US
Jun 19 2010 Music Hall Of Williamsburg w/ Melvins Brooklyn, New York , US
Jun 20 2010 Paradise Rock Club w/ Melvins Boston, Massachuse, US
Jun 21 2010 Paradise Rock Club w/ Melvins Boston, Massachuse, US
Jun 22 2010 Port City Music Hall w/ Cave In Portland, Maine , US
Jun 23 2010 Club Soda w/ Cave In Montreal, Quebec , CA
Excellent SXSW 2010 coverage of Holy Fuck from the Baeble Music stage (one of their many showcases)…
Get their latest record, Latin… out yesterday (May 11th, 2010) on Young Turks / XL…
~Dan – np: Holy Fuck – Latin
Sarah Kirkland Snider‘s debut album Penelope (New Amsterdam Records, September 2010) is a 60-minute song cycle for female voice, chamber orchestra, and electronics, composed by Sarah Kirkland Snider, featuring vocalist Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond and highly acclaimed chamber orchestra Signal, conducted by Brad Lubman, with sound design by Michael Hammond.
A deft blend of Snider’s classical training and strong interest in indie rock, pop and folk musics, Penelope is a genre-defying work that moves organically from moments of wistful strings-and-harp reflection to dusky post-rock textures with distorted drums and guitars, helmed by a strong sense of melody and a craftsman’s approach to songwriting. Derived from a multimedia-theater piece co-created by Snider and acclaimed playwright Ellen McLaughlin, the work centers on a woman whose long-missing former husband turns up at her door, traumatized by two decades spent in an unnamed war. To restore his memory, the woman reads aloud from Homer’s “Odyssey.” The result is a poignant, haunting story in song.
The New York Times praised the work for having “an elegiac quality that deftly evoked sensations of abandonment, agitation, grief and reconciliation…ably [demonstrating] the poised elegance of Ms. Snider’s writing.”
Penelope has appeared in various guises over the past two years: it originated as a music for a theater piece and then debuted as a song cycle with Signal last May. When Shara came aboard the project, Sarah revised and expanded the songs yet again, tailoring them to Shara’s unique talents and arranging them for Sarah’s dream cast of characters: a 25-person orchestra of strings, harp, percussion, drums, electric guitar and bass, and electronics (with sound design by Michael Hammond). The cycle grew from 40 to 60 minutes. The album comes out this fall!
For more info, and a link to a free download of the first “single,” visit the brand-spankin’-new Penelope website.
~Dan – np: Tegan and Sara – Sainthood thainthood
Here is a new video interview with The Album Leaf frontman Jimmy Lavalle:
Click through for my coverage of the Portland (2/5) and Eugene (2/9) shows.
~Dan – np: George Hrab – Interrobang?!
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
This blog and concert photos therein are licensed under a Creative Commons License. Available with Attribution for Non-Commercial, Non-Derivative Use.
http://mankind.bandcamp.com/
