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REVIEW: Damien Jurado @ Mississippi Studios (Portland, OR – 2/27/10)
I’ve been into Damien Jurado since the late-90s when his first Sub Pop record came out. I’d only had a few chances to see him play live, but it never seemed to work out. This weekend, since I was already up in Portland for the PDX Jazz Fest, I figured I could swing on over to Damien’s show at the Mississippi Studios after the Dave Holland Quintet show.
While I was “studying” for this show, I listened to Damien’s most recent album, 2008’s Caught in the Trees. Wow. I was reminded why I like this guy so much. Great songwriting in an unassuming package. Clever and gritty/lo-fi, but well crafted, melodically framed songs… quintessential indie rock. Damien has the honesty and drive in his lyrics a la Elliott Smith and Pedro the Lion’s David Bazan. There must be something about the Pacific Northwest that brings these things out in songwriters.
On to the show…
I got there late due to Dave Holland’s killer show across town. John Vecchiarelli was nearing the end of his set, but I caught his last four songs. I really liked him. He had a genuine voice (kind of reminded me of Jeffrey Foucault). John is from Portland; so hopefully I’ll get a chance to see him again soon.
Next up were another Portland group, The Robinsons (formerly of Viva Voce). They were a nice indie rock / americana duo, also from Portland. I had heard a little bit of their Viva Voce music before, but not much. They were good, and had nice melodies. They were a little bit folky and a little bit rocky. I imagine a fuller band setting would suit them very well. They played a short set (only about 30 minutes). They have a new album coming out soon under the bank moniker Blue Giant.
Up next was Damien Jurado. While his latest album, Caught in the Trees, was a more collaborative trio effort, this show was just Damien with a guitar and two vocal mics. The first 5 songs were completely new, and it struck me to the genius that is Damien Jurado (song names complete guesses below). He is a pure songwriter. I didn’t know these songs from Adam, but they captivated me completely. They are for an upcoming album called Saint Bartlett (out in May), and it is a collaboration between Damien and Richard Swift.
He played some older songs, as well as a few Caught in the Trees songs as well… serious help on setlist needed. Any help?
Setlist: 80 minutes
- Beacon Hill (aka “Return to Me”) (new)
- Kansas City (new)
- “I Could Float” (new)
- Arkansas (aka “Fade Out”) (new)
- Wherever I May Lay (aka “Finally Tasted the Dawn”) (new)
- Abilene
- Denton, TX
- Ohio (false start) into “Sound of Settling” spoof of Ben Gibbard
- Ohio (false start again, Damien couldn’t stop laughing)
- Harborview (aka “speak for me, would you”)
- Ohio
- Sheets
- Pear (new)
- I Am Still Here
- “Diamond Sea” (new)
- “not the best time to fall to pieces” (song title unknown)
- The Killer
- Lose My Head
- Encore: Wyoming Birds (aka “sorrow replaced our joy”) (song title unknown)
- Caskets
- Paperwings
I hope he continues to tour, at least in Seattle and Portland (the “quiet crowd” towns).
The Appropriate Linkage:
REVIEW: Van Dyke Parks with Clare & the Reasons @ Mississippi Studios (Portland, OR – 2/10/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Van Dyke Parks is recognized around the world as a musical genius… he’s a brilliant session musician, composer, arranger, lyricist, and singer. He has contributed to many masterpieces (check out his rap sheet). He is most well known for his collaboration with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. While Brian is a prodigiously gifted composer, he was no lyricist, and needed one who could match the daring new music he was devising in his head. The result is their collaboration on the much vaunted SMiLE album.
I’ll admit, I’m not a fan of the Beach Boys. I just don’t care for their music. Well, I connected with Van Dyke Parks via a newer band… Silverchair (VDP did string arrangements for Diorama and Young Modern). Yeah, yeah… if you only knew them from 1995’s “Tomorrow” (from when they were 15 years old)… well, they’ve grown.
Anyway…
Van Dyke Parks rarely ever records or tours, putting at most one or two records per decade. When I heard about the shows via the Clare & the Reasons‘ email, I jumped at the chance of seeing both of these artists on the stage together. I had seen Clare & the Reasons open up for My Brightest Diamond back in Nov 2008, and I loved their French bohemian meets modern indie rock vibe.
There were only four shows slated for this rare double bill tour…
02.09.10 – Seattle, WA Triple Door
02.10.10 – Portland, OR Mississippi Studios
02.12.10 – San Francisco, CA Swedish American Hall
02.14.10 – Santa Monica, CA McCabe’s
This was only my second time up to the Mississippi Studios. I really like the intimate setting, even the crazy hovering piano. The last time I was there was for David Bazan in November. For the VDP & Clare show, I’m glad they had chairs down… whew. :)
Opener Josh Mease went on around 9pm and played 6 songs. He had a very gentle singer-songwriter style. His guitarwork was good, but his voice was simply superb (nice lyrics, too). Josh is on Frogstand Records, the same record label as Clare & The Reasons. I dug his own tunes more than the Randy Newman cover. For his last song, Clare & The Reasons came up to play with him…
Josh Mease’s Setlist: about 20 mins
- missing song name
- missing song name
- Marie (Randy Newman cover)
- Days Like This
- Eleanor
- Start Over (with Clare & The Reasons)
Clare & The Reasons stayed up after Josh’s last song and moved some instruments around (and subsequently lost a percussion brush). Off to a great start! :) They joked lightly about it and then… viola, they found it! Their set was a sandwich of Arrow songs, The Movie songs, and more Arrow songs.
Arrow came out late last year, but I didn’t get a chance to pick it up until yesterday. I also picked up Olivier Manchon’s brand new instrumental CD, Orchestre de Chambre Miniature Volume 1, with saxophonist John Ellis, Gregoire Maret (from a Herbie Hancock band), and more string and woodwind players. Check their albums out (click pictures below)…
What I love about the band is not just limited to Clare Manchon’s vocals, but also the wonderful multi-instrumentation from Olivier and the well rounded guitarist and upright bassist. The set was full of great percussion, strings, garbage ukelele, french horn, pizzicato strings, a borrowed saw, acoustic & electric guitars, and sublime vocals. Van Dyke Parks & Josh Mease joined them on stage for their next to last song… (apparently Bill Frisell also joined them on stage up at the Seattle show).
Clare & the Reason’s Setlist: about an hour
- You Got Time
- All the Wine
- Perdue A Paris
- Ooh You Hurt Me So
- Wake Up (You Sleepy Head)
- You Getting Me
- This Is The Story
- Alphabet City
- Pluton
- Pluto
- Our Team Is Grand
- Love Can Be A Crime (with VDP & Josh)
- That’s All (Genesis cover)
Van Dyke Parks came on after a short break. He was seated at the piano and brought The Reasons (sans Clare) as his backing band. They started out with a great instrumental piece. The rest of the songs we heard were poppier tunes with some great instrumentation (as expected). VDP is an amazing pianist and composer. His voice wasn’t superb or sublime, but it fit the songs. I wasn’t familiar with his songs, but of the ones he announced while we were there… Opportunity for Two, Orange Crate Art, and Sail Away.
VDP was also a great banterer in between songs. Usually short, but funny… one of my faves was “my wife thinks that ‘cook’ is a noun.”
We only stayed for half of his scheduled hour-long set (as we had a 2 hour drive back home), but it was a great set of tunes. If anyone has the complete VDP setlist, let me know.
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Van Dyke Park’s Site
- VDP on MySpace
- A VDP fan’s review of the show on Oregon Live
- Clare & The Reason’s Site
- Clare & The Reason on MySpace
- Josh Mease’s Site
- Josh Mease on MySpace
- Mississippi Studios
~Dan – np: Sade – Soldier of Love
VAN DYKE PARKS, CLARE & the REASONS and JOSH MEASE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
REVIEW: Fulero + Day’s Elliott Smith Tribute @ Sam Bond’s (Eugene, OR – 1/23/10)
I had two shows last night… first was the Bill Frisell Trio. I’ll post that review later today (or first thing Monday morning). After the show I rode over to Sam Bond’s Garage and got there right around 9:30. There was Elliott Smith music already going on. I was confused, as I knew the band was supposed to be a duo, but this was just one guy doing Elliott Smith tunes. I found at after the fact that I had walked in on the first song (yay!). I guess the Elliott Smith tribute duo of Fulero + Day had an Elliott Smith solo tributer go before them. I caught him name as Scotty Paray, but the spelling may be suspect. No doubling up on songs, from what I stuck around for…
Scotty Paray’s Setlist
- Son of Sam
- Can’t Make a Sound
- Happiness
- Alameda
- A Living Will
- Miss Misery
Scotty was good, switched between keyboard and guitar. Perhaps not all that strong in the vocal category, but Elliott’s songs shone through, and Scotty’s effort was evident (the crowd was a bit noisy/talky, though). Fulero + Day came on shortly after Scotty was done. It was Asher Fulero on keyboard and Nathan Day on guitar. They switched off in the vocal category. Great tribute, and again, despite the noisy crowd, Elliott’s songs shone through.
Fulero + Day’s Setlist
- Pretty (Ugly Before)
- Bottle Up and Explode
- No Name #4
- Clementine
- Rose Parade
- Sweet Adeline
- Coast to Coast
- Baby Britain
- Somebody’s Baby
- (…the show continued whereas I didn’t…)
I left around 10:30pm… partly because it had been a long day, but a lot to do with the annoying, loud & talky crowd. I caught an hour of great songs that made me remember seeing Elliott play many of them himself back in 2000 at Southgate House in Newport, KY. He is missed.
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Wayne Shorter – Juju
REVIEW: The Swell Season @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – 11/23/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Like mostly everyone who is into The Swell Season (Glen Hansard of The Frames with Markéta Irglová), I got into them via the movie ONCE. They came through Eugene after I had moved to town, but before I had gotten into them. My brother made me watch it when we were home for my other brother’s wedding (July 2008), and I suppose I should thank him for that. With The Swell Season’s original 2009 Strict Joy tour date press release, they didn’t have a Eugene date, but I’m glad they added one…
The opener was Doveman‘s frontman Thomas Bartlett. He played about a half of an hour of whispy piano tunes. He seemed slightly shy, rarely looking towards the crowd… but maybe that’s just his style or how the piano was set up for him. Due to his whispy vocals, he struck me as similar to Jeff Hanson or slimmer, beardless Sam Beam of Iron & Wine – but on piano. He’s worked with The Frames, Swell Season, Antony & the Johnsons, Laurie Anderson, Arto Lindsay, The National, and Yoko Ono in the past – so that put him in my “he’s cool” book. Songs he played included “Angel’s Share ” (about whisky), “The Burgundy Stain” (about wine), and a medley to the Footloose soundtrack. The Footloose songs were fantastically mournful and sad. Classic!
The show opened with Glen and Markéta coming out and crouching down in front of the center mic. I wasn’t close enough to see if someone was playing the electronics / keyboards, but they started out with “Fallen From the Sky” – staying crouched down for the whole song. Luckily that didn’t continue for the rest of the show (or my continued photos would have been lame). :)
After the initial song, the band came out. The band was made up of the rest of The Frames, Glen’s band that was the precursor to Once and The Swell Season. I’m very rapidly becoming a serious fan of Glen’s vocals… which I suppose means that I need to get The Frames’ back catalog. Vocally Glen reminds me a lot of my buddy, Ashley Peacock. Most of the set was Glen on vocals, but Markéta covered lead vocals for “If You Want Me,” “Fantasy Man,” and “I Have Loved You Wrong.” As far as most powerful vocal performance… I’ll have to go with “Say It To Me Now,” where Glen played solo and off microphone. A few songs later, Glen was killin’ his guitar on Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks,” and he shredded at least a couple of strings – luckily his roadie was on top of things and brought out a replacement guitar right away.
Setlist: just over 2 hours
- Fallen From The Sky
- Lies
- Low Rising
- In These Arms *a fave of the night*
- The Rain *a fave of the night*
- The Moon
- If You Want Me
- Fantasy Man
- Say It To Me Now (Glen solo, off mic) *a fave of the night*
- Leave
- Lay Me Down
- Astral Weeks [Van Morrison]
- The Blue Shoes (Colin solo violin song)
- I Have Loved You Wrong
- Once *a fave of the night*
- When Your Mind’s Made Up *a fave of the night*
- Encore: Falling Slowly *a fave of the night*
- High Hope (new song)
- High Horses
- Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy
- It All Falls Down (with Doveman)
- Red Chord [The Frames]
- The Parting Glass [The Clancy Brothers]
After leaving the venue, I bet everyone thought they got their money’s worth… a great show, great vocals by Glen & Markéta. While I know this was a break-up record of sort, I’m glad that they’re still able to work together. And while it may be a long shot, I hope they do continue to work together in the future.
many more pictures below
The “Low Rising” video directed by Sam Beam (from Iron & Wine):
The Swell Season’s new record, Strict Joy, is better than the Once soundtrack, if you ask me. You can get it at Amazon below:
The Appropriate Linkage:
- The Swell Season’s Site
- The Swell Season on MySpace
- Jason Segel guesting with Swell Season (in L.A.) (youtube link)
- The Frames’ Site
- The Frames on MySpace
- Doveman’s Site
- Doveman on MySpace
- McDonald Theatre
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Pearl Jam – Backspacer
THE SWELL SEASON & DOVEMAN PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (8 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (30 pics)
Tour Dates
1 – Milwaukee, Wisc. @ The Pabst
2 – Indianapolis, Ind. @ Clowes Memorial Hall
3 – Toronto, Ontario @ Massey Hall
4 – Montreal, Quebec @ L’Olympia de Montreal
6 – Boston, Mass. @ Berklee College of Music Performance Center
7 – Providence, R.I. @ Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
8 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Merriam Theater
9 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
12 – New Orleans, La. @ House of Blues
13 – Houston, Texas @ Warehouse Live
14 – Dallas, Texas @ Palladium
15 – Austin, Texas @ Paramount Theatre
17 – Mesa, Ariz. @ Mesa Arts Center
18 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Wiltern
20 – San Francisco, Calif. @ The Paramount
22 – Seattle, Wash. @ The Paramount
23 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre
24 – Portland, Ore. @ Crystal Ballroom
25 – Vancouver, B.C. @ Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts
27 – Boise, Idaho @ Egyptian Theatre
28 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ Jeanne Wagner Theatre
29 – Denver, Colo. @ Ogden Theatre
30 – Kansas City, Mo. @ Uptown Theater
December 2009
3 – Chicago, Ill. @ Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University
4 – St. Louis, Mo. @ The Pageant
5 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ State Theatre
REVIEW: My Oregon Weekend with Peter Mulvey (11/7 & 11/8/2009)
FYI… PHOTOS of both SHOWS at the BOTTOM
I’ve been into Peter Mulvey for the past 10 years, right around when The Trouble With Poets came out. I used to be able to see him at least twice a year in Southwest Ohio (Canal Street Tavern, Southgate House, etc). Since moving to Eugene, Oregon, I’ve only had one opportunity. It was a great show, but I needed more… hence the need to drive up to Portland to see him before he hit my hometown the next day. :)
Alberta Street Pub (Saturday in Portland) was packed when I got there. I didn’t know it was an early show and I showed up right when Krista was going on. The venue was long and narrow… most of the seating was church pews (a la Dayton’s Canal Street Tavern). Given that fact, I gladly stood in back (church pews are horrid on my back). The acoustics in the room were good. The light wasn’t all that great… but I still got a few shots that ended up being decent (see below).
Sam Bond’s Garage (Sunday in Eugene) is a place I’ve been to many times. It is also dark; so I usually don’t bring my camera for shows. I was able to get a few shots, though. The plus of SBG for the Peter Mulvey weekend is that it seems more spread out compared to Alberta Street Pub… plus their beer selection is tops (Alberta seemed to have half of theirs socked up/out of stock). So, as far as venue winner… Sam Bond’s. But I’ll definitely hit Alberta again if a show suits me.
Krista Detor played about a 20-30minute set on both nights. She mainly played piano, but also pulled out the accordion for a song of her own (and one of Peter’s). Her songs that I caught in Portland… “Steal Me A Car”, “100 Years More,” “Mudshow,” “Early Grave,” and “Waterline.”
In Eugene, Krista played the same songs except she threw in “All to Do with the Moon” in between “Mudshow” and “Early Grave.”
Peter Mulvey was in a great mood in Portland. He had a shorter set due to a different show going on after him, but he was a graceful and funny as usual. Some of the best parts of the set were his banter in between songs… his bit on Sean Connery had me cracking up. How can someone with a speech impediment be so well known for his speaking roles? It was schplendid. Peter also went off on a riff about Sting that was also pretty funny, surrounding a “wet t-shirt” promo for a recent Saturday Night Live appearance. I think if Peter’s guitar and voice weren’t so grand, he could be a stand-up comedian. :)
He played a lot from his new album, but also a few older tunes and covers. He had some limited edition The Bicycle EPs for sale, and I snagged one for me and a couple friends. He also mentioned that next September (2010) he might bring his bike tour out to Oregon. Yippie! Anyway, here’s what he played on Saturday night…
Setlist (Portland 11/7): about 80 minutes
- If Love Is Not Enough
- Some People
- Kids In The Square
- Here In The Going Going Gone [Greg Brown cover]
- Letter From A Flying Machine
- “Sean Connery”
- Windshield
- The Knuckleball Suite (with Krista Detor)
- Shirt (with KD)
- “Sting SNL”
- Shoulderbirds (You Know Me) (with KD)
- Bears
- Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad (And Far Away From Home)
- (I Don’t Know Why) But I Do [Bobby Charles cover]
- Mailman
- Vlad The Astrophysicist
- On A Wing And A Prayer
- Encore: Our Love Is Here To Stay [Nat King Cole cover]
One food-related add-on… close to the Alberta Street Pub was a place called Grilled Cheese Grill. Holy cow… excellent stuff. It does for grilled cheese what Eugene’s Off the Waffle does for waffles. Yummy!
~*~*~*~
Eugene’s set was similar – Peter seemed to be in a pretty great mood. The crowd was much smaller than Portland, but I figured smaller market to pull from and Sunday night were a factor in that. I will say that I’m disappointed in Eugene a lot for not coming out to some great shows (I made my best attempt for last night). We did conjure up a trio of friends to join us, and there were some other definitely Peter Mulvey fans in the crowd – including a couple of teddy bear loving peeps (that was interesting, to say the least). My friendJenny asked me if teddy bears were a theme with Peter’s fans, to which I blurted out, “noooooo.” And then Peter announced the spoken word piece “Bears.” :)
Setlist (Eugene 11/8): about 90 minutes
- I’m Beginning To See The Light [Duke Ellington cover]
- Kids In The Square
- “Time Machine”
- Some People
- Letter From A Flying Machine
- Abilene (The Eisenhower Waltz)
- The Knuckleball Suite (with Krista Detor)
- Shirt (with KD)
- Shoulderbirds (You Know Me) (with KD)
- …Plus The Many Inevitable Fragments / Dynamite Bill
- Bears
- Moonshiner [Uncle Tupelo cover]
- Vlad The Astrophysicist
- On A Wing And A Prayer
- Encore: Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad (And Far Away From Home)
(We also caught a snippet of “Brand New ’64 Dodge” and “A Better Way to Go” in soundcheck.)
All in all, I think the Alberta show was my fave of the two, but both were fantastic. I hope Peter ventures out this way more often. He promised again to head out this way next year – and possibly via bike. It’ll be earlier in the year (September vs November). If you want to check out some of his stuff… his latest record, Letters From a Flying Machine, is excellent. I think it’s his strongest since 2000’s The Trouble with Poets. You can listen to some samples at Petermulvey.com (one free download) or Amazon (samples of all songs):
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Peter Mulvey’s Site
- Peter Mulvey on MySpace
- Krista Detor’s Site
- Krista Detor on MySpace
- Alberta Street Pub
- Shining City Music (promoter for the PDX show, she’s rad!)
- Sam Bond’s Garage
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Galactic Cowboys – Space In Your Face
PETER MULVEY & KRISTA DETOR PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Fall 2009 U.S. Tour Dates
- 11/7 PORTLAND, OR The Alberta Pub
- 11/8 EUGENE, OR Sam Bond’s Garage
- 11/10 ARCATA, CA Arcata Playhouse
- 11/11 BERKELEY, CA Freight & Salvage
- 11/12 FELTON, CA Don Quixote’s
- 11/13 SANTA MONICA, CA McCabe’s
- 11/14 SAN DIEGO, CA AcousticMusicSanDiego
- 11/20 BURLINGTON, VT UVM Recital Hall
- 11/21 FRAMINGHAM, MA Amazing Things Arts Center
- 12/1-2 FAIRBANKS, AK College Coffeehouse
- 12/3 TOK, AK Fast Eddy’s
- 12/4 TALKEEKTNA, AK Whole Wheat Radio
- 12/5 ANCHORAGE, AK Snow Goose Theatre
- 12/6 PALMER, AK Vagabond Blues
- 12/8 KODIAK, AK The Golden Anchor
- 12/10 CARBONDALE, CO Steve’s Guitars
- 12/11 DENVER, CO Swallow Hill
- 12/12 COLORADO SPRINGS, CO Friends House Concert
- 12/13 FORT COLLINS, CO Avogadro’s Number
- 12/15-19 FORT ATKINSON, WI Cafe Carpe
REVIEW: David Bazan Band @ Mississippi Studios (Portland, OR – 11/6/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
So, last night’s show could have been presented by “Keep Portland Beard.” Every member of both bands sported beards (which, to be fair, had some dual members). I think beards and indie rock are like eye shadow and goth. Except at least the women of indie rock don’t have beards (not that I know of at least).
I drove by the venue around “doors” time… and the line was part way down the block. Yikes. As I parked my car and walked to the venue, I spotted David Bazan and some of his posse hanging out by the nearby burrito cart. He was on his mobile; so I opted not to bug him.
After a delicious hummus plate washed down by a McTarnahan’s Amber, SAY HI started… I found my seat at the awesomely cozy Mississippi Studios.
Say Hi is a trio, and they played what I’d call “power pop indie rock.” I mean, that’s my best explanation… very catchy, hooky – yet retaining that gristle and DIY charm of a touring group of guys. While Say Hi didn’t have the one-two writing & vocal punch of Neil Gust & Elliott Smith’s Heatmiser, I think Heatmiser is my closest comparison to Say Hi. Great pop songs in a rock setting, definitely enjoyable. They played about 40 minutes and, unfortunately, it flew by. But… they’re from Seattle; so they’re totally on my “auto notify” Pollstar radar now.
After a very short set break (5 minutes, maybe)… David Bazan (plus band) hit the stage…
The first time I saw David Bazan (December 2003 with Over the Rhine) was the only time I’ve seen him with a “band.” Even that time, it was a stripped down Pedro the Lion set with just David and T.W. Walsh (drummer). The singer of Say Hi joined David on guitar, the Say Hi bassist traded bass duties for guitar / keyboards / percussion. Blake Wescott joined on guitar, there was a new drummer, and David took care of bass (and guitar during the encore).
The set was a heavy David Bazan “solo albums” set, as expected. I’ve really been digging his latest album, Curse Your Branches; so I picked it up on vinyl last night. Most of the set was CYB stuff and Fewer Moving Parts material. He did throw in a few expected Pedro the Lions and Headphones songs as well…
Setlist: about 90 minutes
- Hard To Be
- Please, Baby, Please
- I Do (Pedro the Lion tune)
- Bless This Mess
- Q&A #1
- I Never Wanted You (Headphones tune)
- Magazine (Pedro the Lion tune)
- Heavy Breath
- Q&A #2
- Cold Beer And Cigarettes
- When We Fell
- Lost My Shape
- Curse Your Branches
- Q&A #3
- Fewer Broken Pieces (aka Fewer Moving Parts)
- Bearing Witness
- Q&A #4
- Keep Swinging (Pedro the Lion tune)
- How I Remember
- In Stitches
- Encore (David solo): Priests and Paramedics (Pedro the Lion tune)
- Will You Still Love Me In December (Julie Doiran cover)
- Q&A #5
- Harmless Sparks
Best David Bazan line of the night… “Infants are necessary, but they’re kinda bullshit.”
I loved David with a band. I think the highlight of the night for me, though, was Say Hi. I usually don’t expect to like an opener, and I like being pleasantly surprised. I didn’t have enough coin to get some Say Hi music last night, but I plan to in the near future.
Another highlight… David’s Q&A sessions are also usually a fun aspect of his shows – it really makes a Bazan show more personal and intimate. Most of the questions surrounded his recent “coming out” as an atheist-leaning agnostic after many years in the Christian indie rock scene. I always loved his candor and questioning of things in religion, even when he considered himself to be a Christian and I had moved out of that camp. I, honestly, don’t think his lyrical themes changed all that much. His Q&A answers last night were more along the lines around around tolerance, regardless of religious beliefs or non-beliefs. Personally, I’m glad to have him in the more doubtful camp. However, above that, I’m glad that he’s not trying to be divisive with things like faith and his “falling from faith.” We should move towards being different than the prior generations who don’t know tolerance.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- David Bazan’s Site
- David Bazan on MySpace
- Pedro the Lion on MySpace
- Say Hi’s Site
- Say Hi on MySpace
- BrooklynVegan’s NYC 10/18 Review
- Fan videos from the Chicago show: video #1 – video #2
- Mississippi Studios
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Lowell Brams, Sufjan Stevens & Bryce Dessner – Library Catalog Music Series: Music for Insomnia
DAVID BAZAN & SAY HI PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Recent/Upcoming Tour Dates
- 10/01 – San Francisco CA – Independent
- 10/02 – Costa Mesa CA – Detroit Bar
- 10/03 – San Diego CA – Casbah
- 10/04 – Los Angeles CA – Troubadour
- 10/05 – Tucson AZ – Solar Culture
- 10/07 – Austin TX – Mohawk
- 10/08 – Denton TX – Dan’s Silverleaf
- 10/09 – Memphis TN – Hi-Tone Café
- 10/10 – Murray KY – Lovett Auditorium / Murray State
- 10/11 – Birmingham AL – Bottletree
- 10/13 – Orlando FL – The Social
- 10/14 – Atlanta GA – Drunken Unicorn
- 10/15 – Chapel Hill NC – Cat’s Cradle
- 10/16 – Washington DC – Black Cat
- 10/17 – Philadelphia PA – Kung Fu Necktie
- 10/18 – New York NY – Bowery Ballroom
- 10/20 – Cambridge MA – TT the Bear’s +
- 10/21 – Montreal QC – Il Motore
- 10/22 – Toronto ON – Lee’s Palace
- 10/23 – Pontiac MI – Pike Room
- 10/24 – Chicago IL – TBA
- 10/25 – Champaign IL – Highdive
- 10/27 – Madison WI High – Noon Saloon
- 10/28 – Minneapolis MN – Turf Club
- 10/29 – Iowa City IA – The Picador
- 10/30 – Lawrence KS – Jackpot Saloon
- 10/31 – Omaha NE – Slowdown
- 11/01 – Denver CO – Hi Dive
- 11/02 – Salt Lake City UT – Kilby Court
- 11/05 – Vancouver BC – Media Club
- 11/06 – Portland OR – Mississippi Studios
- 11/07 – Seattle WA – Neumos
House Shows - 12/9 – Detroit, MI – 8pm – tickets available on db.com
- 12/10 – Cleveland, OH – 8pm – tickets available
- 12/11 – Columbus, OH – 8pm – SOLD OUT
- 12/12 – Indianapolis, IN – 5pm – tickets available
- 12/12 – Indianapolis, IN – 8pm – SOLD OUT
- 12/13 – New Haven, IN – 5pm – tickets available
- 12/13 – Ft. Wayne, IN – 8pm – SOLD OUT
- 12/14 – Goshen, IN – 8pm – SOLD OUT
- 12/15 – Lansing, MI – 8pm – tickets available
REVIEW: Regina Spektor @ Roseland Theater (Portland, OR – 11/1/09)
I got into Regina Spektor right around the time that Begin to Hope came out (thanks to my apple peeps Luc & Nic!). I really haven’t had a chance to see her until now, as she played near me in Ohio right around the time I was moving to Oregon. Her newest album, Far, is really good. I’ve been “studying” it a lot this past week, and really dig just about every song.
The Roseland Theater show was sold out at least a week in advance. Things didn’t work out to bring my wife, friends, back-ups of friends, couchsurfing hosts, or CS friends to the show… sigh. Oh well, I sold my extra ticket out front. Bah, no cameras again for this show. I attempted to contact RS’s management, but got no response after a 3 week attempt. Oh well… this is my major dissappointment with the Roseland: metal detectors, a fervid security staff, and the near impossibility to get my camera in without pre-approval… argh.
Anyway… on to the show…
The opener Jupiter One was really good. I had only heard of them a few hours prior. They are from New York and seemed to have that “NYC rock vibe.” I’ve seen several bands (usually openers) who have “that vibe.” Jupiter One were more impressive than most. They are a four piece and were smushed to the left of Regina’s piano (which was oddly moved over after their set – which would have given J1 more room). They had a nice groove, and played multiple instruments (violin, flute, etc) in addition to the traditional rock gear. They only played for about a half of an hour, and didn’t really announce many of their song names. I was looking out for one of them (“Platform Moon”), but I don’t know if they played it…
Regina went on a little after 9pm to immediate screams and applause. She had a violinist and cellist (whose names I didn’t get) with her, and Matt Chamberlain was on the drum kit. I’ve seen Matt many times with Tori Amos, and his self-titled solo album from 2005 on (Secret Chiefs 3 & Mr. Bungle) Trey Spruance’s label Web of Mimicry is the bomb – it’s quite a non-traditional “drummer solo album” (check it out).
The first half of Regina’s set was pretty bouncy and fun. I think once it got to her solo acapella and definitely the guitar stuff, well, it wasn’t her strong suit if you ask me. She played a lot from Far, but also mixed in some material from her older albums – especially at the encore…
Setlist: about an hour and 40 minutes
- The Calculation *a fave of the night*
- Eet
- Folding Chair *a fave of the night* (nice use of strings)
- Ode to Divorce
- Riot Gear *a fave of the night*
- Machine
- Laughing With *a fave of the night*
- One More Time With Feeling
- Two Birds
- Blue Lips
- On the Radio
- Dance Anthem of the 80s
- Silly Eye-Color Generalizations (acappella)
- Bobbin’ for Apples (Regina on guitar)
- That Time (Regina on guitar)
- Apres Moi *a fave of the night*
- Poor Little Rich Boy (Regina playing piano and a drum)
- Human of the Year
- Man of a Thousand Faces
- Encore: Samson *a fave of the night*
- Us *a fave of the night*
- Fidelity *a fave of the night*
- Hotel Song
- Love, You’re a Whore
I had a lot of fun, but I’m bummed some people who wanted to see it couldn’t for various reasons. It was a sold out show; so if that’s any indictation, if she keeps touring, I’m sure she’ll be back through Portland. She seemed to have a good stage presence and was more full of mirth than, say, Fiona Apple, yet more grounded than, say, Tori Amos.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Regina Spektor’s Webpage
- Regina on MySpace
- Jupiter One’s Webpage
- Jupiter One on MySpace
- Roseland Theater
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: John Zorn – Femina
Remaining U.S. Tour Dates
- Mon 11/02/09 – Vancouver, BC – Orpheum
- Tue 11/03/09 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
- Fri 11/06/09 – Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue
- Sat 11/07/09 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
- Tue 11/10/09 – Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless Theater
- Wed 11/11/09 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Bar-B-Q / Waller Creek Amph.
- Thu 11/12/09 – Grand Prairie, TX – Nokia Theatre At Grand Prairie
- Sat 11/14/09 – Kirksville, MO – Truman State University
- Mon 11/16/09 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
- Tue 11/17/09 – Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
- Thu 11/19/09 – Louisville, KY – Louisville Palace Theatre
Nellie McKay (10/20) photos posted
Photos from Tuesday’s show are now posted… go to…
REVIEW: Nellie McKay at
Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley (Seattle, WA – 10/20/09)
~Dan
REVIEW: Ani DiFranco @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – 10/21/09)
Ani DiFranco is one of my favorite artists. The fact that she’s as prolific as an apple slicer at a pie factory doesn’t hurt my need for new music from her. I’ve posted many times before the “stats” behind her release schedule (it is both ridiculous in her velocity and my tracking of said velocity). This last span of time between 2008’s excellent Red Letter Year and, well… no new album is quite uncharacteristic of her. Based on the amount of new songs in the setlist, I expect a new album is right around the corner.
For this recent tour, I got to the venue a little late, as I had to drive in from Portland (I’d been up in Seattle on Mon & Tues for work, and Portland on Wednesday). I couldn’t miss Ani, though. No photos this time around, as cameras weren’t allowed in the venue. I did snap one via my iPhone (below).
Opener Anais Mitchell was good. She seemed kind of shy, but also playful. While I don’t think her sound really set herself apart from the many singer-songwriters out there; she just completed a folk-opera, Hadestown, based on the myth of Hades and Eurydice. Ani appears on it, and it’ll be out on Righteous Babe, I’m sure.
(the sole crappy iPhone shot of the night)
Ani and her band came on around 9pm. Her band this time was Andy Barger on drums, Mike Dillon on percussion (who I’ve seen play with Skerik & the Dead Kenny G’s), Todd Sickafoose on contrabass (who I’ve seen many times with Ani). They started out with, as acknowledged by Ani, a very schizophrenic set of songs.
Setlist: just shy of 90 minutes
- Fuel *a fave of the night*
- Paradigm
- Manhole
- Modulation
- Swan Dive *a fave of the night*
- Red Letter Year
- Coming Up
- November 5th, 2008 (new song – formerly known as “November 4” – free live download)
- Albacore (new song)
- Unworry (new song) *a fave of the night*
- Way Tight
- God’s Country
- Napoleon
- Splinter (new song) *a fave of the night*
- Which Side Are You On? (new song – 30’s tune by Florence Reese, reworked by Ani – free live download)
- Mariachi (new song)
- Both Hands *a fave of the night*
- Encore: Little Plastic Castle *a fave of the night*
- Barroom Girls (Gillian Welch cover with Anais Mitchell and Animal Prufrock)
Thanks for the setlist corrections, francoapple.
A great show, followed by a drive back up to Portland for work. I think of the new songs, “Splinter” is my favorite – – followed by “Unworry” (with a great chorus “facts are pretend anyway” ). Both of those songs are a bit more poetic than the rest. I had “November 5th” from a free download back last fall, and while I like Obama and was happy on November 5th, the song seems kind of cheesy. Same thing goes for “Which Side Are You On?” It’s available for free via the link in the setlist above (note: there may be a limited opportunity for the download). While I agree with its premise/lyrics, I think Ani’s done better, more poetic political songs.
Oh well, I guess with her output, there’s bound to be some songs I don’t like as much. But all in all, a great show. It was good to see her with a band, as usual. Maybe next time, with Mike Dillon’s influence, she’ll bring Skerik along for some horns. :)
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Ani’s record label – Righteous Babe Records
- Ani DiFranco on MySpace
- Anais Mitchell
- Anais Mitchell onMySpace
- McDonald Theatre
~Dan – np: Erik Friedlander – Grains of Paradise
Ani DiFranco Fall 2009 Tour Dates
- Sep 11 2009 – Kalamazoo State Theatre – Kalamazoo, Michigan
- Sep 12 2009 – Krannert Center Guitar Festival – Urbana, Illinois
- Sep 13 2009 – Paramount Theatre – Aurora, Illinois
- Sep 15 2009 – Mayo Civic Center-Presentation Hall – Rochester, Minnesota
- Sep 16 2009 – DECC Auditorium – Duluth, Minnesota
- Sep 18 2009 – Fargo Theatre – Fargo, North Dakota
- Sep 19 2009 – Burton Cummings Theatre – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Sep 20 2009 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Sep 22 2009 – Riverside Ballroom – Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Sep 23 2009 – The Vic Theatre – Chicago, Illinois
- Sep 25 2009 – Michigan Theater – Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Oct 10 2009 – Lobero Theatre – Santa Barbara, California
- Oct 11 2009 – Grove of Anaheim – Anaheim, California
- Oct 13 2009 – Rio Theatre – Santa Cruz, California
- Oct 14 2009 – Tower Theatre – Fresno, California
- Oct 20 2009 – Arcata Community Center – Arcata, California
- Oct 21 2009 – McDonald Theatre – Eugene, Oregon
- Oct 23 2009 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, Oregon
- Oct 24 2009 – Moore Theatre – Seattle, Washington
- Oct 25 2009 – PAC Concert Hall – Bellingham, Washington
- Oct 27 2009 – Centre for the Performing Arts – Vancouver, British Columbia
- Oct 28 2009 – Royal Theatre – Victoria, British Columbia
- Nov 13 2009 – State Theatre – Ithaca, New York
- Nov 14 2009 – Zeiterion Performing Arts Center – New Bedford, MA
- Nov 15 2009 – Calvin Theatre – Northampton, Massachusetts
- Nov 17 2009 – The Egg – Albany, New York
- Nov 18 2009 – Ridgefield Playhouse – Ridgefield, Connecticut
- Nov 20 2009 – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Nov 21 2009 – The Town Hall – New York, New York
REVIEW: Nellie McKay @ Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley (Seattle, WA – 10/20/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
So, I had tickets to see Ben Folds with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra at Benaroya Hall last night. I hemmed and hawed and finally decided to sell my ticket on craigslist to go see Nellie McKay instead. I dig both of them as artists, and the main reason for the hemming and hawing was the whole symphony aspect (I mean, I’ve seen Ben Folds Five or solo a half dozen times already… so the symphony take on it was my main draw). Ah, but… Nellie totally has my heart when in a piano/vocalist celebrity deathmatch with Mr. Folds. She’s quirky, cute, writes and sings both silly and political songs, has a passionate love for animals (she’s a vegetarian with a stance on animal cruelty that makes me proud), and… you rarely know what to expect from her musically on any given night. I’ve seen her twice prior, and both times were fantastical suprises.
Sorry, Ben. Next time?
As a consolation for the Ben Folds fans, there’s a free mp3 stream (or download if you do some research, i.e.- “view source”) from the Huffington Post of the Ben Folds collaboration with author Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, etc). It’s a jab song at the ex-fiance of ex-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin‘s daughter Bristol… from the HuffPo, I present you “Levi Johnston’s Blues.”
Speaking of the HuffPo… here’s a recent article / interview with Nellie McKay by Michael Giltz.
Oh, so Nellie’s latest album, Normal As Blueberry Pie, is all about Doris Day (a total of 14 Doris Day tracks in the recording session, and one Nellie original). Two of the 15 session tracks are more difficult to get ahold of, unless you want to buy both the “exclusive” Barnes & Noble bonus track version and the iTunes bonus track version. Have I mentioned that Universal Music Group’s tactics suck!? Anyway, the album is great (special track tactics notwithstanding). The album lacks some of the bite and wit of Nellie’s prior 3 (and a half) solo albums. But, I love it all the same. It’s got Nellie trademark nostalgia / campiness, as evidenced by the photos surrounding the release (see to the right).
OK… on to the review of the show…
I really dig Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley. It’s small and intimate (but large enough for the room to breathe). Also I like the idea of making an experience out of the show – a fantastic meal, great atmosphere, and an attentive audience makes for a wonderful evening. Oh, and free parking in downtown Seattle is like the cherry on top. This was only my second time here (Hiromi in June was my first), but it is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues in the PacNW, if not ever. I just wish it wasn’t so far away from me in Eugene all the time.
Nellie went on around 7:40pm with her backing band, The Aristocrats. This was my first time seeing Nellie with a band. They were excellent. They were all younger than I was expecting. I mean, this wasn’t her studio backing band… but as hired guns solely for touring, they really worked well with Nellie in a fun & playful way. The band was Nellie McKay (piano and ukulele), Howard Fishman (guitar), Charles Schiermeyer (sax), Ben Bynum (drums), Scott Litroff (violin and flute), and Daniel Policar (keys).
Setlist: just shy of 90 minutes
- If I Ever Had a Dream
- Close Your Eyes (Doris Day cover)
- Sentimental Journey (Doris Day cover)
- Send Me No Flowers (Doris Day & Burt Bacharach cover, Nellie on Uke)
- Do Do Do (Doris Day cover) *a fave of the night*
- Mean To Me (Doris Day cover)
- Dig It (Doris Day cover, Nellie dance-off) *a fave of the night*
- The Very Thought of You (Doris Day cover)
- A Wonderful Guy (Doris Day cover)
- I Remember You (Doris Day cover)
- “I Killed Larry David and I Liked It” / Grunge Song *a fave of the night*
- Crazy Rhythm (Doris Day cover) *a fave of the night*
- Black Hills of Dakota (Doris Day cover)
- A-Tisket, A-Tasket (Ella Fitzgerald cover)
- The Dog Song *a fave of the night*
- Encore: Zombie (with Gary Danielson on sax)
- I Wanna Get Married (Doo Wop Version, with Gary Danielson on sax) *a fave of the night*
So, yeah, holy crap… Nellie just keeps on getting better each time I see her. I thought I’d be slightly bummed by a mostly Doris Day set (as I really like Nellie’s original songs a lot), but the Doris Day material was really fantastic in a live band setting. The addition of a jazz combo behind her really made the songs gel, and her interaction with the others was really fun. She’s kinda of a nutty person (or maybe as corny as Kansas in August)… but I wouldn’t want her to be any other way. I didn’t get a chance to meet her after the show, but I had a fun night regardless. Nellie and the Aristocrats are playing a second night (Wednesday, October 21st) at the Jazz Alley. If you go, drop me a line with your thoughts on Night 2.
Some of the best lines of the night by Nellie…
“I still can’t go back to Olympia, because I have overdue library books.”
“There’s hashish in that music… that was a score!” (really funny in context)
The Jazz Alley’s description of Nellie as a “martini cool chanteuse” was kinda of spot on. :) If you don’t have her newest one, get it… it’s fun (and out on vinyl, too):
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Erik Friedlander – Topaz
NELLIE McKAY PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (12 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (49 pics)
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REVIEW: Lyle Lovett & John Hiatt @ Hult (Eugene, OR – 10/15/09)
Well, had you asked me at the beginning of the week, “are you going to see Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt?,” my answer would have been “um… no.” I wouldn’t say I was seeking out going to this show. However, some friends of ours who had tickets ended up with a conflict and gave the tickets to us (thanks J&M!).
For me, Lyle’s music is a touch too close to country to seek him out, and I had never even really heard of John Hiatt. Regardless of that prejudice and ignorance about their music, I had a lot of fun. Lyle and John came out around 7:45pm and immediately started talking. This would kick off the format – a lot of talking and each person trading off songs.
They were both great storytellers through their songs, and I was glad that they weren’t too twangy (really my only big gripe with country music is the twang). It’s actually hard to say which part was more entertaining, their songs or their banter. After about an hour, they’d only made it through 8 songs, and their songs aren’t generally long. They really seemed to be good friends who let us into their living room to watch them shoot the shit and play some songs for each other.
Setlist: two and a half hours
- Drive South [JH]
- Fiona [LL]
- Walk On [JH]
- LA County [LL]
- Thunderbird [JH]
- Home Is Where My Horse Is [LL]
- Tennessee Plates [JH]
- I Will Rise Up [LL]
- Always Movin’ On (new) [JH]
- South Texas Girl [LL]
- Have a Little Faith in Me [JH]
- Choke My Chicken [LL]
- Crossing Muddy Waters [JH]
- North Dakota [LL]
- Memphis in the Meantime [JH]
- Her First Mistake [LL]
- Through Your Hands [JH]
- My Baby Don’t Tolerate [LL with JH guitar solo]
- Ain’t No More Cane [LL & JH]
- Encore: Thing Called Love [JH & LL]
- If I Had a Boat [LL]
Overall, it was a great show. They were both great storytellers and quite humorous. They seemed to be very well paired and play off (and with) each other well. Thanks again J&M for the tickets!
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Lyle Lovett’s Official Site
- Lyle Lovett on MySpace
- John Hiatt’s Official Site
- John Hiatt on MySpace
- The Hult Center
~Dan – np: Nellie McKay – Normal As Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day
Aimee Mann (10/6) photos posted
Photos from Tuesday’s show are now posted… go to…
REVIEW: Aimee Mann @ Aladdin (Portland, OR – 10/6/09)
~Dan
REVIEW: Aimee Mann @ Aladdin (Portland, OR – 10/6/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I got into Aimee Mann after several promptings by my friend Bruce, and then eventually via her quite powerful role in the P.T. Anderson movie, Magnolia (1999). Her spot in that movie and her pervasiveness on that soundtrack made me pay attention. I’ve stuck with her through some great albums, including a doozy of holiday album (but I don’t blame her, I blame the general holiday music content). Her albums are always pretty damn consistent… consistently good. I just never got the chance to see her until now. I happened to be up in Portland for work; so I naturally found my way to the venue. :)
I really like the Aladdin Theater… it’s a classy theater, and every show I’ve seen here has been great (Jude and Yael Naim), and I plan on hitting the Aladdin at least 2 or three more times this year (Múm, the Swell Season, and maybe Stryper… but mainly for the humor aspect of that show).
The opener was Nick Lowe, who I didn’t know. Apparently I knew some of his songs, specifically “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding” (he wrote for Elvis Costello, and I’ve heard the A Perfect Circle version). Nick played about 50 minutes, and probably 15 songs. He had some very good, short pop songs. I can see why people like him. I mean, he kinda blended into the background to me, but he had a charm and lyricism that I can admire.
Aimee Mann came on around 9:20pm with two keyboardists. Throughout the set, they both swapped around many instruments… mainly keys, but also guitar, shakers, drums, recorder. She played a short 40 minute pre-determined set before breaking out into the audience request portion of the show…
Setlist: 2 hours
- The Moth
- Nightmare Girl
- Momentum *a fave of the night*
- Build That Wall
- Par For The Course
- Amateur *a fave of the night*
- This Is How It Goes
- Wise Up *a fave of the night*
- Save Me [false start – see comments below]
——————— - Real Bad News [start to the audience requests]
- Long Shot
- Looking For Nothing
- Freeway *a fave of the night*
- Jacob Marley’s Chain
- 4th Of July
- Mr. Harris
- Video *a fave of the night*
- Ghost World
- You Could Make A Killing *a fave of the night*
- Red Vines
- Invisible Ink
- Susan
- One (Harry Nilsson cover)
- Encore: Save Me *a fave of the night*
- Voices Carry
So, the first attempt at “Save Me” got an odd response from a few ladies… almost like the cheering as you’re going up a rollercoaster. Aimee pointed that out and countered it with how depressing and co-dependent-y the song was. Then she went into some really depressing (but funny) new lyrics for the song… which led into the giggles; so she couldn’t even finish the real version of the song. She came back to it later for the encore.
Aimee was really fun… much more fun than I thought she’d be. I mean, her songs really meander on the line of depressed, melancholic disappointment; however, she was quite bubbly, and giddy in spots. Her three-piece band really worked well together in a pinch. Great, long show… check her out if she swings by!!! She’s only a short West Coast tour this fall; see the remaining handful of dates below…
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Finger Eleven – Finger Eleven
Aimee Mann West Coast Tour 2009
- 10/2/09 UC Santa Barbara CA
- 10/3/09 Santa Cruz, CA Rio Theatre
- 10/4/09 San Francisco, CA Hardly Strictly Bluegrass FREE
- 10/6/09 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater …with Nick Lowe
- 10/7/09 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre with Nick Lowe
- 10/8/09 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
- 10/10/09 Coeur D’Alene, ID The Kroc Center
- 10/11/09 Boise, ID EgyptianTheatre with Fountains of Wayne
- 10/12/09 Salt Lake City, UT The State Room with Fountains of Wayne
- 10/14/09 Boulder, CO Boulder Theater with Fountains of Wayne
- 10/16/09 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern with Fountains of Wayne
AIMEE MANN & NICK LOWE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (7 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (24 Aimee pics, 6 Nick pics)
REVIEW: W.P.A. at the W.O.W. (Eugene, OR – 9/27/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Works Progress Administration
I’ve been a fan of Glen Phillips via Toad the Wet Sprocket since back in my “high school days”… Toad is one of the few artists to make it out alive from that period, remaining a cherished part of my collection. Glen’s voice is so evocative and honest and personable… it’s hard not to love just about everything he does. In fact, last year, he pulled a doozy, releasing two albums under different band monikers (without much warning) under Radiohead’s In Rainbows “pay what you want philosophy.” Both the Plover and RemoteTreeChildren cracked my Top 5 albums of 2008.
Well, this time, Glen decided to let us know about his new band and let some buzz build up… the Works Progress Administration (aka W.P.A. / WPA) is more or an Americana effort that is at its core made up of the trio of trio of Glen Phillips, Luke Bulla (from Lyle Lovett’s band), and Sean Watkins (from Nickel Creek). The Eugene show was with the extended band, not just the core trio of Phillips/Bulla/Watkins. It also included Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Greg Leisz (Joni Mitchell, Bill Frisell), Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), Sebastian Steinberg (Soul Coughing), and Don Heffington (Lone Justice… and I remember seeing him play with Over the Rhine at one point).
The first opener, Ehren Ebbage, put on a quick 20 minute set, four songs. He hails from Seattle. He was pretty good – he has the pop singer-songwriter vibe going on. He seemed like a good soul, funny personality. He got a opening slot due to “begging for it.” We didn’t walk out with his CD, unfortunately; but if he swings back through Eugene, I’ll give him another listen.
The second opener, Molly Jenson, stomped on the stage shortly after Ehren. I say “stomped,” as she had these killer heels with jingles fixed to them (see pictures below). Her first song in her 20 minutes, 4 song set was a song that showed that playing guitar, singing and stomping your foot in heels is probably more than I’d be able to handle physically. It’s gotta be much harder than patting your head and rubbing your stomach. Molly was pretty funny, she joked about the disco ball (and had the light guy turn it on). She also talked about how she and Sara Watkins rolled around the hall’s floor that afternoon in their rollerskates. Her sound was more in the country/folk singer-songwriter mold. She ended her set with “You Are My Sunshine.”
Molly Jenson released her Webisode #13 that included footage from the WOW Hall show. Check it out on YouTube.
WPA hit the stage around 9pm and jumped right into material from their new album. “Always Have My Love” is such a good lead-off track to their live show (and CD). It really features all aspects of this huge band. WPA overall is really hard to pigeonhole. They definitely fit in the folky genre, but they have many aspects of bluegrass, pop, rock. Lots of violin, steel guitar, great vocals. Vocal duties were shared by Glen, Luke, Sean and Sara. They played mainly songs from the debut CD, but they also played songs from each of the singer’s “main gigs / solo albums.”
Part way through the set, they invited Alex & Tatiana Hargreaves on stage. I had never heard of them, but they were well received by the crowd. They are both young and are quite the fiddle phenoms. They jammed on two songs with Sara, Luke & Sean – one instrumental and one with Tatiana singing lead on a song from her recent album.
Here’s what they played…
Setlist: 90+ minutes
- Always Have My Love (Glen on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- End This Now (Glen on vocals)
- Paralyzed (Sean on vocals)
- Cry For You (Luke on vocals)
- Solar Flare (Glen on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Rise Up (Glen on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- I Feel the Blues Movin’ In (Luke on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- I Go to Sleep (Sara on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Already Gone (Sean on vocals)
- Not Sure (Sean on vocals)
- Drive By (Glen on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Pink Triangle (Weezer cover, Sean on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Garfields (with Alex & Tatiana, instrumental)
- Sugar Babe (with Alex & Tatiana, Tati on vocals)
- Somebody More Like You (Sean on vocals)
- Remember Well (Luke on vocals)
- Long Hot Summer Days (Sara on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Good As Ever (Glen on vocals)
- A Wedding or a Wake (Glen on vocals)
- Encore: The Price (Glen on vocals)
- You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome (Bob Dylan cover, Sean on vocals) *a fave of the night*
Fantastic show. It’s amazing to see so many great musicians on the stage at the same time. They honestly looked like they were having a ball, too. It was also good to see Glen playing guitar again (after his pretty nasty glass table accident last fall). Luke Bulla and Nickel Creek, while already on my radar, made my list of “I should see them if they come through again.” Fantastic players all around…
I picked up the debut WPA CD at the show. It came out a week ago, but I wanted to wait until I saw them in person – you know, to make sure they got all the money, not shipping or some distribution middle-man like Amazon. You can order it directly from the WPA site (click the photo):
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Always Have My Love (live on WNCW)
Introducing W.P.A.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Works Progress Administration Official Site
- WPA on MySpace
- Glen Phillips Official Site
- Glen Phillips on MySpace
- Sean Watkins on MySpace
- Luke Bulla on MySpace
- Tatiana Hargreaves Online
- Alex Hargreaves Online
- Molly Jenson Official Site
- Molly Jenson on MySpace
- Ehren Ebbage Official Site
- Ehren Ebbage on MySpace
- WOW Hall
~Dan – np: Faith No More – Album of the Year
WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
WPA’s tourdates:
- Sun 08/16/09 – Schwenksville, PA – Old Pool Farm
- Tue 08/18/09 – Exton, PA – Eagleview Concert Series
- Wed 08/19/09 – New York, NY – Joe’s Pub
- Thu 08/20/09 – Londonderry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
- Sun 09/06/09 – Yosemite, CA – Camp Mather
- Wed 09/16/09 – Columbia, SC – White Mule
- Thu 09/17/09 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
- Fri 09/18/09 – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle
- Sun 09/20/09 – Decatur, GA – Eddie’s Attic
- Fri 09/25/09 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
- Sat 09/26/09 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile Cafe
- Sun 09/27/09 – Eugene, OR – WOW Hall
- Tue 09/29/09 – Chico, CA – Manzanita Place
- Wed 09/30/09 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
- Sat 10/03/09 – Ventura, CA – The Lodge
- Mon 10/05/09 – Los Angeles, CA – Largo
- Thu 11/05/09 – New York, NY – High Line Ballroom
- Sat 11/07/09 – Pittsburgh, PA – Diesel Club Lounge
- Sun 11/08/09 – Charleston, WV – Cultural Center
- Tue 11/10/09 – Annapolis, MD – Rams Head On Stage
- Wed 11/11/09 – Vienna, VA – Barns At Wolf Trap
- Thu 11/12/09 – Fairfield, CT – StageOne
- Fri 11/13/09 – Cambridge, MA – Passim Folk Music & Cultural Center
- Sat 11/14/09 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall
- Sun 11/15/09 – Fall River, MA – Narrows Center For The Arts
- Tue 12/01/09 – Cedar Rapids, IA – CSPS / Legion Arts
- Wed 12/02/09 – Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
- Thu 12/03/09 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
- Sat 12/05/09 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
- Sun 12/06/09 – Chicago, IL – Old Town School Of Folk Music
REVIEW: David Bazan [Pedro the Lion] @ House Show (Eugene, OR – 7/25/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I last saw David Bazan [former Pedro the Lion frontman] in Eugene almost two years ago (with J. Tillman @ the Indigo District). I have had a few chances for Portland gigs since then, but they never meshed with my schedule. The chance to see him at an intimate house show couldn’t be passed up.
I’d heard about house shows / house concerts for a while. I went to one many years back, but it was friends / local Cincinnatians; so I didn’t really count it as a “real” house show. Well, this was my first experience with a “national artist” doing a house show. How it works for David’s booking is 1) the host provides a place for 30-100 people, 2) tickets are sold only online via David’s website, 3) doors at 7:30 / show starts at 8 / people out by 10pm, 4) no sound system needed (just a chair or stool to sit on), and 5) no outside advertising is done.
I was one of 30 or 35 people who got in on the Eugene house show deal. It was fun to hang out with people before the show. There was a great spread of food, and I got to talk with the hosts a bit and some wonderful gents who drove down from Vancouver, BC. The show was BYOB, but they also had some Ninkasi Quantum on tap (or should I say Quant-yum).
David came up a little before 8pm and announced a friend, Blake Wescott, who came up and played 4-5 songs (about 15-20 minutes). Blake Wescott has worked in the studio with David Bazan / Pedro the Lion, Damien Jurado, Aaron Sprinkle, Denison Witmer, and others. He’s also toured as a backing musician for R.E.M and Crystal Skulls. His sound was great, a gentle singer-songwriter. He mentioned that he played the four songs from his MySpace page: Dreams in Twos, Live Here with You, My Way Home, and Carry On… plus I think he threw in another one. Great set, I’d see him again if he comes through town!
David went on about 8:10 or so and played and chatted until right about 9:30pm. He played mostly newer stuff, but threw in a few Pedro the Lion tunes as well. I mean, he was the driving force of the band. Afterwards, there was more discussion on the back patio. It was good to hear him further expanding on some of the “Q&A” discussions from the show. Anyway, here’s what he played…
Setlist:
- Hard to Be
- Please, Baby, Please
- Priests and Paramedics
- Q&A #1
- Harmless Sparks / Fewer Moving Parts
- June 18, 1976
- Q&A #2
- Cold Beer and Cigarettes
- When We Fell
- Q&A #3
- Transcontinental
- Curse Your Branches
- Options
- Q&A #4
- Bearing Witness
- Of Up and Coming Monarchs
- Bless This Mess (aka Weeds in the Wheat)
- Q&A #5
- In Stitches
Great experience… I need to try to convince my wife to let me host one sometime at our house. I think we could handle it for someone like David Bazan, Derek Webb, or Bill Mallonee. Oh, maybe Michael Kelsey (though it would cost more, as he doesn’t get out here… ever). Hmm… oh, a Secret Chiefs acoustic Xaphan show in our living room would allow me to die a happy man. Yeah, I think I’m dreaming.
David announced that the 5-piece band would be coming through Oregon (and elsewhere) again in the Fall, but it will all be officially announced on August 5th. Yay!
As reported last week, David’s got his solo debut coming out on September 1st. It’s called Curse Your Branches. It is now available for pre-order on Amazon now, but will be available through David’s site on August 5th (maybe hold out for that, as he may have some special goodies).
The Appropriate Linkage:
- David Bazan’s webpage
- David Bazan on MySpace
- Pedro the Lion on MySpace
- Headphones on MySpace (another of DB’s bands)
- Blake Wescott on MySpace (opener)
- Barsuk Records
- Suicide Squeeze Records
~Dan – np: Dave Douglas – Keystone
BLAKE WESCOTT &
DAVID BAZAN PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
REVIEW: Tori Amos @ Arlene Schnitzer Hall (Portland, OR – 7/11/09)
Tori Amos has been a big part of my musical fanaticism for a long time. I first heard of her my freshman year of college, got Little Earthquakes & Under the Pink from BMG, got Boys for Pele right when it came out, and I’ve been a fan ever since. There was a period of time where, if I could, I’d drive all over the Midwest to go see her. This show was going on the 6 year mark since I’d seen her, and let’s just say that I was itching for some classic Tori live… but first up, the opener:
One Eskimo hit the stage right about 8pm, and played 4-5 songs (about a half hour’s worth of material). I liked their sound… sort of a singer-songwriter blown up into a pop group (sort of if Maroon 5 had more interesting musicians). Their drummer had a nice style, sitting on a box-type drum and using that as the kick drum. Their guitarist and bassist/trumpet player were also fun to watch. They played “Kandi,” “UFO,” and “Astronauts” for sure, as those songs are on the EP that I picked up for only $5. They’re working on wrapping up their full-length debut now…
I was too far away to take any good concert photos;
so the marquee is all you get this time.
Tori hit the stage with her band (Matt Chamberlain on drums & John Evans on bass) at around 8:50pm and played for a solid two hours without much stopping. I forget how much I love her live shows. Great lights, great mix of tunes from her whole career, fun stage presence, pretty energetic crowd… she played a lot more older songs than I would have thought, and only four songs from her latest record.
Setlist:
- Give (a fave of the night)
- Caught a Lite Sneeze (a fave of the night)
- Welcome to England – John’s bass intro was very Tool-y… as if Justin Chancellor was in a pop band
- Graveyard
- Cornflake Girl (a fave of the night)
- Icicle (a fave of the night)
- Little Amsterdam
- Siren
- Starling
- Black Dove (January)
- 1,000 Oceans
- Joni Mitchell’s River (solo – Lizard Lounge)
- Winter (solo – Lizard Lounge)
- Playboy Mommy
- Little Earthquakes (a fave of the night)
- Fast Horse (a fave of the night)
- Take to the Sky (a mega fave of the night)
- Carbon
- Honey
- Precious Things (a fave of the night)
- Strong Black Vine – crowd floods front part of theatre, much to the “oh crap, what do I do?” of the security guys
- Encore: Big Wheel (a fave of the night)
- Tombigbee
Fantastic show… prior to this show, I was kind of in a “cooling” phase with Tori. I hadn’t seen her since the Scarlet’s Walk tour (2003), and I’d only been slightly fond of The Beekeeper and American Doll Posse albums. Forcing myself recently to dig into her newest one, Abnormally Attracted to Sin, and then seeing it live was great. It was a much warranted end to the break from being a big time Tori fan. Sure, Abnormally isn’t going back to the Little Earthquake through Boys of Pele days, but it’s still good music and she still puts on a great show, full of songs from her vast catalogue.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Official Tori Amos Webpage
- Tori Amos on MySpace
- Undented – a Tori fansite
- Official One Eskimo Webpage
- One Eskimo on MySpace
- Arlene Schnitzer Hall in Portland, OR
~Dan – np: Riceboys Sleeps – All Animals -EP-
no torrent or free download available
The rest of the Abnormally Attracted to Sin tour dates (as of now)
- Mon 07/13/09 Oakland, CA – Paramount Theatre
- Tue 07/14/09 Oakland, CA – Paramount Theatre
- Thu 07/16/09 San Diego, CA – Humphrey’s Concerts By The Bay
- Fri 07/17/09 Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
- Sat 07/18/09 Phoenix, AZ – Dodge Theatre
- Mon 07/20/09 Salt Lake City, UT – Abravanel Hall
- Tue 07/21/09 Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
- Thu 07/23/09 Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre
- Fri 07/24/09 Grand Prairie, TX – Nokia Theatre At Grand Prairie
- Sat 07/25/09 Austin, TX – The Long Center For The Performing Arts
- Mon 07/27/09 Atlanta, GA – Chastain Park Amphitheatre
- Tue 07/28/09 Orlando, FL – Bob Carr Perf. Arts Centre
- Wed 07/29/09 Miami Beach, FL – Fillmore Miami Beach At Jackie Gleason Theater
- Fri 07/31/09 Durham, NC – Durham Performing Arts Center
- Sat 08/01/09 Washington, DC DAR – Constitution Hall
- Mon 08/03/09 Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
- Tue 08/04/09 Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theatre
- Wed 08/05/09 Minneapolis, MN – The State Theatre
- Fri 08/07/09 Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
- Sat 08/08/09 Detroit, MI – Detroit Opera House
- Mon 08/10/09 Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
- Tue 08/11/09 Montreal, QC – St. Denis Theatre
- Thu 08/13/09 New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
- Fri 08/14/09 Red Bank, NJ – Count Basie Theatre
- Sat 08/15/09 Upper Darby, PA – Tower Theatre
- Mon 08/17/09 Boston, MA – Bank Of America Pavilion
- Sun 09/06/09 Manchester, United Kingdom – Apollo Manchester
- Mon 09/07/09 Birmingham, United Kingdom – Symphony Hall
- Tue 09/08/09 Glasgow, United Kingdom – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
- Thu 09/10/09 London, United Kingdom – Apollo Hammersmith
- Fri 09/11/09 London, United Kingdom – Apollo Hammersmith
- Sun 09/13/09 Basel, Switzerland – Festsaal Messe Basel
- Mon 09/14/09 Munich, Germany – Circus Krone Bau
- Tue 09/15/09 Zurich, Switzerland – Kongresshaus Zurich
- Thu 09/17/09 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Heineken Music Hall
- Sun 09/20/09 Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Theatre
- Mon 09/21/09 Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene
- Thu 09/24/09 Prague, Czech Republic – Prague Congress Centre
- Fri 09/25/09 Vienna, Austria – Wiener Stadthalle
- Sun 09/27/09 Hamburg, Germany – Laeiszhalle
REVIEW: Portland Cello Project & Emily Wells @ Cozmic Pizza (Eugene, OR – 6/13/09)
I first heard of Portland Cello Project via cellist Anna Fritz. Her 2005 album Wake featured a couple of songs with singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey guesting, of whom I had been a longtime fan already. Anyway, shortly thereafter, Anna Fritz was posting on her MySpace page about this new band that she was in, the Portland Cello Project. They kept playing around on times that I couldn’t see them… so last night was the first official time for me to see them, though I guess I’ve been a fan for a while.
We showed up around 8:30 to a beyond packed house. Oh crap, I underestimated the draw of the PCP on a Saturday night in Eugene. Emily Wells was into her set, and some of the PCP was sitting in on her set. Great stuff… enough to buy her Symphonies album. I hope she comes around Eugene or Portland again… I loved her sound.
The Portland Cello Project came on around 9:30. Their sound seemed very much standard “chamber music” until they hit the more energetic Pantera and Dave Brubeck pieces. PCP pulls off the “modern / alternative chamber music” sound pretty well without getting lumped into the sometimes cheesy Apocalyptica and the almost always cheesy “String Quartet Tribute to…” compilations. PCP had a mix of classical, jazz, rougher music, tween pop with John Brophy, and indie rock (the songs featuring Justin Power on guitar & voice)… seemed to be enjoyed by the very large, very diverse crowd…
Setlist: (per the PCP blog)
- Collaborations with Emily Wells
- The Batman Theme Song (by Danny Elfman)
- Turkish Wine (by Norfolk and Western)
- Denmark (by Gideon Freudmann)
- Mouth for War (by Pantera)
- Take 5 (by Dave Brubeck Quartet)
- A piece by Ashia
- Ashia and Justin Power playing Hungry Liars
- Two more Justin Power pieces!
- Toxic (by Britney Spears) featuring John Brophy
- What Goes Around…/…Comes Back around (by Justin Timberlake) featuring John Brophy
- Push-it (by Salt N Pepa) featuring John Brophy and Emily Wells
- 3 pieces collaborating with Run-On Sentence
- Encore: Transformation from The Dream: A Three Movement Suite for Cellos, Mallet Percussion, and Drum Set by Rachel Blumberg
We stuck around through the Justin Timberlake tune (it had been a long day). Great stuff all around. I was very impressed with Emily Wells set (never heard of her before), and the size of the crowd at Cozmic. I mean, seriously, I’ve never seen that many people packed in there. It was great to see so many people out there, but I’m wondering how they heard about it. Here I was thinking I’d show up at 8:30 and get right in…
Next time, I’ll know to show up early for PCP in Eugene.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Portland Cello Project Online
- Portland Cello Project on MySpace
- Emily Wells on MySpace
- Justin Power on MySpace
- Cozmic Pizza
~Dan – np: Flaregun – Ten Sundays
REVIEW: Flight of the Conchords @ the Schnitzer (Portland, OR – 5/14/09)
Well, let’s just say… this show was mutha’uckin’ AWESOME!!!
Before the show, there was a spot-on Murray look-a-like in the crowd. A little bit younger looking, but definitely pretty damn close. At around 7:45pm, the lights dimmed and what sounded like Jemaine (from FOTC) announced the opener. 
Arj Barker, who plays Dave on HBO’s Flight of the Conchords show, came out and did a hilarious 30-minute stand-up routine. Very witty humor. He’s got a Comedy Central special coming soon, plus he’ll be doing his own solo tour later in the year. Should be fun… I’d definitely recommend Arj, and if he comes near me again (Eugene, please?), I’ll be there.
Arj introduced Flight of the Conchords Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie immediately after his set, and they came out swinging right away in their robot costumes. To which they immediately broke into a song from their 2nd season, “Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor.” They never got back into their robot costumes again, which was… well… unfortunate. Great show though. They also had a cellist, Nigel, who was “New Zealand’s symphony orchestra.” Due to budget cuts, Nigel is the entire NZ symphony orchestra. :) Here’s what they played…
Setlist: (YT: YouTube video from the HBO show)
- Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor (YT)
- Hurt Feelings (YT) (*a fave of the night*)
- The Ballad of Stana
- The Most Beautiful Girl (in the Room) (YT) (*a fave of the night*)
- Carol Brown (Stick Around)
- Jenny
- Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros (YT) (*a fave of the night*)
- I’m Not Crying (YT)
- Freebird (upon request, but we think it was a planted request… Bret moved over to drums)
- Mutha’uckas (YT) (Bret continuing on drums – *a fave of the night*)
- Business Time (YT) (*a fave of the night*)
- Think About It (Think, Think About It) (YT)
- Lazy Eye
- Sugalumps (YT)
- Encore: Albi the Racist Dragon (YT)
- Bus Driver’s Song
- Bowie (YT)
The only real disappointment was the obvious lack of “Robot Song (The Humans Are Dead)” (YT). “Foux Da Fa Fa” (YT), “If You’re Into It” (YT), and “Ladies of the World” (YT) would have been fun, too. They show was really great, though. They played and talked and talked and played for an hour and 45 minutes. Really funny, and I liked most of the new songs… I’m looking forward to the 2nd season when it comes out on DVD (as I don’t have HBO). I wasn’t able to take any photos due to the venue’s rules. Here is one from SPIN‘s Miami review (more further down in the links):
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Flight of the Conchords webpage
- Flight of the Conchords on MySpace
- Arj Barker webpage
- Arj Barker on MySpace
- SPIN Review from Miami
- SPIN Photos from Miami
- Arlene Schnitzer Hall in Portland, OR
~Dan – np: Wynton Marsalis – He and She
REVIEW: Spinal Tap / The Folksmen @ Paramount Theatre (Seattle, WA – – 4/20/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
(only a couple this time)
- Spinal Tap Unwigged/Unplugged (photo: Shannon Cottrell, LA Weekly)
As mentioned above, I only took a few pictures. I was in the upper mezzanine, aka nosebleeds. I tried out my new 60x zoom digital camera; alas, it wasn’t 600x. :)
The show was great. Christopher Guest (aka Nigel Tufnel / Alan Barrows), Michael McKean (aka David St. Hubbins / Jerry Palter), and Harry Shearer (aka Derek Smalls / Mark Shubb) played for an hour and 45 minutes – – a great mix of Spinal Tap tunes, The Folksmen / A Mighty Wind tunes, a Waiting for Guffman tune, a Harry Sheaerer comedy album tune, and some never released ditties.
Great in between song banter… I guess this was as much of a comedy show as a music show. Oh, and no drummer… for obvious insurance purposes.
Setlist:
- opening song with lyrics of “hair as brown as the finest stew”
- Hell Hole
- Never Did No Wanderin’ (CG on mandolin)
- Clam Caravan (CG on didgeridoo at end)
- Bitch School
- Loco Man
- Waiting for Guffman‘s This Bulging River
- Reading of the “Spinal Tap NBC Memo”
- All the Way Home
- Blood on the Coal
- (Listen to Me) the Flower People
- Cornwine
- The Majesty of Rock
- Harry Shearer’s Elvis parody All Backed Up
- Stonehenge
- “Aussie YouTube” snippet
- Q&A session
- Start Me Up (Rolling Stones cover as in A Mighty Wind)
- Cups and Cakes
- “Lego Video” snippet
- Old Joe’s Place
- Big Bottom
- The Good Book Song
- Rainy Day Sun
- Sex Farm
- Encore: Gimme Some Money
- A Mighty Wind
- The Colors of My Life
This past Monday was this audiences’ lucky bun-day… really big, full set. A+ show all around. I’m glad I got a chance to catch the show while randomly being in town on vacation.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- http://www.unwigged.com/
- http://youtube.com/tapunwigged
- http://myspace.com/unwiggedandunplugged
- http://spinaltap.com/
- http://www.theparamount.com/
The rest of the dates:
April 22: Oakland, Calif. (Paramount Theatre)
April 23: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Santa Barbara County Bowl)
April 26: Los Angeles (The Wiltern)
April 27: Phoenix, Ariz. (Dodge Theatre)
April 29: Denver (Paramount Theatre)
May 1: Houston, Texas (Jesse H, Jones Hall)
May 2: Dallas (Nokia Theatre)
May 4: Jacksonville, Fla. Florida Theatre)
May 5: Miami (The Fillmore)
May 6: Orlando, Fla, (Hard Rock Live)
May 8: St. Petersburg, Fla. (Mahaffey Theatre)
May 9: Atlanta (Fox Theatre)
May 10: Nashville (Ryman Auditorium)
May 12: Baltimore (Lyric Opera House)
May 13: Washington, D.C. (Warner Theatre)
May 14: Philadelphia (Keswick Theatre)
May 17: Columbus, Ohio (Palace Theatre)
May 19: Cleveland, Ohio (State Theatre)
May 21: Toronto (Massey Hall)
May 22: Mashantucket, Conn. (MGM Grand Theatre at Foxwoods)
May 23: Boston (The Wilbur Theatre)
May 24: Atlantic City, N.J. (Music Box at The Borgata)
May 26: New York (Beacon Theatre)
May 27: New York (Beacon Theatre) *review / pictures / videos from this show *
May 29: Detroit (Fox Theatre)
May 30: Chicago (Chicago Theatre)
May 31: Milwaukee, Wis. (Riverside Theatre)
June 30: London, UK (Wembley Arena)
~Dan – np: Celldweller – Celldweller
SPINAL TAP / THE FOLKSMEN PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
REVIEW: Madeleine Peyroux @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – – 3/25/09)
Great show last night… Madeleine Peyroux and her jazzy quartet played a smooth hour and half set at the Shedd. I’m really coming to love the early start time, no opener, and home at a reasonable time shows at the Shedd. No pictures or (accurate) set list from me for this show… I was in a hurry and drove straight in from work in Portland to make it time for the show.
Madeleine had a backing quartet made up of a piano/keyboard/organ/melodica player, an electric/upright bassist, a mandolin/guitarist, and a drummer/cardboard box player. They were a really well put together band…
Songs I remember them playing:
Dance Me to the End of Love, Bare Bones, You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go, La Javanaise, Love and Treachery, Our Lady of Pigalle, I Must Be Saved. They came back for an encore dedicated to Barack Obama (There’s Something Grand).
Great, soothing show. Wonderful, lush, Billie Holiday-esque vocals, great accompaniment. If she comes through your town, check her out! Oh, she also has a new CD out, Bare Bones:
The Appropriate Linkage:
- http://www.madeleinepeyroux.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/officialmadeleinepeyroux
- http://www.theshedd.org/
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Totally side note cool news…
- Tool is touring this summer.. read more at Blabbermouth.
- Medeski Martin & Wood‘s Radiolarians II is coming out April 14th.
~Dan – np: Buckethead – Colma
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
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