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REVIEW: MusicNOW Fest (Sufjan Stevens, Amiina, My Brightest Diamond…) Cincinnati, April 2007
I’ll start this 1st review by saying that I truly feel fortunate to live in the city that is hosting this truly wonderful MusicNow Festival. It is elegantly and professionally put together and a trove of new and exciting music (many of the pieces from last night were world premieres).
Music Now Festival – April 5, 2007 (Day 1)
Memorial Hall, Cincinnati, OH
http://musicnowfestival.org/
Pedro Soler:
selected works for solo guitar
We showed up a little late (maybe only 10 minutes), but luckily there were some fabulous seats up near the front left. Pedro plays an amazing flamenco guitar. Very much a virtuoso. I’d say the music was not quite noodling, but also not quite all that melodic either — sort of a cross-between. His technique was fascinating to watch, and it was oft stunning. He played probably 50 minutes or so, ended with a standing ovation. He’s 68 or 69 years old and a world renowned flamenco guitarist, but this is apparently his first tour of the U.S. — with Cincinnati being one of the first dates. Bizarre choice in city to start.
Bryce Dessner’s “Memorial” (2006):
Bryce Dessner (guitar), David Cossin (percussion), Padma Newsome (viola)
This piece for trio showed off some great playing and composition. It was originally composed for the New York Guitar Festival to show off Bryce’s Spanish guitar playing. I’d say it was probably 10-15 minutes (no idea really) with some flair and highlights from Padma and David as well. David’s percussion on this piece made us excited for the next piece…
Tan Dun’s “Water Music” for solo percussion (2007):
David Cossin (percussion)
This was a third arrangement of Dun’s “Water Music.” The initial being for percussion and orchestra and the 2nd being for a percussion quartet. The solo percussion from David Cossin was brilliant and subtley played. Not brilliant in the Alanis “My Humps” way, but brilliant in the soundscapes and avant-garde asthetic kinda way. :P His main “drums” were two big plastic bowls… BIG bowls (10 gallons each is my guess). The opening was a rainfall from a colander. Next up was an odd-looking bulb with water in it, and a stem with strings (or spokes) that David played with a cello bow. It made primarily shreeking, dissonant noises; but then he warbled it around near the mic and the water in the bulb at the base ossilated the sound. Quite neato. He then went on to play different cymbals over (and in) the water and different depths with different mallets, sticks, et cetera. Two of the cooler parts of the set — 1) the wooden bowls of different sizes placed upside-down over the water… think “water tom” drums. Nice, full sounds… he played these with bigger tympani-like sticks, as well as with his hands. And 2) the water trombone… it was a clear boxy basin of water with a clear, slender tube in it. He hit it with something that resembled a Croc shoe (but wasn’t), and he raised the tube up and down. Again, “water trombone” is the best description.
Anyway, I’m a fan of one-man musical freak-shows (That1Guy, Buckethead) and a fan of composed and avant-garde music (Zorn, Zappa, et al). This was a pleasant combination of all three of those aspects of experimental music. David Cossin’s performance wins my “surprise enjoyment” award for the evening. Surpise in that I didn’t know so many artists were playing Thursday night, but I’m glad he did. The other musicians that evening were also probably glad that their gear wasn’t set up too near his 20 gallons or so of water… as some of it made its way on to the stage.
Maria Huld Markan’s “Thorri” (2007):
Hildur Ársælsdóttir (saw), David Cossin (marimba), Osso Quartet: Maria Jeffers (cello), Marla Hansen (viola), Oliver Manchon (violin), Rob Moose (violin)
Written by Markan of Amiina and performed here for the first time in public… it had a good vibe. Very much like most chamber music I’ve heard, but with a slight world feel (marimba) and oddities from the saw. It wasn’t as captivating/electronic as Amiina’s music, but I enjoyed it. Maria’s intro to it was funny. The title of the piece (Thorri) is all about what Icelanders call the Jan/Feb period in winter. They have a festival where they eat traditional, yet disgusting foods… “rotten shark” and “sour ram testicles” were uttered in an accent that was not-unlike that of Björk. Quaint. Anyway, she wrote the piece in London because she missed the bright, crisp winters she had in Iceland while suffering through a grey, rainy London winter. Great music, too…
Sufjan Stevens’ selections from Enjoy Your Rabbit arranged for string quartet (2007):
Michael Atkinson (arrangements), Osso Quartet: Maria Jeffers (cello), Marla Hansen (viola), Oliver Manchon (violin), Rob Moose (violin)
Enjoy Your Rabbit is Sufjan’s experimental, instrumental electronic album. When I first got in to Sufjan, I actually liked this album the best (it’s fucking weird as was what I was craving musically at the time). Anyway, “selections from Enjoy Your Rabbit arranged for string quartet” was actually one of the biggest draws for me for this festival in the first place. I heart Enjoy Your Rabbit; and, bonus, I heart string quartets. The formerly unnamed string quartet (named themselves “Osso” {aw-so} from the stage last night) played the selections in a very chamber music way, but paying attention to the electronic blips-and-beeps from the original by vocally “shushing,” playing pizzicato, and plucking or beating on their instruments to translate the electronic structure for their organic instruments. They played what I figured they would… the more melodic tunes from the album: Year of the Ox, Enjoy Your Rabbit, Year of the Lord, and Year of the Boar. Great stuff, and I was thrilled to be part of this world premiere.
Padma Newsome / Clogs Songs (2007):
Shara Worden (vocals), Sufjan Stevens (vocals, banjo, celeste), Padma Newsome (vocals, viola, harmonium, celeste), Rachel Elliott (bassoon, celeste), Thomas Kozumplik (percussion), David Cossin (percussion), Aaron Dessner (bass, guitar), Bryce Dessner (mandola, ukelele, guitar), Maria Jeffers (cello), Marla Hansen (viola), Oliver Manchon (violin), Rob Moose (violin), Michael Atkinson (horn), Irena & Vojt–ch Havel (cellos)
Another world premiere… the Clogs had heretofore been primarily an instrumental band. This collaborative Clogs (fronted by Padma Newsome and Bryce Dessner) featured more “traditional” song structures and *gasp* vocals. Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) lended her operatic voice to the first three songs (“On the Edge,” “The Owl of Love,” and “The Adages of Cleansing”). She’s got a beautiful voice, but I don’t think it matched well with the songs. Viola-playing Padma switched to vocals and harmonium for the 4th song (“Red Seas”). Sufjan joined the percussionist to play the celeste (like a super-sized toy piano). The Osso string quartet also joined the band for some songs (I forget which ones). The last song (“We Were Here”) featured Sufjan on vocals and banjo and Shara Worden came out and sang with Sufjan. All in all, a great set…
I’m looking forward to Day 2 (Amiina & My Brightest Diamond) and 3 (The Havels & Sufjan).
Music Now Festival – April 6, 2007 (Day 2)
Memorial Hall, Cincinnati, OH
http://musicnowfestival.org/
Amiina:
Maria Huld Markan Sugjusdóttir, Hildur Ársælsdóttir, Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir, Sólrún Sumarliadóttir
I like Amiina a lot, having seen them open for Sigur Rós several times, and this show didn’t disappoint. It was good to pick up their debut LP (Kurr) without having to pay tons in shipping. Their sound also featured some gentle vocals in several tracks, which is a new direction for them. It almost seemed to Enya-y for me, but that’s OK. Maybe it’ll replace Bob Johnson‘s Musings as our house’s 1 massage CD (“oh no, not Bob Johnson!“). I dug their hour long set — it was a good mix of the string/organic sound and electronics. It was a very similar set-up as previous shows… instruments everywhere and the girls roaming about and playing just about everything. The saw song (“Seoul”) was played. They also had a short last song where all four girls played saws of various lengths. I can’t say I saw that coming… :D
My Brightest Diamond:
Shara worden (vocals, guitar, piano), Osso Quartet: Maria Jeffers (cello), Marla Hansen (viola), Oliver Manchon (violin), Rob Moose (violin)
Shara Worden’s been a favorite vocalist of mine since I first heard her on MySpace. Bring Me the Workhorse, her debut album under the My Brightest Diamond moniker (she has three discs as AwRy), was one of my favorite CDs in 2006. Anyway, I knew what to expect going in, but she still blew me away. Her vocals are quite possibly the richest, most beautiful in indie rock. She’s got the delicate, quirky pixie side and the grandiose, powerful operatic side. It’s compelling to see her sing. The last time I saw her, she had more of a rock-meets-strings setup. This time around, her backing band was solely the Osso string quartet (no drums/bass). I scribbled down the song titles, but I know I’m guessing on some in the italics (she didn’t give the name, or I forgot it/couldn’t hear her totally)… Apples (a very cute song), Dragonfly (from Workhorse), If I Were Queen, Bass Player (a new song), Disappear (from Workhorse), Goodbye Forever (which had the lyrics “A Thousand Shark’s Teeth” which will be her new album title), Clean Through, Gone Away (from Workhorse), Riding Horses (from her AwRy Quiet B-Sides disc), New Dawn/Day/Life (Nina Simone standard), Golden Star (from Workhorse), Black and Gusteaux (the French Sherlock Holmes), Youkali (gorgeous French lyrics, a cover from her AwRy Quiet B-Sides disc). A fantastic performance.
Sufjan is tonight… Shara and the Osso quartet will be backing him. yay!
Music Now Festival – April 7, 2007 (Day 3)
Memorial Hall, Cincinnati, OH
http://musicnowfestival.org/
Irena & Vojtech Havel:
cellos, piano strings, piano
The sister of festival curator Bryce Dessner went to Prague in the mid-80’s and bought a CD by the Havels and brought it home. That CD would shape Bryce’s musical interests as he progressed into songwriting. He essentially went on a 15-20 year hunt for this band from Prague, but finally made contact last year in order to bring them to Cincinnati to play at this festival (made possible by a grant from the Ohio Arts Council). Some people in the audience might not have liked the Havels, but I thought they were quite compelling to watch – – except for perhaps when Irena was singing (I liked it more when they were both cello-ing). They played for about an hour, 10 minutes of which was vocal and the rest was all instrumental – – chiefly avant-garde, but more composed in nature than noodling, IMO. There was some bird chirping and kittie meowing cello lines, but there were also some more standard scales. Their dual cello work was all over the place, but still structured, sort of. I loved it when they were complimenting each other (one upbeat, one downbeat). I also liked some of the more adventurous plucking below the bridge and almost strumming the cello like a guitar (rather than pizzicato). Their second to last bit was of both of them playing the piano, Irena sitting and after Vojt–ch finished on the cello he came around and played on her right, then, while standing started playing on both her right and left. It was sweet and romantic.
Sufjan Stevens:
Sufjan Stevens (vocals, guitar, banjo, piano, harmonium, celeste), Shara Worden (vocals, celeste, piano), Bryce Dessner (guitar), Michael Atkinson (horn), Rachael Elliott (bassoon), Padma Newsome (viola), Osso Quartet: Maria Jeffers (cello), Marla Hansen (viola), Oliver Manchon (violin), Rob Moose (violin)
The first time I saw Sufjan live, he and his band dressed up as cheerleaders. The second time I saw him live, he had on huge bird wings, and his band had on butterfly wings. This time, it was all about the music… no costume gimmicks. He and his lovely string-based band put on a great show. Probably my only regret in setlist was that they didn’t play “They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!” (my favorite from Illinoise), but all-in-all, it was a great-sounding, moving set… hour and a half, I think.
Here are the songs that they played (I’m not claiming 100% accuracy)…
- “Jupiter to June” (titled guess… song from way back in his unreleased conceptual songbook about the planets)
- “Dad’s Girlfriend” (titled guess… Sufjan on solo banjo… song about one of his dad’s crazy girlfriends)
- Three Stars (new one?)
- The Avalanche (from the vinyl & iTunes version of Come on Feel the Illinoise and the CD version of The Avalanche)
- All the Trees of the Fields Will Clap Their Hands (from Seven Swans)
- The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us! (from Illinoise)
- Casimir Pulaski Day (from Illinoise)
- John Wayne Gacy, Jr. (from Illinoise)
- Come On! Feel The Illinoise! (Part 1: The World’s Columbian Exposition; Part 2: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream) (from Illinoise)
- “???” (a new one… I think I zoned out)
- The Transfiguration (from Seven Swans)
- Year of the Boar (played by the string quartet, Osso… from Enjoy Your Rabbit)
- Seven Swans (from Seven Swans)
- ENCORE: To Be Alone With You (Sufjan solo guitar… from Seven Swans)
It seemed heavy on the Seven Swans/Jebus-y stuff, but seeing as it was “Zombie Carpenter Eve” this night, I understand why… there also may have been an instrumental or two from Michigan and/or Illinoise that I didn’t know the name — thus it didn’t make it in my notes…
Fantastic festival. Day 2 was probably the most favorite, but all three days were utterly enjoyable.
~Dan
REVIEW: Holy Fuck @ Southgate House (Newport, KY – – 4/1/07)
Holy Fuck put on a great set. Say what you will about their potentially unfortunate moniker, they really master their art. They play groove-oriented, experimental post-rock (like a louder, vocal-less Sigur Rós meets a groovier Mogwai). This show was a one-off, as their tour with fellow post-rockers Do Make Say Think didn’t have anything scheduled. They played about an hour, and it was jammed packed in the Southgate Parlour. I was the first one there and caught some of their soundcheck… drinking a Guinness sitting amongst their gear and a box of t-shirts. After soundcheck, their “leader” (I think his name was Brian) chatted with me for a bit… how I heard about them, etc. After oogling their newly arrived vinyl, they started playing their opening set. By the end of the show, there were probably 20 people there. And for a SgHouse Parlour show on a Sunday night, 20 people ain’t a bad crowd.
The band set-up… drummer, bassist, and 2 keyboardists. The keyboardists play everything from keyboards, to electronics devices, to 35mm film audio editing equipment (scratch-like), to toy mouth-pianos, to drum machines… it was wild. It’s very much like a live electronica experience. Gadgets and gizmos and a good groove.
Anyway, I loved LOVED loved their set. Way better than on record, but their new record (the Holy Fuck -EP-) gives a great taste of their new groovier direction (the precursor Holy Fuck -LP- was more experimental and drummy).
Holy Fuck = Reco-fucka-mmended.
Their webpage: http://www.holyfuckmusic.com/
~Dan
REVIEW: my crazy music-filled NYC trip in March 2007
Wow… today is my “first day off” from a show since last Friday (2/9)…
Here’s how NYC “for business” played out on the “for enjoyment” sense of it…
SATURDAY 3/10 I arrived in town at 11:30am. Checked in, and then headed up to “scout out” the Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater as that’s where MASADA was playing that night. While I was there, I got word that there were two free jazz shows going on that afternoon that were sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of U.S. Department of State. It was apparently spreading jazz music to 3rd world countries, and this was the coming home show. I love jazz, and I love how sometimes governmental bodies put good money to use for the arts. It seems weird how we seem to only export bombs lately. Jazz is better than bombs, but less than food and medical aid. I guess I should just be glad that is wasn’t bombs or Christina Aguilera instead of jazz.
Anyway, the Ari Roland Quartet was the free 1pm show. Great quartet, not unlike some quartets that I like… more straight jazz, flashy but not experimental (IMO). Enjoyable, but not mind blowing. “Safe jazz,” if you ask me. Their drummer was pretty good. My favorite song was the one penned by their piano-player. The Cultures of Rhythm was the free 3pm show (both of these free shows were at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Lincoln Center). COR were a bit more interesting. It was a jazz quartet, but “bouncier.” And it featured djembe, drums, hammond organ and a trumpeter. Trumpet usually excites me more than safe saxaphone jazz. Anyway, this band (Culture of Rhythm) had a great vibe. Very enjoyable…
After these free shows, I was pooped… and headed back to my hotel in Chelsea for a nap. The evening show was Masada and Cecil Taylor at Lincoln Jazz Center’s Rose Theater. This was Masada’s last show ever. I drove down to Raleigh, NC, last fall to see tham at Duke. This show, they amazed even more. Masada has many incarnations (as do many of John Zorn’s projects), but the standard acoustic quartet of John Zorn on alto sax, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Greg Cohen on bass, and Joey Baron on drums is the true Masada band. Masada tunes are all written by John Zorn… he’s written upwards of 300 one-page melodic tunes. These one-page 16-bar songs become the framework for jazz improvization. While some of it becomes quite adventurous and “avant-garde,” it still remains very melodic — which can be scarce for John Zorn material. Anyway, the four members of Masada were ON that night. It was truly a beautiful hour+ of music. I’m sad that it’s their last show as this original quartet, but I’m glad that I got to see them twice. I didn’t stick around for Cecil… I had other shows I wanted to fit in…
I took the subway from Columbus Circle (near Central Park) all the way down to the Bowery… walked about a mile to get to the Stone (an avant-garde music space) and made it just in time to see the Joe Morris Trio. It was basically a guy (Joe Morris) noodling on a guitar while another guy (Daniel Levin) was noodling on a cello and another guy (Michael Evans) was noodling on a drumkit. Udon!
I was toying with the idea of heading way the fuck back uptown to Lincoln Center for the 11:30pm show for Kenny Werner‘s Lawn Chair Society. I dig the CD (and it features trumpeter Dave Douglas and saxaphonist Chris Potter), but I didn’t have tickets and thought it’d be sold out, and I knew Dave Douglas wasn’t playing in the band that night (and I had just seen Chris Potter play a few weeks earlier in Cincinnati). It was rainy and I didn’t find the subway stop where I left it last; so I walked about 2 miles to Union Center (my pedometer was upwards of 11 miles walked that 1st day — it got about half that every day afterwards). My sleepy head won out and I crashed back to my hotel in Chelsea eventually…
Oh, speaking of crashing… they had 7th Ave closed from 27th St to 23rd St most of the day on the Saturday and Sunday that I showed up because they were filming chase scenes for the upcoming Borne Ultimatum. I didn’t catch a peek at anyone famous (Matt Damon or anyone), but it was interesting to see how they blocked a major road off for the better part of the weekend. The secondary chase seemed to happen right outside my window (on 25th St)… it’ll be weird to see when that movie comes out if I recognize any of the street stuff…
SUNDAY 3/11 I had a lazy and cheap Sunday… went to the Downtown Music Gallery’s free shows (they do them every Sunday). I spend a lot of coin at DMG for avant-garde jazz; so I figured I’d take in some free stuff. At 6pm, I saw Jason Stein (sax from Chicago) and Mike Pride (percussion from Brooklyn) toy around with some sounds. It was pretty intense, and very much avant-garde. I dug it. Next up (7pm) was Susan Alcorn on lap-steel. It was mesmerizing, entrancing, but uninviting. It really zoned me out for a good 45 minutes. Very much avant-garde lapsteel. At least it wasn’t country, eh? 
I was gonna catch two shows at the Stone after these free DMG shows, but I was worn out. Susan Alcorn fried my brain, or perhaps it was watching Jesus Camp that afternoon. Scary shit, that movie was…
MONDAY 3/12 Lazy Monday… I think I walked down to WTC and Statue of Liberty this morning, but I forget. That may have been Sunday morning (and then after got a shot of Johnny Walker Red at Elliott Smith‘s XO hangout). I didn’t pay for the ferry to Ellis Island… eh. Monday dinner was delightful. I caught some good thai grub with who law enforcement officers refer to as the “great-hatted bootlegger.” Keith was catching a Steve Earle show with a friend and we met up prior. Good food and conversation. Afterwards, I hussled out to the Jazz Standard (I forget what part of town). Brian Bromberg’s Downright Upright All-Stars were about 20 minutes in to their sold-out show, but the gate keeper let me sneak in to the standing-room-only part of the club. The club wreaked of pork and bbq sauce, but I guess that’s better than pork and bbq sauce and smoke… gotta love the smokin’ bans. Dave Weckl played dums for this band, and I had heard of his name before. Anyway, they played more accessible jazz (not safe, but not avant-garde). Very enjoyable stuff… I picked up their CD on the way out. I then headed to the Village Vanguard, and was gonna try to see the Village Vanguard Orchestra (a big band). They didn’t take credit cards at the door and I didn’t wanna shell out a lot of cash; so I quietly left and went back to my hotel. I was tired anyway…
TUESDAY 3/13 This was a Tonic night. I’m a big Ikue Mori fan… she is a laptop soundscape musician. Very avant-garde (‘cept her Painted Dessert is my favorite and it’s more traditional song structured). Anyway, Ikue Mori was playing a show with Briggan Krauss (on sax) and Jim Black (on percussion). It was quite avant-garde and was led by Briggan mostly. Ikue could have been there or not for all I know/care. Eh. Jim Black’s drumming was fantastic, but not drumming in the stricted sense. He played a lot of scraping movements along the cymbals… he also used a cello bow on the cymbals… he also covered his toms and snare with literally t-shirts to get a really muffled sound. It was weird, but good. The 10pm Tonic show was Ellery Eskelin (on sax), Lisle Ellis (on laptop and upright bass) and Erik Deutsch (on piano). I’ve enjoyed Ellery Eskelin’s guest spots on various jazz CDs I own. The show was good, but too dissonant for me at that point of the night; so I only stuck around for half of their set before heading back to the hotel.
WEDNESDAY 3/14 I opted out of the ambient-metal band ISIS. I love their sound, but just saw ’em a few months ago opening for Tool. I went back to Tonic instead for two bands that became the better choice. I saw Inlets and Edison Woods. Inlets was fantastic. It is fronted by Sebastian Kruger (who has played on My Brightest Diamond CDs). He is a multi-instrumentalist and has some great songs. He also has a dandy falsetto. Both his physical appearance and music sound bring to mind Jude and Sufjan having hot-n-nasty sex in your living room and popping out Sebastian as their “love-child.” So, yeah, in short, Inlets sounds like a man-on-man love-child. He washed up before getting on stage, mind you. Oh, and his EP is available FOR FREE at http://luvsound.org/. For Free. Next up was Edison Woods, which was a band much like Elysian Fields, yet maybe not as sultry. Their main vocalist/pianist didn’t have the best vocals ever, but their background vocalist had some operatic amazingness going. She should have been the lead vocalist. Oh well… the band also had cello and some brass and drums. I dug ’em… not as much as Elysian Fields, though. I’m bummed… Elysian Fields is playing at Joe’s this coming weekend. Keith, you should check Elysian Fields out. They’re Over the Rhine-y-ish…
THURSDAY 3/15 Thursday was one of the shows I was looking forward to the most (outside of the Masada show). Secret Chiefs 3 and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum at the Bowery Ballroom. I got there early enough, as I knew that SC3 was going on first, and they also had some limited edition vinyl singles that were rumored to be going quick on the SC3 board. I snagged my vinyl sets and a t-shirt. Trey Spruance (mastermind behind SC3 and Mr Bungle) was manning the table along with bassist and multi-instrumentalist Jason Schimmel (of SC3, but also in Estradasphere). My vinyl & t-shirt order total came up to a “magical number” per Trey. I just nodded in agreement and said “yeah.” I had no fucking idea what he was talking about… maybe because it was divisible by 9 or something. or maybe his brain is fried. Anyway, the artwork for the SC3 vinyl singles is kewl.
The show was anti-climatic. I mean, when I saw Estradaphere (a brother band of SC3’s) last year in Bloomington, they blew me away. Secret Chiefs 3 should have blown me away. The first three songs were utterly sloppy, though. By the 4th song, they started venturing into “known” territory and it sounded great. By the end, they had it going pretty good, but again, it was weird that it just wasn’t up to the level of tightness and musicianship that Estradasphere showed. I think Trey’s been off the road for too long… he hasn’t toured consistently since the Mr Bungle days. I think it showed. Also, they had two violinists (Anonymous 13 and Timb Harris)… I never knew A13 was a girl… but both she and Timb were good, but not as good as Timb was on the last Estradasphere tour. Other than the drums and basses, SC3 also busted out the Oud, Sas, Sarangi, Esraj, and probably even a Jalebi or two… and Trey doesn’t play any normal guitars… they’re all butchered and tuned oddly to some middle-eastern scale or something. It’s quaint.
Regardless of the seeming sloppiness at the beginning, it was still a fun evening… it was good to see SC3 play some great tunes like “Dolores Strike,” “Personnae: Halloween,” “Bereshith,” “Assassin’s Blade,” “Ship of Fools (Stone of Exile),” and definitely “Renunciation.” I only stuck around for a bit of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum’s set. They don’t do much for me on record (or live). I’d say the “Renunciation” encore and the vinyl singles (money directly into Trey’s hand) were the highlights.
FRIDAY 3/16 I saw a wonderful show at the Bowery Ballroom by Blackfield (Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson and Israeli popstar Aviv Geffen). I’ve posted a review in the blog as well. The opener was Jordan Rudess (of Dream Theater). I feel truly outraged at any elephant that lost its life to make pianos used by Jordan.
I think of any of the bands I saw… my wife (and others who aren’t into the avant-garde stuff) would have liked Masada, the Downright Upright All-Stars, Inlets, and Blackfield. SC3 was a bit too strange, even though she likes some of their recorded stuff.
Time for bed… 
~Dan
REVIEW: Blackfield @ the Bowery Ballroom (NYC – – 3/16/07)
The Blackfield show last night was excellent!!!
I showed up late (on purpose) as Jordan Rudess was opening. I had a slow subway ride to the Lower East Side, walked through the piles of snow to Leela Lounge (a tasty “hip” Indian restaurant), ate too much, then had a slow walk to the Bowery Ballroom. I still managed to catch about 20 minutes of Jordan’s set. I swear, it was painful. Nothing’s as boring as a rocker keyboardist playing piano-sounding keyboard classical-style songs for 45 minutes straight. I mean, yeah, he can play piano-board, but he still can’t write “a song” to save his life. I know I’ve griped about being bored at OTR shows. That’s mainly due to being tired and the music being slow. Jordan was truly bad, though (whereas OTR ain’t). I turned my iPod on and walked to the corner of the room to avoid it. I love 
love instrumental music. Jordan Rudess is just 
-ingly boring, though. The Dream Theater fans were eating it up like it was Chicken Pot Pie.
Ugh… I hate prog fans. No offense Steve, but I about had that reaction to you when you first started going on about PTree… “yeah, yeah, they’re a prog band.” They’re actually so much better than just about every prog band out there. Anyway, I’m glad that Porcupine Tree and Blackfield know things or two about song structure. I’m glad you pimped PT to me 4 years ago (wow… it doesn’t seem that long ago), but I couldn’t care less about the Dream Theater/Queensrÿche fans anymore… it’s just too much like watching a train wreck in a social setting.
Anyway, on to positive thoughts…
Blackfield came out. Steven Wilson was dressed like usual (t-shirt and jeans, glasses, floppy hair). Aviv Geffen (the other half of Blackfield’s songwriting) was dressed more like a rocker, dark shirt and tie, with glitter mascara and everything. The rest of the band was… the rest of the band (hired guns or friends or whatever). They played a good mix of Blackfield I & II songs (obviously). Steven also did his Cover Version I, which is Alanis Morissette‘s “Thank You.” It was just Steven singing and Aviv playing piano (no other band members on stage, and Steven not playing his guitar). It sounded great. Aviv also played a song on piano that was just him singing, too… I forget which song, but it was one of the quieter Aviv songs (maybe “The Hole in Me” than never got ‘boomed’ up like it does on disc).
Songs I know they played from I: Open Mind, Blackfield, Glow, Pain, The Hole in Me, Hello. Songs I know they played from II: Once, Miss U, Christenings, Epidemic, Where Is My Love?, End of the World. Other songs played: Alanis Morissette’s “Thank You” …and they probably played some that I’m forgetting…
I hope the filming turned out good for the upcoming DVD. I may have gotten into a few shots, as there was a guy filming the crowd some… I was in the back, though… so I doubt I’m in it too much… I bet the film crew started focusing on “shirtless Aviv” by the end…
~Dan
Favorite Albums of 2006 (and Instrumental albums & EPs, too)
TOP 15 Instrumental Albums of 2006
1) 
Estradasphere – Palace of Mirrors (epic and cinematic) : A sibling band of Secret Chiefs 3… Estradasphere got their start on SC3’s label Web of Mimicry (and many of their members from SC3 as well). This is their The End Records debut, and it went in a direction that I wasn’t expecting. Their previous albums have been quite ADHD (a la SC3 and Mr Bungle), but they always had a gypsy-meets-cinematic feel. This album is quite epic and gypsy-cinematic throughout. It’s got a touch of metal in spots and some SC3-type middle-eastern roaming, but the production on this album is masterful compared to their prior works. It truly blew me away. Seeing them perform this year also helped the album’s appeal with me. Brilliant band. Web: http://www.estradasphere.com/
2) 
Bobby Previte – The Coalition of the Willing (groove-laden jazz) : A drummer-led jazz band with inescapable grooves, this CD was a “whim” purchase that totally paid off. It also features some of my fav NYC jazz musicians: guitarist Charlie Hunter & organist Jamie Saft, to name a couple… Web: http://www.bobbyprevite.com/
3) 
Irving Fields Meets Roberto Rodriguez – Oy Vey…..Olé!!! (klezmer jazz with a latin flavor) : This album is quite the engaging mix of Jewish and Latino musical culture. More of a collaboration than a mashup, though. Great stuff from a great bunch of musicians. My wife liked it, too… Web: http://www.tzadik.com/
4) 
Frank Zappa – Trance-Fusion (the return of meedley meedley meeeeee) : Apparently FZ fans have been waiting on this for 10 years… hell, I only found out about it a month before its release, but it’s a great guitar-centric album that fits nicely near the top of my Frank Zappa collection. Web: http://www.zappa.com/
5) 
Dweezil Zappa – Go With What You Know (the son of the return of meedley meedley meeeeee) : The lead-off track has vocals, but after that it’s an entire shredfest. Wicked fast, but with a nice groove that DZ usually delivers at a level on par with his father… *gasp* Web: http://www.zappa.com/
6) 
Dave Douglas – Meaning and Mystery (trumpet-led jazz quintet) : After getting into klez-jazz phenom Masada earlier this year, Dave Douglas quickly became one of my favorite jazz soloists. He’s got great sound, composition and groove. Web: http://www.davedouglas.com/
7) 
Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood – Out Louder (groove-jazz with guitars and a bit more meandering) : I dig MMW a bunch, and MSMW adds a familiar guitar tone to the groove-jazz. Web: http://www.mmw.net/
8 ) 
Cracow Klezmer Band – Masada Book Two: Book of Angels, Vol. 5 ~ Balan (klezmer jazz) : Masada still plays live, but I’m fairly certain that John Zorn’s quit writing tunes for them as a band. His new Masada tunes (“Book Two” as it were) are numbered upwards of 200-300 songs that he wrote over a few years, and different artists are recording them and putting their own spin on the music. Five Masada Book Two albums came out from different artists in 2006, and this one by the Cracow Klezmer Band was the most engaging (Jamie Saft Trio’s & Kobe Israelite’s were also good). 2007 looks to be awesomer, though… as Secret Chiefs 3 (one of my fav bands ever) is going to releasing their Masada Book Two angel-demon incarnation in May (or so). Web: http://www.tzadik.com/
9) 
John Zorn – Astronome (glossolaliac noise metal) : I’m a big avant-garde, screamo fan. I dig many projects from John Zorn and Mike Patton that are so absurd that no one should really listen to them on a recommendation. This one is just that way. I don’t expect anyone to take a recommendation to check out Astronome (or Moonchild). If you’re curious, maybe check it out on iTunes… or shove a guitar into a blender with some avocadoes. I’m a big Fantômas fan — and for both Astronome and Moonchild (below), John Zorn has written some Crowley-influenced, magick-heavy “tunes” with vocal-utterance master Mike Patton in mind. The songs are all fairly instrumental, with the “vocals” not being lyrical, but rather very primitive. He rounds out the trio with fellow-Fantômas bandmate Trevor Dunn on bass and Masada drummer Joey Baron. Astronome beats out Moonchild only due to Mike Patton’s vocal acrobatics being more kooky. The third in the series is due in 2007. Web: http://www.tzadik.com/
10) 
Jon Madof’s Rashanim – Shalosh (klezmer rock) : Great fretwork with the sound of old culture seeping through. Of all of the radical Jewish culture series that I’ve gotten into this past year, Jon Madom & Rashanim stands out due to its “rock band” feel… Web: http://www.tzadik.com/
11) 
Flat Earth Society – Psychoscout (orchestral big-band with a sense of humor) : I first heard of FES while getting into bands on Mike Patton’s Ipecac label. They stood out as not really fitting the heavy, screamy type of band. Multi-instrumentalist big band with its hand in jazz and its other hand in orchestral scores. Fun stuff that’s very much “familiar” without being “all up in your junk.” More Ennio Morricone than, say, um… John Williams. Web: http://www.fes.be/
12) 
Electric Kulintang (Susie Ibarra & Roberto Rodriguez) – Dialects (percussive, yet smooth) : Two drummers making a very accessible instrumental record… crazy, huh? There are some non-lyrical vocalizations by Susie on some songs; but all in all, this is straight up instrumental fun. It’s way more poppy than I would have thought. Web: http://www.susieibarra.com/
13) 
Talat – The Growl (klezmer jazz) : Lots of klez-jazz this past year… this one rose to the top. Web: http://www.tzadik.com/
14) 
Mogwai – Mr. Beast (post-rock ) : Mogwai put out some solid material in 2006… the Zidane Sountrack is also good, but more mellow in spots (not head-butty, like I expected it would be). 
Web: http://www.mogwai.co.uk/
15) 
John Zorn – Moonchild: Songs Without Words (glossolaliac noise metal) : Ditto reason as #9 (Astronome) above, ‘cept Moonchild had some neat-o artwork… Web: http://www.tzadik.com/
TOP 5 EPs of 2006
1) 
Glen Phillips – Unlucky 7 (poppy singer-songwriter) : His full-length this year was good/OK, but this -EP- is what I feel is up to par with his prior work. Great stuff!! Web: http://www.glenphillips.com/
2) 
David Bazan – Fewer Moving Parts (melancholic singer-songwriter) : Two versions of five songs (one acoustic, one band format) from the former Pedro the Lion frontman. PTL was pretty much a one man band; so his “departure” doesn’t hurt me so much. I look forward to his “debut” full-length in 2007. Web: http://www.davidbazan.com/
3) 
Thom Yorke – Spitting Feathers (twitchy electronic rock) : This -EP- has some nice b-sides, a video and an extended version of “Harrowdown Hill.” Web: http://www.theeraser.net/
4) 
O.S.I. – Re: Free (progressive rock, remixed) : A great follow-up to a wonderful sophomore album. Web: http://www.osiband.com/
5) 
Tristeza – En Nuestro Desafío (organic electronic) : This -EP- was coupled with a great live DVD; which is fun, seeing as they never seem to come ’round these parts… Web: http://www.trstz.com/
Best Soundtrack/Score
Mogwai‘s Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait (runner(s)-up: OutKast‘s Idlewild & The Beatles‘s Love: Cirque du Soliel)
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Best Debut Album
My Brightest Diamond‘s Bring Me the Workhorse (runner-up: Ellery‘s Lying Awake)
/ 
Best Concept Album
Estradasphere‘s Palace of Mirrors (runner-up: Jóhann Jóhannsson‘s IBM 1401, A User’s Manual)
/ 
Best “I Found them on MySpace” Album
Au4‘s soaring On: Audio (runner-up: 8mm‘s sultry Songs to Love and Die By)
/ 
and now… my favorite albuims of 2006… at the time… note: I got lazy after I had written little blurbs for all of the instrumental and EPs by the time I got to the album list. Eh.
TOP 30 ALBUMS of 2006
1) 
O.S.I. – Free (prog rock meets trip-hop beats) : Web: http://www.osiband.com/
2) 
Nellie McKay – Pretty Little Head (witty & spunky piano pop) : Web: http://www.nelliemckay.org/
3) 
Sean Lennon – Friendly Fire (John would be proud) : Web: http://www.seanonolennon.com/
4) 
Tool – 10,000 Days (art metal) : Web: http://www.toolband.com/
5) 
My Brightest Diamond – Bring Me the Workhorse (quirky pop with operatic training) : Web: http://www.mybrightestdiamond.com/
6) 
Peeping Tom – Peeping Tom (hard rock meets hip-hop meets pop-avant-garde) : Web: http://www.ipecac.com/bio.php?id=44
7) 
Au4 – On: Audio (sweeping and lush atmospheric rock) : Web: http://www.au4-audio.com/
8 ) 
Noctaluca – Towering the Sum (hard rock masterpiece) : Web: http://www.noctaluca.com/
9) 
Ellery – Lying Awake (passionate Cincinnati songwriting duo) : Web: http://www.ellerymusic.com/
10) 
Kim Taylor – I Feel Like a Fading Light (singer-songwriter with a Berquistian voice) : Web: http://www.kim-taylor.net/
11) 
Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam (rock icons) : Web: http://www.pearljam.com/
12) 
Sufjan Stevens – The Avalanche (quirk-folk b-sides) : Web: http://www.asthmatickitty.com/musicians.php?artistID=5
13) 
Ani DiFranco – Reprieve (consistent folk hipster) : Web: http://www.righteousbabe.com/ani/index.asp
14) 
Beck – The Information (electronic hip-pop) : Web: http://www.beck.com/
15) 
Dramagods – Love (melodic hard rock) : Web: http://www.dramagods.com/
16) 
Thom Yorke – The Eraser (not kid a… maybe kid b ) : Web: http://www.theeraser.net/
17) 
Jude – Redemption (golden-voiced songwriter) : Web: http://www.judemusic.com/
18 ) 
Evanescence – The Open Door (hard rock, angsty and hooky) : Web: http://www.evanescence.com/
19) 
Johnny Cash – American V: A Hundred Highways (his last complete work) : Web: http://www.johnnycash.com/
20) 
Incubus – Light Grenades (melodic hard rock) : Web: http://www.enjoyincubus.com/
21) 
David Gilmour – On an Island (longing for Floyd) : Web: http://www.davidgilmour.com/
22) 
Placebo – Meds (post-punk brit-glamrock) : Web: http://www.placeboworld.co.uk/
23) 
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium (funk rock?) : Web: http://www.redhotchilipeppers.com/
24) 
Isis – In the Absence of Truth (heavy metal ambiance) : Web: http://www.isistheband.com/
25) 
The Gotan Project – Lunático (modern tango) : Web: http://www.gotanproject.com/
26) 
Ty Tabor – Rock Garden (melodic rock) : Web: http://www.tytabor.net/
27) 
Jurassic 5 – Feedback (rap) : Web: http://www.jurassic5.com/
28 ) 
Regina Spektor – Begin to Hope (quirky piano pop) : Web: http://www.reginaspektor.com/
29) 
The Blood Brothers – Young Machetes (screamo) : Web: http://www.thebloodbrothers.com/
30) 
Rivulets – You Are My Home (Nick Drake-ian singer-songwriter) : Web: http://www.rivulets.net/
Honorable Mention:
Audioslave – Revelations / Cut Chemist – The Audience’s Listening / DJ Logic – Zen of Logic / Jars of Clay – Good Monsters / Mugison – Little Trip / The Receiver – Decades
Best Album Packaging & Design
Peeping Tom‘s snazy pull-out casing (runner(s)-up: Anathallo‘s Floating World die-cut slipcase and Beck‘s The Information sticker set)
Best Album Artwork
Tool‘s 10,000 Days artwork, including “Net of Being,” by Alex Grey (runner-up: Au4‘s On: Audio)
Biggest Disappointment
Web of Mimicry Records not coming through with their “Fall 2006” promise… and way too many X-mas albums this year (including Over the Rhine‘s Snow Angels, Sufjan Steven‘s Songs for Christmas, Aimee Mann, Bootsy Collins, your mom, your grandma)… ugh. X-mas albums usually sucked (save parts of Sufjan’s and “Goodbye Charles” from OTR’s)
and since I didn’t want to end on a sour note, here are some more “Best Of” winners…
Best Book on CD
Noam Chomsky‘s Failed States (runner-up: Eric Schlosser‘s Fast Food Nation (Updated))
Best Music-related DVD
Tori Amos‘s Fade to Red (runner-up: Megadeth‘s Arsenal of Megadeth)
Best Live Album
dredg‘s Live at the Fillmore (runner-up: Over the Rhine‘s Live from Nowhere Farm Vol 1)
Best Internet-only Release
Iron & Wine‘s iTunes Live Session (runner(s)-up: My Brightest Diamond‘s Disappear -EP- and Celldweller‘s Remix -EP-)
Best Re-issue
Porcupine Tree‘s Stupid Dream (runner-up: Steven Wilson‘s UEM on black-CDR)
Best “Late Getter”
Masada‘s Alef through Sanhedrin (runner(s)-up: Elysian Fields‘ Queen of the Meadow and Cibo Matto‘s Stereo Type A)
Best “Best Of”
No-Man‘s All the Blue Changes (runner-up: Medeski Martin & Wood‘s Note Bleu: 1998-2005)
Best Side-project
Electric Kulintang (Susie Ibarra & Roberto Rodriguez)‘s Dialects (runner-up: Xenuphobe (Ty Tabor & Wally Farkas)‘s Xenuphobe 1.0)
Looking forward to in 2007: Secret Chiefs 3 x 6 (or so), Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, OTR, Mum, Megadeth, Andy Yorke, Tori Amos, Amiina, Jenn Ghetto’s S, Silverchair, John Zorn’s 3rd in the Magick series with Patton/Dunn/Baron, Monk (Ric Hordinski), Tegan and Sara, Coheed and Cambria, Time Lapse Consortium, Eisley, Tomahawk, My Brightest Diamond (remix album) …
~Dan
Favorite Local Artists’ Albums of 2006 (Cincinnati, OH)
FAV Albums of 2006 coming in a month or so…
My Favorite Local* Artists’ Albums for 2006:
* – local for me equals the Dayton/Cincinnati, OH-area.
1) Noctaluca – Towering the Sum ~ Long, long, long awaited debut album from Jason Ludwig-fronted rock band Noctaluca. Solid, powerful, well-crafted rock songs in a loose-concept album. Overall, a crowd pleaser. I loved Jason Ludwig solo, but I’m really digging his band — and his vocals are superb. The only dissappointment with the album is that it didn’t include the early Noctaluca song “Monkey Moon.” Kim Taylor also makes an appearance on backup vocals on the sprawling “My Magic Hour.” All of the album’s artwork is from (legendary?) Gottfried Helnwein. If you love good rock music, this is one of my favs this year.
2) (tie) Ellery – Lying Awake ~ Ellery are quickly becoming my new favorite wife-husband duo from Cincinnati. Eh… sue me, Apples. Passionate, well-crafted pop songs… and Tasha’s vocals are simply surreal. Former-Over the Rhine guitarist Ric Hordinski and (Cincinnati drummer/percussionist-extraordinaire) Josh Seurkamp appear on the album (Ric produced half of it). I first heard (of) Ellery when they opened up for my friend Ashley Peacock in 2005, and then I first heard them (for real) when they opened up for the ever-wonderful Ryan Adcock at his EP-release party earlier in 2006 (see below). Anyway, I think I’ve seen Ellery 4 or 5 times since then… and I’ve got ’em on my calendar 2 more times for the month of December… You all owe yourself a new fantastic CD by Ellery.
2) (tie) Kim Taylor – I Feel Like a Fading Light ~ Kim’s debut album (So Black, So Bright) was fantastic. Her extended play, also fantastic, gave us a glimpse of what Ric Hordinski could do for her… then she toured a-plenty in 2005 with Over the Rhine, which made the “production by Ric” somewhat of a difficult scheduling situation. In September of 2006, after re-recording with a new producer (Jimmy Zhivago), her sophomore full-length album finally dropped. It was worth the wait. While I’m missing the Ric & Josh element in Kim’s live sound… her songwriting and vocals are still what make her a special artist. Josh Seurkamp does drum & “percuss” on some tracks… which makes all three of these “Favorite Local Albums of 2006” connected… or incestual, perhaps. I look forward to more Kim Taylor in the future.
All three of which have a serious chance of being in my Top XX list for 2006 overall…
Favorite Local -EP- for 2006:
?) Ryan Adcock – Unfinished -EP- ~ Ryan’s first two albums (Like Orville Stared at Air -and- From Silence and Joy) remain frequent “pull out and listen” albums in our house. Unfinished is comprised of 5 songs — full-band “singer-songwriter in rock mode” songs that expand upon his great songwriting from his first two albums. The only problem is that you’re actually wishing it were a full album. Here’s where Ryan got clever… on the actual slipcase for the -EP-, he’s got the missing tracks listed, and you can download the 5 acoustic tracks from his website and put them all in order and viola… a full-length album (with new artwork on the site, too). My run-on sentences notwithstanding, it’s a solid EP with a little web add-on that makes it bigger. In other Ryan releases this year, he was on a Cincinnati Reds album called Cincinnati Clutch Hits. The album (as a whole) is on par with “would someone do me a courtesy and keeeeeeeellll meeeeeee!!” (to quote the “having a bad time in the bathroom” rabbit on TV’s Greg the Bunny). However-however-however, Ryan Adcock’s song (“The Cul-de-sac League“) is brilliant, funny, and well… sweet. Ryan’s and Greg Mahan‘s songs are the only ones I enjoy on that album, and luckily can be bought online by themselves… 
Website: http://www.ryanadcock.com/
MySpace: http://myspace.com/ryanadcock ?disappearing myspace page?
~Dan – np: Xtatika – Tongue Bath
REVIEW: Estradasphere @ 2nd Story Nightclub (Bloomington, IN – – 10/6/06)
Estradasphere‘s show last night at the 2nd Story Nightclub in Bloomington, IN was PHENOMENAL.
I arrived in Bloomington and about crap my pants with how crazy the traffic and people in town were… apparently it is a HUGE Lotus World Music Festival this whole weekend… oy… anyway, I grabbed grub at the excellent veggie restaurant ROOTS (mushroom-patty burger, fried tofu cubes with homemade sweet plum sauce, cinnamon-or-ginger-spiced sweet potato fries, and a fresh (I saw him make it) orange and carrot juice). I was too stuffed for dessert. If I ever bring the wife to Bloomington, we’re totally hitting up ROOTS again.
Anyway, I head to the venue by about 9:30pm. The band hasn’t showed up yet. They were supposed to be there at 5pm to set up. Ru’ Ro’. I lie down on the couch in the venue, and by 10pm the band finally shows up.
The 1st opener (Das Trio) starts around 10:20pm. They had some skills (at least the bassist), but they were very muddy as a group… and the songs and vocals were not memorable. I’ve seen worse bands, but I’ve seen better. I apologize if they do a google search for their name and come upon this review. They showed potential, but the songs just seemed generic.
After Das Trio’s set, I walked around town again to kill time. I got what might have been the best double shot of espresso ever. Seriously. It was so flavorful. I totally recommend the Crystal Parrot in Bloomington. Wow. Yummy.
The 2nd opener was playing by the time I got back to the venue. Floating Hand was a three-piece, growly, death-metal slow-grindcore type band. I thought they were fantastic. Unfortunately, since Estradasphere showed up sooo late, E-sphere was setting up behind Floating Hand… which caused some ill-will (to say the least) between the bands later on in the evening (FH heckling loadly during E-sphere’s first few songs — even after E-sphere publically apologized and thanked FH for their music).
Anyway, after Floating Hand, I walked around in the cool air again… came back by 1:10am and Estradasphere was finally getting ready to start. For those who don’t know Estradasphere, they’re a sibling band (shared members) to the Secret Chiefs 3, which is a sibling band to Mr. Bungle. Anyway, they’re middle eastern-influenced progressive, jazzy, gypsy-folk, classical-tinged, insanity-for-compositional structure metal band from the San Francisco Bay area. There are 6 members in this incarnation of the band… Timb Harris on violin, trumpet and good-looks; Kevin Kmetz (aka God of Shamisen) on guitar, keyboards, and most notably the Japanese banjo-like instrument, the shamisen; Jason Schimmel on guitars (electric, acoustic, flamenco), banjo, and keyboards (including melodica); Lee Smith on drums (fast, too); Adam Stacey on accordion, keyboards & synthesizer, rhodes and melodica; and Tim Smolens on contrabass (aka upright bass) and electric bass.
The near-hour long 1st set (again, starting at around 1:10am) was seemingly mostly covers and/or new compositions. They (Estradasphere) have three full-length albums (and 2 live albums with add’l material) prior to their most recent release this year, Palace of Mirrors; yet they didn’t play anything from those albums. Odd choice, but regardless, it was fantastic to see and hear. World music with some pep.
The 2nd set, after a (literal) 2-minute break, was allegedly Palace of Mirrors in its entirety. I say allegedly, because for those tracking time, it was probably close to 2:15am when the first set ended. I had a two+ hour drive ahead of me (didn’t want to stay in a hotel — too busy this weekend to get home later). I left after the halfway mark of the album… basically after the whirlwind, violin & shamisen metal-in-your-face attack(!) of the standout track from Palace of Mirrors, “Smuggled Mutation.” I’m bummed I had to bail, but I think the club (or the police) might have shut them down anyway if they passed “bar closin’ curfew.” Sweet glory… almost an hour and a half of wonderful live music (not including FH’s great opening set).
I strongly recommend Estradasphere to anyone who likes world music, and also likes (or tolerates) harder music… but, really, the harder edge is drastically out of their live show (and album) when compared to their earlier stuff (like on Its Understood or Buck Fever).
http://www.estradasphere.com/
http://www.myspace.com/estradasphere
~Dan
The 4 Elements (Mix CD)
Posty‘s Not-All-That-Quarterly Compilation
The 4 Elements
It’s thematic, obviously. Some of it is new music, yet most of it is just music I’ve always liked that seemed to fit the compilation’s schema. The liners are not completed, yet. Hell, a test pressing hasn’t even been completed; so the track order might change some. I’m just drumming up interest before I decide how much energy to expend… email me if interested. It’ll likely go out sometime in mid-to-late July ’06…
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Music Shared without permission, but without ill-intent either, from these artists…
EARTH
1 – On “Avalanche” (from the album Shifting Skin )
2 – El Douje “Colision De Mundos” (from the album Worlds Collide )
3 – Celldweller “Own Little World” (from the album Celldweller )
4 – John Zorn “La Flor del Barrio” (from the album Music Romance, Vol. III: The Gift )
5 – Porcupine Tree “Collapse the Light into Earth” (from the album In Absentia )
SKY
6 – Tristeza “Stumble On Air” (from the album A Colores )
7 – Dredg “Ode to the Sun” (from the album Catch Without Arms )
8 – Pearl Jam “Thin Air” (from the album Binaural )
9 – The Tango Saloon “The Little Plane That Could” (from the album The Tango Saloon )
10 – Nick Drake “Pink Moon” (from the album Pink Moon )
WATER
11 – O.S.I. “Bigger Wave” (from the album Free )
12 – Au4 “An Ocean’s Measure of Sorrow” (from the album On: Audio )
13 – Chroma Key “Even the Waves” (from the album Dead Air For Radios )
14 – The Squirts “Lobster” (from the album Resquirted )
FIRE
15 – Tori Amos “Spark” (from the album From the Choirgirl Hotel )
16 – The Times “Laser Beams” (from the album Begin )
17 – Heatmiser (early Elliott Smith) “Flame!” (from the album Cop and Speeder )
18 – Fantômas “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” (from the album The Director’s Cut )
19 – Angeldust “Firestorm” (from the album System 3 )
Think of it as a stroll through a museum installation. The headsets are free this weekend.
And since we’re germophobes… um… go on and keep those there headphones…
~Dan – np: electric masada – john zorn’s 50th birthday month, vol. 4
Liner info, for those that care-o (fuzzy due to not having a proper Adobe P-Shop install on my new work laptop, had to do this via screencaps & MSPaint… oy…).
Favorite Music of 2005
Admittedly a lot of swapping around from my 1st Half Recap… but here are my thoughts on 2005’s Music… as of now…
TOP 20 ALBUMS of 2005
1) 
Sigur Rós – Takk (ambient & angelic), released Sept ’05: This Sigur Rós album didn’t catch on with me as quick as their two prior albums, but after several listens, it gains the top spot for the year. I still don’t agree with many people’s assessment that it is “more accessible,” but regardless, they continue to make captivating music. Web: http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/
2) 
Porcupine Tree – Deadwing (modern progressive), released Apr ’05: I saw Porcupine Tree live twice within about a month of owning this disc. I think it spun in my rental car in Chicago about 8 times… then it finally sunk in. I still hold In Absentia or maybe Lightbulb Sun as my favorite PT CDs, but Deadwing made music listening in 2005 a lot more enjoyable. Web: http://www.porcupinetree.com/
3) 
Sufjan Stevens – Invites You to Come On Feel the Illinoise (quirky folk), released July ’05: Wow. 12 months ago, I had only heard a few (boring) songs by Sufjan. Now, I’m hooked. His quirky, banjo-driven, xylophone-infused group-folkrock stylings really make me happy. His show at the Southgate House in Newport-KY this year was easily one of my top two concerts this year (Sigur Rós in Ann Arbor being the other). With two states under his belt (Michigan being the previous state album), I wonder how the remaining 48 will turn out… Web: http://www.sufjan.com/
4) 
Glen Phillips – Winter Pays For Summer (pop singer-songwriter), released Mar ’05: This was in the top spot for the better part of the year. A great follow-up album to his solo debut Abulum. As of early December, Glen’s also in the studio for a follow-up to this one… yay! Web: http://www.glenphillips.com/
5) 
Eisley – Room Noises (rocks more than Sixpence), released Feb ’05: Another “hadn’t heard of them 12 months ago” band. I can solely blame the Paste Magazine DVD sampler for this crush. Anyway, I’m looking forward to great music from Eisley in the years to come… assuming they can keep their sibling rivalries in check… :) Web: http://www.eisley.com/
6) 
Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine (jazzy, sultry broodstress), released Oct ’05: Long-awaited… not as jazzy or cohesive as When the Pawn, but still a stellar performance. I dig this version of the album over the earlier Jon Brion/leaked version, but I do dig the Jon Brion-produced tracks that sandwich this record the most (go figure). Overall, this album was mostly worth the wait… now if only she’d tour on her own and not part of the Clodplay: Cloding Up the Great Indoors Tour ’06… Web: http://www.fiona-apple.com/
7) 
King’s X – Ogre Tones (melodic hardrock), released Sept ’05: 25 years and still counting… damn. I’ve been a King’s X fan for a longtime (not all 25 years, though), but their last two efforts left me nonplussed. This latest one, however, hits me square across the mouth — in the good way. Fantastic return to form, Jetydo! Web: http://www.kingsxonline.com/
8 ) 
Coheed and Cambria – Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV – Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (geekcore, emo-pomp), released Sept ’05: There are so many cheesy aspects to C&C’s sound and marketing that make me cringe (it’s such an over-the top geek-and-wank fest)… yet their sound simply sucks… me in. To quote a drummer from an unrelated band, “balls and chunk is where it’s at!” Web: http://www.coheedandcambria.com/
9) 
Beck – Guero (folk-tronic), released Mar ’05: One of the best Beck albums in years… reminds me a lot of Odelay. Really funky, and it fits the “folk-tronic” badge well. And he’s got a remix album of it coming out soon (entitled Guerolito)… Web: http://www.beck.com/
10) 
Opeth – Ghost Reveries (swedish death metal), released Aug ’05: The last three Opeth records had Porcupine Tree Steven Wilson at the production helm. Perhaps he was too busy supporting his own band to help the O out, but this album came out a-OK anyway. Sometimes the keyboards sound… um… dumb… but luckily there is enough thrash and growl to cover it up. Hail Satan! Hail Satin! Hail Stan! Web: http://www.opeth.com/
11) 
Dredg – Catch Without Arms (passionate hardrock), released Jun ’05: From out-of-nowhere… I heard (and liked) Dredg’s song on the Stealth Soundtrack, even moreso than the Incubus songs that I bought the soundtrack for in the first place. Then I saw Dredg open up for Coheed & Cambria in Columbus on 9/30/05, I was hooked. Powerful melodic rock, with an ecstatic drummer and great vocals. Web: http://www.dredg.com/
12) 
Foo Fighters – In Your Honor (power-pop rock), released Jun ’05: Pure double-album pop enjoyment. Dave Grohl continues to impress me with his relentless delivery of great rock tunes. It seems effortless for him. Kurt is missed, but after its all said and done, I think Dave might win out as being the better pop songwriter… Web: http://www.foofighters.com/
13) 
The Mob – The Mob (hardrock übergroup), released Nov ’05: A supergroup made up of a bunch of ’80s washouts (from Winger and Night Ranger) and also Doug Pinnick from King’s X (“and also” meaning he’s not included in the “washout” category). Doug sings on most of the album, and it doesn’t really sound dated like I thought it would (mainly due to Doug’s involvement, mind you). It’s got some classic rock / hairband overtones, but again only “overtones.” Overall it’s a great record!! It can be had directly from the Italian label for as much as Amazon is hocking it for… but there’s a slight “PSOL“* issue. Web: http://www.kingsxonline.com/
14) 
Ben Folds – Songs For Silverman (piano pop with fuzz), released Apr ’05: Ben continues his solo path, while bringing back the sound very reminiscent of “The Five.” His new bassist and drummer definitely harken the sound of Darren and Robert from BFF. This album is solid, which is usually expected from the songwriting likes of Mr. Folds. Web: http://www.benfolds.com/
15) 
Tristeza – A Colores (experimental twitchy instrumental rock), released Nov ’05: Tristeza continues on even after Jimmy LaValle’s departure to dedicate his time to his solo effort, The Album Leaf. Both bands, Tristeza & The Album Leaf, have a similar style. I dig ’em both. If you like mellow, yet ecstatic, instrumental-tronica… you’ll dig ’em, too… Web: http://www.trstz.com/
The Squirts – Squirts II: Resquirted (fantastic melodic rock with a dumb name), released sometime in 2005: I always loved The Mustard Seeds… a melodic, pop-sensible hardrock band from SoCal. They only released two albums… :( But, but, but… ringleader Matt Bissonette is a busy muthafunka. 2005 alone saw three Matt Bissonette-related releases, and one of his side bands, The Squirts, has a really close to Mustard Seeds vibe (as do two of his other sidebands, Jughead and Raising Lazarus). Walrus, take note. Anyway, this Squirts album is pop-rock delight. Catchy throughout and chunky when it matters. The last track, “Lobster,” is reason enough to buy the CD. Yeah, I know, dumbass cover art (and band name for that matter), but it’s really, REALLY GOOD. And it’s completely indie… a purchase directly benefits Matt Bissonette and his family. Web: http://www.mattbissonette.com/17) 
Ani Difranco – Knuckle Down (the folkstress who needs no description), released Jan ’05: This album is probably Ani’s most solid since Revelling / Reckoning. The packaging is superb as well… which is something she’s taken a shine to as of late. Web: http://www.righteousbaberecords.com/
18 ) 
Erin McKeown – We Will Become Like Birds (pop singer-songwriter), released Jun ’05: I bought this album due to Peter Mulvey guest vocalling on it. I continue to enjoy this album for the other 11 songs that are sheer singer-songwriter pop-delight. Web: http://www.erinmckeown.com/
19) 
Copeland – In Motion (power-pop rock), released Mar ’05: One of my rock heroes is Ken Andrews. I got into him backwards… first ON, then Failure (then Year of the Rabbit, in the correct order). Regardless of all of that, I noticed his imprint on Copeland right away, almost subconsciously. Anyway, I stuck around due to the great vocals (vocals are usually the “make-it-or-break-it” with me). Mr. Marsh’s vocals are a delight for me. Web: http://www.thecopelandsite.com/
20) 
Headphones – Headphones (melancholically sung synth-pop), released May ’05: I dig David Bazan’s Pedro the Lion music a lot. This seemingly one-off project with TW Walsh was great as well… casio-sound and all. Web: http://www.headphonesmusic.com/
*- PSOL = PayPal for Speakers of Other Languages.
Honorable Mention:
Tori Amos – The Beekeeper – Audioslave – Out of Exile, Clodplay – X&Y, The Mars Volta – Frances the Mute, and Derek Webb – Mockingbird.
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TOP 5 Eps of 2005
1) 
Iron & Wine – Woman King (whispy americana), released Feb ’05: If I didn’t force myself to split “Fav Albums” from “Fav EPs,” this EP would probably crack the Top 5 Fav CDs of 2005. Great songs, great vocals… it got me back into Iron & Wine. Web: http://www.ironandwine.com/
2) 
The Album Leaf – The Red Tour -EP- (electronic-fused organic instrumental rock), released Jan ’05: Originally available on TAL’s 2004 tour, but not commercially available to the rest of us until early 2005… this great EP whets the appetite for their follow-up to In a Safe Place which should be out sometime in mid-2006. Web: http://www.thealbumleaf.com/
3) 
Iron & Wine with Calexico – In the Reins (whispy americana stops over in a bordertown), released Sept ’05: More of an Iron & Wine record than Calexico. Sometimes the combination works, and sometimes it seems awkward. Luckily, again, it’s more I&W… overall a great CD for 2005. Web: http://www.ironandwine.com/
4) 
Euphone – V (jazzy groovy post-rock), released Apr ’05: I saw Euphone open up for Sunny Day Real Estate in 2000. They were a primarily instrumental band, and when there was singing, the drummer sang. They had a nice vibe and were on indie Jade Tree. I love their records. This EP caught me by surprise. Its five songs clock in at only 13 minutes. However, I could listen to it on repeat for hours. It’s not instrumental anymore either. It’s also a completely solo effort by the drummer (Ryan Rapsys played all instruments & sang). It’s very well recorded for being basically a “bathroom”-type recording. Very well received! In concert, I hear he drums, sings, and plays organ. Wow! Chicago peeps… check him out sometime. Web: http://www.recordlabelrecordlabel.com/
5) 
Pristina featuring Sarah Masen – So Alive (indie alt-electronica), released May ’05: Well, it’s been 4+ years since Sarah Masen released any music. She is desparately missed, but this Pristina single/EP with some Sarah Masen vocals hit the spot for now. Sarah, got anything in the works? Web: http://www.pristinamusic.com/
Best Use of a Horse’s Ass (or Horse’s Ass Paraphernalia)
Over the Rhine‘s Drunkard’s Prayer
Best Instrumental Album
Tristeza‘s A Colores (runner-up: Mogwai‘s mostly instrumental Government Commissions)
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Best Soundtrack/Score
Thumbsucker Soundtrack featuring The Polyphonic Spree & Elliott Smith (runner-up: Screaming Masterpiece Soundtrack featuring a dozen+ great Icelandic artists)
/ 
Best Debut Album
Eisley‘s Room Noises (runner-up: Headphones‘ Headphones)
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Best Concept Album
Sufjan Stevens Invites You to Come On Feel the Illinoise (runner-up: Coheed & Cambria‘s Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV – Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness)
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Best International Release (US label)
Sigur Rós‘s Takk… (runner-up: Porcupine Tree‘s Deadwing)
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Best International Release (non-US label) i.e.- harder to get ahold of…
Múm‘s Loksins Erum Við Engin (runner-up: Yann Tiersen‘s Les Retrouvailles)
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Best Local Album
The Times‘ Begin from Cincinnati, OH (runner-up: Shrug‘s Whole Hog for the Macho Jesus from Dayton, OH)
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I heart CDBaby. Support local / indie music!!
Best Indie Album
Sufjan Stevens Invites You to Come On Feel the Illinoise (runner-up: Ani Difranco‘s Knuckle Down)
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Best Album Packaging & Design
Fantômas‘s Suspended Animation and its 30+ page spiral calendar with illustrations by Japanese artist Yoshimoto Nara (runner-up: Ani Difranco‘s Knuckle Down)
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Best Album Artwork
The Iron & Wine and Calexico collaborative In the Reins -EP- painting (runner-up: Sufjan Stevens Invites You to Come On Feel the Illinoise‘s cease-and-desist-inducing “Superman cover”)
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Biggest Disappointment
Gary Cherone‘s solo debut Need I Say More -EP- (he didn’t need to say more, he just needed to say it better)
Worst Album Art (for an otherwise stellar album)
The Squirts Resquirted… great album, very Matt Bissonette/Jughead/Mustard Seeds-y, yet dumb, dumb, dumb cover…
and since I didn’t want to end on a sour note, here are three more “Best Of” winners…
Best Use of Nature on an Album Cover
King’s X‘s disguised trees on Ogre Tones (runner-up: Copeland‘s sleek In Motion)
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Best Book on CD
Noam Chomsky‘s Imperial Ambitions (runners-up: George Carlin‘s When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? -and- Al Franken‘s The Truth (With Jokes))
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Best Album named “Suspended Animation“
Fantômas‘s Suspended Animation definitely over Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci‘s first solo album under the same name
/ 
yes, I like lists… and the “concatenate” function…
~Dan – np: nellie mckay‘s “the big one” from the forthcoming album pretty little head (early front-runner for Best of 2006)
THE ORCHARD MIX CLUB: OCTOBER 2005 presented by posty mcposterton in A-to-Z style
THE ORCHARD MIX CLUB
OCTOBER 2005 presented by posty mcposterton in A-to-Z style.
Too much music? Nah, that could never be!
Introduction… well, I’m definitely more of a rock fan; so my compilation is gonna lean more that way than more of the folk/alt.country camps that a lot of y’all have come from… but alas, hopefully you’ll find something new and exciting on here. If something on here is atrociously not your thing… sorry. There may be some heavy riffage goin’ on in parts… again, sorry. And due to the A to Z nature of it all (asinine, I know), sometimes one song doesn’t flow all that well into another… again, sorry. Even with 36 tracks to share, I still feel like I’m cutting off my left arm for the sake of my right sometimes in selecting songs. If you ever wanna hear more of an artist, let me know.
The following is a glut of information about the artists on this compilation if your interests have been piqued by the Mix CDs. I won’t be offended if ya toss this info sheet, though… ya bigger tosser… Oh, you might wonder why I also note “Indie Meter” for some artists… well, I love a lot of music, but I love to support indie artists a lot, too. I think it’s important to support good music. The downside… I tend to not know songs like Van Morrison’s “Moondance” or Elton John’s “Rocket Man” on first listen, and the first time I heard Over the Rhine covering “Blackbird” I asked Bruce who they were covering (that was 6 years ago, and I wasn’t really big into the Beatles until early 2000). Yeah, my wife laughs at me a lot.
CD #1
(track 01) A is brought to you by The Album Leaf.
Song: “Streamside”
Album: In a Safe Place (Sub Pop, ©2004)
Indie Meter: All of The Album Leaf’s albums have been on dinky indie labels, and this one on a larger indie label, Sub Pop. I give him major indie props.
Webpage(s): http://www.albumleaf.com/
Hails from: San Diego via Iceland (or Iceland via San Diego, depending)
Info: I got into The Album Leaf (aka Jimmy LaValle, formerly of Tristeza) via a Sigur Rós connection (read: a link from their site to some sound samples with the SR guys guesting). This recent album was produced in Sigur Rós’s swimming pool studio in Iceland. I have a tendency to really like organic-meets-electronic-driven, melodic efforts by one-man bands (Ken Andrews/ON & Kevin Moore/Chroma Key being the other notable ones). The Album Leaf has a smattering of about 6 albums/EPs (plus some 7” vinyl)… In a Safe Place is the best place to start. Some of the songs have vocals, but I’d earmark The Album Leaf as primarily an instrumental, soundscape artist. If you like The Album Leaf, I’d say also check out Tristeza (more guitar-y, but still instrumental).
(track 02) B is brought to you by Blackfield.
Song: “Blackfield”
Album: Blackfield (Snapper, ©2004)
Indie Meter: Released on indie Snapper in Europe in ‘04 and indie Koch in North America in ‘05
Webpage(s): http://www.blackfield.org/
Hails from: England and Israel
Info: Blackfield is a wonderful collaboration between Porcupine Tree singer/guitarist Steven Wilson and Israeli popstar Aviv Geffen. Normally I would cringe at a band/album/song combo all having the same name… but, hell, it’s a good song regardless of the triple-team naming with which it is associated. The Blackfield album fits in with the Porcupine Tree catalog, as Steven’s fingerprints are all over this one-off collaboration. I actually hope it becomes more than a one-off, but I don’t mind Steven’s Porcupine Tree stuff either… ;)
(track 03) C is brought to you by Copeland.
Song: “No One Really Wins”
Album: In Motion (The Militia Group, ©2005)
Indie Meter: Always on indie labels… but about to blow up, if you ask me…
Webpage(s): http://www.thecopelandsite.com/
Hails from: currently Atlanta, GA
Info: I got into Copeland based on one of those damn in-store listening booths. J Great packaging, cover art… and when I popped the headphones on, I got an immediate Ken Andrews/Failure rush… when I turned over the CD, I saw that Ken had mixed the album (he’s relentlessly all over the rock scene). Anyway, the best part of Copeland, to me, is Aaron Marsh’s vocals. Enjoy.
(track 04) D is brought to you by The Dissociatives.
Song: “Goodbye (Prop Sleepyheadz Mix)”
Album: The original version appears on LP, The Dissociatives (Virgin Eleven, ©2004)
Webpage(s): http://www.thedissociatives.com/
Hails from: Australia, the country and continent
Info: The Dissociatives is comprised of Daniel Johns and Paul Mac (and some touring members). Daniel Johns of Silverchair is a rock-n-roll hero of mine. At age 15, he had his first international super-hit (“Tomorrow” from Frogstomp). Alas, Silverchair were just a 2nd rate grunge band at the time. I’ll save my ramblings about Silverchair for Song #S, but just know that my interest in The Dissociatives came from Silverchair (who is now on hiatus while Daniel is busy with The Dissociatives). The Dissociatives’ debut album came out in 2004 in Australia, and I’m extremely thankful that of all countries with high potential for importing CDs to me, Canada and Australia have great exchange rates in favor of us Stateside. It was my #1 album of 2004, BY FAR. The Dissociatives record got international release in 2005… you can get it for a reasonable price at Amazon and iTunes. Do it, you know you want to…
(track 05) E is brought to you by Erin McKeown.
Song: “Bells and Bombs”
Album: We Will Become Like Birds (Nettwerk, ©2005)
Indie Meter: Former indie-queen now on a biggie.
Webpage(s): http://www.erinmckeown.com/
Hails from: Northeastern U.S.
Info: I first saw her open for Over the Rhine some years back, and I wasn’t impressed. Then I saw her on one of Ani Difranco’s tour DVDs… still not much to get me to purchase her stuff. Then I saw her newest CD above in a listening booth at my local shop, and there was a song that Peter Mulvey sang with her on the CD (he’s a personal favorite of mine). I got the CD, and the Peter Mulvey track isn’t even in the top half of the good songs on this album… and that’s a very pleasant surprise. This record is a pop-folk delight.
(track 06) F is brought to you by Faith No More.
Song: “Stripsearch”
Album: Album of the Year (Warner Reprise, ©1997)
Indie Meter: Never since probably their Courtney Love days were FNM indie. Now they are in the “dead band” category.
Webpage(s): http://www.fnm.com/ – – – http://www.cv.org/
Hailed from: San Francisco, CA
Info: Faith No More (and Mike Patton offshoots) are in my Top 5 Artists of all-time. I just love ‘em… This here is a mellower song from their final album. I’m glad I got to see them before they broke up. My only pain is that the opener for that Fall 1997 Faith No More show was Limp Bizkit, who went on to sell a cagillion records while Faith No More broke up for “artistic reasons.” Faith No More was comprised of 5 very divergent musicians, who at the end of it all, hated each other’s artistic direction. This is what I feel made Faith No More so brilliant: five musicians who wanted something completely different in their sound. It was that great tension that birthed some wonderful music. Oh, and yes, Courtney Love was once their singer… I’m glad that other singers took over and eventually Mike Patton brought it all together.
(track 07) G is brought to you by The Galactic Cowboys.
Song: “Still Life of Peace”
Album: Space In Your Face (Geffen, ©2003)
Indie Meter: The later part of their career was on the indie label Metal Blade Records. Now they are in the “dead band” category as well.
Webpage(s): http://www.galacticcowboys.com/ – – – http://www.montycolvin.com/
Hailed from: Houston, TX
Info: I got into the Galactic Cowboys in the Fall of 1994 – aka freshman year in college. I got into so much new and different music that first quarter alone… my buddy’s band Enslaved (now unfortunately called Gnashing of Teeth) led to Dream Theater which led to the Galactic Cowboys and subsequently King’s X. Anyway, I also got into creating webpages, and in 1995 after I got out of the Air Force ROTC I had all kinds of free time… so I created the 2nd Galactic Cowboys page on the “internet” (but humbly it was the best GC website at the time). It was 1995 – the internet was picking up credibility. Anyway, a bit after starting my little fanpage, I get an email from their guitarist (Wally Farkas). I built up a good connection with them, and for a while was their primary source of web content until they launched their own official webpage about 4 years later. Their bassist (Monty Colvin) is also a painter; and I just recently bought one of his originals… All the above is to say that the Galactic Cowboys have a special place in my heart — the left ventricle, I think. Anyway, their music ranged from prog-metal at the beginning into what ended up being a melodic-hardrock at the end (like the Beatles mashed with Foo Fighters or something). The song featured here is in my Top 5 Songs of all-time, which is why I couldn’t cut it even after it was on the chopping block for this compilation about a dozen times. Where else can you get tasty quasi-speed metal riffage, strings, sitar, screwed up time changes, four-part harmonies, and an allegory for Corporate America?
(track 08 ) H is brought to you by Hotel Lights.
Song: “Miles Behind Me”
Album: Hotel Lights (self-released, ©2004)
Indie Meter: Sold completely indie via their webpage, shows, and CDBaby. Big indie meter points!!
Webpage(s): http://www.hotellights.net/
Hails from: North Carolina
Info: The primary vocals and songwriting is done by Darren Jesse, the drummer for the now-defunct Ben Folds Five. Refer to his penned song “Magic” from the Five’s The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner CD for more quality songwriting of his. Darren doesn’t drum in this band, though. He plays guitar and sings lead. This song is fairly indicative of their sound… great indie pop.
(track 09) I is brought to you by an Incubus side-project called Time-Lapse Consortium.
Song: “Cholula”
Album: Time-Lapse Consortium Live at the Roxy (Epic Official Bootlegs, ©2003)
Webpage(s): http://www.timelapsebootlegs.com/ – – – http://www.enjoyincubus.com/
Hails from: Southern California
Info: As far as I know, this was a band put together for only a few shows in 2003. I hope it comes back in the future for a reprise album or tour… It is the brainchild of Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger and his musician friend Suzie Katayama. It also featured Incubus’ drummer Jose Pasillas and The Roots’ bassist Ben Kenney (who later joined Incubus), as well as horn and string sections. The CD made my Top 5 CDs of 2003 (see the old Actwin archives for proof). It was a delightful surprise. It is primarily jazzy numbers like “Cholula” (named after an authentic Mexican salsa), and it also has a few Incubus songs thrown in near the end, with Brandon Boyd coming out to sing on “A Certain Shade of Green.” It is primarily an instrumental effort, though.
(track 10) J is brought to you by Jude (Christodal).
Song: “Brad and Suzy (Petralia Mix)”
Album: You’re So Hot I Love You -EP- (Maverick, ©1999), the original version is on No One Is Really Beautiful (Maverick, ©1998 )
Indie Meter: Now completely indie via his webpage, shows, and CDBaby. Big indie meter points!!
Webpage(s): http://www.judemusic.com/
Hails from: Los Angeles, CA
Info: Once indie, once Madonna’s whipping boy, now indie again. I saw Jude open up for Ben Folds Five over Memorial Day weekend in 1999 down in Nashville. By his second song, I was a lifelong fan. I bought his only majorly-distributed CD the next day at Best Buy. He went into hiding for a while after his label rejected his follow-up album and made him re-record it. The result was King of Yesterday, which was good, but quite… um, “forced.” He eventually got out of his contract and seemingly disappeared. In late-late 2003, he mysteriously had a new album on CDBaby (I ♥ CDBaby). Anyway, for the past few months Jude has been updating his webpage almost daily, like some kind of hard-to-maintain manual blog. It is often humorous, and I proudly say that I try to visit it daily. He’s got several projects in the works… 2006 looks like it’s gonna be a good year for Jude fans.
(track 11) K is brought to you by Michael Kelsey.
Song: “Wild Blue Ride”
Album: November (H Note, ©2003)
Indie Meter: Completely through his webpage, local shops, and shows… major indie props!
Webpage(s): http://www.michaelkelsey.com/
Hails from: Lafayette, IN
Info: My first Over the Rhine concert was also my first Michael Kelsey concert. He was the opener, and he blew me away. His records are great, but his live show is something of legend. I once saw him play a song, break a string, and change the string while not stopping the song. In 2004, he was awarded the top prize in Guitar Center’s Best Unsigned Guitarist search. He’s got 4 records and a DVD-EP, and his music is about half instrumental and half vocal. If you only do one thing in your life from here on out, add yourself to his email list and go see him live if he comes to your town.
(track 12) L is brought to you by Jason Ludwig.
Song: “Godspeed”
Album: PeLL MeLL (self-released, ©2003)
Indie Meter: A complete DIY-er from Cincinnati… gotta love his tenacity…
Webpage(s): http://www.jasonludwig.com/ – – – http://www.noctaluca.com/
Hails from: Cincinnati, OH
Info: All I can really say it that I really dig Jason’s debut CD, and I hope Noctaluca (Jason’s band incarnation) get that damned debut album recorded… they’ve been threatening to finish it for about two years now… in concert, they’ve got a nice Pink Floyd meets Radiohead meets <insert jam-band name> vibe.
(track 13) M is brought to you by Mr. Bungle.
Song: “Goodbye Sober Day”
Album: California (Warner Bros, ©1999)
Webpage(s): http://www.mrbungle.com/ – – – http://www.cv.org/
Hails from: San Francisco, CA
Info: Mr. Bungle was Mike Patton’s band before, during, and after Faith No More. They are what I’d call loungy-cartoon-beachbum-circus-deathrock. They’ve only released three proper albums, all on Warner Brothers… which was lucky for them, otherwise they’d probably be sued for their logo. They are on a long-term hiatus right now, meaning that Mike Patton is busy with his 80-million other musical and filmic side-projects. I believe that Mr. Bungle’s music is utter brilliance, yet I also concede that it’s not for everyone. It’s on this mix CD to expose your brain to something different. At least listen to it once all the way through… after that, I wouldn’t be offended if you skipped it. Again, it’s not for everyone. It’s definitely up my proverbial alley, though. Me likes me some Bungle.
(track 14) N is brought to you by No-Man.
Song: “Chelsea Cap”
Album: All That You Are -EP- (Hidden Art, ©2003)
Indie Meter: Only on European indie labels.
Webpage(s): http://www.no-man.co.uk/
Hails from: England
Info: Steven Wilson sneaks his way onto this compilation once again. This side-project is fronted by Tim Bowness, though. It’s a two-man band of sorts. Tim writes the lyrics and sings, and Steven writes and plays the music. On some of their albums, they also have some additional studio musicians (Porcupine Tree kin and others). Great melodic rock, sometimes painful lyrically.
(track 15) O is brought to you by Office of Strategic Influence.
Song: “Hello, Helicopter!”
Album: Office of Strategic Influence (Inside Out, ©2003)
Indie Meter: One album out on an indie progrock label.
Webpage(s): http://www.osiband.com/ – – – http://www.chromakey.com/ – – – http://www.mikeportnoy.com/
Hails from: The members were from Long Island, Montreal, and Costa Rica at the time, but it was recorded in upstate NY.
Info: A “supergroup” with Kevin Moore (of Chroma Key), Jim Matheos (of Fates Warning), and Mike Portnoy (of Dream Theater). “You had me at Kevin Moore.” It’s like a Chroma Key record, but it didn’t even start with Kevin’s involvement. Now continuing on for OSI #2, it’ll be primarily Kevin and Jim. Anyway, the album is a loose concept of sorts about the media, political administrations, and the failed attempt of the Pentagon/Homeland Security Department setting up a real “OSI” to make the U.S.’s “war on terror” be viewed in a more favorable light overseas. Given all of that backstory drivel, the music isn’t overtly political.
(track 16) P is brought to you by Placebo.
Song: “Twenty Years”
Album: Once More With Feeling (Astralwerks-EMI, ©2004)
Webpage(s): http://www.placebo.co.uk/
Hails from: England
Info: My favorite “exactly half gay band”… EVER. By the way, that’s their description of their three-piece rock group, not mine. I got into Placebo with their song “Pure Morning.” They only got better after that. The song on this Orchard compilation is actually the previously unreleased song from their culmination of singles compilation put out last year. Most compilations like that are a sign to an end of a band… ya know, record contract fulfillment. I’m relieved that they’re in the studio now for a new release in 2006. Brian Malko’s got a golden voice that bridges the gap between the Placebo sound of britglam and punkrock.
(track 17) Q is brought to you by Queen (via Extreme).
Song: “Love of My Life”
Album: Song for Love -EP- (A&M Records, ©1992)
Webpage(s): http://www.cherone.com/ – – – http://www.population-1.com/ – – – http://www.queenonline.com/
Hailed from: Boston, MA
Info: Well, you didn’t really want me to put Queensrÿche on here, did you? And, I admittedly don’t own any Queen. They just never were my thing, even though I do like some of their stuff. Rather than Queensrÿche, you all should be thanking me for opting for Extreme covering a Queen song. They even have Queen’s guitarist Brian May on the track. Extreme was/is in my Top 5 Artists of all-time list. Count how many times I say that – I think I’ve got 4 of those Top 5 Artists on this compilation, with my postscript being all about the 5th separate mention of the Top 5 Artists. Say what you will, but Extreme was so much more than the “More Than Words” hairband. They just came out either too late or too early for their time, depending on how you look at it. They were more of an art-rock band, but no one seems to believe me when I say that… alas, this song doesn’t go in that direction either. But trust me, Extreme was an art-rock band. J
(track 18 ) R is brought to you by Radiohead.
Song: “Meeting In the Aisle”
Album: Airbag (How Am I Driving?) -EP- (Capitol, ©1998 )
Webpage(s): http://www.radiohead.com/ – – – http://www.greenplastic.com/
Hails from: England
Info: Cough… Radiohead is one of my Top 5 Artists of all-time. I yield blindly to Thom Yorke’s will. I’d buy a record of him dumping in a plastic bag, shut up Steve. In other words, I don’t feel as if I have to defend Radiohead. Their music speaks for itself. Some people don’t like it. Some people do… a lot. I’m in the later group.
CD #2
(track 01) S is brought to you by Silverchair.
Song: “Tuna In the Brine”
Album: Diorama (Virgin Eleven, ©2002)
Webpage(s): http://www.chairpage.com/
Hails from: Australia
Info: Cough… my 3rd Top 5 Artists of all-time in a row… OK, I’m done with that for now. Silverchair started out as a 2nd rate grunge band but evolved into an amazing force. Their last two albums, Neon Ballroom and Diorama, are pulled out of my CD racks a lot to spin. Diorama was easily my favorite CD of 2002. The album features the orchestration of the legendary Van Dyke Parks on three tracks (including this track, “Tuna In the Brine”). Silverchair is currently on hiatus, but I hope Daniel Johns and company get back to working up new music soon. They’re only 24 or 25 now; so they’ve got hopefully plenty of time to put out some more great music.
(track 02) T is brought to you by Tool.
Song: “Reflection”
Album: Lateralus (Zoo/Volcano, ©2001)
Webpage(s): http://www.toolband.com/
Hails from: Southern California
Info: Tool is one of the most intelligent rock groups around. Sure, some of their content might be questionable to some, per se, but that’s all part of their artistic and conscious striving to be subversive towards the mainstream. This track is one of their most beautiful pieces of music. Much of their music is harsher than this, but it’s all quite stunning music, in my opinion. Maynard James Keenan has one of the best voices in metal – hands down. If you don’t mind the “f-ck your god” lyrics, I’d also recommend checking out Maynard’s other mainstream-subversive band, A Perfect Circle, with former-Tool guitar tech Billy Howerdel and former-Failure guitarist Troy Van Leeuwuen. Back to Tool… Danny Carey plays the most insanely creative drumming that I‘ve heard – but he remains very understated in his approach. Adam Jones’ guitar playing is oft understated as well, while also being oft powerfully abrupt. I don’t know much about their bassist Justin Chancellor, but I’m sure he likes bubble gum as much as the rest of them.
(track 03) U is brought to you by Unbelievable Truth.
Song: “Solved”
Album: Almost Here (Virgin, ©1997)
Webpage(s): http://www.unbelievable-truth.co.uk/
Hailed from: England
Info: I first saw them on tour with Tori Amos. I second saw them on tour with Tori Amos. I third saw them on tour with Tori Amos. Yeah, I am a Tori junkie, and I got hooked on Unbelievable Truth by the third time. They reminded me of a cross between Radiohead and Toad the Wet Sprocket, which is a comparison that still rings true (for me). I came to find out that the reason why they sounded a lot like Radiohead was that their front man was none other than Andy Yorke (Thom’s younger brother). They only released one album on a major, then went quite underground and independently released 2 to 3 albums (depending on your continent) before they eventually called it quits.
(track 04) V is brought to you by Vigilantes of Love (Bill Mallonee).
Song: “Solar System”
Album: Audible Sigh v. 3 (Meat Market/True Tunes/Compass, ©1999/2000/2000)
Indie Meter: Bill and VOL has been primarily indie for their entire career… except for the brief period when they had one greatest hits and a studio album on a Warner subsidiary.
Webpage(s): http://www.billandvol.com/
Hails from: Athens, GA
Info: Bill Mallonee is Vigilantes of Love. Some people love him, some people don’t. This song comes from the third issue of Audible Sigh. It’s my favorite album of VOL’s since the Blister Soul / Welcome to Struggleville era. The trouble is that it got released three separate times on three separate labels with different tracks… a-nnoying, but a great record nonetheless. Bill Mallonee is a prolific songwriter, and I enjoy his brutal honesty. Sometimes he gets too countrified or too sesame street-harmonica for my tastes, but many times he gets it spot on. My wife likes his Snuggle fabric softener song.
(track 05) W is brought to you by Carissa’s Wierd (the misspelling is theirs, not mine).
Song: “Ignorant Piece of Shit”
“Explicit” Lyrics: None other than the title…
Album: Songs About Leaving (Sad Robot, ©2002)
Indie Meter: Completely indie or self-released, and sometimes very difficult to track down…
Webpage(s): http://www.sadrobotrecords.com/ – – – http://suicidesqueeze.net/s_artist.html
Hailed from: Seattle, WA
Info: I thank [jp/p] from the Orchard for getting me hooked on Carissa’s Wierd. I wish they would learn to spell, though. At first I thought they just took the whole “i before e” rule too seriously, but a look at their liner notes shows that they really just don’t know how to spell many words correctly. Eh… regardless, I love their raw, emotional music. They are now on official hiatus/break-up, but Jenn Ghetto has a couple of albums out and about under the band name “S”…
(track 06) X is brought to you by the X-ecutioners vs. General Patton.
Song: “¡Get Up, Punk! (0200 Hours)”
Album: Joint Special Operations Task Force (Ipecac, ©2005)
Indie Meter: On Mike Patton’s own Ipecac label
Webpage(s): http://www.ipecac.com/bio.php?id=32
Hails from: San Francisco, CA & New York City
Info: This was way better than the alternative for “X.” J This is a one-off side-project between Mike Patton and the hip-hop turntable crew X-ecutioners. I don’t have much to add other than saying that much of this album is disjointed, but the few actual songs on it are wonderful…
(track 07) Y is brought to you by Year of the Rabbit.
Song: “Rabbit Hole”
Album: Year of the Rabbit (Elektra, ©2003)
Webpage(s): http://www.yearoftherabbit.net/ – – – http://www.kenandrews.com/ – – – http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/on
Hails from: Southern California
Info: Year of the Rabbit is the most recent Ken Andrews band in existence… it’s not officially done, but he’s off working on other stuff right now. I dig Ken Andrews a lot… I first got into him through his solo effort, ON. It’s very organic, yet very electronic pop. Then I got into his old band, Failure. Their album Fantastic Planet is probably one of the most underrated gems in modern rock. It’s utterly fabulous. He also had a cover project called The Replicants that Maynard James Keenan (of Tool) and others appeared on… Since my slots for F, O, and R were taken, Year of the Rabbit appears on this compilation. YOTR is rockier than ON and more polished than Failure. Ken has also produced or mixed upwards of 100 artists… the list is gi-mongous…
(track 08) Z is brought to you by Frank Zappa.
Song: “Duke of Orchestral Prunes”
Album: Läther (Rykodisc, ©1996)
Webpage(s): http://www.zappa.com/
Hailed from: primarily Southern California
Info: Frank Zappa was a prolific songwriting satirist who often wrote ridiculously and often politically. He many times stumbled on to a great thing, but many times he also didn’t know when to quit. He pushed the boundaries of rock, and specifically the concept of the rock composer. After issues with the biggies, he became an astounding do-it-yourselfer. Over his career, he put out over 70 albums of original material, and most likely appeared on a hundred other albums. In his later years, he became more and more avant-garde. My usual standby FZ instrumental track is “Peaches In Regalia” from Hot Rats (I even included it on our wedding music CDs), but I opted for something different in this compilation… and I didn’t want to offend anyone; so I picked an instrumental track. As for essential Zappa, Strictly Commercial (a hits package) is where I started, but other essential albums are Apostrophe (’), Hot Rats, Waka/Jawaka…
(track 09) 0 is brought to you by Remy Zero.
Song: “Gramarye”
Album: Villa Elaine (Geffen, ©1998 )
Webpage(s): http://www.remyzero.com/
Hailed from: Birmingham, AL
Info: Hmmm… what to say about Remy Zero? I got into them back in 1998 when I saw the video for “Gramarye” on some late-night alternative rock cable-access station. I bought both of their albums at the time for cheap at a used shop… both great purchases at a $5 level. When their last album came out, The Golden Hum, I think I got it the day it came out. I saw them in concert that year, then I watched the first episode of Smallville after one of our weekly Buffy nights. First few bars of the TV show’s opening credits, I blurted out, “holy crap, this is Remy Zero!” Everyone else in the room looked at me like I was a psycho (which is a highly reliable reaction considering the source). Anyway, I thought it was cool that a fairly unknown band has getting such prominent exposure. Apparently this overexposure ended up breaking the band up.
(track 10) 1 is brought to you by Population-1.
Song: “Unhappy B-day”
“Explicit” Lyrics: Not really, but it does include “shit” a few times.
Album: Population-1 (self-released, ©2002)
Indie Meter: Puts out his albums out independently or also on Polydor Japan
Webpage(s): http://www.population-1.com/ which will eventually morph into http://www.dramagods.com/
Hails from: Australia & Los Angeles (and formerly Boston)
Info: Nuno Bettencourt is a rock hero of mine. After Extreme broke up, he put out a great solo album under the moniker of just “Nuno” called Schizophonic. He then put out two albums under the moniker Mourning Widows. The first MW record was still a solo album, and then by the second he made a band out of it. He briefly changed the name of his band to Near Death Experience, and then he changed it to Population-1. And now, two days before the beginning of October 2005, I find out that there are plans to change the name from Population-1 to Dramagods. Oy vey! Needless to say, I think Nuno’s got identity issues or something. All of his post-Extreme days have been melodic power-rock efforts… some showcasing his guitar-playing, but mostly showcasing his songwriting. I’m kind of an idiot, because this song doesn’t really showcase his “great songwriting” (it was just a fun “party” tune). Population-1/Dramagods hopes to release their third record (2nd full-length) in early 2006. Three members of Population-1/Dramagods (definitely including Nuno) are also working with Perry Farrell (of Jane’s Addiction & Lollapalooza fame) and Tony Kanal (No Doubt’s bassist) on a side-project called Satellite Party, which had its live debut at the Chicago 2005 Lollapalooza fest. I have no news about a Satellite Party studio effort…
(track 11) 2 is brought to you by The Jelly Jam’s album 2.
Song: “She Was Alone”
Album: 2 (Inside Out, ©2004)
Indie Meter: Small prog-rock label…
Webpage(s): http://www.tytabor.net/ – – – http://www.kingsxonline.com/jellyjam/
Hails from: Texas, New York and Boston
Info: This is a veritable prog “supergroup” of Ty Tabor (King’s X), Rod Morgenstein (Dixie Dregs), and John Myung (Dream Theater). It actually started as Platypus (with former-Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian), but splintered off into two side-projects – The Jelly Jam (sans Derek) and Jughead (Ty, Derek and Matt & Gregg Bisonnette from The Mustard Seeds). Of the three bands (Platypus, Jughead, and The Jelly Jam), I dig Jughead the most… but they’re all great rock bands.
(track 12) 3 is brought to you by Secret Chiefs 3.
Song: “Knights of Damcar”
Album: Book M (Web of Mimicry, ©2001)
Indie Meter: Completely.
Webpage(s): http://www.secretchiefs3.com/ – – – http://www.webofmimicry.com/label.php?band=sc3
Hails from: unsure, but probably the SF Bay Area
Info: No, you’re not listening to a band from the Middle East. You’re listening to a gang of musical fringe players who run in circles with the noiserock, punk, and hardcore underground, including members of Mr. Bungle. No, Mike Patton has no involvement in this group, but fellow Bungles (Trey Spruance, Trevor Dunn, and Danny Hiefetz) are all over the Secret Chiefs 3. The Secret Chiefs 3 catalog is “mostly made up of Indian/Asian-sounding melodies overlayed with wildly cavorting techno rhythms and a tiny bit of metal, infused with a sense of mystery and paranoia from the thematic artwork based on number theory and assumedly Hindu belief systems” (allmusicguide). Most of it fits in with the eclectic Bungle sound – ie: The Secret Chiefs 3 can’t be defined or pigeonholed.
(track 13) 4 is brought to you by Porcupine Tree’s EP that has a “4” in the title.
Song: “Disappear”
Album: 4 Chords That Made a Million -EP- (k-scope/Snapper, ©2000)
Webpage(s): http://www.porcupinetree.com/
Hails from: England
Info: I should thank (or blame) both Steve C. and Zayne for getting me into Porcupine Tree. A brilliant progressive band comes along just when I’m about fed-up with progressive rock. Porcupine Tree’s earlier albums are more Pink Floyd influenced, and their most recent albums (In Absentia and Deadwing) have a heavier edge to them. PT comes highly recommended in both the live and recorded setting. Porcupine Tree is also related to two other bands in this compilation… Steven Wilson (the primary songwriter in PT) is also a major contributor in both Blackfield and No-Man.
(track 14) 5 is brought to you by Jurassic 5.
Song: “Monkey Bars”
“Explicit” Lyrics: Not really, but it does include “shit” a few times.
Album: Quality Control (Interscope, ©2000)
Webpage(s): http://www.jurassic5.com/ – – – http://www.cutchemist.com/
Hails from: Los Angeles
Info: Jurassic 5 is quite frankly one of the few hip-hop groups out there that truly excites me. I enjoy their “old school” style and their art of making the hip-hop sound be a lot about musicality. Their DJs (Cut Chemist and Nu Mark) bring a level of musicianship and playfulness to the band. J5’s MCs also tend to keep it clean (for the most part) and rap about positive and/or thought-provoking topics… not “hoes and gats”… This song (“Monkey Bars”) is just a fun song about the elements of hip-hop.
(track 15) 6 is brought to you by King’s X.
Song: “Six Broken Soldiers”
Album: Faith Hope Love (Megaforce, ©1990)
Indie Meter: They started out indie, then got signed up for an asinine 14-record contract with Atlantic. Yikes! Luckily Atlantic honored their request to be dropped, and they have been indie ever since 1996.
Webpage(s): http://www.kingsxonline.com/ – – – http://www.tytabor.net/
Hails from: Katy, TX
Info: I’m going to preface all of this by stating that this song is an aberration of most King’s X songs… it is sung by the drummer, and it’s primarily nonsensical… alas, it had “six” in the title. King’s X is one of those rare bands who have withstood the test of time. They have been around for over 25 years, and they are still active in the rock music scene without having any major hits or chart success. They are a band that has spawned countless influenced-by colleagues – Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and Collective Soul included – and gained much respect from musicians all over the world. All three members of King’s X (Doug Pinnick, Ty Tabor and Jerry Gaskill) have side-projects and solo efforts and remain loyal to King’s X through it all.
(track 16) 7 is brought to you by Zero 7.
Song: “Truth & Rights”
Album: Another Late Night (Kinetic, ©2002)
Webpage(s): http://www.zero7.co.uk/
Hails from: England
Info: Thanks to Luke for his pop-up Zero 7 Player post before When It Falls came out. Beautiful vocals and smooth jazz. This band became a quick favorite.
(track 17) 8 is brought to you by Elliott Smith.
Song: “Figure 8”
Album: Son of Sam -single- (Dreamworks, ©2000)
Indie Meter: indie-pop king who somehow got nominated for an Oscar against Celine Dion… J
Webpage(s): http://www.sweetadeline.net/ is a good posthumous webpage
Hailed from: primarily Portland, OR, but also New York City and Los Angeles along his career path
Info: I thank Bruce for getting me into Elliott Smith right before he came to town in 2000. I’m glad I got to see him before he died. He was a treasure, and he is very much missed. This track was from the Figure 8 sessions and made its way onto the “Son of Sam” import single.
(track 18) 9 is brought to you by Buckethead.
Song: “911”
Album: Bermuda Triangle (Catalyst, ©2002)
Indie Meter: countless albums on countless indie labels
Webpage(s): http://www.bucketheadland.com/
Hails from: a chicken coop
Info: Buckethead is crazy. He plays guitar like few others. He wears a KFC-style bucket and a white mask during shows and photo ops. He plays guitars with nunchuks. He dances the robot. He’s got an album with Viggo Mortensen that is surprisingly good. He works a lot with Les Claypool and Bootsy Collins. He was in Axl Rose’s latest touring incarnation of Guns N’ Roses. There is very little known about his origins or personal life. Most of his music is in a metal vein, but two of his albums would be well-suited for fans of mellower music: Colma and Electric Tears. I even used some Buckethead tracks in our wedding CDs… J
FIN.
Enjoy! Sorry for overloading… but once I got the “A to Z” mix concept in my head, there was no smoting it.
~Dan
PS– You might be asking yourself, “why is Chroma Key clearly absent?” Well, I’ve got an OSI track on there, which is essentially Chroma Key on steroids. If you wanna hear some Chroma Key (ie- my #1 favorite band of all-time), just ask me. Or check out some of the following links for sound samples:
http://www.cdbaby.com/all/chromakey456
The Chroma Key albums Dead Air For Radios and You Go Now have gained my 100% buy-back guarantee… if you buy them and don’t like ‘em, I’ll buy ‘em off your hands for what you paid for ‘em (max $13.95/ea). Honest to God!
B.P.D.
(originally posted to the old Over the Rhine Actwin list)
It relates to the Over the Rhine song “B.P.D.” on the 2-CD Ohio.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kim Cart wrote:
>Hoping this isn’t a repeat topic, but it just hit
>me. BPD — Borderline Personality Disorder. Has
>anyone else made this connection? Am I the only
>person in the world who hasn’t?
actually, Karin has gone into great lengths about
it. it truly means Border’s Panini Dijon. It was
a limited time release at their cafe, and apparently
she really loved the yummy sandwiches. when they
discontinued them, things got a little “heated” (to
say the least) between the band and several of the
cafe staff. Karin even asked for the recipe, but
Border’s non-compete clause with their employees
wouldn’t allow them to release the recipe… hence
this line:
I’d make it alright
But I wouldn’t get it right
I’m leavin’ it alone
the *real* kicker was how they were driving her to
a slow suicide “just one bite at a time.” she’s over
it now… that’s why the band keeps pimping “filet
mignon” in all of their interviews this album. if
things hadn’t gone south with Border’s, OtR would
have been pimping the BPD Meal Deal during all of
their interviews.
if you don’t believe me, well, there are still marks
on the walls by the espresso machine at the Tri-County
Border’s.
…
no, the real answer to your questions are: yes and yes.
rude,
Dan – np: bob johnson – musings
TRIPLE-REVIEW: Tori Amos, Radiohead, Over the Rhine (3 cities in Ohio – – Aug 2003)
(originally posted to the old Over the Rhine Actwin list)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ohio is great for concerts… triple show review (8/24/2003)
Not every week do you get to see 3 of your Top 5 Artists. This was one of those weeks for me…
Tori Amos, Radiohead, and Over the Rhine.
Here’s a triple review of OHIO shows this past week…
I. Tori Amos
II. Radiohead
III. Over the Rhine (bookstore show)
I. TORI AMOS & Marc Broussard
PromoWest Pavilion, Columbus, OH (just barely outside of downtown)
Wednesday, August 20th, 2003
HIGHLIGHTS: The opener was good. Strong voice. Tori was great… there were some technical problems partway through the set, but she handled it well. Her dress ripped, too… the resulting song that came out of that one was great. :) Song highlights were: Sweet Dreams (a Winter b-side), Mr Zebra, Caught a Lite Sneeze, Mary (another b-side), I Can’t See New York, Hey Jupiter, Bliss, A Sorta Fairytale, China, Liquid Diamonds, Girl, Precious Things, Space Dog, and Cornflake Girl… a lot of great tunes. Plus a birthday number was fun, too… apparently this was her last show before turning 40. She seems to be cool with that. :) Hanging out in Columbus’ Short North was great the next day, too. Magnolia Thunderpussy (awesome music selection), Monkeys Retreat (cool Simpsons collector stuff), and coffee for me; jewelry and art shops for Margarita… lots of glass in the Cow Town. Seemed like the shops fancied it. We some some excellent Chihuly pieces… my credit card wouldn’t handle purchasing them ($32k to start). Oh, maybe next time.
BUMMER: Ben Folds not being there was the biggest bummer. This was one of the two shows that he wasn’t going to co-headline. I didn’t find that out until *after* I bought my tickets and booked the hotel. Another bummer… she seemed to play too much from To Venus and Back (4-5 songs, ugh). Oh well, she played enough other material to make up for it… :)
OVERALL: Great show… my 8th time seeing Tori, and the setlist was been vastly different every time. That’s what I love about her touring… from day-to-day, it’s a different show.
II. RADIOHEAD & Steve Malkmus and the Jicks
Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH (just outside of Akron)
Thursday, August 21st, 2003
HIGHLIGHTS: There There (with Ed on mini-drums and Jonny on mini-drums, keys, and guitar), Paranoid Android, Exit Music (For a Film), Lucky, Idioteque, Morning Bell, 2+2=5, Punchup at a Wedding, Wolf at the Door. They seemed to stick with the newer stuff, which is fine. But it seemed when they played any older stuff (Paranoid or Exit Music), that they were phenomenally tighter, and/or those songs lent themselves better to the live show. The Kid A stuff didn’t seem to lend itself as well (it did last time – 2 years ago). My favorite played was probably Paranoid Android. We moved up to the right side of the lawn, away from the crowd, after about 5 songs. We could see and hear (and breathe) way better. A nice breeze cooling us off, comfy grass to sit on, a beauty on my arm, and a great band flaoting through the air… ’twas a good time. Oh, and finally finding the only Indian restaurant in the Akron/Cuyahoga phone book was a blessing.
Different korma than our usual haunts (yummy as hell), and Strawberry Lassi (yum).
BUMMER: No My Iron Lung, Fake Plastic Trees, or Street Spirit (unless they had a 2nd encore that we missed)… also, the song “Kid A” was icky in the live performance (with a side of ICK sauce). Steve Malkmus & the Jicks were quite boring and lame. There were 2 or 3 Jicks’ songs near the middle-end that were *decent*. That’s about it. Oh, another bummer… Blossom’s parking is, like, miles and miles and miles from the venue. A 30 minute walk post-show is a drain. Oh, plus when we tried to check-in to our B&B at 3pm *no one* was there. We walked in, and *no one*. We eventually found a room with an A/C and napped until 5:30 until the proprietor finally showed up. It was surreal, at best. Quite disorganized B&B, but a KILLER house (O’Neill House in Akron) and a killer breakfast… yum.
OVERALL: Great lights, Thom’s a spaz, Jonny hates his guitar, Radiohead put on a great show again.
III. OVER THE RHINE and tons of books
Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH (just outside of Kentucky)
Saturday, August 23rd, 2003
HIGHLIGHTS: Hometown (Norwood) Boy, Suitcase, Anything At All, Show Me, Fever, Ohio, trivia break (Drew Vogel, aka D.V., won a framed poster), The Seahorse, and Summertime. They also had What I’ll Remember Most, Changes Come, and Bothered on the setlist, but didn’t play them. Suitcase was great.
Show Me was better than what I’d heard prior, and Fever was stunningly sexy (as usual).
BUMMER: I didn’t have my OHIO CDs from Paste yet. I didn’t even have them by the time I got home late Saturday night. I had K&L sign my Paste Order Confirmation email instead. I crack myself up sometimes.
OVERALL: Great set, sound was a bit off, but it was a really fun time. Song highlights were… all of ’em. It was good to see them in a nice intimate bookstore venue.
My wife (Margarita) somehow puts up with all of the driving to concerts… yay, I picked a winner! :)
Ohio traveller,
Dan
written in parts throughout the day, so…
pp: bela fleck & the flecktones – ten from little
worlds
pp: living sacrifice – reborn
pp: madonna – ray of light
pp: the magnolia soundtrack
np: sarah masen – carry us through
REVIEW: Over the Rhine @ Southgate House (Newport, KY – – 8/26/01)
(originally posted to the old Actwin list)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BERL wrote:
> The show last night at Southgate was really
> fun, great sound.
yes, indeedy, petey. it sounded better up top, much
to the opposite recommendation from some folks here
(ahem… ahem)…
> Kim Taylor opened… she did great. Much looking
> forward to her CD.
eh… she was ok. better than girheuB ikkiN, nice
voice… and she didn’t smoke and scratch her head
incessantly. :P
j/k, she was pretty good. does she have a CD coming
out? i was out running my camera back to my car
during her last song.
> Bothered
> Lucy
i liked what karin did vocally at the end of these
songs… nice stuff…
> Miles
nice rendition. have they done that lately? i don’t
think so. that might have been my fav song of the
night.
> I Radio Heaven to her naked pot-farming
> TV buddy. It was a groovy version, just two
> acoustic guitars, kinda strumming along. It was
> one of the few songs of the night that wasn’t
> shifted downtempo of it’s original version.
jack was also playing lap steel along with this.
and unless you were at a different show than i…
this was not nearly the same as the album version.
dude, it was a freakin’ DIRGE. slow and moving and
droning. i liked it a lot, but i just had to really
disagree with you, though.
DIRGE was what it was. a freakin’ DIRGE.
you could see them all moping while playing it… ;)
> “Orphan Girl” is that same Gillian Welch song
> they’ve been playing for years. (Yawn) Pretty
> and all, but (yawn).
mmm… better than some other songs. i kinda liked
it.
> this all leads to “Hello Ohio”. It pretty
> much was a song about the things she just
> talked about…
she gave away half the lyrics in her talking.
where’s the surprise? i hate it when performers
do that.
overall a good show… i was sleepy after a long
weekend, but it was enjoyable.
i ate the crumbs- spilled the wine,
Dan
np: king’s x – KX4
The dirge comments prompted a discussion of Poughkeepsie, which prompted a post from a bandmember (Karin Bergquist)… It prompted this on the otr.com splashpage:
:sigh:
REVIEW: Over the Rhine @ Bogart’s (Cincinnati, OH – – 3/21/01)
(originally posted to the old Actwin list)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
rev: OtR – bogarts.
thurs, march 22rd/th/nd.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fabulous set. mostest funnest for a while.
loved it. totally. echo megan & bink’s revs.
set. order not particular.
the world can wait.
if nothing else.
fairpoint diary.
no toy. no piano.
i radioheadven.
birds.
holy crap. loved it.
don’t be bothered. don’t be, i said.
well done. differentish.
something that (apparently) (isn’t) goodbye.
but i’m not so sure. or am i?
sleep baby jane.
it wasn’t my idea. it was karin’s first.
my love is a fever.
by firelight… hush.
all i need is e.
“crank the ‘e’ and let’s begin.”
(name that tune?) .5000 dollars if right.
faithfully dangerous.
give me strength. wild banshee mix.
aka album version. not acoustic.
moth. jesus was surprised.
when i go.
anywhere but down. name might be wrong.
the body is an escalator of skin.
escalator temporarily stairs.
little blue river/4 score & 7 yrs.
latter days.
like i said. awesome show. best in yrs.
they changed their setlist. they had fun.
standy bogart’s or not. it rocked.
did they do whatever you say? bruce? they didn’t do whatever i say, did they do whatever you say?
i still miss terri. brokenheart.
moth and e, mainly.
( :::|::|::: ) might fix it. temporarily.
jakc rocks. jack does too.
linford sticks up for him.
karin is beaut. always.
chris and dale, cool mofreekas.
nighty-nite.
someone snerdley,
Dan
np: wonderful thoughts
~ Dan Temmesfeld – dtemm@yahoo.com ~
~ zesenzestig sinaasappel schillen ~
REVIEW: Over the Rhine @ Canal Street Tavern (Dayton, OH – – 6/23/00)
(originally posted to the old Actwin list)
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They played a lot of new stuff and/or older stuff that they haven’t pulled out too often… the first set was shock full of the newer stuff, and the second stuff had some of the OtR staples…
It was a really good show overall… and it’d been since December since I’d seen OtR. Good stuff. Oh yeah, it was a three-piece (K&L and Jack). Nikki Buehrig opened.
Karin’s new hair-style…she needed to be wearing a big script “L” on her shirt. :) Sorry, but that’s just the first thing that came to my mind when they came on stage…
They played a tune that Bruce said that Jan’s been requesting forever (see setlist below), but they’ve never played it for her… so maybe their next Chicago show, you’ll luck out Jan…
Setlist:
SET 1-
When I Go (K&L)
I Let It Go
Goodbye
Anyway
Show Me
Green Clouded-Tail Butterfly
If Nothing Else
It’s Never Quite What It Seems
Cast Me Away
Little Blue River
Who Will Guard the Door (K&L)
Suitcase (K&L)
Fairpoint Diary (K&L)
SET 2-
And Can It Be
June
Moth
Jacksie
All I Need is Everything
I Will Remember
Now I Know (Cowboy Junkie’s tune)
Lucy
Circle of Quiet
Latter Days
ENCORE-
Faithfully Dangerous
Go Down Easy
Somewhere in SET 2, Jack and Linford did a little jam session… I forget in between which songs. It was fun. As for SET 1, I don’t remember hearing “Cast Me Away;” so maybe they didn’t play it, or maybe I fell asleep…
The three new ones in a row Show/Green/Nothing were cool. Jack’s guitar tone on several of them were what Bruce referred to as “porno guitar.” Twas humourous. They were good songs anyway. The first two new songs at the beginning of the SET 1 were good, too… but kinda mellow. They were nice, though.
Ah… I think this show made up my mind that I’m gonna try to make it to the Sunday show in Columbus…
Have fun everybody at the Kent gig!!!
save the erf,
Dan
np: bt – movement in still life
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
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