Archive
Katie Reider (1978-2008)
Katie Reider was a great lyrical and vocal talent in Cincinnati. I got into her back in 1998 or so… shortly after Wonder came out. While living in Cincinnati, I got a chance to see Katie many, many times… opening for other bands, playing her own shows at York Street Cafe, JoBeth bookstore, et cetera. I felt as if I knew her as a person (though I really didn’t). I guess that stems from the fact that she was a very open person, on stage and talking with her audience before or after a show. Her band was also great – the playing from Dave Eberhardt, Josh Seurkamp, and her brother Robbie (who played with her earlier on) melded her singer-songwriter songs into a very cohesive group effort.
In 2006, Katie Reider developed a tumor in her upper left jaw that progressed into her sinus, skull base and left eye orbit. Over the course of one year, the rare facial tumor took away her sight in one eye, her voice and most importantly, her ability to perform. We last saw her last summer at the Taste of Cincinnati festival. She appeared in good spirits, normal looking, but was much skinnier from some of the tests early on in her treatment.
She had moved to New York to be closer to specialist who could treat her. I didn’t know the severity of her condition until earlier this year, they posted pictures of her deterioration to the 500Kin365 MySpace page. It saddened me greatly then, but it seemed as if progress was being made (specifically this post on July 1st, 2008). As of a post Monday morning on her family’s health blog, Katie Reider’s fight with the tumor came to an end at 7am on Monday, July 14th.
This is something that saddens me deeply (I’ve had to pause and cry several times while typing this). Some artists I have seen or followed musically who have passed on impacted me deeply (Elliott Smith’s passing hit me like a ton of bricks). Katie Reider is not an exception to this deep impact on me. She was a jewel in the rough in the onslaught of many mediocre singer-songwriters. She was a genuine person trying to bring her joy to others around her. She was a wounded body, stricken by something that medicine doesn’t know how to take care of yet.
I don’t know if there’s an afterlife. I don’t think words do any justice along those lines. If anything, I’m just glad that she’s finally at rest. I just hope that she knew that she was and is a joy in many peoples’ lives. I thank her for her impact on my life. She made good music that made me happy to have open ears and a youthful vigor to see live music in my hometown. I wish for her family and friends the peace that she’s finally done with the pain.
If you feel moved, you can help support her young family with a donation here:
http://www.500kin365.org/
I have nothing else to add but my gratitude.
~Dan
Thom Yorke & Cincinnati’s MusicNOW 2008 festival (unrelated)
I realized as I was typing the title that… whoa, someone might take that the wrong way. Two separate topics. Two. Separate. Topics.
Thom Yorke‘s got a new solo EP on iTunes with the following tracks:
2) Skip Divided (Modeselektor Remix)
3) Analyse (Various Remix)
And now for the Festival I wish I could attend, but dammit, I won’t be able to attend…
Last year’s MusicNOW Fest (reviewed by me HERE — sorry for the formatting) had a wonderful line-up including Sufjan Stevens, My Brightest Diamond, Pedro Soler, Bryce Dessner (of The National), The Clogs, The Havels, Amiina, David Cossin, Osso… yadda yadda yadda… best show(s) of the year.
This year’s fest’s lineup has now been announced… Thursday and Friday have me drooling… I dig Bill Frisell, Eyvind Kang, and Bang on a Can a bit…
Wednesday, April 2nd
An evening of music and film featuring vintage experimental films from the New York Filmmaker’s Cooperative by Robert Breer, Marie Menken, and Harry Smith along with contemporary artists Matthew Ritchie and Bill Morrisson accompanied by festival performers and special guests at the Contemporary Arts Center.
Thursday, April 3rd
An evening of American Guitar with classical guitarist Benjamin Verdery and Bill Frisell’s 858 Quartet, featuring Eyvind Kang, Hank Roberts & Jenny Scheinman, at Memorial Hall
Friday, April 4th
Dirty Projectors and Bang on a Can featuring Glenn Kotche and Bryce Dessner at Memorial Hall
Saturday, April 5th
Andrew Bird and Grizzly Bear at Memorial Hall.
Unfortunately, I can’t make it (first week of the spring term -and- 2,600 miles away). but if you’re in the vacinity of Cincinnati area… check it out…
http://www.myspace.com/musicnowfestival
http://www.musicnowfestival.org/new/
~Dan – np: Sinéad O’Connor – Theology
REVIEW: Ric Hordinski & Leigh Nash @ the Monastery (Cincinnati – – 6/26/07)
great show last night. Ric‘s set was loud and buzzy, but good songs nonetheless. he didn’t play anything from his new record, The Silence of Everything Yearned For, which was odd… but it was a good set anyway. 
and his new record is great. listening to it now… perhaps more similar to Hush but more straight-forward guitar rather than ambient guitar. Josh Seurkamp joined him on drums, and Mark Lukie (sp?) on bass (aka “Shaggy” per Bruce).
Leigh Nash‘s set was great as well. She played roughly an hour, containing songs from her solo album (last year’s Blue on Blue) as well as “Breathe Your Name” and “Kiss Me” from the 6p catalog. Cute persona and beautiful voice. We stayed for her whole set, even though I’m known for liking sleep on a weekday. It was a highly enjoyable evening.
~Dan
np: ric hordinski – the silence of everything yearned for
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
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
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 ~
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
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