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REVIEW: Dave Holland @ PDX Jazz (Portland, OR – 2/27/10)
I got into Dave Holland around the same time as a lot of other jazz. I got into jazz through the backdoor (John Zorn) and then slowly moved into the more straight ahead jazz. I think I can officially blame Ken Laster and his In the Groove, Jazz and Beyond podcast for playing a lot of Dave Holland. Anyway, shortly after hearing Holland, I picked up Extended Play: Live at Birdland and Critical Mass. Both are great, but the latter is quite fetching. When I found out he was one of the headliners at this year’s Portland Jazz Fest, I was stoked.
I was equally stoked that he’d be bringing saxophonist Chris Potter and drummer Nate Smith with him. I saw Chris & Nate play in Cincinnati a few years back, and I loved both of them but was quite entranced with Nate’s drumming. His flow and style are a sight to behold.
Well, on to the show…
I missed PDX Jazz Fest last year. I was deeply entrenched in busy season at work (I’m a CPA), and perhaps there wasn’t as big of a draw in 2009 as in 2008 (SF Jazz Collective and Ornette Coleman). 2010, well, that’s another story… as I ended up staying the night to catch two shows on Sunday, too (check back for the Pharoah Sanders and Dave Douglas’ Brass Ecstasy reviews on Monday). Anyway, no cameras allowed. I took a couple with my iPhone, but they didn’t come out all that well; so, yeah, I’m not posting them.
The band went on around 7:40pm after a short introduction. The band was Dave Holland on upright bass, the aforementioned Chris Potter (sax) and Nate Smith (drums), along with Alex Sipiagin on trumpet and Steve Nelson on vibes. The first thing I noted was how Dave’s bass really breathed. There’s a reason why he’s a heavyweight in the jazz world. His tone, his swing, his lyricism – all very prevalent.
They started off with “Step To It,” which started with Nate Smith drumming barehanded and featured a massive Chris Potter solo, and was capped off with a great gentle back and forth between Dave and Nate. Here’s how it all went down last night…
Setlist: 95 minutes
- Step To It
- Last Minute Men
- Looking Up
- Cosmosis
- Make Believe
- Free For All
- Encore: Easy Did It
“Cosmosis” and the encore “Easy Did It” both featured great Dave Holland solos. On “Free For All,” Nate Smith drum solo was quite playful. He was going all out, and actually lost one of his drumsticks amidst his free for all. I haven’t mentioned Alex or Steve yet… both were great, but didn’t seem to take as many solos as Chris or Nate. Alex’s few solos were superb. I love some good trumpet music (hence my Sunday plans for Dave Douglas). Steve’s vibe work was great, moreso as a back-up for the band (his solos didn’t do much for me). I think as far as a quintet goes, I’d opt for piano over vibes (especially with an already powerful drummer on the stage).
All in all, Dave Holland reaffirmed his place with me as a force to reckon with. They played over an hour and half, and it seemed like it was about 20 minutes. It totally flew by and was highly energetic. I hope he brings this band around sometime soon!
For photos from this and other PDX Jazz shows, check out PDX Jazz’s flickr stream:
(photos by Fran Kaufman)
Well, off to the next show, Damien Jurado across town at the Mississippi Studios…
The Appropriate Linkage:
PDX Jazz Fest :: Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy
Well, the PDX Jazzfest in Portland, Oregon, is only 1 week away. You won’t want to miss it. There are many fantastic local and national acts, including these great headliners:
Thursday, February 25 – Luciana Souza
Friday, February 26 – Mingus Big Band
Saturday, February 27 (3pm) – Trygve Seim & Frode Haltli
Saturday, February 27 (7:30) – Dave Holland Quintet
Sunday, February 28 (3pm) – Pharoah Sanders
Sunday, February 28 (7:30) – Dave Douglas Brass Ecstasy
As we lead up to the event, I’ll focus on one of the headliners a week… last up Dave Douglas and his horny band Brass Ecstasy. I’ll be going to this show, which caps the PDX Jazz Fest. I got into Dave Douglas via John Zorn’s Masada. I’ve since gotten into Dave’s other bands: Tiny Bell Trio, Keystone, DD Quartet, DD Quintet, SF Jazz Collective, Second Sight, New & Used, Mosiac Sextet, Orange Then Blue, A Single Sky… tons of releases over 20+ years.
His Brass Ecstasy band released their debut recording, Spirit Moves, in 2009 – which features Dave joined by Vincent Chancey on french horn, Luis Bonilla on trombone, Marcus Rojas on tuba, and Nasheet Waits on drums and releases on Greenleaf Music.
Two-time Grammy-nominated jazz musician Dave Douglas is arguably the most prolific and original trumpeter & composer of his generation. From his New York base, where he’s lived since the mid 1980s, Douglas has continued to earn lavish national and international acclaim including trumpeter, composer, and jazz “Artist of the Year” by such organizations as the New York Jazz Awards, Down Beat, Jazz Times, Jazziz, and the Italian Jazz Critics’ Society. His solo recording career began in 1993 with Parallel Worlds on Soul Note and he has since released over twenty-eight recordings. In 2005, after seven critically-acclaimed albums for Bluebird/RCA, Douglas launched his own record label, Greenleaf Music. The same year, he was honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship. On Greenleaf, Douglas has released albums with his long standing Quintet, the electronic sextet Keystone, and the mixed chamber ensemble Nomad. His latest project, Brass Ecstasy, features a brass quintet of trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba and drums and will release Spring 2009.
Douglas is currently the artistic director of the Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music at the Banff Center and the co-founder and director of the Festival of New Trumpet Music, which will celebrate its 7th year in 2009.
In addition to leading his own groups, Douglas has an important ongoing musical relationship as a member of John Zorn’s Masada and with artists such as Anthony Braxton, Don Byron, Joe Lovano, Miguel Zenon, Uri Caine, Bill Frisell, Cibo Matto, Mark Dresser, Han Bennink and Misha Mengelberg. As a composer, Douglas has been commissioned by the Trisha Brown Dance Company, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Essen Philharmonie, Library of Congress and Stanford University. Recent large scale works have included Blue Latitudes, for chamber orchestra and 3 improvisers, and Delighted States, for big band with soloists (both unreleased as of press date).
Webpage: http://www.davedouglas.com/
FOR INFO & TICKETS: http://pdxjazz.com/tickets/
~Dan – np: Hotel Lights – Hotel Lights
REVIEW: Van Dyke Parks with Clare & the Reasons @ Mississippi Studios (Portland, OR – 2/10/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Van Dyke Parks is recognized around the world as a musical genius… he’s a brilliant session musician, composer, arranger, lyricist, and singer. He has contributed to many masterpieces (check out his rap sheet). He is most well known for his collaboration with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. While Brian is a prodigiously gifted composer, he was no lyricist, and needed one who could match the daring new music he was devising in his head. The result is their collaboration on the much vaunted SMiLE album.
I’ll admit, I’m not a fan of the Beach Boys. I just don’t care for their music. Well, I connected with Van Dyke Parks via a newer band… Silverchair (VDP did string arrangements for Diorama and Young Modern). Yeah, yeah… if you only knew them from 1995’s “Tomorrow” (from when they were 15 years old)… well, they’ve grown.
Anyway…
Van Dyke Parks rarely ever records or tours, putting at most one or two records per decade. When I heard about the shows via the Clare & the Reasons‘ email, I jumped at the chance of seeing both of these artists on the stage together. I had seen Clare & the Reasons open up for My Brightest Diamond back in Nov 2008, and I loved their French bohemian meets modern indie rock vibe.
There were only four shows slated for this rare double bill tour…
02.09.10 – Seattle, WA Triple Door
02.10.10 – Portland, OR Mississippi Studios
02.12.10 – San Francisco, CA Swedish American Hall
02.14.10 – Santa Monica, CA McCabe’s
This was only my second time up to the Mississippi Studios. I really like the intimate setting, even the crazy hovering piano. The last time I was there was for David Bazan in November. For the VDP & Clare show, I’m glad they had chairs down… whew. :)
Opener Josh Mease went on around 9pm and played 6 songs. He had a very gentle singer-songwriter style. His guitarwork was good, but his voice was simply superb (nice lyrics, too). Josh is on Frogstand Records, the same record label as Clare & The Reasons. I dug his own tunes more than the Randy Newman cover. For his last song, Clare & The Reasons came up to play with him…
Josh Mease’s Setlist: about 20 mins
- missing song name
- missing song name
- Marie (Randy Newman cover)
- Days Like This
- Eleanor
- Start Over (with Clare & The Reasons)
Clare & The Reasons stayed up after Josh’s last song and moved some instruments around (and subsequently lost a percussion brush). Off to a great start! :) They joked lightly about it and then… viola, they found it! Their set was a sandwich of Arrow songs, The Movie songs, and more Arrow songs.
Arrow came out late last year, but I didn’t get a chance to pick it up until yesterday. I also picked up Olivier Manchon’s brand new instrumental CD, Orchestre de Chambre Miniature Volume 1, with saxophonist John Ellis, Gregoire Maret (from a Herbie Hancock band), and more string and woodwind players. Check their albums out (click pictures below)…
What I love about the band is not just limited to Clare Manchon’s vocals, but also the wonderful multi-instrumentation from Olivier and the well rounded guitarist and upright bassist. The set was full of great percussion, strings, garbage ukelele, french horn, pizzicato strings, a borrowed saw, acoustic & electric guitars, and sublime vocals. Van Dyke Parks & Josh Mease joined them on stage for their next to last song… (apparently Bill Frisell also joined them on stage up at the Seattle show).
Clare & the Reason’s Setlist: about an hour
- You Got Time
- All the Wine
- Perdue A Paris
- Ooh You Hurt Me So
- Wake Up (You Sleepy Head)
- You Getting Me
- This Is The Story
- Alphabet City
- Pluton
- Pluto
- Our Team Is Grand
- Love Can Be A Crime (with VDP & Josh)
- That’s All (Genesis cover)
Van Dyke Parks came on after a short break. He was seated at the piano and brought The Reasons (sans Clare) as his backing band. They started out with a great instrumental piece. The rest of the songs we heard were poppier tunes with some great instrumentation (as expected). VDP is an amazing pianist and composer. His voice wasn’t superb or sublime, but it fit the songs. I wasn’t familiar with his songs, but of the ones he announced while we were there… Opportunity for Two, Orange Crate Art, and Sail Away.
VDP was also a great banterer in between songs. Usually short, but funny… one of my faves was “my wife thinks that ‘cook’ is a noun.”
We only stayed for half of his scheduled hour-long set (as we had a 2 hour drive back home), but it was a great set of tunes. If anyone has the complete VDP setlist, let me know.
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Van Dyke Park’s Site
- VDP on MySpace
- A VDP fan’s review of the show on Oregon Live
- Clare & The Reason’s Site
- Clare & The Reason on MySpace
- Josh Mease’s Site
- Josh Mease on MySpace
- Mississippi Studios
~Dan – np: Sade – Soldier of Love
VAN DYKE PARKS, CLARE & the REASONS and JOSH MEASE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Van Dyke Parks and Clare & The Reasons (review this evening)
Got back late last night, full day of work ahead of me… review of last night’s Van Dyke Parks, Clare & The Reasons, and Josh Mease show at Mississippi Studios in Portland will be posted tonight (Thursday 2/11)…
~Dan – np: Clare & The Reasons – Arrow
PDX Jazz Fest :: Pharoah Sanders
Well, the PDX Jazzfest in Portland, Oregon, is about 2 weeks away. You won’t want to miss it. There are many fantastic local and national acts, including these great headliners:
Thursday, February 25 – Luciana Souza
Friday, February 26 – Mingus Big Band
Saturday, February 27 (3pm) – Trygve Seim & Frode Haltli
Saturday, February 27 (7:30) – Dave Holland Quintet
Sunday, February 28 (3pm) – Pharoah Sanders
Sunday, February 28 (7:30) – Dave Douglas Brass Ecstasy
As we lead up to the event, I’ll focus on one of the headliners a week… next up Pharoah Sanders.
Pharoah Sanders is a most distinctive tenor saxophone player and a legend, he’s one of the last living members of John Coltrane’s late ensembles of the mid-’60s. Pharoah Sanders possesses one of the most distinctive tenor saxophone sounds in jazz. Harmonically rich and heavy with overtones, Sanders’ sound can be as raw and abrasive as it is possible for a saxophonist to produce, and although he made his name with expressionistic, nearly anarchic free jazz in John Coltrane’s late ensembles of the mid-’60s, Sanders’ later music is guided by more graceful concerns.
Pharoah Sanders (his given name, Ferrell Sanders) formed his first group in 1963, with pianist John Hicks (with whom he would continue to play off-and-on into the ’90s), bassist Wilbur Ware, and drummer Billy Higgins. His first record as a leader was in 1964 for the ESP label. The group played an engagement at New York’s Village Gate, where John Coltrane heard him and by 1965, Sanders was playing regularly with the Coltrane group. Strength was a necessity in that band, and as Coltrane realized, Sanders had it in abundance.
After John Coltrane’s death in 1967, Sanders worked briefly with his widow, Alice Coltrane, and then primarily as a leader of his own ensembles. From 1966-1971, Sanders released several albums on Impulse, including Tauhid (1966), Karma (1969), Black Unity (1971), and Thembi (1971). In the mid-’70s, Sanders recorded his most commercial effort, Love Will Find a Way (Arista, 1977); it turned out to be a brief detour. From the late ’70s until 1987, he recorded for the small independent label Theresa. From 1987, Sanders recorded for the Evidence and Timeless labels. The former bought Theresa records in 1991 and subsequently re-released Sanders’ output for that company. In 1995, Sanders made his first major-label album in many years, Message From Home (produced by Bill Laswell for Verve). The two followed that one up in 1999 with Save Our Children. In 2000, Sanders released Spirits — a multi-ethnic live suite with Hamid Drake and Adam Rudolph. In the decades after his first recordings with Coltrane, Sanders developed the capability of playing convincingly in a variety of contexts, from free to mainstream, and as a mature artist he has discovered a hard-edged lyricism that has served him well.
Webpage: http://www.pharoahsanders.net/
FOR INFO & TICKETS: http://pdxjazz.com/tickets/
~Dan – np: Clare & The Reasons – The Movie
REVIEW: The Album Leaf @ Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR – 2/5/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I got into The Album Leaf back in 2004 with In a Safe Place after hearing about the Sigur Rós collaborative songs (and Icelandic former-swimming pool studio). I’ve been a fan of frontman Jimmy LaValle ever since In a Safe Place, which also spanned into a love of his prior band, Tristeza. His mold of organically-infused electronic post-rock fits me well. I missed him on his last time through (Jan 2009); so I vowed not to let it happen again… so this time, I’m hitting both Portland and Eugene, Oregon.
We got to the venue, got our tickets and ran off to grab some unfortunately salty grub (East End Bar must own stock in Morton’s). After a speedy walk back, we arrived back at the Doug Fir shortly after Sea Wolf started . They are an indie rock band from Los Angeles, and played a solid 45 minute set…
Sea Wolf’s Setlist:
(as per stage copy)
- White Water
- Winter Windows
- Dew in the Grass
- Black Leaf Falls
- Middle Distance Runner
- The Traitor
- O’ Maria
- Turn the Dirt Over
- Wicked Blood
- You’re a Wolf
Sea Wolf reminded me a lot of Wilco… maybe it was singer/guitarist Alex Church’s vocals. They have a roots rock meets singer-songwriter vibe that hearkened to Wilco in my mind. They busted out a harder rock tune (in comparison to The Album Leaf), but also had nice cello throughout their set. Great opener… I’m looking forward to Eugene’s show to hear more.
After a short break (and a move to the front), The Album Leaf (aka TAL) came on. The Portland show featured the Anomie Belle String Quartet (shown at the left), which presumably added nice textures to the already large, six piece band. Where we were lopcated, we could barely hear them.
With this new album (see below), Jimmy opened up the recording to more than just himself as well. Previous records were more in the “one man band” realm, with a band assembled for tours. It was nice to the see the band that hit the studio with him on A Chorus of Storytellers play those same songs live. The band was Jimmy LaValle, Matt Resovich, Drew Andrews, Gram LeBron, Tim Reece, and Andrew Pates – all on various instruments.
Being the first time seeing TAL, I honestly had no idea what to expect. We lucked out in the placement department… as Jimmy’s gear was right in front of us.
I was skeptical if the studio lushness would translate to the stage. Quite frankly, I think the electronic post-rock goodness, complete with drum machine and a regular drummer, worked out fantastically. They played a lot of material from the new record, which fit in well with earlier songs…
The Album Leaf’s Setlist: about stellar 80 minutes
- Perro
- Blank Pages
- There is a Wind
- Within Dreams * fave of the night *
- Falling from the Sun
- Stand Still * fave of the night *
- 2214 * fave of the night *
- Outer Banks * fave of the night *
- Shine
- Until the Last
- We Are
- Almost There
- Wherever I Go
- Encore: Always For You
- Red Eye * fave of the night *
- Tied Knots
The band members switched around on instruments. Jimmy played several different keyboards, including a Moog and a modulator of some sort. Other members pitched in on keyboards when a violin, trumpet, small vibraphone, bass, or guitar weren’t in their hands. While I still associate TAL as a primarily instrumental band in my mind, their last few albums have had increasingly more vocals. I’d estimate a 1/3 to a 1/2 of the songs had vocals last night – covered by Jimmy, but with frequent backing vocals from various band members. My friend who went along with me commented that the songs seemed fairly similar throughout the show. Alas, I suppose that’s the rub with TAL, but I dug it fairly well.
many more live photos below
I’ll also be at the Eugene show on Tuesday; so check back for that review next week. Oh, and definitely check out The Album Leaf’s new album, A Chorus of Storytellers. I got it at the show, and it is fantastic!
The Appropriate Linkage:
- The Album Leaf’s Site
- TAL’s MySpace
- Sea Wolf’s Site
- Sea Wolf on MySpace
- Anomie Belle String Quartet on MySpace
- Doug Fir Lounge
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: The Album Leaf – A Chorus of Storytellers
THE ALBUM LEAF and SEA WOLF PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
The Album Leaf Spring 2010 World Tour Dates
- Feb 3: Sacramento, CA @ Harlows
- Feb 5: Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge (w/Anomie Belle String Quartet)
- Feb 6: Seattle, WA @ Neumos (w/Anomie Belle String Quartet)
- Feb 7: Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater(w/Anomie Belle String Quartet)
- Feb 8: Bellingham, WA @ Nightlight Lounge
- Feb 9: Eugene , OR @ WOW Hall
- Feb 11: Santa Cruz @ The Crepe Place
- Feb 12: San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall (w/Magik*Magik String Quartet)
- Feb 13: Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater (w/Magik*Magik String Quartet)
- Feb 25: Lisbon, Portugal @ Lisbon Santiago Alquimista
- Feb 26: Madrid, Spain @ Moby Dick
- Feb 27: Bilboa, Spain @ 12 & Medio
- Feb 28: Barcelona, Spain @ Apollo 2
- Mar 2: Toulouse, France @ Le Phare
- Mar 3: Milan, Italy @ Circolo Milano
- Mar 4: Lucerne, Switzerland @ Sudpol Club
- Mar 5: Dunidgen (Bern), Switzerland @ @ Bad Bonn
- Mar 6: Sankt Gallen, Switzerland @ Theater Palace
- Mar 7: Munich, Germany @ Feierwerk
- Mar 9: Vienna, Austria @ Szene
- Mar 10: Dresden, Germany @ BeatPol
- Mar 11: Berlin, Germany @ Lido
- Mar 12: Hamburg, Germany @ Knust
- Mar 13: Rotterdam, Holland @ Rotown
- Mar 14: Koln, Germany @ Gebauude 9
- Mar 16: Antwerp, Belgium @ Club Trix
- Mar 17: Colmar, France @ Kraken
- Mar 18: Heidelberg, Germany @ Karlstorbahnhof
- Mar 19: Paris, France @ Maroquinerie
- Mar 20: Lille, France @ L’ Aeronef
- Mar 21: Bristol, UK @ The Thekla
- Mar 22 Manchester, UK @ The Deaf Institute
- Mar 23: London, UK @ Bush Hall
- Apr 2: Tokyo, Japan @ Shibuya Ax
- Apr 3: Nagoya, Japan @ Club Quatrro
- Apr 4: Osaka, Japan @ Club Quattro
- Apr 7: Hong Kong @ Grappa’s Cellar
- Apr 9: Taipei, Taiwan @ The Wall Live House
And just announced on Feb 3rd (and from Pollstar; so a different format)…
- Tue 04/20/10 – Tucson, AZ – Plush
- Wed 04/21/10 – Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
- Thu 04/22/10 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
- Fri 04/23/10 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
- Sat 04/24/10 – St. Louis, MO – Luminary Center For The Arts
- Sun 04/25/10 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
- Tue 04/27/10 – Grand Rapids, MI – Ladies Literary Club
- Wed 04/28/10 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
- Thu 04/29/10 – Montreal, QC – Music Hall
- Fri 04/30/10 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
- Sat 05/01/10 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
- Sun 05/02/10 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
- Tue 05/04/10 – Washington, DC – Rock And Roll Hotel
- Wed 05/05/10 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
- Thu 05/06/10 – Atlanta, GA – The Loft At Center Stage
- Fri 05/07/10 – Jacksonville, FL – Jack Rabbits
- Sat 05/08/10 – Orlando, FL – The Social
- Mon 05/10/10 – Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon
- Tue 05/11/10 – Austin, TX – The Parish Room
- Fri 05/14/10 – San Diego, CA – Birch North Park Theatre
PDX Jazz Fest :: Dave Holland Quintet
Well, the PDX Jazzfest in Portland, Oregon, is about 3 weeks away. You won’t want to miss it. There are many fantastic local and national acts, including these great headliners:
Thursday, February 25 – Luciana Souza
Friday, February 26 – Mingus Big Band
Saturday, February 27 (3pm) – Trygve Seim & Frode Haltli
Saturday, February 27 (7:30) – Dave Holland Quintet
Sunday, February 28 (3pm) – Pharoah Sanders
Sunday, February 28 (7:30) – Dave Douglas Brass Ecstasy
As we lead up to the event, I’ll focus on one of the headliners a week… next up the Dave Holland Quintet.
At the pinnacle of his career, Dave Holland has settled into the unassuming role of jazz master. The multi-award and poll-winning bassist, composer, arranger and bandleader leads two of the most vibrant groups in jazz: the Dave Holland Quintet and the Dave Holland Big Band. He has collaborated in two of the top jazz collectives of the decade: the ScoLoHoFo quartet comprised of Holland, John Scofield, Joe Lovano and Al Foster and the Herbie Hancock-piloted all-star quartet including Wayne Shorter and Brian Blade.
Though he’s too busy to be fully engaged in outside projects, Holland has played on recent Roy Haynes albums and recorded trio dates with such leaders as Geri Allen and Kenny Wheeler-all outings that he says he could not pass up. He even has taken his recording career into his own hands, launching his own label imprint, Dare2 Records in 2005.
A onetime sideman with two titans of jazz, Thelonious Monk (a short tenure) and Miles Davis (a seminal experience during the trumpeter’s Bitches Brew era), Holland made his debut as a leader in the early 1970s. He broke in as a leader with Music for Two Basses (1971) with Barre Phillips and Conference of the Birds (1972) with a band featuring Sam Rivers and Anthony Braxton. Holland also expanded his work as a side musician to include recording with a diversity of artists such as Bonnie Raitt (Give It Up, 1972), John Hartford (Morning Bugle, 1972) and Lee Konitz (Satori, 1974).
In recent years, his recording career has continued to flourish, recording such milestone albums as his quintet CD, Extended Play: Live at Birdland (2003) and two Grammy-winning big band discs, What Goes Around (2002) and the potent follow-up Overtime (2005). Continuing this impressive creative streak into 2006, Holland released a new quintet album, entitled Critical Mass. The album is the first new studio recording by the Dave Holland Quintet to be released in over five years and marks drummer Nate Smith’s debut recording with the band.
In regards to his quintet, Holland sees his band as representing the evolution of different types of rhythmic structures and forms that has been transforming the face of jazz in the last two decades. In his search to keep the music vital, Holland says the band has delved into the rhythmic traditions of Africa, India, South America and the Caribbean, as well as the innovations in contemporary music in the hip-hop and R&B worlds.
Webpage: http://www.daveholland.com/
FOR INFO & TICKETS: http://pdxjazz.com/tickets/
~Dan – np: Yuka Honda – Heart Chamber Phantoms
PDX Jazz Fest :: Trygve Seim & Frode Haltli
Well, the PDX Jazzfest in Portland, Oregon, is about 4 weeks away. You won’t want to miss it. There are many fantastic local and national acts, including these great headliners:
Thursday, February 25 – Luciana Souza
Friday, February 26 – Mingus Big Band
Saturday, February 27 (3pm) – Trygve Seim & Frode Haltli
Saturday, February 27 (7:30) – Dave Holland Quintet
Sunday, February 28 (3pm) – Pharoah Sanders
Sunday, February 28 (7:30) – Dave Douglas Brass Ecstasy
As we lead up to the event, I’ll focus on one of the headliners a week… this week is all about Norwegian jazz masters Trygve Seim & Frode Haltli.
A unique saxophone/accordion duo and key figures in the new Norwegian music, Trygve Seim and Frode Haltli have played together in many contexts. The accordionist joined Seim’s large ensemble for live performances after the release of Different Rivers in 2000, and participated in the recording of The Source and Different Cikadas later that year, as well as Sangam (recorded 2002-2004). He continues to tour regularly with Seim’s large ensemble. Trygve and Frode have been playing in duo since 2001: Yeraz is the first documentation of their work in this format.
The two musicians share an interest in the expressive potential of acoustic music across all stylistic boundaries, from world folk traditions to contemporary composition. Accordionist Frode Haltli came to contemporary music early, but simultaneously began playing folk music in his local village community, and at 13 was the youngest member of a traditional dance band. Folk has remained a thread in a musical life that embraces improvisation as well as performance of composed music with a special focus on modern composers. His prize winning debut album Looking on Darkness (ECM New Series, 2002) including the title piece written by Bent Sørensen, was a powerful summing up of new directions in Nordic composition. Passing Images (recorded 2004) made connections between folk and improvisation and pooled a team of maverick talents including classical violist Garth Knox, jazz trumpeter Arve Henriksen and singer/composer Maja Ratkje.
Inspired early in his creative life by Jan Garbarek and by Edward Vesala, Seim has worked in many modern jazz contexts, and continues to tour with Manu Katché’s group. In his own music, however, distance from conventional definitions of jazz becomes ever more marked. Investigation of Asian, Middle Eastern and East European music – and especially the sounds of the Armenian duduk, the Japanese shakuhachi, and the Indian bansuri flute – have had their impact on Seim’s music and brought about a redefining of the nature of dynamics. Subtle shadings and textures are part of his palette, and microtonal phrasing characteristic of his melodic approach.
Webpage: http://www.trygveseim.no/
Webpage: http://www.haltli.com/
FOR INFO & TICKETS: http://pdxjazz.com/tickets/
~Dan – np: Mycale play John Zorn’s Masada Book Two: Book of Angels, Vol. 13 – Mycale
PDX Jazz Fest :: Mingus Big Band
Well, the PDX Jazzfest in Portland, Oregon, is about 5 weeks away. You won’t want to miss it. There are many fantastic local and national acts, including these great headliners:
Thursday, February 25 – Luciana Souza
Friday, February 26 – Mingus Big Band
Saturday, February 27 (3pm) – Trygve Seim & Frode Haltli
Saturday, February 27 (7:30) – Dave Holland Quintet
Sunday, February 28 (3pm) – Pharoah Sanders
Sunday, February 28 (7:30) – Dave Douglas Brass Ecstasy
As we lead up to the event, I’ll focus on one of the headliners a week… next up the Mingus Big Band.
For those jazz fans who don’t know the music of Charles Mingus, go back to school. He was a monumental force on bass and a great composer in his own right. He had a firey-oft-angry personality, a strong conviction against racism, and a great sense for melody. He was one of my first forays into jazz… I had Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus and Mingus Ah Um long before I had any other jazz in my collection.
The Mingus Big Band celebrates the music of the composer and bassist, Charles Mingus, who died in 1979. Under the artistic direction of (Charles’ wife) Sue Mingus, this 14-piece band performed Thursday nights from 1991 to 2004 at the Fez under Time Cafe in New York City, occasionally alternating with the Charles Mingus Orchestra. From November 2004 to September 2008, the big band had a residency at Iridium Jazz Club and in October 2008 moved to Monday residency at Jazz Standard. The Mingus Big Band tours extensively in the United States and abroad, and has eight recordings to its credit, six of which have been nominated for Grammys.
Regulars currently appearing in the 14-piece band:
- 3 Trumpets: Randy Brecker, Earl Gardner, Alex Sipiagin, Lew Soloff, Tatum Greenblatt, Ryan Kisor, Kenny Rampton, Jack Walrath, Sean Jones
- 3 Trombones: Conrad Herwig, Andy Hunter, Ku-umba Frank Lacy, Earl McIntyre, Dave Taylor, Robin Eubanks, Joe Fiedler, Clark Gayton
- 5 Saxophones: Vincent Herring, Seamus Blake, Abraham Burton, Wayne Escoffery, Donny McCaslin, Mark Gross, Craig Handy, Jason Marshall, Lauren Sevian, Jaleel Shaw, Steve Slagle, Ronnie Cuber, David Lee Jones
- Piano: Orrin Evans, David Kikoski, Helen Sung, George Colligan, Kenny Drew Jr.
- Bass: Boris Kozlov, Hans Glawischnig, Andy McKee, Joe Martin, Ugonna Okegwo, Dwayne Burno
- Drums: Donald Edwards, Gene Jackson, Victor Lewis, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Adam Cruz
Webpage: http://www.mingusmingusmingus.com/
FOR INFO & TICKETS: http://pdxjazz.com/tickets/
~Dan – np: John Zorn – Cobra
PDX Jazz Fest :: Luciana Souza
Well, the PDX Jazzfest in Portland, Oregon, is about 6 weeks away. You won’t want to miss it. There are many fantastic local and national acts, including these great headliners:
Thursday, February 25 – Luciana Souza
Friday, February 26 – Mingus Big Band
Saturday, February 27 (3pm) – Trygve Seim & Frode Haltli
Saturday, February 27 (7:30) – Dave Holland Quintet
Sunday, February 28 (3pm) – Pharoah Sanders
Sunday, February 28 (7:30) – Dave Douglas Brass Ecstasy
As we lead up to the event, I’ll focus on one of the headliners a week… first up Luciana Souza.
Luciana Souza is a Grammy winning jazz vocalist from São Paulo, Brazil. Her first solo album was An Answer to Your Silence (1999). The Poems of Elizabeth Bishop and Other Songs (2000) was fifth place in the New York Times‘ 2000 The Year in Pop and Jazz: The Critics’ Choice list. In 1991, she was elected Discovery of the Year by APCA for her work with Hermeto Pascoal. In the next year, she toured with the Zimbo Trio. In 1995, she was nominated for Outstanding Latin Act and, in the next year, Outstanding Jazz Vocalist at the Boston Music Awards. Among the artists she has been performing and recording with are her godfather, Hermeto Pascoal; Danilo Perez; Zimbo Trio; David Kikoski; Joey Calderazzo; Romero Lubambo; Guillermo Klein; Oscar Castro-Neves; Cyro Baptista; the Paul Winter Consort; Ben Sher Group; Steve Lacy; Kenny Wheeler; Donald Brown; John Patitucci; Kenny Werner; Osvaldo Golijov; Bob Moses; and George Garzone. From a musical family (her parents are Walter Santos and Tereza Souza), Souza has been involved with music since her childhood, when she worked with jingles. After four years at Unicamp University in Brazil, she went to the Berklee College of Music, where she received a bachelor’s degree in jazz composition. She received a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. In 2009, Souza released Tide her first album for Verve and her second collaboration with husband and producer Larry Klein.
Webpage: http://www.lucianasouza.com/
FOR INFO & TICKETS: http://pdxjazz.com/tickets/
~Dan – np: dredg – Waterborne (soundtrack)
PDX Jazz Fest // Nellie McKay
Two unrelated news items…
PDX Jazz Fest is just over 6 weeks away… if you like live music and live anywhere near Portland, Oregon, you need to check this out. It’s a great festival. This year’s line-up is pretty darn excellent, if you ask me. I’m hitting three of them (Holland, Sanders & Douglas)…
Headliners
Thursday, February 25 – Luciana Souza
Friday, February 26 – Mingus Big Band
Saturday, February 27 (3pm) – Trygve Seim & Frode Haltli
Saturday, February 27 (7:30) – Dave Holland Quintet *
Sunday, February 28 (3pm) – Pharoah Sanders *
Sunday, February 28 (7:30) – Dave Douglas Brass Ecstasy *
The whole week of Feb 21-28 (2010) is full of other great local and national jazz artists as well… all over town. For tickets and more information: http://www.pdxjazz.com/
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nellie McKay has released a few 2010 tour dates on her webpage (very scattered so far). The Seattle date is with Garrison Keillor‘s A Prairie Home Companion… fuuuun. I’m planning to make the trek up to that show.
- 1/7/2010 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant
- 2/18/2010 New York, NY The Allen Room at Lincoln Center
- 4/3/2010 Seattle, WA Paramount Theater – A Prairie Home Companion
- 4/10/2010 Delaware Water Gap, PA Deerhead Inn
- 6/1/2010 New York, NY Feinstein’s at The Regency
- 9/17/2010 Monterey, California, United States Monterey Jazz Festival
I’m sure more dates will trickle in throughout the year. Go to her tour page for more info.
~Dan – np: Miles Davis – Porgy & Bess
Favorite Concerts of 2009
Well, this year’s concert seasons were especially good to me… 365 days, 70 shows, 119 artists, 1 wine-tasting rock show, many long nights driving home, and a lot of photos…
My favorite concerts of 2009:
- Maynard James Keenan’s Puscifer (2 nights) :: Roseland Theater :: Portland, OR {14&16 Nov} [reviews with pictures – night #1 & night #2]
- Nellie McKay & the Aristocrats :: Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley :: Seattle, WA {20 Oct} [review with pictures]
- dredg :: Hawthorne Theatre :: Portland, OR {3 Apr} [review]
- Holy Fuck :: Doug Fir Lounge :: Portland, OR {4 Jun} [review with pictures & video]
- The Swell Season :: McDonald Theatre :: Eugene, OR {23 Nov} [review with pictures]
- Zappa Plays Zappa :: Hawthorne Theatre :: Portland, OR {2 Jan} [review]
- Flight of the Conchords & Arj Barker :: Arlene Schnitzer Hall :: Portland, OR {14 May} [review]
- SFJazz Collective 2009 with Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano, Miguel Zenon, and more focusing on the music of McCoy Tyner :: The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts :: Eugene, OR {19 Mar} [review with pictures]
- Opeth & Enslaved :: Roseland Theater :: Portland, OR {12 May} [review]
- The Melvins (2 sets) :: John Henry’s :: Eugene, OR {9 Aug} [review with pictures]
- My Weekend with Peter Mulvey & Krista Detor :: Alberta Street Pub/Sam Bond’s Garage :: Portland/Eugene, OR {7&8 Nov} [review with pictures]
- Hiromi’s Sonicbloom :: Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley :: Seattle, WA {16 Jun} [review with pictures]
- David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion) :: House Show :: Eugene, OR {25 Jul} [review with pictures]
- Madeleine Peyroux :: The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts :: Eugene, OR {25 Mar} [review]
- Patton Oswalt :: Newmark Theatre :: Portland, OR {13 Sep} [review]
Runners-Up: Emily Wells & PCP at Cozmic, UofO’s Percussion Ensemble Tribute to Frank Zappa, David Cross at Newmark, Porcupine Tree & That1Guy at Roseland (Portland), Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra at Hult Center, and Spinal Tap at Paramount (Seattle).
Biggest Disappointments: missing Zappa Plays Zappa in Eugene in late November due to them getting stuck in California due to snow, missing Tristeza in Portland in early December due to a bad sinus infection, missing Melt Banana in Portland due to freezing rain & fog, seeing Yann Tiersen play an utterly dreadful show in Portland, and not seeing Over the Rhine for the 2nd year in a row (we’ll have to make up for it in 2010).
And to end on a positive note…
My favorite concert photos of 2009: (in no particular order)
- The Swell Season in Eugene
- Sweethead, opener for Puscifer in Portland
- Carina Round and Maynard James Keenan behind their boxes for Puscifer in Portland
- Sin Fang Bous, opener for Múm in Portland
- Hildur Guðnadóttir of Múm screaming her heart out in Portland
- Nellie McKay in Seattle
- Aimee Mann smiles in Portland
- Sara Watkins of Works Progress Administration in Eugene
- Alice in Chains iPhone shot in Portland
- Gavin from dredg moves too fast for me in Portland
- King Buzzo of The Melvins in Eugene
- Zoë Jakes dancing with Beats Antique in Eugene
- Jerry Gaskill’s stick action with King’s X in Portland
- Brian Borcherdt of Holy Fuck in Portland
(all images are free to use under a creative commons designation, simply identify Daniel Temmesfeld with a photo credit and link to jazzsick.wordpress.com)
Past Favorite Concerts Lists:
Favorite music of 2009 will be coming the week of Dec 28th… EPs/DVDs/etc, vocal albums, instrumental albums, artists of the decade…
~Dan – np: Anthony Coleman – Freakish: A Tribute to Jelly Roll Morton
Melt Banana at Dante’s (12/12)
Well, treacherous winter conditions (freezing rain and fog) kept me from making the 4+ hour roundtrip drive up to Portland to see Melt Banana Lite last night at Dante’s in Portland. I love the band, but Oregon doesn’t know how to handle road maintenance in the winter like Ohio… and cheating death isn’t my optimal trade-off for seeing Melt Banana. Maybe next time they swing through the cards will be in my favor.
The weather all kept my back-up plan from happening, too (the Portland Cello Project canceled their show at Cozmic Pizza in Eugene). Oh well…
Anyone go to MxBx in PDX? How was it?
~Dan – np: Megadeth – Endgame
REVIEW: Maynard James Keenan’s PUSCIFER 2nd night @ Roseland (Portland, OR – 11/16/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW are at the BOTTOM
Maynard’s voice shines on Night 2…
Saturday’s Puscifer show (review link) was fantastic, and I happened to be up in Portland for a work training session; so, what the hell… let’s do this again! I heart Maynard!
No wine tasting (for me) this time… in fact, for a more detailed review, definitely check out Saturday’s show review. Monday, I showed up around 8pm and got situated near the front of the general admission section.
Sweethead opened the show again. I switched up where I took in their music this time… I could definitely hear the guitars better, but the vocals were a little muddy until midway through their set. I liked them. Troy’s a good guitarist, and Serrina has some nice energy (ok, and nice legs, too). :)
This was their last night as support for Puscifer, and Troy took a dive into the drum set at the end… crash! buzz!
After Troy and Serrina got up, they left the stage – guitar still buzzing. As the crew pulled Sweethead’s gear and monitors off the stage, they lifted up a large black sheet to hide the stage (something new compared to Saturday night)…
I had seen on setlist.fm that the two nights in the same city had differing set lists, and Portland was no exception. Where Saturday was more of the blasphemy day to kick things off, Monday was… well… at 9pm, then the sheet came down, it looked like it was a camping theme (complete with fake fire). Maynard was inside the tent, and they had him projected on the screen behind him. After some bullshitting, he finally came out to start the show properly…
The stage seemed darker, but at least Maynard was out there for the two songs of which I was allowed to take photos. Both he and Carina were obfuscated again behind the video boxes, which is an oddity fitting of Maynard’s persona. Overall, I think Monday night’s show featured Maynard’s voice better – though the song selection wasn’t much different (other than order). The video breaks were completely different… comedic pitchmen trying to sell reality television concepts to Maynard – who wasn’t paying too well of attention and always got the concept wrong. Hilarity ensued, of course.
Here’s what they played among the campfire and sleeping bags…
Setlist: 90 minutes or so [compare sets with Night #1]
- Rev 22:20
- Drunk With Power
- (Video Break 1)
- Indigo Children
- Trekka
- Potions
- (Video Break 2)
- Momma Sed (with Tim Alexander as a Portland stripper)
- Vagina Mine
- Dozo
- The Undertaker
- (Video Break 3)
- Polar Bear
- Sour Grapes
- Queen B
- The Mission (featuring Carina Round)
- The Humbling River
- No Encore
Maynard’s voice sounded especially great on Indigo Children, Potions, Momma Sed (seemed slower/mellower than Saturday), Polar Bear, and The Humbling River. I’m really digging the new EP’s material… and I’m looking forward to more digital EPs, physical CDs, whatever Maynard wants to throw at us!
more pictures at the bottom
You can get Puscifer’s music via the pictures below:
You can grab some of Maynard’s wines (if you are lucky to be in the shipping area) via this:
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Puscifer’s Site
- Maynard / Puscifer on MySpace
- Caduceus Wine
- Carina Round’s Site
- Carina Round on MySpace
- Tool on MySpace
- Sweethead’s Site
- Sweethead on MySpace
- Spin‘s San Diego Review (Oct 31st)
- My review of Portland Night #1
- Roseland Theater
Check out the Puscifer tour dates below.
~Dan – np: The Swell Season – Strict Joy
PUSCIFER & SWEETHEAD PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (9 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (43 pics)
Tour Dates
- 10/29/09, Las Vegas, NV (The Pearl, Palms Casino)
- 10/31, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/1, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/4, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/5, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/7, Stockton, CA (Bob Hope Theatre)
- 11/10, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/11, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/13, Vancouver, BC (Centre For the Performing Arts)
- 11/14, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom)
- 11/16, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom)
- 11/17, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/18, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/20, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/21, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/24, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/25, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/27, Houston, TX (Jones Hall for the Performing Arts)
- 11/28, San Antonio, TX (Majestic Theatre)
- 12/1, El Paso, TX (Abraham Chavez Theatre)
- 12/3, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
- 12/4, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
REVIEW: Maynard James Keenan’s PUSCIFER 1st night @ Roseland (Portland, OR – 11/14/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Wine followed by Maynard’s blasphemous vaudeville show… Wow.
So, I’ve been a fan of Maynard James Keenan‘s vocal since the first utterances I heard from his “main band” TOOL. I loved his work with his first side-project, A Perfect Circle, especially the first album Mer de Noms. I was aware of Puscifer a while ago, as it started out as a “joke band” that debuted on a skit on Bob Odenkirk and David Cross’s Mr. Show on HBO (Maynard and Tool’s Adam Jones show up in a short clip). Never did I think that joke band name would turn into a real alter ego for Maynard himself, he’d release an album and a batch of remix EPs, and then hit the road!
So, for this 1st Portland show, I bought the VIP ticket which included a meet & greet and wine tasting (I didn’t do that for Portland show #2 as I didn’t know I was going to be able to go until a few days ago). For those not in the know, Maynard has gotten into wine making the past few years. Back in Ohio, I could order the wine to be shipped to me, and I still have a couple bottles of the 2005 Merkin Vineyards Chupacabra sitting in my utility closet… um… I mean in my “wine cellar.” I haven’t been able to taste any of Maynard’s recent Caduceus wines, as unfortunately, they don’t have the ability to ship to Oregon (argh, free the grapes!).
The meet & greet and wine tasting started a little after 5pm. We got shuffled into the back room of Roseland’s downstairs bar. Todd (I didn’t catch his last name) is Maynard’s wine guy, or at least he’s a touring member of Maynard’s crew who knows a lot about the wine. He mentioned several times about being involved in the last A Perfect Circle tour – right around the time Maynard was getting started with vineyard purchases / development. Todd talked for about an hour and fifteen about the various wines, including the one we were tasting – the 2006 Merkin Vineyards Chupacabra (limited to 5,000 cases). The Chupacabra vintages are designed to be different, similar to the folk legend of the chupacabra. The 2006 is a blend of 36% cabernet sauvignon, 13% petite verdot, 22% syrah, 14% petite sirah (all sourced from Paso Robles), and 15% of an unknown grape (yeah, I’m an accountant and noticed the missing % on their info sheet).
(click for larger picture with autograph)
The Chupacabra is Maynard’s most “mass produced” wine, and current batches are in the 10,000 case range. We obviously didn’t get to try any of Maynard’s 20 case batch of very special Judith wines (grown at 5,000+ feet altitude with land spread with his mother’s ashes). Todd also spoke a little bit about current discussions with Whole Foods to get the wines distributed into Portland. He also mentioned a documentary, Blood Into Wine, about Arizona wines with a little bit of Maynard, Fairuza Balk, Milla Jovavich, Patton Oswalt, Bob Odenkirk, and others in the footage. It is expected to hit the Sundance Festival and some select theatres in Feb 2010.
After Todd’s info and Q&A session, he went to go get Maynard, who had just finished sound check. Maynard came down and walked around the room and individually handed each one of us a signed copy of the Puscifer debut album (V is for Vagina). He only very briefly chatted with folks. He asked me if I learned anything from the wine talk, to which I replied “yes, thank you.” That’s about the extent of my interaction with Maynard, but I thought it was wicked cool to receive a signed copy of the album directly from his hands. :) Since he’s a busy guy, he took off shortly after making his tour around the room.
I had to leave after the meet & greet to get some grub; so I walked over to my favorite, close-by vegan restaurant (represent!) until show time.
When I got back to the venue, I went over to get my photo pass. I had free reign for the opener’s set, but only allowed to snap photos for the first two songs of Puscifer’s set (more on that later)…
Sweethead was the opener. Sweethead is guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age, Failure, A Perfect Circle) and lead vocalist Serrina Sims with Norm Block and Eddie Nappi from the Mark Lanegan Band. 
They were a good rock group and played about a half of an hour. I was in a place in the venue (front / center) where the sound usually isn’t the best. My spot will be likely different for Monday’s show.
I think every time I’ve seen a Maynard band (three times for Tool and A Perfect Circle each), the opener has either been a Mike Patton-related band (Tomahawk, or on his label Ipecac – Isis & The Melvins) or a Ken Andrews-related band (Year of the Rabbit and now Sweethead is connected to Ken via one step with Troy and Failure). I’m not complaining, as I love Patton and Failure-related projects. I dug Sweethead… hopefully I’ll get a better feel for their sound on Monday.
Puscifer‘s set started with a video Maynard’s Major Douché character barking orders at us. Shortly thereafter, with band in place, Maynard wheeled out on a Segway in his horrible comb-overed, bedazzled sweat pants wearing preacher and kicked into “Sour Grapes.” This kick-off was a not-so-subtle hint that it was going to be a crude, blasphemous vaudeville experience – not your typical rock show.
As I only had photo privileges for the first two songs, I snapped away. Unfortunately, Maynard was off changing during the second song, “Rev 22:20” – so I resorted to snapping away at the band. I’m hoping Monday’s set, I get some more non-be-sweatpants‘ed Maynard. The security guards were quite adamant and nabbing people’s cellphones; so I’m definitely grateful to Maynard’s publicist for getting me the hook-up for these Portland shows.
I didn’t catch all of the band members’ names… but I do know that Carina Round covered the female vocals, and did a smash up job on “The Mission,” which model/actress Milla Jovavich sang on the studio version. Primus drummer Tim Alexander handled drums. Also in the band were two guitarists, an electronic & keyboards guy, and a percussionist. During the songs, if any individual band members wasn’t performing, they’d sit on the sofas or wander around and drink wine (which was laid out all over the stage) and munch on fruit, cheese and crackers. Also roaming around the stage was a cameraman dressed up as a ninja – which was later announced to be the one and only Meats Meier, Puscifer’s official CGI music video madman.
Here’s what they played…
Setlist: 90 minutes or so [compare sets with Night #2]
- Sour Grapes
- Rev 22:20
- (Video Break 1)
- Dozo
- The Undertaker
- Drunk With Power
- (Video Break 2)
- Momma Sed
- Indigo Children
- Vagina Mine
- (Video Break 3)
- Potions
- Polar Bear
- Trekka
- Queen B
- The Mission (featuring Carina Round)
- The Humbling River
- No Encore
I had heard some rumblings of people being disappointed in the past Puscifer shows. I think if you go in thinking it’s going to be a rock show (or a Tool show), you’re in it for the wrong reasons. I got to hear an hour and half of fun music and crazy ramblings, and I was thoroughly entertained. Monday promises to be different… I expect some country hee-haw may be on order…
more live photos at the bottom
You can get Puscifer’s music via the pictures below:
You can grab some of Maynard’s wines (if you are lucky to be in the shipping area) via this:
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Puscifer’s Site
- Maynard / Puscifer on MySpace
- Caduceus Wine
- Carina Round’s Site
- Carina Round on MySpace
- Tool on MySpace
- Sweethead’s Site
- Sweethead on MySpace
- Spin‘s San Diego Review (Oct 31st)
- My review of Portland Night #2 (Nov 16th)
- Roseland Theater
Check out the Puscifer tour dates below.
~Dan – np: The Swell Season – Once
PUSCIFER & SWEETHEAD PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (10 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (49 pics)
Tour Dates
- 10/29/09, Las Vegas, NV (The Pearl, Palms Casino)
- 10/31, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/1, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/4, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/5, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/7, Stockton, CA (Bob Hope Theatre)
- 11/10, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/11, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/13, Vancouver, BC (Centre For the Performing Arts)
- 11/14, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom)
- 11/16, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom)
- 11/17, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/18, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/20, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/21, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/24, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/25, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/27, Houston, TX (Jones Hall for the Performing Arts)
- 11/28, San Antonio, TX (Majestic Theatre)
- 12/1, El Paso, TX (Abraham Chavez Theatre)
- 12/3, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
- 12/4, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
REVIEW: My Oregon Weekend with Peter Mulvey (11/7 & 11/8/2009)
FYI… PHOTOS of both SHOWS at the BOTTOM
I’ve been into Peter Mulvey for the past 10 years, right around when The Trouble With Poets came out. I used to be able to see him at least twice a year in Southwest Ohio (Canal Street Tavern, Southgate House, etc). Since moving to Eugene, Oregon, I’ve only had one opportunity. It was a great show, but I needed more… hence the need to drive up to Portland to see him before he hit my hometown the next day. :)
Alberta Street Pub (Saturday in Portland) was packed when I got there. I didn’t know it was an early show and I showed up right when Krista was going on. The venue was long and narrow… most of the seating was church pews (a la Dayton’s Canal Street Tavern). Given that fact, I gladly stood in back (church pews are horrid on my back). The acoustics in the room were good. The light wasn’t all that great… but I still got a few shots that ended up being decent (see below).
Sam Bond’s Garage (Sunday in Eugene) is a place I’ve been to many times. It is also dark; so I usually don’t bring my camera for shows. I was able to get a few shots, though. The plus of SBG for the Peter Mulvey weekend is that it seems more spread out compared to Alberta Street Pub… plus their beer selection is tops (Alberta seemed to have half of theirs socked up/out of stock). So, as far as venue winner… Sam Bond’s. But I’ll definitely hit Alberta again if a show suits me.
Krista Detor played about a 20-30minute set on both nights. She mainly played piano, but also pulled out the accordion for a song of her own (and one of Peter’s). Her songs that I caught in Portland… “Steal Me A Car”, “100 Years More,” “Mudshow,” “Early Grave,” and “Waterline.”
In Eugene, Krista played the same songs except she threw in “All to Do with the Moon” in between “Mudshow” and “Early Grave.”
Peter Mulvey was in a great mood in Portland. He had a shorter set due to a different show going on after him, but he was a graceful and funny as usual. Some of the best parts of the set were his banter in between songs… his bit on Sean Connery had me cracking up. How can someone with a speech impediment be so well known for his speaking roles? It was schplendid. Peter also went off on a riff about Sting that was also pretty funny, surrounding a “wet t-shirt” promo for a recent Saturday Night Live appearance. I think if Peter’s guitar and voice weren’t so grand, he could be a stand-up comedian. :)
He played a lot from his new album, but also a few older tunes and covers. He had some limited edition The Bicycle EPs for sale, and I snagged one for me and a couple friends. He also mentioned that next September (2010) he might bring his bike tour out to Oregon. Yippie! Anyway, here’s what he played on Saturday night…
Setlist (Portland 11/7): about 80 minutes
- If Love Is Not Enough
- Some People
- Kids In The Square
- Here In The Going Going Gone [Greg Brown cover]
- Letter From A Flying Machine
- “Sean Connery”
- Windshield
- The Knuckleball Suite (with Krista Detor)
- Shirt (with KD)
- “Sting SNL”
- Shoulderbirds (You Know Me) (with KD)
- Bears
- Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad (And Far Away From Home)
- (I Don’t Know Why) But I Do [Bobby Charles cover]
- Mailman
- Vlad The Astrophysicist
- On A Wing And A Prayer
- Encore: Our Love Is Here To Stay [Nat King Cole cover]
One food-related add-on… close to the Alberta Street Pub was a place called Grilled Cheese Grill. Holy cow… excellent stuff. It does for grilled cheese what Eugene’s Off the Waffle does for waffles. Yummy!
~*~*~*~
Eugene’s set was similar – Peter seemed to be in a pretty great mood. The crowd was much smaller than Portland, but I figured smaller market to pull from and Sunday night were a factor in that. I will say that I’m disappointed in Eugene a lot for not coming out to some great shows (I made my best attempt for last night). We did conjure up a trio of friends to join us, and there were some other definitely Peter Mulvey fans in the crowd – including a couple of teddy bear loving peeps (that was interesting, to say the least). My friendJenny asked me if teddy bears were a theme with Peter’s fans, to which I blurted out, “noooooo.” And then Peter announced the spoken word piece “Bears.” :)
Setlist (Eugene 11/8): about 90 minutes
- I’m Beginning To See The Light [Duke Ellington cover]
- Kids In The Square
- “Time Machine”
- Some People
- Letter From A Flying Machine
- Abilene (The Eisenhower Waltz)
- The Knuckleball Suite (with Krista Detor)
- Shirt (with KD)
- Shoulderbirds (You Know Me) (with KD)
- …Plus The Many Inevitable Fragments / Dynamite Bill
- Bears
- Moonshiner [Uncle Tupelo cover]
- Vlad The Astrophysicist
- On A Wing And A Prayer
- Encore: Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad (And Far Away From Home)
(We also caught a snippet of “Brand New ’64 Dodge” and “A Better Way to Go” in soundcheck.)
All in all, I think the Alberta show was my fave of the two, but both were fantastic. I hope Peter ventures out this way more often. He promised again to head out this way next year – and possibly via bike. It’ll be earlier in the year (September vs November). If you want to check out some of his stuff… his latest record, Letters From a Flying Machine, is excellent. I think it’s his strongest since 2000’s The Trouble with Poets. You can listen to some samples at Petermulvey.com (one free download) or Amazon (samples of all songs):
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Peter Mulvey’s Site
- Peter Mulvey on MySpace
- Krista Detor’s Site
- Krista Detor on MySpace
- Alberta Street Pub
- Shining City Music (promoter for the PDX show, she’s rad!)
- Sam Bond’s Garage
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Galactic Cowboys – Space In Your Face
PETER MULVEY & KRISTA DETOR PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Fall 2009 U.S. Tour Dates
- 11/7 PORTLAND, OR The Alberta Pub
- 11/8 EUGENE, OR Sam Bond’s Garage
- 11/10 ARCATA, CA Arcata Playhouse
- 11/11 BERKELEY, CA Freight & Salvage
- 11/12 FELTON, CA Don Quixote’s
- 11/13 SANTA MONICA, CA McCabe’s
- 11/14 SAN DIEGO, CA AcousticMusicSanDiego
- 11/20 BURLINGTON, VT UVM Recital Hall
- 11/21 FRAMINGHAM, MA Amazing Things Arts Center
- 12/1-2 FAIRBANKS, AK College Coffeehouse
- 12/3 TOK, AK Fast Eddy’s
- 12/4 TALKEEKTNA, AK Whole Wheat Radio
- 12/5 ANCHORAGE, AK Snow Goose Theatre
- 12/6 PALMER, AK Vagabond Blues
- 12/8 KODIAK, AK The Golden Anchor
- 12/10 CARBONDALE, CO Steve’s Guitars
- 12/11 DENVER, CO Swallow Hill
- 12/12 COLORADO SPRINGS, CO Friends House Concert
- 12/13 FORT COLLINS, CO Avogadro’s Number
- 12/15-19 FORT ATKINSON, WI Cafe Carpe
REVIEW: David Bazan Band @ Mississippi Studios (Portland, OR – 11/6/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
So, last night’s show could have been presented by “Keep Portland Beard.” Every member of both bands sported beards (which, to be fair, had some dual members). I think beards and indie rock are like eye shadow and goth. Except at least the women of indie rock don’t have beards (not that I know of at least).
I drove by the venue around “doors” time… and the line was part way down the block. Yikes. As I parked my car and walked to the venue, I spotted David Bazan and some of his posse hanging out by the nearby burrito cart. He was on his mobile; so I opted not to bug him.
After a delicious hummus plate washed down by a McTarnahan’s Amber, SAY HI started… I found my seat at the awesomely cozy Mississippi Studios.
Say Hi is a trio, and they played what I’d call “power pop indie rock.” I mean, that’s my best explanation… very catchy, hooky – yet retaining that gristle and DIY charm of a touring group of guys. While Say Hi didn’t have the one-two writing & vocal punch of Neil Gust & Elliott Smith’s Heatmiser, I think Heatmiser is my closest comparison to Say Hi. Great pop songs in a rock setting, definitely enjoyable. They played about 40 minutes and, unfortunately, it flew by. But… they’re from Seattle; so they’re totally on my “auto notify” Pollstar radar now.
After a very short set break (5 minutes, maybe)… David Bazan (plus band) hit the stage…
The first time I saw David Bazan (December 2003 with Over the Rhine) was the only time I’ve seen him with a “band.” Even that time, it was a stripped down Pedro the Lion set with just David and T.W. Walsh (drummer). The singer of Say Hi joined David on guitar, the Say Hi bassist traded bass duties for guitar / keyboards / percussion. Blake Wescott joined on guitar, there was a new drummer, and David took care of bass (and guitar during the encore).
The set was a heavy David Bazan “solo albums” set, as expected. I’ve really been digging his latest album, Curse Your Branches; so I picked it up on vinyl last night. Most of the set was CYB stuff and Fewer Moving Parts material. He did throw in a few expected Pedro the Lions and Headphones songs as well…
Setlist: about 90 minutes
- Hard To Be
- Please, Baby, Please
- I Do (Pedro the Lion tune)
- Bless This Mess
- Q&A #1
- I Never Wanted You (Headphones tune)
- Magazine (Pedro the Lion tune)
- Heavy Breath
- Q&A #2
- Cold Beer And Cigarettes
- When We Fell
- Lost My Shape
- Curse Your Branches
- Q&A #3
- Fewer Broken Pieces (aka Fewer Moving Parts)
- Bearing Witness
- Q&A #4
- Keep Swinging (Pedro the Lion tune)
- How I Remember
- In Stitches
- Encore (David solo): Priests and Paramedics (Pedro the Lion tune)
- Will You Still Love Me In December (Julie Doiran cover)
- Q&A #5
- Harmless Sparks
Best David Bazan line of the night… “Infants are necessary, but they’re kinda bullshit.”
I loved David with a band. I think the highlight of the night for me, though, was Say Hi. I usually don’t expect to like an opener, and I like being pleasantly surprised. I didn’t have enough coin to get some Say Hi music last night, but I plan to in the near future.
Another highlight… David’s Q&A sessions are also usually a fun aspect of his shows – it really makes a Bazan show more personal and intimate. Most of the questions surrounded his recent “coming out” as an atheist-leaning agnostic after many years in the Christian indie rock scene. I always loved his candor and questioning of things in religion, even when he considered himself to be a Christian and I had moved out of that camp. I, honestly, don’t think his lyrical themes changed all that much. His Q&A answers last night were more along the lines around around tolerance, regardless of religious beliefs or non-beliefs. Personally, I’m glad to have him in the more doubtful camp. However, above that, I’m glad that he’s not trying to be divisive with things like faith and his “falling from faith.” We should move towards being different than the prior generations who don’t know tolerance.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- David Bazan’s Site
- David Bazan on MySpace
- Pedro the Lion on MySpace
- Say Hi’s Site
- Say Hi on MySpace
- BrooklynVegan’s NYC 10/18 Review
- Fan videos from the Chicago show: video #1 – video #2
- Mississippi Studios
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Lowell Brams, Sufjan Stevens & Bryce Dessner – Library Catalog Music Series: Music for Insomnia
DAVID BAZAN & SAY HI PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Recent/Upcoming Tour Dates
- 10/01 – San Francisco CA – Independent
- 10/02 – Costa Mesa CA – Detroit Bar
- 10/03 – San Diego CA – Casbah
- 10/04 – Los Angeles CA – Troubadour
- 10/05 – Tucson AZ – Solar Culture
- 10/07 – Austin TX – Mohawk
- 10/08 – Denton TX – Dan’s Silverleaf
- 10/09 – Memphis TN – Hi-Tone Café
- 10/10 – Murray KY – Lovett Auditorium / Murray State
- 10/11 – Birmingham AL – Bottletree
- 10/13 – Orlando FL – The Social
- 10/14 – Atlanta GA – Drunken Unicorn
- 10/15 – Chapel Hill NC – Cat’s Cradle
- 10/16 – Washington DC – Black Cat
- 10/17 – Philadelphia PA – Kung Fu Necktie
- 10/18 – New York NY – Bowery Ballroom
- 10/20 – Cambridge MA – TT the Bear’s +
- 10/21 – Montreal QC – Il Motore
- 10/22 – Toronto ON – Lee’s Palace
- 10/23 – Pontiac MI – Pike Room
- 10/24 – Chicago IL – TBA
- 10/25 – Champaign IL – Highdive
- 10/27 – Madison WI High – Noon Saloon
- 10/28 – Minneapolis MN – Turf Club
- 10/29 – Iowa City IA – The Picador
- 10/30 – Lawrence KS – Jackpot Saloon
- 10/31 – Omaha NE – Slowdown
- 11/01 – Denver CO – Hi Dive
- 11/02 – Salt Lake City UT – Kilby Court
- 11/05 – Vancouver BC – Media Club
- 11/06 – Portland OR – Mississippi Studios
- 11/07 – Seattle WA – Neumos
House Shows - 12/9 – Detroit, MI – 8pm – tickets available on db.com
- 12/10 – Cleveland, OH – 8pm – tickets available
- 12/11 – Columbus, OH – 8pm – SOLD OUT
- 12/12 – Indianapolis, IN – 5pm – tickets available
- 12/12 – Indianapolis, IN – 8pm – SOLD OUT
- 12/13 – New Haven, IN – 5pm – tickets available
- 12/13 – Ft. Wayne, IN – 8pm – SOLD OUT
- 12/14 – Goshen, IN – 8pm – SOLD OUT
- 12/15 – Lansing, MI – 8pm – tickets available
REVIEW: Múm @ Aladdin Theater (Portland, OR – 11/4/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
There must be something about the Icelandic landscape
that yields such magnificent music.
I got into Múm (pronounced “moom”) via Sigur Rós. In fact, it may have even been a direct email from Sigur Rós about Múm right around the time Finally We Are No One (aka Loksins Erum Við Engin) was coming out in 2003. Both bands are from Iceland, both bands have quirky, sometimes ambient songs. Where Múm differs from Sigur Rós is that they tend to be less ethereal and have more electronic, glitchiness going on with their music. They came through Portland a couple of years ago on their last album, Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy, but I was not able to make it to the show. Ever since hearing their albums, I have been curious how they’d pull it off in a live setting.
After a delicious vegan dinner at the new Irvington Blossoming Lotus restaurant (represent!), I got to the Aladdin right as doors were opening (a little after 8pm) and got a seat right up front. Yay!
The first opener Hildur Guðnadóttir is one of Múm’s vocalists and did a 20-minute instrumental set. She came out and played an initial song with just her on cello and laptop accompaniment. The next song, she was joined by Sin Fang Bous’s drummer, and Múm’s bassist and trumpet player. Her trumpeter played mostly what I’d call “empty notes” – a lot of wind and sputtering through the horn. On Hildur’s second song, I thought, “there must be something about the Icelandic landscape that yields such magnificent music.” The song was utterly gorgeous, flowing, almost glacial. Her next two songs to wrap up her set were also gorgeous, but, wow, that second song really made me want to visit Iceland. Her debut solo album is called Without Sinking and is available here.
Up next, Sin Fang Bous is a side project from Sindri Sigfússon of Seabear. They played a 30 minute set that started off OK, but not all that that great. BUT… by the end, I was really digging it. The music was much louder than Múm & Hildur, and Sindri was also quite mumbly. He was speaking in English, but when he announced song songs early on it was all a mash. Near the middle of the set, his humor came out, which definitely helped me warm up to them. “How come no one is sitting up there? (looking at the box seats) Is that for the King of Portland?”
Later on he also announced that he had CDs, t-shirts… and little vials of blood for sale at the merch table if we wanted something to drink on the way home. Silly. I think my favorite song was “Clangour and Flutes” (from the Clangour album available here). Anyway, it had a nice hook and some nice instrumentation.
Múm went on just before 10:30. I had never seen them before; so I had no idea what to expect. Several of the people up on stage had already been up there before (Hildur as the opener, the keyboardist/trumpter as Hildur’s back-up, their guitarist was also Sin Fang Bous’s guitarist). It was like a little Icelandic traveling family. When Múm came on, the front area without seats quickly filled up… so I got out of my seat and got a spot right at the stage.
Múm’s set was a lot of newer songs (of which I hadn’t heard) – happy, electronic with ambient / chamber music elements. I had no idea they had multiple singers (Hildur, another woman, and a guy who also played keyboards, guitar, etc). Don’t ask for names… it’s too difficult to remember or even research. :) With two keyboardists, Múm’s electronic sounds came through in the live setting… definitely not as lush as the studio versions, but definitely commendable for a live setting. I think, not as expected, the vocals were the primary flavor in the live show. Hildur and the other woman singer were definitely passionate and singing their lungs out. Here’s what the played (any help on missing / incorrect info is appreciated)…
Setlist: about 85-90 minutes
- Illuminated
- Marmalade Fires
- Húllabbalabbalúú
- Blessed Brambles
- If I Were A Fish
- Nightly Cares
- A Little Bit Sometimes
- maybe The Last Shapes Of Never
- Show Me
- unknown… sweeping, operatic, lots of “la-las”
- Dancing Behind My Eyelids
- unknown… kazoos near the end
- Prophecies And Reversed Memories
- Sing Along
- Encore: Green Grass Of Tunnel
I picked up their new one, Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know. I look forward to spinning it later today.
I left about midway through the last song, as I had a 2 hour drive, a hard week already, and an early meeting in the morning. All in all, it was a GREAT show. It wasn’t as monumental / mind-blowing as the first time I saw Sigur Rós, or anything like that, but it was a really great band playing really great music. I’m glad that they’ve been through twice these past two years… I look forward to another trip from them in the near future.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Múm’s Official Site
- A Múm Fan Site
- Múm on MySpace
- Hildur Guðnadóttir’s Official Site
- Hildur Guðnadóttir on MySpace
- Sin Fang Bous on MySpace
- BrooklynVegan‘s NYC 10/24 review
- Aladdin Theater
Check out their U.S. tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Frog Pocket – Come On Primates Show Your Teeth!
MÚM, Hildur Guðnadóttir & Sin Fang Bous PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Their 2009 U.S. Tour Dates
- Oct 21 the Somerville Theatre Somerville, Massachusetts
- Oct 22 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Oct 23 Black Cat Washington DC, Washington DC
- Oct 24 Le Poisson Rouge NY, New York
- Oct 26 Le National Montreal, Quebec
- Oct 27 Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, Ontario
- Oct 28 Logan Square Auditorium Chicago, Illinois
- Oct 29 McGuire Theater Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Nov 01 Marquee Room Calgary, Alberta
- Nov 02 The Venue Nightclub Vancouver, British Columbia
- Nov 03 Showbox at the Market Seattle, Washington
- Nov 04 Aladdin Theater Portland, Oregon
- Nov 05 The Independent San Francisco, California
- Nov 06 El Rey Theatre Los Angeles, California
- Nov 07 Yost Theatre Santa Ana, California
REVIEW: Regina Spektor @ Roseland Theater (Portland, OR – 11/1/09)
I got into Regina Spektor right around the time that Begin to Hope came out (thanks to my apple peeps Luc & Nic!). I really haven’t had a chance to see her until now, as she played near me in Ohio right around the time I was moving to Oregon. Her newest album, Far, is really good. I’ve been “studying” it a lot this past week, and really dig just about every song.
The Roseland Theater show was sold out at least a week in advance. Things didn’t work out to bring my wife, friends, back-ups of friends, couchsurfing hosts, or CS friends to the show… sigh. Oh well, I sold my extra ticket out front. Bah, no cameras again for this show. I attempted to contact RS’s management, but got no response after a 3 week attempt. Oh well… this is my major dissappointment with the Roseland: metal detectors, a fervid security staff, and the near impossibility to get my camera in without pre-approval… argh.
Anyway… on to the show…
The opener Jupiter One was really good. I had only heard of them a few hours prior. They are from New York and seemed to have that “NYC rock vibe.” I’ve seen several bands (usually openers) who have “that vibe.” Jupiter One were more impressive than most. They are a four piece and were smushed to the left of Regina’s piano (which was oddly moved over after their set – which would have given J1 more room). They had a nice groove, and played multiple instruments (violin, flute, etc) in addition to the traditional rock gear. They only played for about a half of an hour, and didn’t really announce many of their song names. I was looking out for one of them (“Platform Moon”), but I don’t know if they played it…
Regina went on a little after 9pm to immediate screams and applause. She had a violinist and cellist (whose names I didn’t get) with her, and Matt Chamberlain was on the drum kit. I’ve seen Matt many times with Tori Amos, and his self-titled solo album from 2005 on (Secret Chiefs 3 & Mr. Bungle) Trey Spruance’s label Web of Mimicry is the bomb – it’s quite a non-traditional “drummer solo album” (check it out).
The first half of Regina’s set was pretty bouncy and fun. I think once it got to her solo acapella and definitely the guitar stuff, well, it wasn’t her strong suit if you ask me. She played a lot from Far, but also mixed in some material from her older albums – especially at the encore…
Setlist: about an hour and 40 minutes
- The Calculation *a fave of the night*
- Eet
- Folding Chair *a fave of the night* (nice use of strings)
- Ode to Divorce
- Riot Gear *a fave of the night*
- Machine
- Laughing With *a fave of the night*
- One More Time With Feeling
- Two Birds
- Blue Lips
- On the Radio
- Dance Anthem of the 80s
- Silly Eye-Color Generalizations (acappella)
- Bobbin’ for Apples (Regina on guitar)
- That Time (Regina on guitar)
- Apres Moi *a fave of the night*
- Poor Little Rich Boy (Regina playing piano and a drum)
- Human of the Year
- Man of a Thousand Faces
- Encore: Samson *a fave of the night*
- Us *a fave of the night*
- Fidelity *a fave of the night*
- Hotel Song
- Love, You’re a Whore
I had a lot of fun, but I’m bummed some people who wanted to see it couldn’t for various reasons. It was a sold out show; so if that’s any indictation, if she keeps touring, I’m sure she’ll be back through Portland. She seemed to have a good stage presence and was more full of mirth than, say, Fiona Apple, yet more grounded than, say, Tori Amos.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Regina Spektor’s Webpage
- Regina on MySpace
- Jupiter One’s Webpage
- Jupiter One on MySpace
- Roseland Theater
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: John Zorn – Femina
Remaining U.S. Tour Dates
- Mon 11/02/09 – Vancouver, BC – Orpheum
- Tue 11/03/09 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
- Fri 11/06/09 – Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue
- Sat 11/07/09 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
- Tue 11/10/09 – Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless Theater
- Wed 11/11/09 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Bar-B-Q / Waller Creek Amph.
- Thu 11/12/09 – Grand Prairie, TX – Nokia Theatre At Grand Prairie
- Sat 11/14/09 – Kirksville, MO – Truman State University
- Mon 11/16/09 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
- Tue 11/17/09 – Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
- Thu 11/19/09 – Louisville, KY – Louisville Palace Theatre
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