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REVIEW: U2 & Lenny Kravitz @ Qwest Field (Seattle, WA – 6/4/11)

5th Jun 11 (Sun) 5 comments

photo by Soren McCarty (Denver show)

U2 is one of the biggest rock bands in the world.  They’ve been a band for almost 35 years – all the same four guys.  Sit back and think about that for a minute.  Sure, they haven’t been without struggles, but they’ve been a solid force in rock music for a long, long time.  Saturday night was my third time to see them (PopMart 1996, Elevation 2001), and based on the reviews and photos I had seen, I knew I was going to be blown away…

Qwest Field started being configured for U2’s 360º Tour earlier that week.  The 360º Tour features the largest concert stage structure ever and a 360-degree staging/audience configuration that allows fans to surround the stage from all sides.  The large parking lot full of semi-trucks wasn’t just for Bono’s sunglasses supply.  Check out the GeneStout.com media recap of the stage build out (with Mike Savoia’s photos – more from Mike below, too).  See a time-lapse build-out of the Denver show (FB video link).

We positioned ourselves at near the north side of the outside of the loop for the show – as we hadn’t gotten there early enough for the inner loop.  After running into a bad batch in the crowd (i.e.- drunk as hell d-bags), we backed off and watched from a nice safe distance.  Opener Lenny Kravitz hit the stage around 7:30 and played a solid 50 minutes set.  One new song, and a cadre of his hits.  Cindy Blackwell was not on drums – that was the only noticeable absence.  Lenny had some ear-monitor issues near the end, which was frustrating him, but he put on a great show regardless.

Lenny’s Setlist: 50 minutes

  • Come On Get It [new song]
  • Mamma Said
  • It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over
  • Let Love Rule
  • American Woman [The Guess Who]
  • Fly Away
  • Are You Gonna Go My Way

After a short break, the David Bowie tape intro started, and U2 walked out onto the stage…

U2’s Setlist: 2+ hours

  • Space Oddity [tape intro, David Bowie]
  • Even Better Than The Real Thing
  • I Will Follow
  • Get On Your Boots
  • Magnificent
  • Mysterious Ways
  • Elevation
  • Until The End Of The World
  • All I Want Is You
  • Stay (Faraway, So Close!) [acoustic]
  • Beautiful Day with NASA video* & Space Oddity snippet (*video below)
  • Pride (In The Name Of Love)
  • Miss Sarajevo
  • Zooropa
  • City Of Blinding Lights
  • Vertigo
  • I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight with Discothèque and other snippets
  • Sunday Bloody Sunday
  • Scarlet
  • Walk On
  • Encore 1: Aung San Suu Kyi Message [tape]
  • One
  • Where The Streets Have No Name
  • Encore 2: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
  • With Or Without You
  • Moment of Surrender

They rocked out, and from our vantage point it was like watching alien TV.  Some of the best moments for me… The kick-off “Even Better Than the Real Thing” followed by the throwback “I Will Follow” (this show was going to be all over their catalog).  The NASA Commander Mark Kelly video intro to “Beautiful Day” (from space – video below).  The snippet of “Discotheque” was excellent (POP is a great, under-appreciated album).  Bono swinging out on his lit-up microphone during “Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me.”

Oh, and Zoo-fucking-ropa.  The expanding televisions caught me off guard… it was a circus of sights and sounds.

A massive spectacle from a massive band.  A truly entertaining experience.  U2 blows about any other live show out of the water as far as sheer force, light, power, and energy.

My Photos from the show:
(really, just shots of the TV… sigh…)

Mike Savoia’s Pro-shot Photos:
(used with permission)

check out the links to Mike Savoia’s work below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.  #U2360SEA

~Dan – np: Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire

U2’s rescheduled 2011 North American dates:

  • May 21 Denver, CO Invesco Field (formerly June 12/10)
  • May 24 Salt Lake City, UT Rice Eccles Stadium (formerly June 3/10)
  • June 01 Edmonton, AB Commonwealth Stadium (formerly June 23/10)
  • June 04 Seattle, WA Qwest Field (formerly June 20/10)
  • June 07 Oakland, CA McAfee Coliseum (formerly June 20/10)
  • June 17 Anaheim, CA Angels Stadium (formerly June 6/10)
  • June 18 Anaheim, CA Angels Stadium (formerly June 7/10)
  • June 26 East Lansing, MI Spartan Stadium at MSU (formerly June 30/10)
  • June 29 Miami, FL Sun Life Stadium (formerly July 9/10)
  • July 05 Chicago, IL Soldier Field (formerly July 6/10)
  • July 08 Montreal, QC Hippodrome (formerly July 16/10)
  • July 09 Montreal, QC Hippodrome (formerly July 17/10)
  • July 11 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre (formerly July 3/10)
  • July 14 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field (formerly July 12/10)
  • July 20 East Rutherford, NJ New Meadowlands Stadium (formerly July 19/10)
  • July 23 Minneapolis, MN TCF Bank Stadium (formerly June 27/10)
Categories: Concert Photos, Rock & Pop Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Ani DiFranco @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – 4/12/11)

14th Apr 11 (Thu) 2 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Ani DiFranco comes through Eugene on just about every West Coast tour – which is always a delight.  The crowd seemed a tad sparse… perhaps due to the lack of new Ani material out there recently.  She’s prolific, but hasn’t put out an album since 2008’s Red Letter Year.  She hasn’t even put out any new official live bootlegs since 2009.  With that lack of apparent new music on the shelves (CD World or iTunes), one might think she’s taking a break.  Well, as you’ll see from the setlist below, no break has occurred with her songwriting proliferation…

Super busy week; so I apologize in advance… I didn’t catch the opener Animal Prufrock this time.  I saw her back in 2008 with Judy Grahn & Ani D.  I enjoyed Animal’s raucous energy, but again… twas an uber-busy week, and I couldn’t make it to the McD for the early opener start time (Animal @ 7:30, Ani D @ 8:30!).

I got into the venue about 30 seconds before Ani and band hit the stage.  Whew, perfect timing!  Her band this time was the same as her prior Eugene gig… Andy Barger on drums, Mike Dillon on percussion, and Todd Sickafoose on contrabass.  Fantastically gelled band… I love watching these guys play.  In fact, I’ll be seeing Mike Dillon play again next week in Eugene.  At the end of the Ani tour, he’s hitting the road with Skerik and the rest of the guys with Garage A Trois.

Tons of new stuff was played…

Setlist: around 90 minutes pre-encore

  • Anticipate
  • Angry Any More
  • Unworry (newish – she played it at Eugene 2009)
  • Paradigm
  • Promiscuity (new)
  • Gloating (new)
  • W.O.W. (new)
  • J (new)
  • I Know This Bar
  • See See “Still in Love with You” (new)
  • The Atom
  • Everest
  • If You’re Not (new)
  • Untouchable Face
  • Which Side Are You On?
  • Encore: Overlap
  • Angel from Montgomery

Due to a hectic week, I had to bail right before the encore.  Based on other reports from this tour, she also played a few older tunes and maybe the newer tune “Mariachi.”  Anyone with a good memory or notes throw a little help on what she played after “Which Side…” for an encore?

As far as the new stuff, I dug it… especially “Gloating,” “Jay,” and “W.O.W.”  I will say one of the best things of the night was the main line to “If You’re Not”…

If you’re not getting happier as you get older, you’re fucking up.

A lot of new stuff to digest… I usually need some more time for the new material to kick around my brain.  Perhaps with this glut of new material, she’s heading into the studio soon for studio album #18(!).  Anyone catch her Crystal Ballroom show in Portland? Any major difference in setlist?

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Next show for me… Skerik, Mike Dillon, Marc Benevento and Stanton Moore are Garage A Trois @ Sam Bond’s 4/21.

~Dan – np: Todd Sickafoose – Tiny Resistors

ANI DIFRANCO PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Categories: Concert Photos, Indie Rock, Rock & Pop, Singer-Songwriter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Madeleine Peyroux @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – 4/5/11)

7th Apr 11 (Thu) Leave a comment

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Madeleine Peyroux has a new album coming out called Standin’ On the Rooftop.  The album, coming out June 7th on Decca, features Marc Ribot on guitar/banjo along with Me’shell Ndegeocello on bass.  No word on tracklist for the full-length, but she just released a preview EP called The Things I’ve Seen Today, which features the title track co-written by violinist Jenny Scheinman and a delightful cover of The Beatles’ “Martha, My Dear” (click picture to the right for samples).

This show in Eugene was her second time through in as many years.  I don’t recall if the band members were the same as last time, but regardless, they were all fantastic musicians.  While Ribot/Ndegeocello/Scheinman were not in the live band, all four band members created a vibe conducive to taking in Madeleine’s golden vocal chords.

They played a fairly jazzy set, and Madeleine’s lush vocals bounced around in more of a jazzy singer-songwriter feel than I remembered her from before.  As you’ll be able to see from the setlist below, she played a lot of the new material from the forthcoming album – much of it I was unable to unidentify.  If you have any assistance on the setlist, let me know in the comments.

Setlist: over 90 minutes

  • unknown
  • The Things I’ve Seen Today
  • Martha, My Dear [The Beatles]
  • “Muddy Mississippi”
  • You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go [Bob Dylan]
  • “seen my reflection underneath the moon”
  • “here we are… I’m only human”
  • Don’t Wait Too Long
  • Don’t Pick a Fight With a Poet
  • “Meet me in Rio”
  • “involuntary pass/past(?)”
  • Dance Me to the End of Love [Leonard Cohen]
  • unknown love song
  • Instead [with band introductions & solos]
  • Encore: J’Ai Deux Amours
  • “I hear music” [with band solos]

Fantastic show.  Madeleine was fairly chatty and in a great mood.  The Eugene crowd was fairly subdued, except for a particular “amateur comedian” named George who interacted a bit with Madeleine – which at one point said she should have him open for her. :)

Be on the lookout for her new album in June.  She’s hitting a few more West Coast & Canada dates (as well as a NYC date) between now and the end of June.  Check out more tour dates below.

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Next show for me… quite possibly Ani DiFranco at McDonald Theatre in Eugene (4/12).

~Dan – np: Platypus – When Pus Comes to Shove

MADELEINE PEYROUX PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Madeleine Peyroux Spring/Summer 2011 Tour Dates:
3/31-4/02 – Seattle, WA @ Jazz Alley
4/03 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
4/05 – Eugene, OR @ Shedd Institute for Arts
4/06 – Santa Rosa, CA @ Wells Fargo Center
4/08 – San Francisco, CA @ Palace of Fine Arts
4/09 – Los Angeles, CA @ Luckman Theater
4/11 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Lobero Theatre
4/13 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
6/17-19 – New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
6/22 – Toronto, Ontario, Canada @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
6/24 – Victoria, British Columbia, Canada @ Royal Theatre (Victoria
International Jazzfest)
6/25 – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada @ Centre for the Performing Arts
(Vancouver International Jazz Festival))
6/26 – Edmonton, Alberta, Canada @ Winspear Centre for Music (Edmonton Int’l
Jazz Festival)
6/28 – Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada @ Theatre Granada
6/29 – Montreal, Quebec, Canada @ Theatre Maisonneuve (Fest Int’l De Jazz De
Montreal)
6/30 – Quebec, Canada @ Raoul-Jobin Hall (Palais Montcalm)

Categories: Concert Photos, Jazz & Avant, Rock & Pop, Singer-Songwriter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tres Mts in Seattle (3/16)

17th Mar 11 (Thu) Leave a comment

So, I got stranded in Eugene, and wasn’t able to go up and shoot the debut Tres Mts show at the Showbox at the Market in Seattle… :(

Well, “Iron Mike” Savoia took some great photos… check them out at his Facebook page… dUg Pinnick (King’s X), Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam), Richard Stuverud (The Fastbacks), and Mike McCready (Pearl Jam)… Savoia Digital Photography does amazing work!

Also, check out Jason Tang Photography, too…

While I missed this great show, I was able to hit the excellent Punch Brothers (with Chris Thile) at McDonald Theatre that night.  My review with photos will be posted this weekend.

~Dan – np: Pedro the Lion – It’s Hard To Find A Friend

Categories: Concert Photos Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Kaki King @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 3/9/11)

12th Mar 11 (Sat) 1 comment

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Kaki King burst into the music scene in 2003 with her exquisite fretwork and primarily instrumental pieces. “Playing With Pink Noise” (from 2004’s Legs to Make Us Longer) thrust her more in the indie rock spotlight, showcasing a guitar that she played as if it were trying to run away from her. The video for “Pink Noise” was simply a white backdrop with Kaki effortlessly plucking and slapping away among randomly timed pink rose petals and balloons. It helped land her hands on the silver screen — as the up-close guitar “stunt double” for Freddie Highmore, who played a guitar prodigy in 2007’s August Rush. Later that year, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for her score for Sean Penn’s Into the Wild (alongside Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder).

With her fifth album, Junior, a more mature songwriter has emerged. She still brings the famous fretwork to her songs, but Junior brings vocals more to the fore. Kaki woos us with the subtle and intricate pop of “Spit It Back In My Mouth,” the drive of “Falling Day,” the indie pop feel of “Communist Friends” and the hard rock of “Death Head.” The vulnerable and heartfelt “Sunnyside” brings the album to a close and shows off her more personal side. Kaki King is for fans of the indie rock of Sleater-Kinney and Tegan & Sara, or for those who like a bit more virtuoso musicianship mixed in with their lush pop melodies.

Kaki came through Eugene last May, and blew us away with her rockin’ band.  For this go-round, it was just going to be her and her guitar.  Or, shall I say… guitars… this is dubbed her “Guitar Traveling Freak Show” tour…

kaki king’s “band” on this tour

Before Kaki hit the stage, Washington went on.  (Megan) Washington is an Australian singer-songwriter, who I hear is quite popular down under.  She actually started her set with a joke about an odd fellow from Arcata, CA, who brandished a sword in front of her the day prior.  She told us that she normally plays guitar, but due to obvious reasons wouldn’t be tonight.  Her sound reminded me of a slightly grittier Regina Spektor (specifically from a vocal side of things).  She definitely had some songwriting chops.  She played about an hour… sometimes dreamy piano pop, sometimes more sullen indie rock.  She didn’t have anything to sell us (no shirt, CDs, etc)… probably too difficult to manage hauling it to this hemisphere.  I’d recommend checking out her records, especially How to Tame Lions and I Believe You Liar.

Kaki hit the stage at 8:30pm for this early show.  She played almost entirely an instrumental set… with vocals only on “Life Being” and “Communist” (if I remember correctly).  She switched between her trusty six string, a smaller than usual 12-string (Irish?), a banjo-guitar hybrid, an interestingly “koto”-style modified bridge guitar, a harp guitar, and probably a few I’m missing.

Setlist: about 90 minutes

  • Bone Chaos in the Castle
  • I Need A Girl Who Knows A Map
  • Doing the Wrong Thing
  • unidentified… possibly “Ingots”
  • Life Being What It Is
  • Playing With Pink Noise
  • unidentified… possibly “Carmine St”
  • My Girl the Horse [Fences]
  • Andecy [Andrew York]
  • Because It’s There [Michael Hedges]
  • Nails
  • unidentified… possibly “Magazine”
  • unidentified… new song for Megan Washington
  • unidentified… possibly “Bowen Island”
  • Encore: unidentified… with Dan Brantigan on trumpet
  • unidentified… “world premiere” drunk guitar song
  • Communist Friends

Kaki is the kind of guitar player that makes non-guitar players want to learn how to play.  She’s also the kind of guitar player who makes current guitar players want to throw away their axe.  And despite her focused brilliance with her instrument, she has quite a humorous and awkwardly delightful stage presence.  She’s charming, she’ll jokingly cuss the audience out, and then she’ll be self-deprecating.  She’ll act playful and humble, and then she’ll smoke the 6 to 12 strings in front of her without much trouble.  There’s no doubt that she belongs on stage and that you belong watching her.

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

Next show for me… Chris Thile‘s Punch Brothers at McDonald Theatre on 3/16.

~Dan – np: Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin – Llyrìa

KAKI KING PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

KAKI KING – 2011 TOUR DATES
Feb 23 Museum of Modern Art: Celeste Bartos Theatre New York, New York
Feb 26 Salon Vive Cuervo Mexico City, Mexico
Feb 28 The Loft – UC San Diego San Diego, California
Mar 2 Largo at the Coronet West Hollywood, California
Mar 3 College of the Sequoias Theatre Visalia, California
Mar 4 Yoshi’s San Francisco, CA
Mar 5 Ashkenaz Berkeley, California
Mar 6 Harlows Sacramento, California
Mar 8 Jambalaya Arcata, California
Mar 9 WOW Hall Eugene, Oregon
Mar 10 Mississippi Studios Portland, Oregon
Mar 11 The Triple Door Seattle, Washington
Mar 12 Biltmore Cabaret Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Mar 24 Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mar 25 Space Evanston, Illinois
Mar 26 The Old Rock House St. Louis, Missouri
Mar 28 Southgate House Newport, Kentucky
Mar 29 The Birchmere Alexandria , Virginia
Mar 30 World Cafe Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Apr 1 Center for the Arts Natick, Massachusetts
Apr 2 Iron Horse Northampton, Massachusetts
Apr 3 Infinity Hall Norfolk, Connecticut
Apr 7 City Winery New York, New York
Apr 8 City Winery New York, New York
Apr 9 Binghamton University Binghamton, New York

Categories: Concert Photos, Indie Rock, Rock & Pop, Singer-Songwriter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin @ Alberta Rose/PDX Jazz Fest (Portland, OR – 2/25/11)

1st Mar 11 (Tue) 2 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Despite Grammy-winner Esperanza Spalding going on at the same night as part of Portland Jazz Fest 2011, I wasn’t going to miss Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin.  I got into Ronin with 2006’s Stoa.  Nik’s way of creative a funky, piano-based jazz setting captured my attention.  And being from Switzerland, the chances to see Ronin are few and far between (their U.S. Tour consisted of four dates: Oakland, Portland, Knoxville & New York).  First, the opener…

First up was Portland’s own Blue Cranes.  I had heard of them, and I was glad to make it to the club early enough to catch their set.  Great reed-driven quartet.  They started out with a guest sax player and a string trio (with Anna Fritz, whom I’ve seen/heard before).  They were genteel at first, but also drove the tempo up with some raucous solos and melodies.

Songs I caught the names of their hour-long set (I missed the opening song’s name): Love Love Love (by Wayne Horvitz), Hated Because of Great Qualities (by Blonde Redhead), Grandpa’s Hands (featuring toy piano), Beware of the Pneumatic Nailer, Soldier (with strings), Ritchie Bros., and Maddie Mae.  Sha from Ronin joined them on-stage for a number as well.  They’re heading out on an 30-day Amtrack tour soon… kicking off March 19th @ Tony Starlight‘s in Portland.

RONIN is Nik Bärtsch on piano, Kaspar Rast on drums, Andi Pupato on percussion, Sha on the alto and bass clarinet, and Thomy Jordi on bass.  Their latest album, Llyrìa, came out on ECM in October 2010 and features what Nik calls “moduls.”

A “modul” is an unnamed, but numbered musical entities that can be woven together.  Per Nik (in his interview with Oregon Music News), “when a module combination makes dramaturgically and formally sense and creates a coherent piece, I give a number to it.”

Friday’s show was primarily pulled from the moduls in Llyrìa.  Interwoven, interlocking, overlapping pieces played through the air as the dimly, strategically lit stage changed to fit the sounds.  Color and music formed an fantastic audio and visual masterpiece.  The moduls started with a slow rumble and grew and warped throughout their long set.  Very much jazz-centric, but also many elements of rock, funk, and progressive music.  The PDX Jazz Fest brought Nik to town in 2008, but I’m hoping it doesn’t have to be another three years before we get to see this amazing live act again in Oregon.

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Next show for me… Damien Jurado & Viva Voce at Doug Fir Lounge on Friday, 3/4.

~Dan – np: Mike Patton – A Perfect Place

NIK BARTSCH PDX JAZZ FEST PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

Categories: Concert Photos, Jazz & Avant Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ Crystal Ballroom (Portland, OR – 2/18/11)

19th Feb 11 (Sat) 13 comments

GYBE-evaphoto

Video flickers “hope” on loop. Slow build with piercing tones presumably of guitar mixed with cello & screams in the violin pickups. The vapors turn into steam, the bowing more frantic, random percussive shakes. Eight minutes, the first hits on a high hat. The steam now turning into an impending waterfall. “Hope” still flickers. The impending waterfall never comes. The sounds fall away into sweepy hallways.

Clean guitars, gentle malleted vibes, as the guitar soars upwards with the violins. The screen text and numbers jumble. The pace expands and explodes, then stabilizes. Guitars are the backbone, the drums brisk, the xylo/vibes, on the other hand, are furious. Gasping. Grasping. They’re trying to escape. The drums take over, the other players fall to the side. A stringed étude tucks it away.

Violin warming up, workshop hammering percussion until the sounds become like a train leaving the station. This one built quicker than the prior pieces. More Mogwaian versus Sigurrósient. Churning turns into hints of melodic keys. Maybe they were just car keys… it’s turned more into a tumultuous rock instrumental.  Rush.

That was the first forty minutes. The rest of Godspeed You! Black Emperor‘s two-plus hour set was full of highs and lows, and all the things that make post-rock so wondrous and confounding. Sweeping movements with The Anatomy of Melancholy text and images flashing above the band’s heads. I think sprinting away from convention is what makes this music so magical. Shying away from the press definitely adds to the mystery.

Setlist: (thanks Jason & others)

  • Hope Drone
  • Moya
  • Albanian
  • Monheim
  • Dead Metheny
  • (unknown)
  • 09-15-00 (outro)
  • Chart #3
  • World Police & Friendly Fire
  • Gathering Storm
  • Blaise Bailey Finnegan III (aka BBF3)

Sorry for no photos from the show… t’was too packed, dark and I decided to hang back and enjoy anyway.  My opinion of the opener in the comment section.

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

Next show for me… Nik Barstch’s Ronin as part of Portland Jazz Fest next weekend.

~Dan – np: Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Tourdates

February 2011
16 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ Vogue Theatre
17 – Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox at the Market
18 – Portland, Ore. @ Crystal Ballroom
20 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Great American Music Hall
21 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Great American Music Hall
23 – Los Angeles, Calif @ Music Box at the Henry Fonda

March 2011
16 – Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Masonic Temple
17 – New York City, N.Y. @ Church of St. Paul the Apostle
19 – Philadelphia, Penn. @ Trocadero
20 Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
22 – Athens, Ga. @ 40 Watt Club
24 – Nashville, Tenn. @ Cannery Ballroom
26 – Chicago, Ill. @ Metro
27 – Chicago, Ill. @ Metro
29 – Detroit, Mich. @ Majestic Theatre

Categories: Dirge, Jazz & Avant, Metal, Post-rock Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Elton John @ Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, OR – 2/17/11)

18th Feb 11 (Fri) 6 comments

Vancouver 2011, photo by Adrian Lam, Timescolonist.com

The newly built Matthew Knight Arena, nestled at the University of Oregon in lovely Eugene, Oregon, hosted a supreme pop-star last night… the multi-million record selling Sir Elton John.  He’s been releasing records and trotting the globe for over 5 decades, he has a countless (or at least monumentally difficult to count) list of awards and sales records.  His tribute to Princess Diana (the “Candle in the Wind 1997″ single) sold 37 million copies alone.  He’s been brash & counter-culture, but more often than not, he’s been a shaper of pop culture and pop music.

So, why Eugene, Oregon for his kick-off U.S. date on his 2011 winter tour?  eh, maybe he’s a Ducks fan? Regardless of the reason, we were glad to host him and his band.  His band last night was Davey Johnstone on guitar, Nigel Olsson on drums, Bob Birch on bass, John Mahon on percussion, Kim Bullard on keyboards, and a quartet of backing singers.

This was my first time to the Matthew Knight Arena (aka Matt Arena or Matt Court).  It is a gorgeous facility.  I tend to see artists play in much smaller venues, but it’s good to see a new venue in town to draw bigger arena acts.  I am in Portland a lot, but if I can stay in town for someone like the Foo Fighters, Leonard Cohen, Pearl Jam, Tool, etc – I will.

The show was, as expected, a “Greatest Hits Live” show with a handful of new tunes…

Setlist: about 3 hours

  • Funeral For A Friend
  • Love Lies Bleeding
  • Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)
  • Levon
  • Madman Across the Water
  • Tiny Dancer
  • Philadelphia Freedom
  • Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
  • Daniel
  • Rocket Man
  • I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues
  • Hey Ahab
  • The Best Part Of The Day
  • Gone To Shiloh
  • Monkey Suit
  • When Love Is Dying
  • Sad Songs
  • Piano Solo/Take Me To The Pilot
  • Never Too Old (To Hold Somebody)
  • Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
  • Candle in the Wind
  • Burn Down the Mission
  • Bennie and the Jets
  • The Bitch Is Back
  • I’m Still Standing
  • Crocodile Rock
  • Encore: Your Song
  • Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me

Check out photos from the Eugene show over at Eugene Weekly‘s blog:
http://blogs.eugeneweekly.com/content/elton-john-live-matt-knight-arena-21711

Elton John’s show was full of energy.  I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest Elton John fan, but there were many songs that I knew.  With that many records and hit songs, even an avant-garde jazz & metal fan is bound to know more than half of the songs.  The band was tight – pretty much nailing the progressive rock parts on “Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding,” but the stage was set to let Elton shine.  He didn’t just sit back and let his backing band take charge.

Things I could have lived without… the crazy texters surrounding us, the people who whipped out their cellphones to take pictures and/or videos (from the nose bleeds), and well, yeah, the keyboard horn section.  Oh, and the crazy or drunk lady who eventually got ejected during “Candle in the Wind.”

Short and sweet: Elton put on a fantastic show, and I’m excited for more big events here in Eugene!

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

Next show for me… Godspeed You! Black Emperor tonight in Portland (Crystal Ballroom).  Look for a review later this weekend…

~Dan – np: Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die,  But You Will

Elton John 2011 North American Tour Dates

  • 14-Feb-2011 Victoria BC Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
  • 15-Feb-2011 Victoria BC Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
  • 17-Feb-2011 Eugene, OR Matthew Knight Arena
  • 19-Feb-2011 Reno, NV Event Center
  • 24-Feb-2011 Kahului, HI Maui Arts & Cultural Center
  • 25-Feb-2011 Kahului, HI Maui Arts & Cultural Center
  • 11-Mar-2011 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun
  • 12-Mar-2011 Worcester, MA DCU Center
  • 16-Mar-2011 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
  • 18-Mar-2011 Norfolk, VA Ted Constant Convocation Center
  • 20-Mar-2011 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
  • 23-Mar-2011 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center
  • 25-Mar-2011 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
  • 26-Mar-2011 Baltimore, MD First Mariner Arena
  • 27-Mar-2011 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center
  • 06-Apr-2011 Bismarck, ND Civic Center
  • 08-Apr-2011 Spokane, WA Spokane Arena
  • 09-Apr-2011 Boise, ID Taco Bell Arena
  • 10-Apr-2011 Billings, MT Matra Park
  • 22-Apr-2011 Wilkes-Barre, PA Mohegan Sun Arena
  • 23-Apr-2011 Rochester, NY Blue Cross Arena
  • 06-May-2011 Duluth, MN Amsoil Arena

 

Categories: Rock & Pop, Singer-Songwriter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Nels Cline Singers with Yuka Honda @ Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR – 1/30/11)

2nd Feb 11 (Wed) 3 comments

 FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

I had heard of Nels Cline like many people… via Wilco.  I had even seen Wilco at some point on the A Ghost is Born tour (Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, 2000-and-something).  While I dig Wilco enough, more adventurous music is where it’s at for me nowadays.  I had heard of Nels and knew of his free jazz group, but I had only actually heard a little bit of his music – which gets me to my interest even being piqued in this show… enter Yuka C. Honda.

I dig Yuka’s Japanese/American sugar-pop of Cibo Matto (with fellow Japanese ex-pat Miho Hatori), but I also dig her experimental acoustic-electronic albums on Tzadik.  My love of Yuka’s solo work led to her Portland tour date popping up on my radar…and I saw “oh, and with Nels Cline, I’ve heard some of his stuff.”

Boy, was I in for a surprise.

I found out about a week before the show that Yuka was actually playing with the Nels Cline Singers (the next generation of his NC Trio).  I found out later that they’re married ; so the joint tour totally made sense to me now.

Then I found out that one of my favorite bassists, Trevor Dunn, was playing in the group for this short West Coast tour.  Trevor played/plays with Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Moonchild, Trio Convulsant, Electric Masada, et-fucking-cetera (tons upon tons of groups).

Then I found out that Scott Amendola was drumming with them… he’s the drummer for Mike Patton‘s fantastic Mondo Cane big-band.  Then, after seeing the Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger* on Friday 1/28 in Portland, I thought… “hey, GOASTT is wrapping up their tour in Seattle on the 29th, and Nels Cline is starting their tour on the 29th in Seattle.  Sean Lennon (of GOASTT) & Yuka used to be together as a couple and still work in bands together, Sean & Nels are on the same label, I bet something’s up.”  Well, yeah, something was up…

*GOASTT is Sean Lennon & Charlotte Kemp Muhl‘s band (to the R of Nels).

As evidenced above, Sean & Charlotte watched from side of the stage during the first set, until Sean disappeared only to come up on stage to tambourine with the group for the last song in the first set.

So, now that my mind was thoroughly blown with all of the players on stage – let’s get on with the music.

Despite the “Singers” namesake, it’s an instrumental band.  Actually, it’s an instrumental force with which to reckon.  The first set started off with just the trio of Nels’ guitars and the battery of Trevor & Scott.  The first song “Forge” swooned and swelled before crashing down on our ears.

The group seemed to me to be a great mix of what I love about both free jazz and post-rock.  You don’t know what to expect, and you don’t want to know what to expect.  The wave-like rise and fall is part of the enjoyment.  If the wave doesn’t take you to where you wanted to go, well, you have to give in… it’s not your wave to control.

After the first few songs, Yuka came on and joined them on keyboards and percussion.  I think she evened out the sound a bit… less chaotic, but still adventurous.

1st Set: 60-70 minutes

  • Forge
  • A Mug Like Mine
  • Dedication
  • Thurston County
  • B86 (Inkblot Nebula)
  • Thoughts on Caetano [with Sean Lennon]

Brilliant wall of sound and magic coming from the Singers.  Alas, I had to call it a night.  They took about a 30-40 minute break before I threw in the towel (around 11pm).  They were going to come back on and do a 2nd full set.  Sunday night, long drive ahead of me… I headed back to Eugene.  I sooo very much wanted to stick around for the second set.  The cards were stacked against me; so I scurried to my car and hit the road… if any readers caught the second set – how was it? what did they play?

many more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

Next shows for me… Sir Elton John in Eugene on 2/17 and then Godspeed! You Black Emperor the next day in Portland.

~Dan – np: Opeth – Orchid

NELS CLINE SINGERS PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Winter 2011 West Coast Tour Dates

  • Jan 29 – Seattle, WA – Is That Jazz? Festival
  • Jan 30 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
  • Feb 2 – Arcata, CA – Arcata Playhouse
  • Feb 3 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
  • Feb 4 – Santa Cruz, CA – Don Quixote’s
  • Feb 5 – Los Angeles, CA – Getty Center
Categories: Concert Photos, Jazz & Avant, Post-rock Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Sean Lennon/Charlotte Kemp Muhl’s Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger @ The Woods (Portland, OR – 1/28/11)

29th Jan 11 (Sat) 4 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Sean Lennon‘s last studio album,  Friendly Fire, was brilliant.  Not only was it chock full of great pop songs, but it also came with a DVD with a full album’s worth of cinematic music videos… for the entire album.  Back in 2008, his new band Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (with Charlotte Kemp-Muhl) had a presence on MySpace… and put out some songs that eventually blossomed into the debut album – Acoustic Sessions (out in late 2010).  They hit the road this past December & January, winding up with their last few shows here on the West Coast.

Opener Laura Gibson is a Portland local who has been the support on this recent GOASTT tour.  Of all the venues on the tour, she said she could have “roller skated to this venue” (The Woods in the Sellwood neighborhood).  She played 45 minutes with her drummer / multi-instrumentalistSean Ogilvie.  Their set was quite wonderful: a folky, poppy duo… similar to the Weepies with a bit more charm, and very reminiscent in some of her vocal delivery to Maery Lanahan (from Seattle via Dayton, OH).  Charming, well-crafted songs… and with anagram nicknames like “Albino Sugar” and “Eagle Vision,” you simply can’t go wrong with Laura Gibson & Sean Ogilvie!

After what seemed like a long-time, Sean, Charlotte & horn-player C.J. took the stage.  They dug right into a new song, the only song I didn’t previously know… Sean rattled off the song name quickly.  I didn’t catch it, except for they did sing “she’s got a meanstreak” a few times throughout.  They played mostly everything from their Acoustic Sessions album except for “Robot Boy,” and also threw in a couple covers and a great song from Sean’s Friendly Fire album.

Sean sang and played guitar & drums.  Charlotte also sang, played bass, accordion, toy piano/xylophone, melodica and other percussion.  We never really got the real name of the horn-player, but “C.J. Calamari” played french horn and trumpet.  He used several foot pedals to run the horns through effects processors… giving it a jazz-fusion sound that reminded me a lot of NYC-trumpet player Dave Douglas‘ Freak In album.  It was a great electronic-rooted-in-brass timbre that really worked well with Sean & Charlotte’s poppy, eclectic-folky sound.

Setlist: 90 minutes

  • new song “she’s got a meanstreak”
  • Rainbows In Gasoline
  • Jardin du Luxembourg
  • Lavender Road
  • Shroedinger’s Cat
  • Dark Matter, White Noise
  • Songs For James
  • Girl From The North Country [Bob Dylan]
  • Candy Necklace
  • Dead Meat [Sean Lennon]
  • The World Was Made For Men [false start x3 / giggle fest]
  • Bennie and the Jets [Elton John]
  • The World Was Made For Men

When they announced “Lavender Road” as being their “rocking song,” I internally chuckled, but wow… they tore it up at the end with guitar, drum and horn solos that truly rocked out.

Throughout the night, the band joked a lot in between songs, many times to the point of inability to hold back the laughter (both the crowd & band).  You’d think this was a comedy tour instead of a music tour.  There were stories of bar fights at Tex-Mex restaurants.  Sean added a silly little impromptu “reggae rap” at the end of “Candy Necklace.” And the “worldwide venereal disease of tuning / history of world music” from Sean after Charlotte pulled out the accordion for “Song For James” was quite piece of stagecraft with many bad accents.

The 90 minutes they were on stage flew by far too quickly.  They spared us the “ruse that is the encore,” but when they couldn’t get past the first 15 seconds of “The World Was Made For Men” due to a giggle fest from both Charlotte & Sean, they rocked into a seemingly impromptu “Bennie & the Jets” with the house piano on stage, and then finally hit “The World” again with a giggle-free completion and many cheers!

I’ve been privileged with many shows, but this was one of the best shows in a while – definitely for the year.  Great songs, great people, great humor, great musicianship, great souls… and you could tell that they were having fun on stage.  Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger plays Seattle tonight before heading back home.  Check out their album Acoustic Sessions… it’s bueno!

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

Next show for me… Nels Cline Singer and Yuka Honda on 1/30.

~Dan – np: GOASTT – Jardin du Luxembourg 7″ vinyl

GHOST OF A SABER TOOTH TIGER PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

GOASTT 2010/2011 Tour (backwards order)

  • Saturday 1/29/11 – The Crocodile, Seattle WA
  • Friday 1/28/11 – The Woods, Portland OR
  • Tuesday 1/25/11 – Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco CA
  • Saturday 1/22/11 – Pappy & Harriets, Pioneertown (Joshua Tree) CA
  • Friday 1/21/11 – Club Congress, Tucson AZ
  • Wednesday 1/19/11 – Cactus Cafe, Austin TX
  • Tuesday 1/18/11 – Dan’s Silver Leaf, Denton TX
  • Saturday 1/15/11 – The Earl, Atlanta GA
  • Friday 1/14/11 – Melting Point, Athens GA
  • Thursday 1/13/11 – Evening Muse, Charlotte NC
  • Wednesday 1/12/11 – Local 506, Chapel Hill NC
  • Tuesday 1/11/11 – Ioata, Washington D.C.
  • Saturday 1/8/11 – Rockwood Music Hall, New York NY
  • Friday 1/7/11 – Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia PA
  • Thursday 1/6/11 – Great Scott, Boston MA
  • Friday 12/17/10 Bercy, Paris, France (with -M-)
  • Thursday 12/16/10 Bercy, Paris, France (with -M-)
  • Wednesday 12/15/10 Bercy, Paris, France (with -M-)
  • Tuesday 12/14/10 Paradiso, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • Monday 12/13/10 Frannz Club, Berlin, Germany
  • Saturday 12/11/10 MOD, Hasselt, Belgium
  • Friday 12/10/10 Zenith, Saint Herblain, France (with -M-)
  • Thursday 12/9/10 Zenith, Saint Herblain, France (with -M-)
  • Wednesday 12/8/10 Grand Hall, Tours, France (with -M-)
  • Tuesday 12/7/10 Zenith d’Orleans, Orleans, France (with -M-)
  • Friday 12/3/10 Arena de Montpellier, Montpellier, France (with -M-)
  • Thursday 12/2/10 Nikaia, Nice, France (with -M-)
  • Wednesday 11/17/10 Largo, Los Angeles, CA
Categories: Concert Photos, Indie Rock, Rock & Pop, Singer-Songwriter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

GOASTT @ The Woods (coming soon)

29th Jan 11 (Sat) Leave a comment

Setlist, photos & review from last night’s The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (Sean Ono Lennon & Charlotte Kemp Muhl) at The Woods in Portland, Oregon, will be posted later today… Update: GO HERE

~Dan

GOASTT

Categories: Concert Photos, Rock & Pop Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Derek Webb @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 1/20/11)

22nd Jan 11 (Sat) 3 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

I’ve been a fan of Derek Webb ever since seeing him in Caedmon’s Call in the mid-90s.  His voice and lyricism is something I connect with, regardless of my now-differing beliefs.  He’s a genuine artist & thinker, and I think he’s a Christian that I think really “gets it”… or is at least trying to “get it” (we’re all a work in progress)…

His last two albums, 2009’s Stockholm Syndrome and 2010’s instrumental Feedback, have some of the best material he’s put out, in my opinion.  Since I went into a long-ish discussion about my connection and thoughts about Webb & Christianity in my review of the Jennifer Knapp tour in the Spring 2010 and my thoughts about Feedback, I’ll keep this review shorter and sweeter…

We showed up a little after the early start time… I got a chuckle out of Derek’s tweet about it being a “Christian seated show” (with photo) and took in the last half of opener Anna Gilbert‘s set…

Anna is an Oregonian, went to the University of Oregon, lives in Portland, and has a handful of delightfully sonic pop albums.  Her third CD, Your Love My Medicine, was produced by none other than knob-wizard Charlie Peacock (his wiki).  Anna’s sound… poppy, singer-songwriter.  Nice positive songs.

After a short break and a beer, Derek hit the stage at 8pm…

Great set, a mix of songs from his solo albums, a couple of Caedmon’s tunes… and one lonely cover song.  Based on my prior experience with Derek, and his recent Democracy covers series (now heading into Volume 2), I figured he’d hit us with another cover or two.

The acoustic version of the mostly electronic Stockholm Syndrome songs worked well.  “What Matters More” is a favorite, and while the studio version is full of electronics, the stripped down version still remained one of my favorites from the night.  For other Derek fans (or Derek himself), have the Stockholm songs ever been played out live with keyboards and/or a full band (Joshua Moore, etc)?  That would kick ass.

Setlist: about 90 mins

  1. The End / The Very End
  2. The Spirit Vs. The Kick Drum
  3. New Law
  4. I Hate Everything (But You)
  5. Freddie, Please
  6. A Love That’s Stronger Than Our Fears
  7. I Love/Hate You
  8. God’s Hometown [Caedmon’s Call]
  9. I Just Don’t Want Coffee [Caedmon’s Call]
  10. Wedding Dress
  11. Heaven
  12. What Matters More
  13. She Must And Shall Go Free
  14. (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding [Nick Lowe]

“Spirit vs. Kick Drum,” “Love/Hate,” and the Caedmon’s “Coffee” were some other favorite selections from the night.  His banter was charming as usual.  I was surprised he didn’t talk about Shawn Colvin being on his flight to Eugene… alas, perhaps he was distracted by Delta not being as gentle with his guitar as he’d have liked… assuming his guitar makes it back to Nashville with him, he needs to get a few things checked out (loose screw or something).

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

He’s playing Seattle, WA, tonight (1/22 @ the Q Cafe).  Check out more tour dates at http://derekwebb.com/.

Next concert for me… Sean Lennon & Charlotte Kemp-Muhl’s Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger on 1/28.

~Dan – np: No-Man – Returning Jesus

DEREK WEBB PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Categories: Concert Photos, Indie Rock, Rock & Pop, Singer-Songwriter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Derek Webb – 1/20 Eugene setlist (full review by Sat)

21st Jan 11 (Fri) Leave a comment

Derek Webb last night at the WOW Hall in Eugene, Oregon… Update: GO HERE FOR FULL REVIEW

Setlist: about 90 mins

  1. The End / The Very End
  2. The Spirit Vs. The Kick Drum
  3. New Law
  4. I Hate Everything (But You)
  5. Freddie, Please
  6. A Love That’s Stronger Than Our Fears
  7. I Love/Hate You
  8. God’s Hometown [Caedmon’s Call]
  9. I Just Don’t Want Coffee [Caedmon’s Call]
  10. Wedding Dress
  11. Heaven
  12. What Matters More
  13. She Must And Shall Go Free
  14. (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding [Nick Lowe]

Full review & more photos posted by Saturday… GO HERE FOR FULL REVIEW.

~Dan – np: No-Man – Speak

Categories: Concert Photos, Rock & Pop, Singer-Songwriter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Reptet @ Luckey’s (Eugene, OR – 1/14/11)

17th Jan 11 (Mon) 1 comment

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

A rare nice, non-rainy evening in Eugene on Friday… how do you start a show? You get your gear and head outside!  Reptet did just that… wearing drums and horns, they hit the street right outside Luckey’s to get the crowd pumped as well as bring in some surprised passersby.  After their Reptet-ization of a Chamillionaire song, they shuffled and bounced back inside, bringing more people in after them than were originally were in the bar.  First song, first stroke of genius.

This was the first show of their West Coast CD Release tour (see dates below).  Their 4th studio album AT THE CABIN just came out, and after a couple spins… I’m totally digging it.  Great fun-romp of a jazz sextet.  A little bit of goofing around, a little bit of standard following mixed with standard setting, and a little bit of punk & experimental sensibilities with a solid rhythm section.  To me, this is what a jazz combo from (my) young generation should be like.  Plus I’m a sucker for brass & reed-based jazz…

Reptet is made up of Samantha Boshnack (trumpet & vox), Chris Credit (sax/clarinet/flute), Izaak Mills (sax/clarinet/flute & vox/fake phone calls), Nelson Bell (trombone/sousaphone), Tim Carey (acoustic & electric bass), and John Ewing (drums & vox).  They played about 70 minutes, and hit a few unidentified songs, but here are the ones I know they played…

Setlist:

  • Chamillionaire on the street
  • Zeppo
  • Snow Leopard x 3
  • unknown
  • Skcorcissalc
  • Something Like What.
  • brains
  • Fish Market

They ended about 15 minutes ’til midnight, and while I wanted to stick around for Eugene-based jazz combo Eleven Eyes, I had to call it a night.  Thanks for making Eugene a part of your CD release tour, Reptet!  See you again soon!

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

~Dan – np: Reptet – At the Cabin

REPTET PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Tour Dates

  • Friday January 14th at Lucky’s Club in Eugene OR – 10 pm, $5
  • Sunday January 16th at Jub Jub’s Thirsty Parlor in Reno, NV -10 pm, free
  • Monday January 17th at The Press Club in Sacramento, CA – 9 pm, $5 (w/ Harley White Jr. Orchestra and The Flower Vato
  • Wednesday January 19th at TAIX 321 Lounge in Echo Park (LA), CA – 10 pm, free
  • Thursday January 20th at ResBox – The Steve Allen Theater at The Center For Inquiry in Los Angeles, CA – 8 pm $10 general, $5 CFI Members
  • Friday, January 21st at Live Culture in Santa Barbara, CA – 9 pm, free
  • Saturday January 22nd at Cafe Van Kleef in Oakland, CA – 9 pm, $5
  • Sunday January 23rd at Applegate River Lodge in Jacksonville, OR – $10
Categories: Concert Photos, Jazz & Avant Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Erik Friedlander plays John Zorn’s Masada Book Two @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – 1/8/11)

9th Jan 11 (Sun) 5 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

NYC-based cellist Erik Friedlander is a favorite musician of mine.  I have only a handful of his solo works, but he shows up in the subtlest of places… I mean, if I do a quick search for “Friedlander” in my iTunes, I show 32 and a half hours of music (Tzadik Records & DMG are a key component of my monthly music budget).  He has worked with Courtney Love, Dar Williams, the Mountain Goats and many more… but I primarily know his work in the NYC jazz & avant-garde scene: Dave Douglas, Ikue Mori/Death Praxis, Jamie Saft, Yuka Honda, Wadada Leo Smith, Tim Sparks, Ned Rothenberg, and of course… John Zorn.

With John Zorn, Erik has been involved in several Masada incarnations, notably the Masada String Trio (with Greg Cohen & Mark Feldman) and the Bar Kokhba Sextet.  When John Zorn was done writing music for the original acoustic Masada Quartet, he sat down and penned over 300 songs that became the Masada Book Two: Book of Angels.  I’ve talked a lot about Masada Book Two on this blog… it is the most consistently amazing set of music out on Tzadik (John Zorn’s 503(c)3 record label).  MBT is essentially John Zorn’s Masada tunes, covered by those around him.  Some of my favorites are Secret Chiefs 3’s Xaphan, Bar Kokhba Sextet’s Lucifer, and Medeski Martin & Wood’s Zaebos… but quite honestly, all sixteen releases (to date) have been stunning and essential.

Erik was one of the early invites to the Masasa Book Two Club… releasing Volac (volume 8 in 2005).  The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts in Eugene commissioned Erik Friedlander to come in a perform these Volac songs last night.  I had seen Erik in Portland in 2009 with his photography & music piece – Block Ice & Propane (his music set to his father Lee Friedlander’s photography); so I knew Erik would deliver a wonderful performance.  Set-up in the Shedd Recital Hall, just off the courtyard, Erik went on around 7:40 and entranced us with his playing…

He was playing his carbon-fiber “alien cello.”  I imagine that was his easiest axe to bring for a two-night Seattle & Eugene weekend before heading back home.  Its sound was quite similar to a wooden cello – at least to my untrained ears.  Per Erik, it’s not as ornery or sensitive as a wooden cello.

The Masada songs have a definitive Jewish klezmer feel in points of the melodies.  Erik’s arrangements and playing definitely bring in a chamber music and jazz improviser aspect to the Volac songs.  He played roughly half of the songs bowed, and the rest either plucked or strummed.  Switching between the styles for each song for the most part – as is one of John Zorn’s “rules” which Erik joked about.  Hush, don’t tell John, but Erik acknowledged that he broke a few “rules” during the night.

Setlist: about 70 minutes

  • Harhazial
  • Yeruel
  • Ylrng
  • Haseha
  • Sannul
  • Rachsiel
  • Kadal
  • Anahel (the 1st written by Zorn for MBT)
  • Zumiel
  • Ahaniel
  • Zawar
  • Encore: Sidriel

Essentially the entire Volac album, just in a different order. Erik doesn’t make it out to the Pacific Northwest as much as I’d like, but when he does make it out, I’m going.  If you love cello or other chamber music – you should go, too!  Nary a disappointment. Oh, also check out his free podcast First Light which features a weekly early morning improvisation.

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Next show for me… Reptet (jazz combo from Seattle) at Luckey’s in Eugene, Friday, January 14th!

~Dan – np: Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts I-IV

ERIK FRIEDLANDER PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Categories: Classical, Concert Photos, Jazz & Avant, World Music Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Over the Rhine @ Aladdin (Portland, OR – 11/17/10)

18th Nov 10 (Thu) 4 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

I went into a little history about Over the Rhine on my 11/15 WOW Hall show blog (link).  This Aladdin show was OTR Show #52 for me.  Yep… I’m OCD, I love music, and I’ve had far too many opportunities to see this wonderful band.  I’m fortunate.  Since I blathered on in the blog from two days ago… I’ll jump right into it…

Lucy Wainwright Roche did a similar set… no discussion of the car break-in clean-up, but she’s quite the humorist.  I found myself humming along to some of her tunes, as if they were long lost friends.  I only first heard her music two days prior… so I guess that’s a testament to her craft.

Over the Rhine played a fairly similar set, with a few things swapped around and the addition of “The Trumpet Child” and “Ohio.”  They nixed the instrumental, but the additional tunes made up for it in my book.  Lots of stuff from The Long Surrender.  The album is really growing on me.  I’m looking forward to the lush vinyl that will hit my mailbox sometime in early 2011.

Setlist: about 75 mins

  • The Laugh Of Recognition
  • I Don’t Wanna Waste Your Time
  • Trouble (horny & inebriated mix)
  • “The Bluebird” by Charles Bukowski [poetry reading by Karin]
  • There’s A Bluebird In My Heart
  • Rave On
  • Undamned
  • I Want You To Be My Love
  • Oh Yeah By The Way
  • I’m On A Roll (to be covered by The Judds on their next record)
  • The King Knows How
  • Drunkard’s Prayer
  • Only God Can Save Us Now
  • The Trumpet Child
  • Days Like This [Kim Taylor song]
  • All My Favorite People
  • Encore: Ohio [Karin solo on piano]
  • Infamous Love Song
  • No Kill Shelter

Once again, Over the Rhine deliver a beautiful evening.  Thanks for stopping by Karin, Linford, Nick & Lucy!  Have fun in Seattle!

many more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

~Dan – np: Mr. Bungle – Disco Volante

OVER THE RHINE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Fall 2010 Tour Dates

  • Fri, 2010-11-12 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
  • Sat, 2010-11-13 San Franscisco, CA Great American Music Hall
  • Mon, 2010-11-15 Eugene, OR W.O.W. Hall
  • Wed, 2010-11-17 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
  • Fri, 2010-11-19 Seattle, WA Triple Door
  • Sat, 2010-11-20 Seattle, WA Triple Door
  • Sun, 2010-11-21 Seattle, WA Triple Door
  • Fri, 2010-12-03 Marion, OH Palace Theatre
  • Sat, 2010-12-04 Kent, OH Kent Stage
  • Sun, 2010-12-05 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
  • Tue, 2010-12-07 Columbus, OH Lincoln Theatre
  • Fri, 2010-12-10 Louisville, KY Bomhard Theater
  • Sat, 2010-12-11 Chicago, IL Old Town School of Folk Music 7pm & 10pm
  • Fri, 2010-12-17 Cincinnati, OH THE LONG SURRENDER PREMIERE @ the Jarson-Kaplan Theatre (in the Aronoff Center)
  • Sat, 2010-12-18 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theatre
  • Sun, 2010-12-19 Norwood, OH St. Elizabeth’s
Categories: Concert Photos, Indie Rock, Rock & Pop, Singer-Songwriter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Over the Rhine @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 11/15/10)

16th Nov 10 (Tue) 3 comments

 FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

It’s been three long years since I’ve seen Over the Rhine.  I missed them on their last tour through Portland (Doug Fir 2009) due to illness.  Going three years between shows is odd… I mean, when I lived in Southwest Ohio, I would see them 5 times a year (on average) for about 10 years.  Well, I’m making up for lost time by seeing them in both Eugene and Portland (Aladdin show review link).  One might call me a fan.

For those that don’t know Over the Rhine, they started out as a four piece in Cincinnati in 1989 and put out their “post-nuclear, pseudo-alternative, folk-tinged art-pop” indie debut ‘Til We Have Faces in 1991.  It was Karin Bergquist on vocals & guitar, Linford Detweiler on bass & keyboard (later focusing on primarily keys), Ric Hordinski on guitar, and Brian Kelley on drums.  They put out four studio albums and a dark, broodingly beautiful Christmas album as a four-piece.  Then in the late 90s, Ric & Brian left.  Ric went off to do some amazing records under the moniker MONK (check it!).  Brian still drums for various groups around Cincinnati.

Karin & Linford carried on the Over the Rhine flame throughout the years… moving away from a rockier feel to a more folky-pop-Americana thing.  What I like about Over the Rhine is they continually change and evolve into a different band with each album and each outing.  I’ve seen them rock out, I’ve seen them jazz it up, I’ve seen them happy, I’ve seen them somber, I’ve seen them celebratory, and I’ve seen them tell stories that will make you laugh and cry.

They’re on their annual West Coast tour as a precursor to their forthcoming album, The Long Surrender – which (last I saw in print) comes out on January 11, 2011 (aka 1/11/11).  I’ve heard the songs from it (it pays to pre-order), and I’m digging it a bunch.

They also have a huge back catalogue (my count: 8 studio albums, 2 Christmas studio albums, 3 studio & live b-side releases, 4 official live releases, 1 greatest hits, and 3 Linford solo releases).  While it’s hard to limit a large catalogue to a few albums, go check out some of my faves: the indie rocker Eve (1994), the acoustic homespun Good Dog Bad Dog (1996), the re-imagined band on Films for Radio (2001), or the magnum opus Ohio (2-CD 2003).  You can’t go wrong. Happy scout’s honor.

So, being that I haven’t seen them in three years, it was noted as a duo show by their publicist, and they have a large catalog of songs to play, I was excited for the hopeful surprises.  But first the opener…

Lucy Wainwright Roche played a humourous 30 minute set prior to Over the Rhine going on.  She was a great mix of stand-up comedian (unintentional?) and singer-songwriter.  Nice banter in between the songs.  You can see her father Loudon’s humour in her.  Where else are you going to hear about a car break-in “clean up” instead of a theft?  Or a first date whose lung collapsed at dinner?  And then top it off with a “Hungry Heart” sing-along?  Lucy was a very formidable crowd warmer-upper!

A suprise to me based on the initial reports, Karin & Linford weren’t just a duo on this West Coast jaunt.  They also brought along percussionist and cuatro player Nick Radina.  He provided some nice layers to the already grogeous sounds coming from the guitars and keys and voices.  Nick and Linford also played a nice instrumental which was called “Descarga” on the Santa Fe setlist.  I don’t know if this is the actual name, or just some other setlist identifer.  Anyway, it had a nice Latin feel.

They played a lot of their forthcoming The Long Surrender songs, with a few Trumpet Child and Drunkard’s Prayer songs thrown in.  Linford was on keyboard for most of the night, but did join Karin on guitar for a handful of tunes.  Karin also busted out some poetry prior to their “Bluebird” tune and a nice backstory about her mom’s nursing home prior to “Only God Can Save Us Now.”  The backstory made the song make much more sense to me… especially all of those characters.

Setlist: about 75 mins

  • The Laugh Of Recognition
  • I Don’t Wanna Waste Your Time
  • Trouble (horny & inebriated mix)
  • “The Bluebird” by Charles Bukowski [poetry reading by Karin]
  • There’s A Bluebird In My Heart
  • Rave On
  • Undamned
  • I Want You To Be My Love
  • (Instrumental)
  • Oh Yeah By The Way
  • The King Knows How
  • I’m On A Roll (to be covered by The Judds on their next record)
  • Drunkard’s Prayer
  • Only God Can Save Us Now
  • Days Like This [Kim Taylor song]
  • All My Favorite People
  • Encore: Infamous Love Song
  • No Kill Shelter

It was soooooo great to see them again after too many years.  We got to chat with Linford for a bit after the show.  I forgot to ask / confirm the release date of The Long Surrender (the merch lady said Feb 8th instead of Jan 11th).  Here’s hoping they stick to 1/11/11, because that’s a superb release date… if I remember and I see him, I’ll check on Wednesday.

Anyway, Linford was glad to be able to spend a little bit of time in Oregon.  He said that had a great experience on their Roots on the Rail tour (go here for Bill Ivester’s write-up of the experience).  They might be doing another train tour next year in the west/central United States (Colorado area?).  I’ll be seriously considering it for 2011 vacation plans.

For the meantime, enjoy some Eugene photos.  Sorry about the primarily black & white and graininess… WOW Hall is a dark venue with normally high use of red lights (i.e.- death for my camera’s focus).  Here’s hoping I’ll get some better shots at the Aladdin Theater show in Portland on Wednesday.

more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

~Dan – np: Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill

OVER THE RHINE PHOTOS
these 11 pictures (cc) 2010 Margaret O’Brien (emobie photography),
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

these 22 pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Fall 2010 Tour Dates

  • Fri, 2010-11-12 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
  • Sat, 2010-11-13 San Franscisco, CA Great American Music Hall
  • Mon, 2010-11-15 Eugene, OR W.O.W. Hall
  • Wed, 2010-11-17 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
  • Fri, 2010-11-19 Seattle, WA Triple Door
  • Sat, 2010-11-20 Seattle, WA Triple Door
  • Sun, 2010-11-21 Seattle, WA Triple Door
  • Fri, 2010-12-03 Marion, OH Palace Theatre
  • Sat, 2010-12-04 Kent, OH Kent Stage
  • Sun, 2010-12-05 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
  • Tue, 2010-12-07 Columbus, OH Lincoln Theatre
  • Fri, 2010-12-10 Louisville, KY Bomhard Theater
  • Sat, 2010-12-11 Chicago, IL Old Town School of Folk Music 7pm & 10pm
  • Fri, 2010-12-17 Cincinnati, OH THE LONG SURRENDER PREMIERE @ the Jarson-Kaplan Theatre (in the Aronoff Center)
  • Sat, 2010-12-18 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theatre
  • Sun, 2010-12-19 Norwood, OH St. Elizabeth’s

 

Categories: Concert Photos, Indie Rock, Rock & Pop, Singer-Songwriter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Eisley @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 11/14/10)

15th Nov 10 (Mon) Leave a comment

 FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

I got into Eisley after a Paste video sampler with the video for “Marvelous Things” (from their Warner debut).  It’s a well shot video… bright colors and mopey* looking kids singing excruciatingly hooky pop-rock (*-ah, the mid-2000s).  Little did I know that they were all related (sisters & a brother).  When the young DuPree kids started (as Moss Eisley) – Chauntelle was 15, Sherri was 13, Stacy was 8, and Weston was about 11 or 12.  They were later joined by Garron DuPree (their cousin) when their bassist Jonathan Wilson left.  Familial band make-up and young starting ages aside, they write great songs.  In fact, the familial slant probably helps with their songwriting.  It’s definitely in their genes.

I’ve been a fan of theirs since 2005, but they’re touring schedule has been elusive and just didn’t line up with my calendar.  So, five years in the making… my first Eisley show… the “Over the River and Through the Wood” Tour.  They just signed with Equal Vision Records, after a long battle to get let out of their Warner contract.  Their third studio album (which I think has been done for some time) will come out on Equal Vision in early 2011.

Christie DuPree was the first opener.  She was accompanied by Collin DuPree.  Let’s just assign that last name to everyone on stage last night (ok, not Ives the Band – but there were 7 DuPrees on stage at some point last night!!).  Christie went on around 8pm and played a nice handful of songs over the next 30 minutes.  She had a acoustic-pop, singer-songwriter vibe… and her voice was very Eisley-esque.  Of course, that’s not a shock, as she is their little sister.  I could see some maturity in the tunes, and I think shes got a solid songwriting base with plenty of room to grow and progress, too.  Definitely enjoyable!  She had a homemade EP for sale… and I imagine she’ll be on the road with Eisley in the near future, too.

Ives the Band went on around 8:45 and played a bit over a half hour as well.  They have been described as Beatles-esque.  That’s a tough description to match, and while I don’t think they hit that mark (again – tough to do), they had some nice hooks and melodies.  Great power pop from San Diego.  Their album, The Incredible Story of Mr. Birch, is out now.

Eisley hit the stage around 9:45 and started right into their set without much chit-chat.  Sherri & Stacy shared lead vocal duties last night, and even though Sherri was sick, she pulled off her songs quite well.  In fact, had she not mentioned it, I might not have noticed.

Of their 19 song set, my guess is Sherri covered 2/3 of the set’s lead vocal duties (too lazy to count it up – sorry!).  The 300-400 or so fans at the WOW Hall got treated by many favorites from their two albums, Room Noises and Combinations, as well as a couple of new songs…

Setlist: about 75 mins

  • The Valley
  • Invasion
  • Ten Cent Blues
  • Come Clean
  • Brightly Wound
  • Tree Tops
  • Marvelous Things
  • Go Away
  • Telescope Eyes [acoustic]
  • My Lovely [acoustic]
  • Kind [acoustic / new song]
  • Golly Sandra
  • Many Funerals
  • I Could Be There For You
  • Memories
  • I Wasn’t Prepared
  • Sad [new song]
  • Lost at Sea
  • Ambulance
    No Encore

Some of my favorites were the acoustic pieces, as well as the aforementioned “Marvelous Things.”  Great show, great band.  They’re going to be on the road again in the spring of 2011 when their new album comes out.  I’m glad they’ve added Eugene to their touring plans now and in the future.

many more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

Check out more tour dates below.

~Dan – np: Over the Rhine – The Long Surrender

EISLEY PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Eisley Fall 2010 Tour Dates

  • 10/10/2010 – New Orleans, LA – Tipitinas Uptown (18+)
  • 10/12/2010 – Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall(16+)
  • 10/14/2010 – Gainsville, FL – 1982 Bar (All Ages)
  • 10/15/2010 – Tampa, FL – Crowbar (AA)
  • 10/16/2010 – Orlando, FL – The Social (AA)
  • 10/17/2010 – Tallahassee, FL (18+) – Club Downunder, FSU
  • 10/19/2010 – Atlanta, GA (AA) – The Loft
  • 10/20/2010 – Greenville, SC – The Handlebar (18+)
  • 10/21/2010 – NYC, NY – Gramercy Theater (16+)
  • 10/22/2010 – Farmingdale, NY – The Crazy Donkey (AA)
  • 10/23/2010 – Asbury, NJ – The Wonder Bar (AA)
  • 10/24/2010 – Washington, DC – Rock and Roll Hotel (AA)
  • 10/25/2010 – Philadelphia, PA – North Star Bar (AA)
  • 10/27/2010 – Boston, MA – The Red Room@Cafe 939 (AA)
  • 10/29/2010 – East Lansing, MI – Union Ballroom @ Michigan State (AA)
  • 10/31/2010 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
  • 11/1/2010 – Akron, OH – Musica (AA)
  • 11/2/2010 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
  • 11/3/2010 – Indianapolis, IN (AA) – Earth House
  • 11/4/2010 – Minneapolis, MN – The Varsity Theater (18+)
  • 11/5/2010 – DesMoines, IA – The Vaudeville Mews (AA)
  • 11/7/2010 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom (AA)
  • 11/8/2010 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room (AA)
  • 11/9/2010 – Denver, CO – The Bluebird Theater (16+)
  • 11/10/2010 – Salt Lake City, UT (AA) – In The Venue
  • 11/12/2010 – Boise, ID – The Venue (AA)
  • 11/13/2010 – Portland, OR – Wonderland Ballroom (AA)
  • 11/14/2010 – Eugene, OR (AA) – WOW Hall
  • 11/15/2010 – Seattle, WA (AA) – Chop Suey
  • 11/17/2010 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Slo Brewing Co (AA)
  • 11/18/2010 – San Francisco, CA (AA) – Swedish American Hall Acoustic
  • 11/19/2010 – San Diego, CA – Soma Sidestage (AA)
  • 11/20/2010 – Santa Barbara, CA – Velvet Jones (AA)
  • 11/21/2010 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre (AA)
  • 11/24/2010 – Austin, TX – The Parish (AA)
  • 11/26/2010 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Studio (AA)
  • 11/27/2010 – Dallas, TX – Palladium – The Loft (AA)
Categories: Concert Photos, Rock & Pop, Singer-Songwriter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: dredg @ Wonder Ballroom (Portland, OR – 11/9/10)

11th Nov 10 (Thu) 4 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Call me a focused, but I showed up shortly before dredg‘s 8:35pm start time and left immediately after*.  Frontman Gavin Hayes came on and said something along the lines of “we’re hypocrites,” and they kicked into their first song “Ode to the Sun” – a bombastic lead off from Catch Without Arms.  I’m not sure what he was referring to regarding the “hypocrites” comment, maybe it was just the mood he was in…

As one of the several openers, they only got an opener-sized slot, but they made the most of it…

Setlist: about 45 mins

  • Ode To The Sun
  • Same Ol’ Road
  • Pariah
  • Jamais Vu
  • Upon Returning [new song]
  • Bug Eyes
  • Saviour
  • Lightswitch
  • Down to the Cellar

Their new album, as of yet untitled, comes out March 29, 2011.  If it’s anything like The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion – it’ll be awesome.  Great melodic prog-ish rock.  Gavin tweeted on Nov 5th that the album was done (with compelling photographic proof):

a few more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

*– or perhaps call me dickish… I love music, but I don’t generally enjoy the 4 or 5 band “rock tours” – especially when 3-4 of the bands are underwhelming and the crowd is annoying (see POV video below).  I will apologize, as I didn’t give Circa Survive a fair shake (or a shake at all).  I’m sure they’re great.  Sorry, after a 4 hour round-trip drive, a couple sour beers at Cascade Brewing and dredg was what I cared about.  And I’m getting old (rock bands!  get off my lawn!). Sorry.  It is what it is. If the Circa Survive kids troll my comment section… well, it’s understood.

“POV Rock Concert“

~Dan – np: A Perfect Circle – The Thirteenth Step

dredg PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Categories: Concert Photos, Rock & Pop Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

dredg review soon…

10th Nov 10 (Wed) Leave a comment

dredg was excellent last night in Portland…

Setlist: about 45 mins

  • Ode To The Sun
  • Same Ol’ Road
  • Pariah
  • Jamais Vu
  • Upon Returning [new song]
  • Bug Eyes
  • Saviour
  • Lightswitch
  • Down to the Cellar

Review & more photos by Thursday…

~Dan – np: Eisley – Combinations

Categories: Concert Photos, Rock & Pop Tags: , , , , , , , ,