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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
REVIEW: Ani DiFranco @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – 10/21/09)
Ani DiFranco is one of my favorite artists. The fact that she’s as prolific as an apple slicer at a pie factory doesn’t hurt my need for new music from her. I’ve posted many times before the “stats” behind her release schedule (it is both ridiculous in her velocity and my tracking of said velocity). This last span of time between 2008’s excellent Red Letter Year and, well… no new album is quite uncharacteristic of her. Based on the amount of new songs in the setlist, I expect a new album is right around the corner.
For this recent tour, I got to the venue a little late, as I had to drive in from Portland (I’d been up in Seattle on Mon & Tues for work, and Portland on Wednesday). I couldn’t miss Ani, though. No photos this time around, as cameras weren’t allowed in the venue. I did snap one via my iPhone (below).
Opener Anais Mitchell was good. She seemed kind of shy, but also playful. While I don’t think her sound really set herself apart from the many singer-songwriters out there; she just completed a folk-opera, Hadestown, based on the myth of Hades and Eurydice. Ani appears on it, and it’ll be out on Righteous Babe, I’m sure.
(the sole crappy iPhone shot of the night)
Ani and her band came on around 9pm. Her band this time was Andy Barger on drums, Mike Dillon on percussion (who I’ve seen play with Skerik & the Dead Kenny G’s), Todd Sickafoose on contrabass (who I’ve seen many times with Ani). They started out with, as acknowledged by Ani, a very schizophrenic set of songs.
Setlist: just shy of 90 minutes
- Fuel *a fave of the night*
- Paradigm
- Manhole
- Modulation
- Swan Dive *a fave of the night*
- Red Letter Year
- Coming Up
- November 5th, 2008 (new song – formerly known as “November 4” – free live download)
- Albacore (new song)
- Unworry (new song) *a fave of the night*
- Way Tight
- God’s Country
- Napoleon
- Splinter (new song) *a fave of the night*
- Which Side Are You On? (new song – 30’s tune by Florence Reese, reworked by Ani – free live download)
- Mariachi (new song)
- Both Hands *a fave of the night*
- Encore: Little Plastic Castle *a fave of the night*
- Barroom Girls (Gillian Welch cover with Anais Mitchell and Animal Prufrock)
Thanks for the setlist corrections, francoapple.
A great show, followed by a drive back up to Portland for work. I think of the new songs, “Splinter” is my favorite – – followed by “Unworry” (with a great chorus “facts are pretend anyway” ). Both of those songs are a bit more poetic than the rest. I had “November 5th” from a free download back last fall, and while I like Obama and was happy on November 5th, the song seems kind of cheesy. Same thing goes for “Which Side Are You On?” It’s available for free via the link in the setlist above (note: there may be a limited opportunity for the download). While I agree with its premise/lyrics, I think Ani’s done better, more poetic political songs.
Oh well, I guess with her output, there’s bound to be some songs I don’t like as much. But all in all, a great show. It was good to see her with a band, as usual. Maybe next time, with Mike Dillon’s influence, she’ll bring Skerik along for some horns. :)
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Ani’s record label – Righteous Babe Records
- Ani DiFranco on MySpace
- Anais Mitchell
- Anais Mitchell onMySpace
- McDonald Theatre
~Dan – np: Erik Friedlander – Grains of Paradise
Ani DiFranco Fall 2009 Tour Dates
- Sep 11 2009 – Kalamazoo State Theatre – Kalamazoo, Michigan
- Sep 12 2009 – Krannert Center Guitar Festival – Urbana, Illinois
- Sep 13 2009 – Paramount Theatre – Aurora, Illinois
- Sep 15 2009 – Mayo Civic Center-Presentation Hall – Rochester, Minnesota
- Sep 16 2009 – DECC Auditorium – Duluth, Minnesota
- Sep 18 2009 – Fargo Theatre – Fargo, North Dakota
- Sep 19 2009 – Burton Cummings Theatre – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Sep 20 2009 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Sep 22 2009 – Riverside Ballroom – Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Sep 23 2009 – The Vic Theatre – Chicago, Illinois
- Sep 25 2009 – Michigan Theater – Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Oct 10 2009 – Lobero Theatre – Santa Barbara, California
- Oct 11 2009 – Grove of Anaheim – Anaheim, California
- Oct 13 2009 – Rio Theatre – Santa Cruz, California
- Oct 14 2009 – Tower Theatre – Fresno, California
- Oct 20 2009 – Arcata Community Center – Arcata, California
- Oct 21 2009 – McDonald Theatre – Eugene, Oregon
- Oct 23 2009 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, Oregon
- Oct 24 2009 – Moore Theatre – Seattle, Washington
- Oct 25 2009 – PAC Concert Hall – Bellingham, Washington
- Oct 27 2009 – Centre for the Performing Arts – Vancouver, British Columbia
- Oct 28 2009 – Royal Theatre – Victoria, British Columbia
- Nov 13 2009 – State Theatre – Ithaca, New York
- Nov 14 2009 – Zeiterion Performing Arts Center – New Bedford, MA
- Nov 15 2009 – Calvin Theatre – Northampton, Massachusetts
- Nov 17 2009 – The Egg – Albany, New York
- Nov 18 2009 – Ridgefield Playhouse – Ridgefield, Connecticut
- Nov 20 2009 – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Nov 21 2009 – The Town Hall – New York, New York
REVIEW: Nellie McKay @ Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley (Seattle, WA – 10/20/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
So, I had tickets to see Ben Folds with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra at Benaroya Hall last night. I hemmed and hawed and finally decided to sell my ticket on craigslist to go see Nellie McKay instead. I dig both of them as artists, and the main reason for the hemming and hawing was the whole symphony aspect (I mean, I’ve seen Ben Folds Five or solo a half dozen times already… so the symphony take on it was my main draw). Ah, but… Nellie totally has my heart when in a piano/vocalist celebrity deathmatch with Mr. Folds. She’s quirky, cute, writes and sings both silly and political songs, has a passionate love for animals (she’s a vegetarian with a stance on animal cruelty that makes me proud), and… you rarely know what to expect from her musically on any given night. I’ve seen her twice prior, and both times were fantastical suprises.
Sorry, Ben. Next time?
As a consolation for the Ben Folds fans, there’s a free mp3 stream (or download if you do some research, i.e.- “view source”) from the Huffington Post of the Ben Folds collaboration with author Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, etc). It’s a jab song at the ex-fiance of ex-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin‘s daughter Bristol… from the HuffPo, I present you “Levi Johnston’s Blues.”
Speaking of the HuffPo… here’s a recent article / interview with Nellie McKay by Michael Giltz.
Oh, so Nellie’s latest album, Normal As Blueberry Pie, is all about Doris Day (a total of 14 Doris Day tracks in the recording session, and one Nellie original). Two of the 15 session tracks are more difficult to get ahold of, unless you want to buy both the “exclusive” Barnes & Noble bonus track version and the iTunes bonus track version. Have I mentioned that Universal Music Group’s tactics suck!? Anyway, the album is great (special track tactics notwithstanding). The album lacks some of the bite and wit of Nellie’s prior 3 (and a half) solo albums. But, I love it all the same. It’s got Nellie trademark nostalgia / campiness, as evidenced by the photos surrounding the release (see to the right).
OK… on to the review of the show…
I really dig Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley. It’s small and intimate (but large enough for the room to breathe). Also I like the idea of making an experience out of the show – a fantastic meal, great atmosphere, and an attentive audience makes for a wonderful evening. Oh, and free parking in downtown Seattle is like the cherry on top. This was only my second time here (Hiromi in June was my first), but it is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues in the PacNW, if not ever. I just wish it wasn’t so far away from me in Eugene all the time.
Nellie went on around 7:40pm with her backing band, The Aristocrats. This was my first time seeing Nellie with a band. They were excellent. They were all younger than I was expecting. I mean, this wasn’t her studio backing band… but as hired guns solely for touring, they really worked well with Nellie in a fun & playful way. The band was Nellie McKay (piano and ukulele), Howard Fishman (guitar), Charles Schiermeyer (sax), Ben Bynum (drums), Scott Litroff (violin and flute), and Daniel Policar (keys).
Setlist: just shy of 90 minutes
- If I Ever Had a Dream
- Close Your Eyes (Doris Day cover)
- Sentimental Journey (Doris Day cover)
- Send Me No Flowers (Doris Day & Burt Bacharach cover, Nellie on Uke)
- Do Do Do (Doris Day cover) *a fave of the night*
- Mean To Me (Doris Day cover)
- Dig It (Doris Day cover, Nellie dance-off) *a fave of the night*
- The Very Thought of You (Doris Day cover)
- A Wonderful Guy (Doris Day cover)
- I Remember You (Doris Day cover)
- “I Killed Larry David and I Liked It” / Grunge Song *a fave of the night*
- Crazy Rhythm (Doris Day cover) *a fave of the night*
- Black Hills of Dakota (Doris Day cover)
- A-Tisket, A-Tasket (Ella Fitzgerald cover)
- The Dog Song *a fave of the night*
- Encore: Zombie (with Gary Danielson on sax)
- I Wanna Get Married (Doo Wop Version, with Gary Danielson on sax) *a fave of the night*
So, yeah, holy crap… Nellie just keeps on getting better each time I see her. I thought I’d be slightly bummed by a mostly Doris Day set (as I really like Nellie’s original songs a lot), but the Doris Day material was really fantastic in a live band setting. The addition of a jazz combo behind her really made the songs gel, and her interaction with the others was really fun. She’s kinda of a nutty person (or maybe as corny as Kansas in August)… but I wouldn’t want her to be any other way. I didn’t get a chance to meet her after the show, but I had a fun night regardless. Nellie and the Aristocrats are playing a second night (Wednesday, October 21st) at the Jazz Alley. If you go, drop me a line with your thoughts on Night 2.
Some of the best lines of the night by Nellie…
“I still can’t go back to Olympia, because I have overdue library books.”
“There’s hashish in that music… that was a score!” (really funny in context)
The Jazz Alley’s description of Nellie as a “martini cool chanteuse” was kinda of spot on. :) If you don’t have her newest one, get it… it’s fun (and out on vinyl, too):
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Erik Friedlander – Topaz
NELLIE McKAY PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (12 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (49 pics)
Large ZIP file (12.9 Megs)
includes all of the pictures above
CLICK HERE FOR ZIP FILE (right click, save as)
REVIEW: Bad Veins @ Sam Bond’s (Eugene, OR – 10/16/09)
Rarely do elements of the Cincinnati music scene tromp through Oregon. I got the opportunity to see Bad Veins about 5 weeks ago up in Portland, and now they’re back through Oregon, but this time in my lovely city of Eugene. They received a nice write-up in the 10/15/09 Eugene Weekly, too…
We showed up late but before anyone started yet; so we moseyed over to One Cup for some delicious coffee. On the way back to Sam Bond’s, we could hear the opener (Blue Horns from Portland) blaring through the door & windows… and we were about 2 blocks away. “Oh, crap, I forgot my earplugs!” Blue Horns were a good rock band. Really loud, though (and I don’t think it was their fault). They had a nice vibe, but it was hard to tell what the guy was singing most of the time. Listening to them on MySpace now, they’re kinda jangly & bouncy indie rock. Maybe I should write a letter to SB’s soundguy to turn it down from 17 to 11. I mean, come on… 11 is enough.
Bad Veins got all set up and ready to go by 11pm… based on the poster (above), they seem to be the main band for this Daytrotter sponsored tour (I ♥ Daytrotter), yet they went on before The Subjects. This was fine with me. Nothing against The Subjects, but I was done after BV’s set. Tired after a long week’s work and ears practically in tears.
Sebastien and Benjamin rocked us out for about a half hour. As they like to say in the industry, Sebastien was “killing the fuck out of his drums.” OK, maybe they don’t say that in the “industry.” He was doing it regardless. Maybe his drums slept with his girlfriend or ate the last breakfast burrito… or… or… both. Regardless, he was going nuts. :)
After about the first song, we moved outside to help shelter our ears (again, Mr. Soundman… 11 is loud enough). I was able to find a good spot on SB’s patio and watch through the window. No pictures this show, as I rarely get any good shots at Sam Bond’s (even with a good camera). For recent Bad Veins concert photos, check my last month’s review (click picture below)…
Setlist:
- Found
- Gold and Warm
- Crosseyed
- Afraid
- Dry Out
- Falling Tide
- The Lie
Their set was identical to the time prior, and my wife made a good comment… “well, they use that reel-to-reel so they have to keep things in the same order.” Duh on my part. Anyway, it was still a really good set, despite the extreme loudness of it all. I think Sam Bond’s is not the place to see rock music (prior to this, I’ve only seen Skerik/ jazz, Talkdemonic/ acoustic post-rock, and various singer-songwriters). Hopefully The Subjects got better sound treatment.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Bad Veins Official Webpage
- Bad Veins on MySpace
- Blue Horns on MySpace
- The Subjects on MySpace
- Sam Bond’s Garage
~Dan – np: Foo Fighters – In Your Honor
REVIEW: Lyle Lovett & John Hiatt @ Hult (Eugene, OR – 10/15/09)
Well, had you asked me at the beginning of the week, “are you going to see Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt?,” my answer would have been “um… no.” I wouldn’t say I was seeking out going to this show. However, some friends of ours who had tickets ended up with a conflict and gave the tickets to us (thanks J&M!).
For me, Lyle’s music is a touch too close to country to seek him out, and I had never even really heard of John Hiatt. Regardless of that prejudice and ignorance about their music, I had a lot of fun. Lyle and John came out around 7:45pm and immediately started talking. This would kick off the format – a lot of talking and each person trading off songs.
They were both great storytellers through their songs, and I was glad that they weren’t too twangy (really my only big gripe with country music is the twang). It’s actually hard to say which part was more entertaining, their songs or their banter. After about an hour, they’d only made it through 8 songs, and their songs aren’t generally long. They really seemed to be good friends who let us into their living room to watch them shoot the shit and play some songs for each other.
Setlist: two and a half hours
- Drive South [JH]
- Fiona [LL]
- Walk On [JH]
- LA County [LL]
- Thunderbird [JH]
- Home Is Where My Horse Is [LL]
- Tennessee Plates [JH]
- I Will Rise Up [LL]
- Always Movin’ On (new) [JH]
- South Texas Girl [LL]
- Have a Little Faith in Me [JH]
- Choke My Chicken [LL]
- Crossing Muddy Waters [JH]
- North Dakota [LL]
- Memphis in the Meantime [JH]
- Her First Mistake [LL]
- Through Your Hands [JH]
- My Baby Don’t Tolerate [LL with JH guitar solo]
- Ain’t No More Cane [LL & JH]
- Encore: Thing Called Love [JH & LL]
- If I Had a Boat [LL]
Overall, it was a great show. They were both great storytellers and quite humorous. They seemed to be very well paired and play off (and with) each other well. Thanks again J&M for the tickets!
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Lyle Lovett’s Official Site
- Lyle Lovett on MySpace
- John Hiatt’s Official Site
- John Hiatt on MySpace
- The Hult Center
~Dan – np: Nellie McKay – Normal As Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day
REVIEW: Aimee Mann @ Aladdin (Portland, OR – 10/6/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I got into Aimee Mann after several promptings by my friend Bruce, and then eventually via her quite powerful role in the P.T. Anderson movie, Magnolia (1999). Her spot in that movie and her pervasiveness on that soundtrack made me pay attention. I’ve stuck with her through some great albums, including a doozy of holiday album (but I don’t blame her, I blame the general holiday music content). Her albums are always pretty damn consistent… consistently good. I just never got the chance to see her until now. I happened to be up in Portland for work; so I naturally found my way to the venue. :)
I really like the Aladdin Theater… it’s a classy theater, and every show I’ve seen here has been great (Jude and Yael Naim), and I plan on hitting the Aladdin at least 2 or three more times this year (Múm, the Swell Season, and maybe Stryper… but mainly for the humor aspect of that show).
The opener was Nick Lowe, who I didn’t know. Apparently I knew some of his songs, specifically “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding” (he wrote for Elvis Costello, and I’ve heard the A Perfect Circle version). Nick played about 50 minutes, and probably 15 songs. He had some very good, short pop songs. I can see why people like him. I mean, he kinda blended into the background to me, but he had a charm and lyricism that I can admire.
Aimee Mann came on around 9:20pm with two keyboardists. Throughout the set, they both swapped around many instruments… mainly keys, but also guitar, shakers, drums, recorder. She played a short 40 minute pre-determined set before breaking out into the audience request portion of the show…
Setlist: 2 hours
- The Moth
- Nightmare Girl
- Momentum *a fave of the night*
- Build That Wall
- Par For The Course
- Amateur *a fave of the night*
- This Is How It Goes
- Wise Up *a fave of the night*
- Save Me [false start – see comments below]
——————— - Real Bad News [start to the audience requests]
- Long Shot
- Looking For Nothing
- Freeway *a fave of the night*
- Jacob Marley’s Chain
- 4th Of July
- Mr. Harris
- Video *a fave of the night*
- Ghost World
- You Could Make A Killing *a fave of the night*
- Red Vines
- Invisible Ink
- Susan
- One (Harry Nilsson cover)
- Encore: Save Me *a fave of the night*
- Voices Carry
So, the first attempt at “Save Me” got an odd response from a few ladies… almost like the cheering as you’re going up a rollercoaster. Aimee pointed that out and countered it with how depressing and co-dependent-y the song was. Then she went into some really depressing (but funny) new lyrics for the song… which led into the giggles; so she couldn’t even finish the real version of the song. She came back to it later for the encore.
Aimee was really fun… much more fun than I thought she’d be. I mean, her songs really meander on the line of depressed, melancholic disappointment; however, she was quite bubbly, and giddy in spots. Her three-piece band really worked well together in a pinch. Great, long show… check her out if she swings by!!! She’s only a short West Coast tour this fall; see the remaining handful of dates below…
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Finger Eleven – Finger Eleven
Aimee Mann West Coast Tour 2009
- 10/2/09 UC Santa Barbara CA
- 10/3/09 Santa Cruz, CA Rio Theatre
- 10/4/09 San Francisco, CA Hardly Strictly Bluegrass FREE
- 10/6/09 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater …with Nick Lowe
- 10/7/09 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre with Nick Lowe
- 10/8/09 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
- 10/10/09 Coeur D’Alene, ID The Kroc Center
- 10/11/09 Boise, ID EgyptianTheatre with Fountains of Wayne
- 10/12/09 Salt Lake City, UT The State Room with Fountains of Wayne
- 10/14/09 Boulder, CO Boulder Theater with Fountains of Wayne
- 10/16/09 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern with Fountains of Wayne
AIMEE MANN & NICK LOWE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (7 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (24 Aimee pics, 6 Nick pics)
REVIEW: W.P.A. at the W.O.W. (Eugene, OR – 9/27/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Works Progress Administration
I’ve been a fan of Glen Phillips via Toad the Wet Sprocket since back in my “high school days”… Toad is one of the few artists to make it out alive from that period, remaining a cherished part of my collection. Glen’s voice is so evocative and honest and personable… it’s hard not to love just about everything he does. In fact, last year, he pulled a doozy, releasing two albums under different band monikers (without much warning) under Radiohead’s In Rainbows “pay what you want philosophy.” Both the Plover and RemoteTreeChildren cracked my Top 5 albums of 2008.
Well, this time, Glen decided to let us know about his new band and let some buzz build up… the Works Progress Administration (aka W.P.A. / WPA) is more or an Americana effort that is at its core made up of the trio of trio of Glen Phillips, Luke Bulla (from Lyle Lovett’s band), and Sean Watkins (from Nickel Creek). The Eugene show was with the extended band, not just the core trio of Phillips/Bulla/Watkins. It also included Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Greg Leisz (Joni Mitchell, Bill Frisell), Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), Sebastian Steinberg (Soul Coughing), and Don Heffington (Lone Justice… and I remember seeing him play with Over the Rhine at one point).
The first opener, Ehren Ebbage, put on a quick 20 minute set, four songs. He hails from Seattle. He was pretty good – he has the pop singer-songwriter vibe going on. He seemed like a good soul, funny personality. He got a opening slot due to “begging for it.” We didn’t walk out with his CD, unfortunately; but if he swings back through Eugene, I’ll give him another listen.
The second opener, Molly Jenson, stomped on the stage shortly after Ehren. I say “stomped,” as she had these killer heels with jingles fixed to them (see pictures below). Her first song in her 20 minutes, 4 song set was a song that showed that playing guitar, singing and stomping your foot in heels is probably more than I’d be able to handle physically. It’s gotta be much harder than patting your head and rubbing your stomach. Molly was pretty funny, she joked about the disco ball (and had the light guy turn it on). She also talked about how she and Sara Watkins rolled around the hall’s floor that afternoon in their rollerskates. Her sound was more in the country/folk singer-songwriter mold. She ended her set with “You Are My Sunshine.”
Molly Jenson released her Webisode #13 that included footage from the WOW Hall show. Check it out on YouTube.
WPA hit the stage around 9pm and jumped right into material from their new album. “Always Have My Love” is such a good lead-off track to their live show (and CD). It really features all aspects of this huge band. WPA overall is really hard to pigeonhole. They definitely fit in the folky genre, but they have many aspects of bluegrass, pop, rock. Lots of violin, steel guitar, great vocals. Vocal duties were shared by Glen, Luke, Sean and Sara. They played mainly songs from the debut CD, but they also played songs from each of the singer’s “main gigs / solo albums.”
Part way through the set, they invited Alex & Tatiana Hargreaves on stage. I had never heard of them, but they were well received by the crowd. They are both young and are quite the fiddle phenoms. They jammed on two songs with Sara, Luke & Sean – one instrumental and one with Tatiana singing lead on a song from her recent album.
Here’s what they played…
Setlist: 90+ minutes
- Always Have My Love (Glen on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- End This Now (Glen on vocals)
- Paralyzed (Sean on vocals)
- Cry For You (Luke on vocals)
- Solar Flare (Glen on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Rise Up (Glen on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- I Feel the Blues Movin’ In (Luke on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- I Go to Sleep (Sara on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Already Gone (Sean on vocals)
- Not Sure (Sean on vocals)
- Drive By (Glen on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Pink Triangle (Weezer cover, Sean on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Garfields (with Alex & Tatiana, instrumental)
- Sugar Babe (with Alex & Tatiana, Tati on vocals)
- Somebody More Like You (Sean on vocals)
- Remember Well (Luke on vocals)
- Long Hot Summer Days (Sara on vocals) *a fave of the night*
- Good As Ever (Glen on vocals)
- A Wedding or a Wake (Glen on vocals)
- Encore: The Price (Glen on vocals)
- You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome (Bob Dylan cover, Sean on vocals) *a fave of the night*
Fantastic show. It’s amazing to see so many great musicians on the stage at the same time. They honestly looked like they were having a ball, too. It was also good to see Glen playing guitar again (after his pretty nasty glass table accident last fall). Luke Bulla and Nickel Creek, while already on my radar, made my list of “I should see them if they come through again.” Fantastic players all around…
I picked up the debut WPA CD at the show. It came out a week ago, but I wanted to wait until I saw them in person – you know, to make sure they got all the money, not shipping or some distribution middle-man like Amazon. You can order it directly from the WPA site (click the photo):
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Always Have My Love (live on WNCW)
Introducing W.P.A.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Works Progress Administration Official Site
- WPA on MySpace
- Glen Phillips Official Site
- Glen Phillips on MySpace
- Sean Watkins on MySpace
- Luke Bulla on MySpace
- Tatiana Hargreaves Online
- Alex Hargreaves Online
- Molly Jenson Official Site
- Molly Jenson on MySpace
- Ehren Ebbage Official Site
- Ehren Ebbage on MySpace
- WOW Hall
~Dan – np: Faith No More – Album of the Year
WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
WPA’s tourdates:
- Sun 08/16/09 – Schwenksville, PA – Old Pool Farm
- Tue 08/18/09 – Exton, PA – Eagleview Concert Series
- Wed 08/19/09 – New York, NY – Joe’s Pub
- Thu 08/20/09 – Londonderry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
- Sun 09/06/09 – Yosemite, CA – Camp Mather
- Wed 09/16/09 – Columbia, SC – White Mule
- Thu 09/17/09 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
- Fri 09/18/09 – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle
- Sun 09/20/09 – Decatur, GA – Eddie’s Attic
- Fri 09/25/09 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
- Sat 09/26/09 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile Cafe
- Sun 09/27/09 – Eugene, OR – WOW Hall
- Tue 09/29/09 – Chico, CA – Manzanita Place
- Wed 09/30/09 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
- Sat 10/03/09 – Ventura, CA – The Lodge
- Mon 10/05/09 – Los Angeles, CA – Largo
- Thu 11/05/09 – New York, NY – High Line Ballroom
- Sat 11/07/09 – Pittsburgh, PA – Diesel Club Lounge
- Sun 11/08/09 – Charleston, WV – Cultural Center
- Tue 11/10/09 – Annapolis, MD – Rams Head On Stage
- Wed 11/11/09 – Vienna, VA – Barns At Wolf Trap
- Thu 11/12/09 – Fairfield, CT – StageOne
- Fri 11/13/09 – Cambridge, MA – Passim Folk Music & Cultural Center
- Sat 11/14/09 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall
- Sun 11/15/09 – Fall River, MA – Narrows Center For The Arts
- Tue 12/01/09 – Cedar Rapids, IA – CSPS / Legion Arts
- Wed 12/02/09 – Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
- Thu 12/03/09 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
- Sat 12/05/09 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
- Sun 12/06/09 – Chicago, IL – Old Town School Of Folk Music
REVIEW: Alice in Chains @ Roseland (Portland, OR – 9/26/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
(the new Alice in Chains)
So, I could have seen Pearl Jam, but since I’d seen them (and they put on a freakin’ great live show) and I had never seen Alice in Chains. So, AiC won out in the battle of who to see tonight. Regardless of the lack of Layne Staley, I really dig guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell and the new lead singer (William DuVall) sounds pretty good. So, I’ll have to hold off on seeing Pearl Jam for a 2010 tour (?). This Alice in Chains show was billed as “An Evening With,” which makes me happy. Openers at rock/metal shows are usually for sucks.
Due to crappy Duck Football traffic, it took forever to get to Portland. I got to the Roseland Theater around 8pm, and the band hit the stage just after 8:30. It was a packed crowd, but I was able to move around a bit. No cameras again. Blerg. I’ll have to contact some people before Regina Spektor & Puscifer in this same venue to see if I can get photo access. We shall see. I took some iPhone photos, as that wasn’t expressly disallowed (like it was announced as prohibited for the Porcupine Tree show last week).
Jerry Cantrell was always a big part of their sound, on both guitar and vocals. He did quite a bit of vocals, and William really pulled off “the Layne sound.” It’s difficult coming into a band with a solid career and trying to replace a very distinct vocalist. While I wouldn’t say that William “has his own voice” with regards to the band, he’s definitely helping them carry on and make great music in the wake of losing Layne. Hopefully William’s own voice shines through on the upcoming record (out 9/29).
Here’s what they played…
Setlist:
- Rain When I Die
- Again
- Check My Brain *a new one – it was OK*
- Them Bones
- Dam That River
- A Looking In View *a new one – pretty good*
- We Die Young
- Nutshell *a fave of the night*
- Love, Hate, Love
- God Am
- Acid Bubble *new one – I’m kinda “meh” on this one for now*
- Angry Chair
- Man in the Box *a fave of the night*
- Would? *a fave of the night*
- Encore: Sludge Factory
- No Excuses *a fave of the night*
- Rooster
A great show… again, William does a great job filling Layne’s shoes. Jerry and the rest of the band were as tight as ever. Their setlist covered their career nicely. I’m looking forward to their new album, Black Gives Way to Blue, showing up on my doorstep (I ordered it with the new Megadeth & Nellie McKay). You can pre-order it below (it comes out on Tuesday):
Since my photos are only (subpar) iPhone photos… here are some professional photos from the Seattle show by Savoia Digital Concert Photography:
TONS MORE at Savoia’s Facebook photo album
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Fantômas – Fantômas (aka Amenaza al Mundo)
ALICE IN CHAINS iPhone PHOTOS
(sorry in advance for the lower quality)
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
REVIEW: Raquy & the Cavemen @ Joe’s (Eugene, OR – 9/24/09)
In Cincinnati, we got to see Raquy Danziger, Liron Peled, and the rest of the Cavemen about twice a year due to the large tribal bellydance scene. Well, luckily, Raquy’s sister lives in Eugene; so we get a visit roughly once a year. They always put on a great show, full of wonderful percussive world rhythms.
I’d never been to Joe’s Bar & Grill… if I get a chance, I hope I’ll choose not to go again (or at least on a Thursday). You see, last night, besides the four different sources on the web with different start times and openers listed, was “ladies night.” So, during Raquy’s set, we got a nice dose of “two drunk ‘ladies’ shouting too loudly over the music.” One girl was literally explaining in a PhD dissertation-length exchange about how her phone was ringing, that she was going to pick it up, that she did pick it up, that she was going to talk on it, and then the volume didn’t decrease much when she was talking on it. It must have been listed as “classy ladies night” in the local paper.
Despite prior interweb research, the Ruins of Ooah (a local band) was not the opener, but rather the last band. We didn’t stick around for them, but I’ll try to catch them at another venue around town. Up first was Mood Area 52 (a local bohemian/gypsy-style band). They usually have a larger band, but last night was just accordian/vocals, cello, and double bass. The cellist, Amy Danziger, is actually Raquy’s aforementioned sister who is Eugene-local. I’ve seen MA52 several times, but usually in a more “secondary” setting… meaning, they happen to be playing I stop by for a few songs during a Saturday Market, art walk, or coffee shop visit. They played about 6 songs over 30 minutes. They weren’t mic’ed at all, but it didn’t seem to matter. They missed the loud lady convention that seemingly descended on the venue during Raquy’s set. MA52 was quite delightful, and I recommend them if they’re playing and you’re in town.
Raquy and the Caveman hit the stage around 9:45 or so. This time it was sans Nezih (only a Raquy & Liron duo band). We had caught their long-ish soundcheck, and due to it being a “school night” only stuck around until about 10:30 for their main set. They started out with several dual dumbek / dumset* songs… mostly fast, showing off both Raquy’s and Liron’s insane percussive skills. We left shortly after their song that featured Raquy on kemenche (a Persion stringed instrument) and Liron on a Liron-custom 11-string guitar (stringed and tuned with a saz in mind). A great performance by both of them… we wished we could have mustered up enough to stay longer. Next year, we shall!
*-The “dumset” is a small set-up by Liron with a dumbek set up to a kick pedal, a dumbek in hand, cymbals, riq, etc. It’s played like a regular drumset.
Raquy & the Cavemen’s fifth album, Bewitched, is out now. We picked it up at the show, and I look forward to spinning it today. Click the picture for more information on the new release:
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Raquy and the Cavemen’s Official Site
- Raquy and the Cavemen on MySpace
- Mood Area 52
- Mood Ares 52 on MySpace
- Ruins of Ooah
- Ruins of Ooah on MySpace
- Joe’s Bar & Grill
~Dan – np: Explosions in the Sky – All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
REVIEW: Sunny Day Real Estate @ Crystal Ballroom MFNW (Portland, OR – 9/18/09)
(photo: Rebecca Blissett, from Vancouver show)
I saw Sunny Day Real Estate in Oct 2000 on the Rising Tide Tour (Bogart’s in Cincinnati), which would ultimately be their last. I had a few chances to see Jeremy Enigk solo or The Fire Theft, but the shows never meshed with my schedule. Seeing as I count the 2000 SDRE show as one of my favorite shows of all -time (Top 25 at least), I was soooooo stoked when it was announced that they were getting back together for a tour.
This was only my second time at McMennamin’s Crystal Ballroom. The room was packed with tons of Music Fest Northwest (MFNW) people; so I’m hoping the hardcore SDRE fans got in. The venue was set-up like most Portland venues with the odd barrier between the drinkers and the youngins’. This was one of the rare shows of late where I don’t think I saw anyone younger than 25.
The opener, The Jealous Sound, were pretty good. I listened to them on MySpace before the show and they seemed like a pretty good power pop/rock band. At the show, the sound was a little muddled, but I could still get a good feel for their groove. Maybe like a slightly less hooky Heatmiser? I don’t know… they’re definitely worth checking out.
No cameras were supposed to be allowed in the venue last night (I asked). Yet, when I get in (without my camera), I see a few people with cameras. Damn me for asking. :( Anyway, Rebecca Blissett’s photos from Vancouver will suffice as my pictorial show of the reunited SDRE…
SDRE’s set went by blisteringly fast. They played a solid hour plus before leaving for a short break before their 3 song encore. Jeremy’s voice was on top of its game, yet as indecipherable as usual. I think he ranks up their with Karin Bergquist of Over the Rhine as misheard lyric contributor. :) The rest of the band seemed really tight. The “muddliness” of the opener’s set seemed to be cleared up. And while Sunny Day haven’t been a cohesive unit for 8-9 years, they sure seemed like one tonight. It seems like they didn’t miss a beat at all.
Setlist: 80+ mins
- Friday
- Seven *a fave of the night*
- Red Elephant
- Song About An Angel
- Grendel
- Shadows
- Inscarabaid
- 47
- Theo B
- 10 [new song]
- 48
- Sometimes
- Encore: In Circles *a fave of the night*
- Spade & Parade
- J’Nuh *a fave of the night*
They only played material from their first two discs at this show (they have played at least “Guitar & Video Games” off of How It Feels to Be Something On on this tour), which was kind of odd. And I know, this may be heresy, but I really love their last album the best (2000’s The Rising Tide). It’s probably just a factor of when I got into them as a band. So, as far as the only downside, that was it. But the fact that they wrote a new song as recent as a week or so ago… well, that bodes well for future album(s) & tour(s).
Sunny Day Real Estate’s Diary & LP2 (aka Pink) have been remastered and re-released by Sub Pop in 2009 (click pictures for info). No word on a remaster of How It Feels to Be Something On, though… hmm…
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Sunny Day Real Estate‘s Official Site
- Sunny Day Real Estate on MySpace
- Jeremy Enigk on MySpace
- The Fire Theft on MySpace
- Spin‘s SDRE – Vancouver Review(2nd reunion show, 9/17)
- The Jealous Sound
- The Jealous Sound MySpace
- Crystal Ballroom
- Music Fest NW
SDRE on Jimmy Fallon (9/29/09)
~Dan – np: Pearl Jam – Backspacer
no free download or torrent available here
SDRE Reunion Tourdates
09-17 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom
09-18 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom (MusicFest NW)
09-20 Murray, UT – Murray Theater
09-21 Denver, CO – Ogden Theater
09-23 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
09-24 Chicago, IL – Metro
09-25 Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall
09-27 New York, NY – Terminal Five
09-28 Boston, MA – House of Blues
09-30 Washington, D.C. – 930 Club
10-01 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
10-03 Atlanta, GA – CW Center Stage
10-05 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
10-06 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live – Ballroom
10-07 Austin, TX – La Zona Rosa
10-09 Tempe, AZ – Marquee
10-10 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
10-11 Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theater
10-13 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
10-15 Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
10-16 Seattle, WA – Paramount Theater
REVIEW: Wynton Marsalis & LCJO @ Hult (Eugene, OR – 9/17/09)
Well, I got into Wynton Marsalis from Ken Burns’ (long ass) JAZZ documentary. I had heard of him, but never really heard him, and he was featured heavily in the movie. I came to find out that he was the artistic director & co-producer of the documentary series. Anyway, I love trumpet (Dave Douglas & Steven Bernstein being top of my other Top 3 living trumpeters). This year, I’ve had a chance to see all three of them… Yay!
I like the Hult. I saw Wynton’s brother Branford at the Hult around this time last year. I like the Hult this week in particular (due to it being a 4 concert week): I like that the show started early (7:30pm), ended on time (9:25pm), and I got home at a reasonable time. Double Yay!
Wynton and his near-double octet hit the stage after a short introduction. Wynton was position at the top center of the bandstand and went directly into announcing the first song…
Setlist:
1st set – 40 mins
- Free for All (Art Blakey) *a fave of night*
- Peace (Horace Silver)
- I Like to Take My Time (Mr Rogers)
- Itsy Bitsy Spider
- Up from Down (Gardner) *a fave of night*
2nd set – 45 mins
- Weary Blues (sextet band, ragtime tune) *a fave of night*
- Joe Turner’s Blues (septet, Wynton sang impromptu)
- Tattooed Bride (Duke Ellington)
- Portrait of Mahalia Jackson (Duke) *a fave of night*
The first set started off with “Free for All” which had some great solos… sax, trombone and trumpet. The entire night was filled with some great solos, and “Free for All” kicked it off right. For the second set we moved to some open seats near the center… right by the very energetic soundman. He was humorous. While I dug the first set a lot, the second set was smokin’ hot. More ragtime and New Orleans street jazz in spots versus the more held back, big band vibe from the first set. The first two songs of the second set were a stripped down cast (sextet and the septet before the rest of the band re-joined them for the Duke tunes. I think my favorite tune of the whole night was “Weary Blues, ” which was really hoppin’. Seem ironic that the entire crowd (of largely white hair) was just idly sitting in their seats. :)
All in all, a great evening of great jazz.
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Fima Ephron – Soul Machine
REVIEW: Porcupine Tree w/ That1Guy @ Roseland (Portland, OR – 9/16/09)
Rarely do two bands you like happen to tour together. Porcupine Tree is touring with King’s X on this U.S. Leg… well… ok, starting in a week in Ohio. This West Coast leg, though gets That1Guy (another musician I like a lot). I’m bummed I’m missing a KXC/PT show, but That1Guy is a fun live act as well.
I guess I’ll have to get used to the Roseland, as I imagine I’ll be seeing more and more shows here over the years. It’s an “OK” venue… a basic stand-y rock club. They do have a nice food menu, though… and I got as Zappa veggie dog (I heart the PacNW). The band had a ban on cameras, outside of the officially selected photographer for the Incident tour blog; so no photos from me this time.
That1Guy played a short set. Pretty much the same set as the last time I saw him in Feb, but just cut short. I was kind of bummed that he didn’t play “Buttmachine” or “Mustaches.” Maybe he was trying to be “more serious” for the prog fans. I don’t know. I think “Buttmachine” is one of his catchiest songs, regardless of its ridiculous lyrics. Watch the video here. Overall his set & jams were a bit redundant / repetitive, but he’s still fun to watch.
Setlist: about 40 mins
- Intro Jam
- Jigsaw
- Weasel Potpie leading into Instrumental Jam
- Heaven or Heck
- Dig (with the magic boot)
- Outro Jam (T1G’s credit card jam with snippets of “Smoke on the Water”)
That1Guy’s 2007 album, The Moon is Disgusting, aged well. I’m still digging it a bunch, and wish he would have played more off of it outside of “Jigsaw” and “Dig.” You can listen to samples of the album HERE.
Next up, Porcupine Tree, whose new album, The Incident, arrived to my earbuds last weekend (thanks to Demonoid) but also hit my hands in a the lush limited edition on Tuesday. Wow… it’s freakin’ excellent. Great packaging in the deluxe edition. I think the limited edition is sold out, but the standard CD is available worldwide now.
Porcupine Tree hit the stage around 9:15 and played a first set entirely made up of The Incident‘s 1st disc. They didn’t stray from the album in scope or sound. It was very great being in the same room as Steven again. He’s truly a great musician and songwriter, which is a hard moniker to assign to a progressive rock musician (most of them can’t write a song to save their lives). Their set…
Setlist:
- The Incident (in its entirety)
I – Occam’s Razor
II – The Blind House
III – Great Expectations
IV – Kneel and Disconnect
V – Drawing the Line
VI – The Incident
VII – Your Unpleasant Family
VIII – The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train
IX – Time Flies
X – Degree Zero of Liberty
XI – Octane Twisted
XII – The Séance
XIII – Circle of Manias
XIV – I Drive the Hearse
2nd Set - The Start of Something Beautiful
- Buying New Soul
- Anesthetize Part 2
- Lazarus
- Strip the Soul
- .3
- Bonnie the Cat
- Encore: Way Out of Here
- Trains
Great show for their fantastic new album. They played right around 2 hours total. The Incident is easily the best album they’ve done since In Absentia, IMO. This was only the 2nd show of their tour, and it didn’t really show. I mean, they were on top of their game. Steven mentioned that they were a little nervous at the Seattle show the day prior. Somehow I’m skeptical of that. They probably roll out of bed and could play these songs blindfolded. :)
The Appropriate Linkage:
- PorcupineTree.com
- The Incident on Tour (official blog)
- Another Portland 9/16 Review (by Mark Colman)
- Porcupine Tree on MySpace
- That1Guy & the Magic Pipe
- That1Guy on MySpace
- Roseland Theater
~Dan – np: Patton Oswalt – My Weakness is Strong
Further U.S> Porcupine Tree Tour Dates (as of now)
Tue 15 Sep SEATTLE, WA MOORE THEATER [opener: That1Guy]
Wed 16 Sep PORTLAND, OR ROSELAND [opener: That 1 Guy]
Fri 18 Sep SAN FRANCISCO WARFIELD [opener: That 1 Guy]
Sat 19 Sep LOS ANGELES CLUB NOKIA [opener: Big Elf]
Mon 21 Sep CLEVELAND, OH HOUSE OF BLUES [opener: King’s X]
Tue 22 Sep CHICAGO, IL VIC THEATER [opener: King’s X]
Thu 24 Sep NY, NY TERMINAL 5 [opener: King’s X]
Fri 25 Sep BALTIMORE RAM’S HEAD [opener: King’s X]
Sat 26 Sep PHILLY ELECTRIC FACTORY [opener: King’s X]
Sun 27 Sep BOSTON, MA HOUSE OF BLUES [opener: King’s X]
Tue 29 Sep MONTREAL METROPOLIS [opener: King’s X]
Wed 30 Sep TORONTO QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATRE [opener: King’s X]
REVIEW: Erik Friedlander @ Winningstad Theatre (Portland, OR – 9/12/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Erik Friedlander grew up spending many of his summers on the road with his family due to his photographer father, Lee Friedlander. I knew his dad was a photographer with some notoriety, but I hadn’t known about the long, cross-country summer road trips – which were the basis for Erik’s 3-day run of Block Ice and Propane at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA)’s TBA Festival (aka T:BA:09). More about T:BA:09 later…
I have been into Erik for a while… basically contemporaneously with my immersion into John Zorn, as Erik is a mainstay in the Downtown NYC jazz scene and finds his way on maaaaany of the Tzadik releases that I love. He’s a part of the Masada String Trio & Bar Kokhba Sextet, and has played with Dave Douglas, Ikue Mori, Wadada Leo Smith, severalk of Zorn’s Filmworks series, et cetera.
When I showed up for the event, I was caught off guard by the vast amount of people milling about the lobby. “Does Erik have this big of a draw in Portland?”
Well, the answer to that question is, “now he does.” This was the third night of his three-night run as part of the T:BA:09 festival put on by PICA. The entire 10-day festival was also coming to a crescendo on the 12th… needless to say, the program looked amazing, full of art of all kinds, not just music. I’m definitely putting T:BA:10 on my radar for next year.
Erik’s solo chair, laptop stand, and microphone in front of a projector screen was nicely lit with a blue light as the herd of an audience entered the Dolores Winningstad Theatre. I’d never been to the Winningstad Theatre, but it’s in the same complex as the Newmark Theatre (where I saw the SF Jazz Collective in ’08 and where I’ll see Patton Oswalt tonight), and it’s right next door to the Arlene Schnitzer Hall (where I’ve seen many shows). “The Winny” was a great venue… small & intimate, but seemingly able to fit in a large amount of people, including 2 tiers of balcony seating. Luckily I was solo; so I found a stray seat right up front-left.
As mentioned prior, the show was Erik playing solo cello in front of a backdrop of photos from his childhood, primarily taken by his father Lee Friedlander. The performance, specifically the backdrop, had a very “Americana” feel set to non-“Americana music.” Or perhaps it was Americana music set through the filter of the cello. It wasn’t Woody Guthrie-esque, but it had that dirty, road weary, wow-look-at-this-wonderful-country feel to it. Amongst the photos were also some videos shot by Bill Morrison.
Outside of photographing the country on big summer roadtrips, Erik’s father Lee also photographed many musicians… Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane… even up to the current era like a famous Madonna photo. Lee’s love of music spilled over to Erik, who found a love for music early in his life. He started on guitar and eventually moved to cello. However, his basis in guitar drove much of the style of playing last night. Only a few times did Erik pull out a bow – rather he plucked and strummed his cello like one would with a guitar… well, a guitar that you were holding like a cello. :)
Setlist:
- Block Ice & Propane
- Road Weary
- King Rig
- I’m Not Here
- Cold Chicken
- Yakima
- Pressure Cooking
- Winking at Highway 7
- Rusting in Honeysuckle
- Dream Song
- Airstream Envy
- Night White
Some of my favorite pieces were the lead-in, title track (to the 2007 CD of the same name), as well as “Pressure Cooking” and “Night White” (nice harmonics). The story about “Cold Chicken” was great, about how at a diner they were served very slowly and Lee stormed into the kitchen to complain about “who wants to eat cold chicken!?” while the family scurried away. The music, which I’ve heard several times before on the CD, totally made sense now. Nice…
Block Ice and Propane (the 2007 CD) can be purchased directly from Erik HERE.
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Porcupine Tree – The Incident
ERIK FRIEDLANDER PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
REVIEW: Bad Veins @ Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR – 9/8/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Bad Veins were only one of the openers last night, but my main draw for the evening. The main band was Division Day, with additional support from Love Like Fire. I knew Bad Veins from kicking around the Cincinnati rock scene a few years ago. I’d seen them once prior in Cincinnati, then shortly thereafter that I moved to Oregon… but I’ve kept up with them on Woxy, Daytrotter, et cetera. This is their first trip out West. They’re also coming back, and playing in my town (Eugene) on October 16th (Sam Bond’s Garage). Yay!
Bad Veins is a two man wrecking crew: Benjamin Davis on vocals & guitar and Sebastien Schultz on drums. They also employ a reel-to-reel for backup music. And by “employ,” I mean, they plug it in… I’m pretty sure a W-2 is not involved. It’s part of the lo-fi charm of Bad Veins. They were pretty true to form, and busted through a solid set from their debut album (out on Dangerbird Records). It was a pretty good wall of sound coming from these two gents. Here’s what they played…
Setlist:
- Found
- Gold and Warm
- Crosseyed
- Afraid
- Dry Out
- Falling Tide
- The Lie
Sebastien cut his finger on the drumkit the last song of their set, and bled on the drums. Oh, the joys of D.I.Y. rock! Seeing as it was a “school night,” and I had two hours of driving to do, I bailed shortly after Bad Veins’ set. (Sorry to both Love Like Fire who played before and Division Day who played after.) I look forward to seeing Bad Veins play again when they’re in Eugene next month.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Bad Veins Official Webpage
- Bad Veins on MySpace
- Division Day on MySpace
- Love Like Fire on MySpace
- Doug Fir Lounge
~Dan – np: Marty Ehrlich’s Dark Woods Ensemble – Sojourn
BAD VEINS PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
REVIEW: dredg @ Wonder Ballroom (Portland, OR – 8/15/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
This was my third time seeing dredg, and the second time this year. Their latest record (The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion) is an amazing album… a definite front runner for album of the year for me. It is inspired by Salman Rushdie’s essay “Imagine There’s No Heaven: A Letter to the Sixth Billionth Citizen.” I gladly made the trek up to Portland, and now that I’d been able to soak in their latest album (it wasn’t out when I saw them in April), I knew much more of the material being played. I was also able to bring my camera… yay!
The first opener As Tall As Lions were really good. The first song, the bassist was acting a bit goofy. I thought it seemed weird, or that he was “overacting.” However, throughout their whole 5-6 song set (35 minutes), he kept it up. Maybe it grew on me, or maybe I changed my mind and felt he really was into it that much (plus he’s got some backing vocal chops). :) Anyway, As Tall As Lions were a 6-piece in this live setting. They’re from New York, and had a good indie rock vibe – nice vocals, nice groove, and good use of horns. The band was way forward on the stage; so my only downside was that I was right next to the drums, which drowned out a lot of their vocals. But, all in all, a very good opener.
The second opener Rx Bandits may as well have been a co-headliner (maybe they were billed as such). It seemed as if tons of the crowd were there to see RxB. They started the set with all four members on drums, which was fun. One of the highlights of their 70 minute set was their lead guitarist and their drummer. Their drummer had a dirty Daniel Johns (of Silverchair) look, and was kicking the crap out of his drumkit. And their lead guitarist didn’t have the most “rock” stage presence, but he seemed like he could fit in a really into a shredder band… he played some really complex underlying scales, all while having a nonchalant look on his face. :) Their vocalist reminded me physically as Brett McKenzie (from Flight of the Conchords). And vocally, he seemed like he could fit in a jamband meets reggae/punk band. Their bassist looked like he also fit in a jamband, and he had a very nice groove and bounced around the stage a lot. It was an odd mix for a group, but it worked. I’ll definitely see them if they swing through Eugene. I took a few pics of RxB, but they didn’t turn out… oh well… next time…
Dredg came on right at 10:50pm and blasted into the trio of songs that kicks off The Pariah, The Parrott, The Delusion. They seemed a little toured out (only compared to the last show in April). They still put on a great show. Gavin (singer/ lap steel), Dino (drums/ keyboard), Drew (bass) and Mark (guitars) were joined by a second guitarist for a few songs (I didn’t catch his name). He played with them on Pariah, Drunk Slide, and Information. Great 85 minute set. Here’s what they played…
Setlist:
- Pariah
- Drunk Slide
- Ireland
- Ode to the Sun
- Catch without Arms
- Same Ol’ Road
- Saviour
- RUOK?
- I Don’t Know
- Δ
- Bug Eyes
- Information
- Light Switch
- Zebraskin
- The Tanbark is Hot Lava
- The Canyon Behind Her
- Down to the Cellar
- Cartoon Showroom
No encore (again), but perhaps that’s their M.O. I’m not putting my usual “a fave of the night” notations by any song, because, quite frankly, it was all amazing. At the end of Down the Cellar, the crew took Dino’s drum kit away one piece at a time at the end, with him ending on piano and no drums around him. That was fun.
The only song I really wish they played but didn’t was “Gathering Pebbles” (from their new one). I could play that song on repeat all day…
As much as I can get across in words, dredg is quickly becoming one of my favorite bands. Rarely does an opener hit me, and ever since I saw dredg open for Coheed & Cambria (a few years back), I’ve been an immediate fan. Their latest is their best yet, and their other albums are great as well. I’d recommend picking The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion up on CD, vinyl (from the dredg store), or if you are silly… on mp3 (why go for the lower quality folks?). :)
dredg “Information“
The Appropriate Linkage:
- http://www.dredg.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/dredg
- http://www.myspace.com/rxbandits
- http://www.myspace.com/astallaslions
- http://www.wonderballroom.com/
~Dan – np: Dub Trio – New Heavy
DREDG PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (6 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (31 pics)
REVIEW: The Melvins @ John Henry’s (Eugene, OR – 8/9/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I hear that King Buzzo has three dogs.
I bet he walks them really slow.
So, The Melvins have been around for… ever. First album in 1986, but I didn’t get turned onto them until Melvins’ guitarist King Buzzo joined Mike Patton’s avant-noise metal supergroup Fantômas on the 1999 debut (along with Mr Bungle’s Trevor Dunn & Slayer’s Dave Lombardo). I saw The Melvins in 2003 play with Skeleton Key & Mike Patton’s Tomahawk in Columbus, Ohio (Tomahawk’s Mit Gas tour). I found a new respect for a mainstay on Patton’s Ipecac Recordings… The Melvins are a major force in heavy music.
Some history… they’re from Seattle and were considered an early founder of grunge (Kurt Cobain listed them as a major influence). The Melvins have since moved into what could be best called “sludge metal“… which spurred Earth, and subsequently Sunn O))), in the drone & doom metal sub-genres. All that to say, The Melvins have been around for a long time and have been an artistic force in music.
I haven’t had a solid chance of seeing them in 6 years. They swung through Eugene last year, but I was out of town. Last time, they played a bigger venue (WOW Hall), but this time, they played two full sets (with no opener)… so I’ll take it. :) This was only their 2nd date of their 2009 U.S. Summer tour (see dates at the bottom), but they were pretty tight regardless.
They took the stage right at 7:30 and played six songs as a duo, just Buzz Osborne on guitars and Dale Crover on drums. They were then joined by Jarred Warren on bass and Coady Willis on a 2nd set of drums. Their first set started with more of the grunge/punk but had plenty of the sludge to go around. It was a powerful 40-45 minute set.
They came back on 20 minutes later and belted out another 50 minute set without stopping. “Hooch” was the highlight for me, but it was an amazing show all around. No banter, barely stopping to tune… just a full force, heavy wave of music.
Setlist:
- 1st set ~ Dale drum intro -> Ballad of Dwight Fry [Alice Cooper cover]
- It’s Shoved
- Let Me Roll It [McCartney cover]
- Suicide in Progress
- Oven
- Black Bock
- Let God Be Your Gardener
- Pigs of the Roman Empire [Jared & Coady join]
- The Talking Horse
- The Bloated Pope
- Dog Island
- Dies Iraea
- 2nd set ~ Dies Iraea (cont’d)
- Billy Fish
- Mr. DNA [Devo cover]
- Anaconda
- Zodiac
- The Kicking Machine
- Civilized Drums
- Blood Witch
- Hooch
- Smiling Cobra
- With Teeth
- Night Goat
- The Bit
*- from Buzzo’s setlist, corrections by Ryan (Idlehanz)
Overall… bloody brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it, and I don’t know half of their songs… :) I’m definitely seeing them anytime they come through town. A great band with 2 great sets!!
Their latest CD, 2008’s Nude With Boots, is great. And the concept behind their upcoming CD, Chicken Switch, is intriguing. It’s a remix album, but not a normal remix album. Each song is a remix of an entire Melvins’ album (boiled into one song). Some of the remixers included are Matmos, Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, Eye Yamatsuka, and Merzbow (Masami Akita). It’s out on September 29th on Ipecac. Read more over at themelvins.net. I’m looking forward to it…
The Appropriate Linkage:
- The Melvins Official Page
- The Melvins dot net (the premiere fan page)
- The Melvins on MySpace
- Ipecac Recordings
- John Henry’s MySpace
- Brooklyn Vegan’s kick ass pictures (from May 2009)
~Dan – np: dredg – El Cielo no torrent or free download here
THE MELVINS PHOTOS
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2009 U.S. Summer Tour
- August 7, 2009 – San Jose, CA – The Blank Club
- August 9, 2009 – Eugene, OR – John Henry’s
- August 11, 2009 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox SoDo w/ Down
- August 12, 2009 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre w/ Down
- August 14, 2009 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom w/ Down
- August 15, 2009 – Los Angeles, CA – Wiltern Theater w/ Down
- August 16, 2009 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues w/ Down
- August 18, 2009 – Anaheim, CA – House Of Blues w/ Down
- August 19, 2009 – Las Vegas, NV – House Of Blues w/ Down
- August 21, 2009 – Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue w/ Down
- August 22, 2009 – Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre w/ Down
- August 24, 2009 – Tulsa, OK – The Marquee
- August 25, 2009 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom
- August 26, 2009 – Dallas, TX – House Of Blues Pontiac Garage
- August 27, 2009 – San Antonio, TX – The White Rabbit
- August 28, 2009 – Houston, TX – Meridian Red Room
- August 29, 2009 – Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon
- September 1, 2009 – Atlanta, GA – CW Center Stage w/ Down
- September 2, 2009 – Orlando, FL – House Of Blues w/ Down
- September 4, 2009 – North Myrtle Beach, SC – House Of Blues w/ Down
- September 5, 2009 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte w/ Down
- September 6, 2009 – Knoxville, TN – The Valarium w/ Down
- September 8, 2009 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar w/ Down
- September 9, 2009 – Clifton Park, NY – Northern Lights w/ Down
- September 11, 2009 – New York, NY – NOKIA Theatre Times Square w/ Down
- September 12, 2009 – Monticello, NY – Kutshers Country Club – ATP NEW YORK 2009 CURATED BY THE FLAMING LIPS
- September 13, 2009 – Boston, MA – House Of Blues w/ Down
- September 15, 2009 – Hartford, CT – Webster Theatre w/ Down
- September 16, 2009 – Rochster, NY – Main Street Armory w/ Down
- September 17, 2009 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom
- September 18, 2009 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre
- September 19, 2009 – Detroit, MI – Emerald Theatre w/ Down
- September 21, 2009 – Indianapolis, IN – Vogue Theatre w/ Down
- September 22, 2009 – Cleveland, OH – House Of Blues w/ Down
- September 24, 2009 – Omaha, NE – Sokol Auditorium w/ Down
- September 25, 2009 – Sauget, IL – Pop’s Nightclub w/ Down
- September 26, 2009 – Mokena, IL – The Pearl Room w/ Down
- September 28, 2009 – Louisville, KY – Expo Five w/ Down
REVIEW: David Bazan [Pedro the Lion] @ House Show (Eugene, OR – 7/25/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I last saw David Bazan [former Pedro the Lion frontman] in Eugene almost two years ago (with J. Tillman @ the Indigo District). I have had a few chances for Portland gigs since then, but they never meshed with my schedule. The chance to see him at an intimate house show couldn’t be passed up.
I’d heard about house shows / house concerts for a while. I went to one many years back, but it was friends / local Cincinnatians; so I didn’t really count it as a “real” house show. Well, this was my first experience with a “national artist” doing a house show. How it works for David’s booking is 1) the host provides a place for 30-100 people, 2) tickets are sold only online via David’s website, 3) doors at 7:30 / show starts at 8 / people out by 10pm, 4) no sound system needed (just a chair or stool to sit on), and 5) no outside advertising is done.
I was one of 30 or 35 people who got in on the Eugene house show deal. It was fun to hang out with people before the show. There was a great spread of food, and I got to talk with the hosts a bit and some wonderful gents who drove down from Vancouver, BC. The show was BYOB, but they also had some Ninkasi Quantum on tap (or should I say Quant-yum).
David came up a little before 8pm and announced a friend, Blake Wescott, who came up and played 4-5 songs (about 15-20 minutes). Blake Wescott has worked in the studio with David Bazan / Pedro the Lion, Damien Jurado, Aaron Sprinkle, Denison Witmer, and others. He’s also toured as a backing musician for R.E.M and Crystal Skulls. His sound was great, a gentle singer-songwriter. He mentioned that he played the four songs from his MySpace page: Dreams in Twos, Live Here with You, My Way Home, and Carry On… plus I think he threw in another one. Great set, I’d see him again if he comes through town!
David went on about 8:10 or so and played and chatted until right about 9:30pm. He played mostly newer stuff, but threw in a few Pedro the Lion tunes as well. I mean, he was the driving force of the band. Afterwards, there was more discussion on the back patio. It was good to hear him further expanding on some of the “Q&A” discussions from the show. Anyway, here’s what he played…
Setlist:
- Hard to Be
- Please, Baby, Please
- Priests and Paramedics
- Q&A #1
- Harmless Sparks / Fewer Moving Parts
- June 18, 1976
- Q&A #2
- Cold Beer and Cigarettes
- When We Fell
- Q&A #3
- Transcontinental
- Curse Your Branches
- Options
- Q&A #4
- Bearing Witness
- Of Up and Coming Monarchs
- Bless This Mess (aka Weeds in the Wheat)
- Q&A #5
- In Stitches
Great experience… I need to try to convince my wife to let me host one sometime at our house. I think we could handle it for someone like David Bazan, Derek Webb, or Bill Mallonee. Oh, maybe Michael Kelsey (though it would cost more, as he doesn’t get out here… ever). Hmm… oh, a Secret Chiefs acoustic Xaphan show in our living room would allow me to die a happy man. Yeah, I think I’m dreaming.
David announced that the 5-piece band would be coming through Oregon (and elsewhere) again in the Fall, but it will all be officially announced on August 5th. Yay!
As reported last week, David’s got his solo debut coming out on September 1st. It’s called Curse Your Branches. It is now available for pre-order on Amazon now, but will be available through David’s site on August 5th (maybe hold out for that, as he may have some special goodies).
The Appropriate Linkage:
- David Bazan’s webpage
- David Bazan on MySpace
- Pedro the Lion on MySpace
- Headphones on MySpace (another of DB’s bands)
- Blake Wescott on MySpace (opener)
- Barsuk Records
- Suicide Squeeze Records
~Dan – np: Dave Douglas – Keystone
BLAKE WESCOTT &
DAVID BAZAN PHOTOS
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you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
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