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REVIEW: Tori Amos @ Arlene Schnitzer Hall (Portland, OR – 7/11/09)

12th Jul 09 (Sun) 9 comments

Tori Amos has been a big part of my musical fanaticism for a long time.  I first heard of her my freshman year of college, got Little Earthquakes & Under the Pink from BMG, got Boys for Pele right when it came out, and I’ve been a fan ever since.  There was a period of time where, if I could, I’d drive all over the Midwest to go see her.  This show was going on the 6 year mark since I’d seen her, and let’s just say that I was itching for some classic Tori live… but first up, the opener:

One Eskimo hit the stage right about 8pm, and played 4-5 songs (about a half hour’s worth of material).  I liked their sound… sort of a singer-songwriter blown up into a pop group (sort of if Maroon 5 had more interesting musicians).  Their drummer had a nice style, sitting on a box-type drum and using that as the kick drum.  Their guitarist and bassist/trumpet player were also fun to watch.  They played “Kandi,” “UFO,” and “Astronauts” for sure, as those songs are on the EP that I picked up for only $5.  They’re working on wrapping up their full-length debut now…

I was too far away to take any good concert photos;
so the marquee is all you get this time.

Tori hit the stage with her band (Matt Chamberlain on drums & John Evans on bass) at around 8:50pm and played for a solid two hours without much stopping. I forget how much I love her live shows.  Great lights, great mix of tunes from her whole career, fun stage presence, pretty energetic crowd… she played a lot more older songs than I would have thought, and only four songs from her latest record.

Setlist:

  • Give (a fave of the night)
  • Caught a Lite Sneeze (a fave of the night)
  • Welcome to England – John’s bass intro was very Tool-y… as if Justin Chancellor was in a pop band
  • Graveyard
  • Cornflake Girl (a fave of the night)
  • Icicle (a fave of the night)
  • Little Amsterdam
  • Siren
  • Starling
  • Black Dove (January)
  • 1,000 Oceans
  • Joni Mitchell’s River (solo – Lizard Lounge)
  • Winter (solo – Lizard Lounge)
  • Playboy Mommy
  • Little Earthquakes (a fave of the night)
  • Fast Horse (a fave of the night)
  • Take to the Sky (a mega fave of the night)
  • Carbon
  • Honey
  • Precious Things (a fave of the night)
  • Strong Black Vine – crowd floods front part of theatre, much to the “oh crap, what do I do?” of the security guys
  • Encore: Big Wheel (a fave of the night)
  • Tombigbee

Fantastic show… prior to this show, I was kind of in a “cooling” phase with Tori.  I hadn’t seen her since the Scarlet’s Walk tour (2003), and I’d only been slightly fond of The Beekeeper and American Doll Posse albums.  Forcing myself recently to dig into her newest one, Abnormally Attracted to Sin, and then seeing it live was great.  It was a much warranted end to the break from being a big time Tori fan.  Sure, Abnormally isn’t going back to the Little Earthquake through Boys of Pele days, but it’s still good music and she still puts on a great show, full of songs from her vast catalogue.

The Appropriate Linkage:

~Dan – np: Riceboys Sleeps – All Animals -EP-
no torrent or free download available

The rest of the Abnormally Attracted to Sin tour dates (as of now)

  • Mon 07/13/09 Oakland, CA – Paramount Theatre
  • Tue 07/14/09 Oakland, CA – Paramount Theatre
  • Thu 07/16/09 San Diego, CA – Humphrey’s Concerts By The Bay
  • Fri 07/17/09 Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
  • Sat 07/18/09 Phoenix, AZ – Dodge Theatre
  • Mon 07/20/09 Salt Lake City, UT – Abravanel Hall
  • Tue 07/21/09 Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
  • Thu 07/23/09 Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre
  • Fri 07/24/09 Grand Prairie, TX – Nokia Theatre At Grand Prairie
  • Sat 07/25/09 Austin, TX – The Long Center For The Performing Arts
  • Mon 07/27/09 Atlanta, GA – Chastain Park Amphitheatre
  • Tue 07/28/09 Orlando, FL – Bob Carr Perf. Arts Centre
  • Wed 07/29/09 Miami Beach, FL – Fillmore Miami Beach At Jackie Gleason Theater
  • Fri 07/31/09 Durham, NC – Durham Performing Arts Center
  • Sat 08/01/09 Washington, DC DAR – Constitution Hall
  • Mon 08/03/09 Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
  • Tue 08/04/09 Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theatre
  • Wed 08/05/09 Minneapolis, MN – The State Theatre
  • Fri 08/07/09 Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
  • Sat 08/08/09 Detroit, MI – Detroit Opera House
  • Mon 08/10/09 Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
  • Tue 08/11/09 Montreal, QC – St. Denis Theatre
  • Thu 08/13/09 New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
  • Fri 08/14/09 Red Bank, NJ – Count Basie Theatre
  • Sat 08/15/09 Upper Darby, PA – Tower Theatre
  • Mon 08/17/09 Boston, MA – Bank Of America Pavilion
  • Sun 09/06/09 Manchester, United Kingdom – Apollo Manchester
  • Mon 09/07/09 Birmingham, United Kingdom – Symphony Hall
  • Tue 09/08/09 Glasgow, United Kingdom – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
  • Thu 09/10/09 London, United Kingdom – Apollo Hammersmith
  • Fri 09/11/09 London, United Kingdom – Apollo Hammersmith
  • Sun 09/13/09 Basel, Switzerland – Festsaal Messe Basel
  • Mon 09/14/09 Munich, Germany – Circus Krone Bau
  • Tue 09/15/09 Zurich, Switzerland – Kongresshaus Zurich
  • Thu 09/17/09 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Heineken Music Hall
  • Sun 09/20/09 Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Theatre
  • Mon 09/21/09 Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene
  • Thu 09/24/09 Prague, Czech Republic – Prague Congress Centre
  • Fri 09/25/09 Vienna, Austria – Wiener Stadthalle
  • Sun 09/27/09 Hamburg, Germany – Laeiszhalle
Categories: Indie Rock, Rock & Pop, Singer-Songwriter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Portland Cello Project & Emily Wells @ Cozmic Pizza (Eugene, OR – 6/13/09)

14th Jun 09 (Sun) Leave a comment

I first heard of Portland Cello Project via cellist Anna Fritz.  Her 2005 album Wake featured a couple of songs with singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey guesting, of whom I had been a longtime fan already.  Anyway, shortly thereafter, Anna Fritz was posting on her MySpace page about this new band that she was in, the Portland Cello Project.  They kept playing around on times that I couldn’t see them… so last night was the first official time for me to see them, though I guess I’ve been a fan for a while.

We showed up around 8:30 to a beyond packed house.  Oh crap, I underestimated the draw of the PCP on a Saturday night in Eugene.  Emily Wells was into her set, and some of the PCP was sitting in on her set.  Great stuff… enough to buy her Symphonies album.  I hope she comes around Eugene or Portland again… I loved her sound.

The Portland Cello Project came on around 9:30.  Their sound seemed very much standard “chamber music” until they hit the more energetic Pantera and Dave Brubeck pieces.  PCP pulls off the “modern / alternative chamber music” sound pretty well without getting lumped into the sometimes cheesy Apocalyptica and the almost always cheesy “String Quartet Tribute to…” compilations.  PCP had a mix of classical, jazz, rougher music, tween pop with John Brophy, and indie rock (the songs featuring Justin Power on guitar & voice)… seemed to be enjoyed by the very large, very diverse crowd…

Setlist: (per the PCP blog)

  • Collaborations with Emily Wells
  • The Batman Theme Song (by Danny Elfman)
  • Turkish Wine (by Norfolk and Western)
  • Denmark (by Gideon Freudmann)
  • Mouth for War (by Pantera)
  • Take 5 (by Dave Brubeck Quartet)
  • A piece by Ashia
  • Ashia and Justin Power playing Hungry Liars
  • Two more Justin Power pieces!
  • Toxic (by Britney Spears) featuring John Brophy
  • What Goes Around…/…Comes Back around (by Justin Timberlake) featuring John Brophy
  • Push-it (by Salt N Pepa) featuring John Brophy and Emily Wells
  • 3 pieces collaborating with Run-On Sentence
  • Encore: Transformation from The Dream: A Three Movement Suite for Cellos, Mallet Percussion, and Drum Set by Rachel Blumberg

We stuck around through the Justin Timberlake tune (it had been a long day).  Great stuff all around.  I was very impressed with Emily Wells set (never heard of her before), and the size of the crowd at Cozmic.  I mean, seriously, I’ve never seen that many people packed in there.  It was great to see so many people out there, but I’m wondering how they heard about it.  Here I was thinking I’d show up at 8:30 and get right in…

Next time, I’ll know to show up early for PCP in Eugene.

The Appropriate Linkage:

~Dan – np: Flaregun – Ten Sundays

Categories: Classical, Hip-hop, Indie Rock, Singer-Songwriter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: King’s X @ Berbati’s Pan (Portland, OR – 6/8/09)

9th Jun 09 (Tue) 24 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

So… King’s X?  Where do I start.  They’ve been a band for 26 or 27 years.  I’ve been a fan of theirs since 1994.  I see them every time they come through my town (16th time in 15 years).  I’ve seen them in 6 or 7 states (mostly Ohio), but this is first time to see them in Oregon for me.  It was only last August that I saw them open up for Extreme in Cincinnati, and they haven’t put out anything new since that show.  Honestly, though, it really doesn’t matter.  It’s King’s X… Doug, Ty & Jerry.  They are a must see show, any time, any place!!

I showed up late for the show; so I can’t speak to the rockin’ (or not rockin’) of the openers Orange Sky & Quandry.  If history tells me anything, the openers were good but not phenomenal*.  I had other work-related plans, and I couldn’t make it to the venue in time.

*– A good/great opener in days of yore is a band like Podunk.  Also, re: “openers,” I wouldn’t put Galactic Cowboys in that category.  They’re more like “peers”… and were always a great lead in to King’s X.  For the most part, other openers for KX were OK, but usually just delayed KX starting time by more than I normally cared for… I mean that in no disrespect to the openers tonight.  Had it not been a rough day of work, I’d have done my best to make it for your sets.  Seriously.

I showed up right at 11pm, and King’s X were deep into their third song (per the door guy).  So, for those keeping track at home, file that under “whoops… messed that one up.” My guess is that they started with “Groove Machine.”  Regardless of my missing the intro, King’s X put on a great show, and I thoroughly enjoyed it… a little bit of feedback and a low ceiling’ed venue, but I got to move around a bit and snap some shots from several angles.  No videos… I imagine it’d be too much feedback for the camera.

Setlist: thanks for the setlist additions

  • Groove Machine {thanks, bishopjso}
  • Pleiades {thanks, bn}
  • Visions
  • Move (*a fave of night*)
  • What Is This?
  • Black Flag
  • Lost in Germany
  • Pray (no offense, but a non-fave)
  • Dogman (*a fave of night*)
  • Go Tell Somebody (no offense, but a non-fave)
  • Summerland
  • Looking for Love (*a fave of night*)
  • Over My Head
  • Encore: It’s Love
  • We Were Born to Be Loved (*a fave of night*)

Fantastic show… once again.  Doug, Ty & Jerry are a joy to see.  I hope they’re making music for many more years to come.  Doug’s preachin’ during “Over My Head” had a new slant… “It’s a terrible thing to do what you don’t want to do for the rest of your life.”   I’m glad that Doug didn’t get stuck being a choirboy for the rest of his life.  Oh, and Ty’s “Over My Head” solo was smoking!!!! It was one of the few instances where I wish I had been taping…

Wishes for the evening… maybe switch out “GTS” and “P4M” with “Cigarettes” and “A Box.”  But all in all, I’m glad that they’re still making music and still touring.  I figure, beggars can’t be choosers.  I saw a great show by some great musicians… yet again.

The Appropriate Linkage:

How the screaming changes when the meaning hits your ears…
~Dan – np: dredg – The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion no torrent or free download here

KING’S X PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

The Rest of the King’s X Tour Dates (as of now)

6/09/2009 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
6/10/2009 Coeur d’Alene, ID @ The Grail
6/12/2009 Salt Lake City, UT @ Club Vegas
6/13/2009 Denver, CO @ Owsley’s Golden Road
6/15/2009 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
6/16/2009 Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room
6/17/2009 Lincoln, NE @ Knickerbockers
6/19/2009 Sioux Falls, SD @ Nutty’s
6/20/2009 Fargo, ND @ Venue At The Hub
6/23/2009 St Paul, MN @ Station 4
6/24/2009 Des Moines, IA @ People’s Court
6/26/2009 Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall
6/27/2009 Chicago, IL @ Double Door
6/28/2009 Mt Clemmens, MI @ Freedom Festival
6/30/2009 Memphis, TN @ Newby’s
7/01/2009 Little Rock, AR @ Juanita’s
8/07/2009 Raleigh, NC @ Volume 11
8/08/2009 Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
8/09/2009 Pittsburgh, PA @ Pepsi Roadhouse
8/11/2009 Hartford, CT @ The Webster Theater
8/12/2009 Sellersville, PA @ Sellersville Theater
8/13/2009 Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony
8/15/2009 Southbridge, MA @ ADC Performance Ctr.
8/16/2009 Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
8/17/2009 Virginia Beach, VA @ Peppermint Beach Club
8/19/2009 Charlotte, NC @ Amos’s
8/21/2009 Marietta, GA @ The Local
8/22/2009 Fayetteville, NC @ Jester’s

then they hit the road with Porcupine Tree in September 2009

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

REVIEW: Holy Fuck @ Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR – 6/4/09)

5th Jun 09 (Fri) 4 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

I love my job.  I get to be in towns that quite often host artists I like to see… so I don’t have to drive up to make a special trip.  Well, this time, it was for my second time seeing the instrumental, avant-groove, live electronic band from Toronto – – Holy Fuck.  While their name may be offensive to some, their music is delicious.  I tried to make the “gotta eat there while in Portland” stop at Blossoming Lotus, but downtown was PACKED – no parking to be found; so I crossed the River and checked out The Farm instead.  Then I scuttled off to the venue to meet some Eugene friends and take in some great music.

Crocodiles went on first, and they played about a half hour.  It was a singer & guitarist playing to a drum machine or tape.  It wasn’t too shabby.  Two man bands are usually more miss than hit, but these guys had some good songs and rocked out fairly well.

Holy Fuck took the stage around 10:15 and played a jam-packed hour or so.  I forget how infectious these guys are, even when not playing something all that melodic (though they had plenty of groove last night as well).  We got right up front, and I was able to snap some pics and a video or two (see below).  I was glad to see the audience show up, too… at first, it was looking grim, like a 10 person crowd.  By HF show time, the MFDF was filling up quite nicely.  Much groove, much film scratchin’, oft screamin’ and looping, with a thumping rhythm section…

Songs are harder to distinguish when there are no vocals (i.e.- no official “setlist” here).  I know they played The Pulse, Super Inuit, and Lovely Allen, and I’m pretty sure they played Milkshake, Safari, Frenchy’s, Jungle, maybe Royal Gregory.  Those last five are just a guess, though.  I do know that it was a bitchin’ show!!  It’s great to see them in progressively bigger venues.  First Newport, KY’s Southgate House “parlor” (i.e.- the very small room upstairs) to the real venue of Doug Fir Lounge as the headliner.  A+… and I hope it’s not another 2+ years until I get to see them again.

Holy Fuck “The Pulse” @ Doug Fir Lounge, 6/4/2009

Holy Fuck “Lovely Allen” @ Doug Fir Lounge, 6/4/2009

The videos are just “OK,” but not too shabby for a digital camera (not a digital video camera), if I do say so myself.  Regardless of the video quality, quite frankly, this show is probably one of my favorite shows this year so far.

The Appropriate Linkage:

~Dan – np: John Zorn – Alhambra Love Songs

no torrent or free download available here

CROCODILES / HOLY FUCK PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

Categories: Concert Photos, Indie Rock, Jazz & Avant, Post-rock Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Flight of the Conchords @ the Schnitzer (Portland, OR – 5/14/09)

15th May 09 (Fri) 5 comments

Well, let’s just say… this show was mutha’uckin’ AWESOME!!!

Before the show, there was a spot-on Murray look-a-like in the crowd.  A little bit younger looking, but definitely pretty damn close.  At around 7:45pm, the lights dimmed and what sounded like Jemaine (from FOTC) announced the opener.  Arj Barker, who plays Dave on HBO’s Flight of the Conchords show, came out and did a hilarious 30-minute stand-up routine.  Very witty humor.  He’s got a Comedy Central special coming soon, plus he’ll be doing his own solo tour later in the year.  Should be fun… I’d definitely recommend Arj, and if he comes near me again (Eugene, please?), I’ll be there.

Arj introduced Flight of the Conchords Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie immediately after his set, and they came out swinging right away in their robot costumes.  To which they immediately broke into a song from their 2nd season, “Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor.”  They never got back into their robot costumes again, which was… well… unfortunate.  Great show though.  They also had a cellist, Nigel, who was “New Zealand’s symphony orchestra.”  Due to budget cuts, Nigel is the entire NZ symphony orchestra. :)  Here’s what they played…

Setlist: (YT: YouTube video from the HBO show)

  • Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor (YT)
  • Hurt Feelings (YT) (*a fave of the night*)
  • The Ballad of Stana
  • The Most Beautiful Girl (in the Room) (YT) (*a fave of the night*)
  • Carol Brown (Stick Around)
  • Jenny
  • Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros (YT) (*a fave of the night*)
  • I’m Not Crying (YT)
  • Freebird (upon request, but we think it was a planted request… Bret moved over to drums)
  • Mutha’uckas (YT) (Bret continuing on drums – *a fave of the night*)
  • Business Time (YT) (*a fave of the night*)
  • Think About It (Think, Think About It) (YT)
  • Lazy Eye
  • Sugalumps (YT)
  • Encore: Albi the Racist Dragon (YT)
  • Bus Driver’s Song
  • Bowie (YT)

The only real disappointment was the obvious lack of “Robot Song (The Humans Are Dead)” (YT).  “Foux Da Fa Fa” (YT), “If You’re Into It” (YT), and “Ladies of the World” (YT) would have been fun, too.  They show was really great, though.  They played and talked and talked and played for an hour and 45 minutes.  Really funny, and I liked most of the new songs… I’m looking forward to the 2nd season when it comes out on DVD (as I don’t have HBO).  I wasn’t able to take any photos due to the venue’s rules.  Here is one from SPIN‘s Miami review (more further down in the links):

The Appropriate Linkage:

~Dan – np: Wynton Marsalis – He and She

Categories: Concert Photos, Hip-hop, Humor, Indie Rock, Movies & Television, Rock & Pop, Singer-Songwriter Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Opeth & Enslaved @ Roseland (Portland, OR – – 5/12/09)

12th May 09 (Tue) 13 comments

Similarly to the professional Abba cover band I saw play with the Cincinnati Philharmonic Orchestra / POPS, the band I saw tonight (Opeth) is from Sweden.  Un-similarly to the Abba cover band, Opeth is… HEAVY.  I didn’t want to risk bringing my nice, new camera to a Swedish & Norwegian Death Metal double-bill (Strongbad email link).  So, I’ll post and point you to some from BrooklynVegan’s blog.  I also won’t be able to bring my camera into Flight of the Conchords in two days due to venue restrictions.  Boo… anyway, here is Enslaved (from the recent NJ show):

photo by Justina Villanueva

This Oregon concert was billed as just the two bands.  Enslaved went on first.  I have an odd history with the band name Enslaved.  I have some friends in Dayton, Ohio, who briefly had a metal band called Enslaved (in 1994-ish).  Then I had to break the news to them that there already was a band named the same, and that they’re from Norway.  Well, the Dayton band changed their name to Gnashing of Teeth.

I ran into the Norwegian Enslaved here and there, but never listened to them… until tonight.  They were… hmm… they were OK.  Musically, they had chops, but their sound seemed hollow.  Maybe not enough guitars or bass in the mix, but especially compared to Opeth, Enslaved didn’t fill the room – – and not for lack of trying.  Vocally, they were fairly brutal, but mostly uninteresting.  One of the “singles” from Vertebrae that I heard on the MySpaces before the show was played.  It just doesn’t work, IMO.  Oh well, I suppose I’m continuing my streak of not all that great opening bands, but at least Enslaved were the only opener.  All-in-all, they weren’t what I’d call “dreadful.”  I just don’t really need to dig much more into their music.

Next up, only after a short 25 minute set change, sound check… OPETH…

Opeth‘s Mikael Akerfeldt in NJ
photo by Justina Villanueva

This was my 3rd Opeth live experience.  Previously, I would say that there is the law of diminishing returns going on with live Opeth.  The 1st show I saw was awesome, and then the 2nd show was a little dissappointing.  Well, third time seeing them, they ripped into some great material.  Overall, utterly fantastic show.  Their sound was much fuller than Enslaved’s, and they just seemed like a better band.  I guess this didn’t come as a surprise.  Mikael announced early on that the band formed in 1990.  So, next year is their 20th anniversary.  Holy cow, when did that happen!?  Their maturity and breadth of material was on display tonight.  They hit post-Blackwater Park songs, and they even hit songs from Morningrise, Still Life, and My Arms Your Hearse – – which has to go down as one of the best metal album names ever.  Anyway, here’s what Opeth played…

Setlist:

  • Heir Apparent
  • Ghost of Perdition
  • Godhead’s Lament
  • The Leper Affinity
  • Credence
  • Hessian Peel
  • Closure
  • Night & the Silent Water
  • The Lotus Eater
  • Encore: band introductions and “swine flu blues” guitar solo
  • Deliverance

Great set… right around 2 solid hours, 10 songs… so, yeah, your basic pop songs. :)  I’m looking forward to next year’s 20 year anniversary Opeth takes a nap-a-thon.

The Appropriate Linkage:

~Dan – np: Wynton Marsalis – He and She

The rest of the Opeth tourdates (so far)…

May 13 2009 Senator Theater, Chico, California *
May 14 2009 Regency Theater, San Francisco
May 15 2009 Glasshouse, Pomona, California *
May 16 2009 The Avalon, Los Angeles, California *
May 17 2009 Rialto Theater, Tucson, Arizona *
May 19 2009 Scout Bar, San Antonio, Texas *
May 20 2009 Diamond Ballroom, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma *
May 21 2009 New Daisy Theater, Memphis, Tennessee *
May 22 2009 Bijou Theater, Knoxville, Tennessee *
May 23 2009 Newport Music Hall, Columbus, Ohio *
May 24 2009 Clutch Cargo’s, Pontiac, Michigan *
May 26 2009 Grand Ballroom at The Manhattan, New York, New York *
May 27 2009 9:30 Club, Washington, Washington DC *
May 29 2009 Rock Hard Festival, Dortmund
May 30 2009 Wave Gothik, Leipzig
May 31 2009 Schlachthof, Wiesbaden
June 1 2009 Skaters Palace, Munster
June 12 2009 Download Festival, Donnington
June 13 2009 Provinssirock, Seinäjoki
June 21 2009 Metal way, Zaragoza
June 26 2009 Peace & Love, Borlänge
June 27 2009 Metaltown Festival, Gothenburg
July 2 2009 Festival, Arvika
July 3 2009 Oslo Live, Oslo
July 17 2009 Art Mania Festival, Sibiu
July 26 2009 Zwarte Cross Festival, De Schans in Lichtenvoorde
July 30 2009 Storsjöyran, Östersund
August 7 2009 Brutal Assault, Jaromer
August 15 2009 Summerbreeze, Dinkelsbuehl
August 21 2009 Lowlands, Biddinghuisen

* w/ Enslaved

Categories: Metal Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Swing Shift Big Band @ Wildish Theater (Springfield, OR – – 4/10/09)

11th Apr 09 (Sat) Leave a comment

Ok, I’m totally gonna “phone this in”… the snippet from the invite email I got covers what they played:

While Swing Shift has always based much of its style on the inspiration of Count Basie, this is the first time that we have offered a full evening of music in the classic Basie tradition. The band will perform standards such as “Moten Swing,” “Corner Pocket” and “Vine Street Rumble,” along with lesser-known gems, including Quincy Jones’ “Jessica’s Day.” Featured soloists for the evening will be trombonist Glenn Bonney, who will be heard on Benny Carter’s beautiful “Sunset Glow,” and trumpeter Warren Wellford, performing “Pensive Miss,” a gorgeous ballad by Neal Hefti. There will also (of course) be generous helpings of piano in the Count Basie tradition, ably essayed by pianist John Polese, as well as contributions from alto saxophonists Sean Flannery and Travis Wong and trumpeters Steve O’Brien and Dana Heitman.

The second half of the concert will showcase music that was performed by the remarkable pairing of singer Frank Sinatra and the Basie band. The three albums that they recorded in the early 1960’s still serve as the model for a singer working with a big band, and virtually every song from those collaborations are standards today. Aaron Anderson, Swing Shift’s regular vocalist, will be finally be heard as a featured artist, singing (among others) “Come Fly With Me,” “Nice And Easy,” “Fly Me To the Moon” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” Lead trumpeter Dana Heitman is responsible for the recreation of many of these arrangements, most of which have never been available for performance by other groups.

Great show… they played a 45 minute instrumental Count Basie set, and then came out with trombonist Aaron Anderson on vocals for a 45 minute Frank Sinatra / Count Basie set.  I was really impressed all around with the musicianship, the venue, and the vocals (and I usually don’t really prefer jazz with vocals).  It was a really, really good show… and not just because it was free.

Setlist:

  • Step Right Up
  • Corner Pocket
  • In a Mellotone
  • Jessica’s Day
  • Pensive Miss
  • 4-5-6
  • Sunset Glow
  • Every Tub
    Intermission
  • Come Fly With Me
  • I’ve Got You Under My Skin
  • Fly Me to the Moon
  • The Shadow of Your Smile
  • One for My Baby
  • Nice and Easy
  • I Get a Kick Out of You
  • That’s Life
  • My Kind of Town
  • Encore: Smack Dab in the Middle

The Appropriate Linkage:

~Dan – np: Jerry Cantrell – Degradation Trip, Vols 1 & 2

Categories: Jazz & Avant Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: SFJazz Collective @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – – 3/19/09)

20th Mar 09 (Fri) Leave a comment

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

This is my second time seeing the SF Jazz Collective.  Last time (Feb 2008) was a tour dedicated to Wayne Shorter.  This time, it was a McCoy Tyner-focused tour.  The same line-up as last year, except for this show we were missing Stefon Harris’ vibraphone playing.  Perhaps he wasn’t able to make it or isn’t in the touring version of the band this spring.  He’s on all of the promo photos.  Regardless, they likely wouldn’t have had room for him, as it was a packed stage at the Shedd with the seven members of this tour: Dave Douglas (on trumpet), Joe Lovano (on tenor sax), Miguel Zenon (on alto sax), Renee Rosnes (on piano), Robin Eubanks (on trombone), Matt Penman (on bass), and Eric Harland (on drums).

The show started promptly at 7:30pm, and the band hit the stage after a short introduction.  I’m getting spoiled with these Shedd shows: no opener, 90-120 minutes – – boom goes the dynamite, and then you’re done and home at a reasonable time (we even got home in time to watch 30 Rock; i.e.- the best show on network TV right now).

The band started in a way quite opposite to what I just told my wife… “oh, SF Jazz isn’t avant-garde, they’re much more poppy / groove-oriented.”  Well, I’d never heard McCoy Tyner, and the first song started out with a bunch of free jazz “noodling” that almost sounded like a warm-up.  I like this kinda of stuff (hey, I’m a big John Zorn fan)… but I looked over at my wife, and she had this look of, “oh, crap, this is gonna be a long night.”  Well, this noodling quickly turned into the swinging, groovy jazz fest that I came to know from the prior SFJC show and their CDs.  So, I think my wife had a good time despite the uncertain start. :)

(Robin, Dave, Matt, Joe)

Setlist:   [solos noted as best I remember… I likely forgot to note some of them]

  • Fly with the Wind   –  by McCoy Tyner, arranged by RR
  • Three Flowers  –  by McCoy Tyner, arranged by MP; solo: DD
  • Yes We Can (Victory Dance)  –  by Robin Eubanks; solo(s): RE, DD, RR
  • Sycamore  –  by Dave Douglas; solo(s): MP, JL, MZ, JL & MZ trade-off
  • Jazz Free  –  by Joe Lovano; solo(s): basically everyone
  • No Filter  –  by Miguel Zenon; solo(s): RE, MZ (was on fire)  (*fave of the night*)
  • Encore: Concensus  –  by McCoy Tyner, arranged by EH; solo: DD

Oddly enough, they had a congo drum over to the right but never used it… well, other than for Miguel to rest his hands on occasion.  Oh well… they treated us to 90 minutes of some great, smokin’ jazz… so, 7 songs over 90 minutes – – you do the math.  The show was a wonderful treat, and I hope they keep this up in the coming years.

The Appropriate Linkage:

~Dan – np: Paul Brody’s Sadawi – Kabbalah Dream

SF JAZZ COLLECTIVE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

 

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

REVIEW: Oregon Percussion Ensemble’s FRANK ZAPPA Tribute @ UO’s Beall Hall (Eugene, OR – – 3/7/09)

8th Mar 09 (Sun) 6 comments

I went to the University of Oregon’s Beall Concert Hall yesterday afternoon for a wonderful tribute to Frank Zappa put on by the UO College of Music’s Oregon Percussion Ensemble, conducted by W. Sean Wagoner.  It was a show that I found out about in the Eugene Weekly… yay for the local entertainment rag for giving us last minute cool info!

The show was great… about 90 minutes including breaks.  All percussion, except for a bass player and a violinist for “The Black Page Part 1 & 2.”  OK, there was a pianist and a tap dancer, too… but those are technically percussion instruments. :P

Setlist:

  • Concerto No. 1, Op. 12.3(1986) – composed by Ney Rosauro, soloist: Paul Owen (marimba)
    • I. Saudacao (Greetings)
    • II. Lamento (Lament)
    • III. Danca (Dance)
    • IV. Despedida (Farewell)
  • Ionisation for thirteen percussionists (1929-1931) – composed by Edgard Varese
  • Waltz (1958) – composed by Frank Zappa, soloist: Merlin Showalter (vibraphone)
  • Magnesium Zapp II (2009) – composed by Charles Dowd
  • The Black Page Drum Solo (1976) – composed by Frank Zappa, soloist: Paul Owen (drumset)
  • The Black Page, Part I (1976) – composed by Frank Zappa
  • The Black Page, Part II (1976) – composed by Frank Zappa

The first part of the first piece (Saudacao) was very Zappaesque… heavy on the marimba and xylophonic percussion… fast melodies, and the crazy percussive triplets or whatever you drummers call them. :)  The rest of Concerto No. 1 wasn’t as Zappaesque, but it definitely was a great warm-up to the rest of the show.  Paul Owen’s marimba work was great and the rest of the band really broke loose on this 20-something-minute piece.

Next up was Ionisation by Edgard Varese, from whom Zappa had only one degree of separation… the conductor for the first performance of Ionisation in the 30s was Nicolas Slonimsky, who later became a friend of Frank’s and also went out on tour with Zappa’s early 80s band.  The piece was an avant-garde percussive piece, if set-up as designed (which I assume they did) was 3 bass drums, 2 Side drums, 2 Snare drums, tarole, 2 bongos, tambourine, tambour militaire, crash cymbal, suspended cymbals, 3 tam-tams, gong, 2 anvils, 2 triangles, sleigh bells, chimes, celesta, piano, Chinese blocks, claves, maracas, castanets, whip (instrument), guiro, high & low sirens, and a lion’s roar.  I don’t remember a whip or lion’s roar… but regardless, it was fun and adventurous.

Waltz was the first official Zappa piece of the afternoon.  It was about a 2 minute, 12-tone vibraphone solo by Merlin Showalter.  It seemed like it was over before it started, but it was a nice piece.

Magnesium Zapp II continued in the Zappa theme… though not written by him.  It was written by UO Director of Music Charles Dowd, who drew inspiration from Frank Zappa’s “Girl in the Magnesium Dress” from The Yellow Shark.  It was somewhat avant-garde, improvisational with some structure.  It also had small melodies written in to represent F-R-A-N-K and Z-A-P-P-A, which they went over beforehand… and it was fun to pick it out when they were playing it.  Basically a 26-note run equating to the English alphabet… blah blah blah, you do the math.

Next up was The Black Page… I’d seen Terry Bozzio play this at the 2006 Zappa Plays Zappa tour in Louisville, and for the uninitiated, Zappa wrote it as a technical challenge.  The musicians dreaded seeing all of the black notes on the page… hence its name.

(click for larger)

Percussion/Battery drum transcript (PDF):

black_page-batterie

The Ensemble started this as simply a drum solo by Paul Owen.  He did a great job on this 3-4 minute very technical solo.  Then the solo was played again by Paul… and 9 more drummers (and a tap dancer) at the same time, nearly perfectly in sync.  It was quite mind blowing seeing all 10 drum sets around the front of the stage when we got back from the short intermission, but I had no idea they all be playing the solo together.  Crazy good stuff.  The only downside, we could barely see the tap dancer (Alli Bach) as she was behind the drum sets, but she was going nuts and hitting all of the notes as well… per W. Sean Wagoner (the conductor), this was the world premiere of a tap dance transcription for The Black Page. :)

After the solo(s), they played the Black Page in both Zappa’s variations… the “Hard Version” and the “Easy Teenage NY Version.”  Much more melodic (not all on drums, as some of the drummers moved to play other instruments).  They were also joined by piano, electric violin and bass.  Great stuff… about 5 minutes for each version.

Good stuff… well worth the $5… like criminally worth it.

~Dan – np: Ben Folds Five – Whatever and Ever Amen

Categories: Classical, Jazz & Avant, Rock & Pop Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: That1Guy @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – – 2/11/09)

12th Feb 09 (Thu) 2 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

 Well, this was my 5th time seeing That1Guy and the Magic Pipe.  He is a truly mesmerizing performer… the inclusion of the Magic Saw and Magic Boot are also great, but the true show is seeing Mr. 1Guy put a crazy go nuts university seminar on the Magic Pipe.

The opener was Seattle’s Flowmotion.  I only caught their last 3-4 songs, but I liked them.  Kinda of a more rock style jam band.  The best part for me was their drummer and drummer/ percussionist combo.  Two of the 3-4 songs I saw had some cool extended dual drum solos.

T1G came on right around 9:30.  He seemed to play a very similar setlist to the time I saw him a year and a half ago at John Henry’s, but much more energetic… having a pretty packed house at a bigger venue on a Wednesday definitely didn’t hurt the energy. :)

Setlist:

  • Forgotten Whales leading into Instrumental Intro Jam
  • Jigsaw
  • Weasel Potpie leading into Instrumental Jam
  • the one with “heaven or heck” in the lyrics
  • Dig (with the magic boot)
  • Buttmachine (extended)
  • Instrumental Jam
  • Bananas
  • Somewhere Over the Rainbow(with the magic saw)
  • One(with card tricks)
  • Jam Session with Flowmotion drummers (T1G’s credit card jam)
  • …

Great show… I left at about the 90 minute point (it’s been a long week for me so far).  If I had to wager a guess, I bet he played “Mash” and/or “The Moon is Disgusting” and/or “Birds” as encores… but that’s only a guess.

the magic pipe

And now for some news from That1Guy…

He’s re-issued his first album… the one before Songs in the Key of Beotch called Let’s Hear That1Guy (click pic to find out more):

New animated video for “Mash” made by some ausome aussies at Silo:6…

Oh, and T1G’s “Buttmachine” is the new Rick Roll… try it on your friends. *cough*

The Appropriate Linkage:

~Dan – np: The Beatles – The Beatles

THAT1GUY PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

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

REVIEW: Jeremy Pelt Quintet @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – – 1/16/09)

17th Jan 09 (Sat) Leave a comment

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Brilliant show last night at the John G. Shedd Institute… I literally walked in at 7:30pm, just as the Shedd was announcing the Jeremy Pelt Quintet to come out and play.  Whew… barely made it.  Jeremy Pelt and crew came out and played 7 pieces over 90 straight minutes with very few breaks to talk between the songs.

(click for larger)

I’d never seen Jeremy Pelt before, but I had gotten into him via Ken Laster’s great In the Groove and Beyond podcast a couple of years ago.  The band was Jeremy Pelt (bandleader, trumpet), JD Allen (tenor saxophone), Danny Grissett (piano), Dwayne Burno (bass), and Gerald Cleaver (drums).  They were hot… most of the songs were definitely extended jams over what’s put down on their latest record, November, which I picked up at the show.

Set list: (as called from the stage)

  • Avatar
  • Clairvoyant
  • Phoenix
  • Nephthys (based on the Egyptian goddess, not the Egpytian online movie rental store Netflix…)
  • Shirley Horn’s You Won’t Forget Me (dedicated to the recently passed trumpet great Freddie Hubbard)
  • (JPQ pianist) Danny Grissett’s Untitled
  • 466-64 (based on JP’s visit to Nelson Mandela’s jail cell)

Great show.  The hour and a half passed by too quickly.  Apparently Jeremy Pelt comes through Eugene often (every year or so); so I’m looking forward to seeing him again in the future.  He’ll be at the Shedd again in early March 2009 for the multi-day Jazz Fest / Party, but I don’t think I can make it.

The appropriate links:

Next show… Skerik’s McTuff at Sam Bond’s on Thursday.  I’m there if I’m not beaten down by busy season work…

~Dan – np: Jeremy Pelt – November

JEREMY PELT QUINTET PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)

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

REVIEW: Zappa Plays Zappa @ the Hawthorne Theater (Portland, OR – – 1/2/09)

3rd Jan 09 (Sat) 4 comments

Boo… no concert photos this time around… they wouldn’t allow cameras into the venue at all. :(

(Dweezil = rock)

This was my 3rd time seeing the Zappa Plays Zappa tour (aka Tour de Frank)… each one being different (set lists, lineup, promotions).  This time was at Portland’s Hawthorne Theater as the “You Can’t Fit On Stage Anymore” variation of the tour.  The venue had a small capacity (~300), you get a download code at the venue to get the entire recorded show after they mix it down (about a month?), you have a chance to win a free Hagstrom guitar (at each show), and you get to help choose the set list for the night.  Of the 68 available tunes in the ZPZ band’s repertoire, here were my selections: Broken Hearts Are For Assholes, Inca Roads, Montana, Peaches En Regalia, and Sofa. They played two of my choices. I was really hoping for “Montana,” though.  Eh, choosers shouldn’t be beggars.

Dweezil came out first and talked about the download code and how it wouldn’t quite be ready within 8 days, but that it’d be worth the wait.  I’m sure it will, as it’s gonna be 3 CDs of professionally recorded audio for “free.”  Free in that it’s part of the pricey ticket.  But, it’s not like I have to pay for it again, eh? :)

The band was very similar (if not the same) as when I saw the 2007 tour at Moonlite Gardens in Cincinnati, OH.  Different set list, of course.  They had a few technical difficulties during the show, but veryveryvery minor, and they rolled with the punches very well.  Outside of Ray White, they were all pretty much playing for the entire show, and even Ray only had a few breaks when he wasn’t needed to sing.

The ZPZ Band this time around is:

  • Dweezil Zappa: Guitar
  • Aaron Arntz: Keyboards
  • Scheila Gonzalez: Saxophone, Flute, Keyboards & Vocals
  • Pete Griffin: Bass
  • Billy Hulting: Marimba, Mallets & Percussion
  • Jamie Kime: Guitar
  • Joe Travers: Drums & Vocals
  • SPECIAL GUEST… Ray White: Guitar & Vocals

(Ray White is the pimp)

Setlist: (any help in filling in the blanks is appreciated)

  • Peaches En Regalia (a fave of the set)
  • City of Tiny Lights
  • Inca Roads (a fave of the set)
  • I’m Not Satisfied
  • Pygmy Twylyte
  • Idiot Bastard Son
  • Cheepnis (partial) then back to Inca Roads (??)
  • Hagstrom Guitar Giveaway Jam (I didn’t win… boo…)
  • Chunga’s Revenge with solos
  • Billy the Mountain (28 minutes) (a fave of the set)
  • Andy
  • Dirty Love (a fave of the set)
  • Uncle Remus
  • Willie the Pimp (a fave of the set)
  • Wind Up Workin’ in a Gas Station
  • San Ber’dino
  • Yo Mama
  • Black Napkins
  • Encore: ____________ (missing name, more guitar solos)
  • Muffin Man (a fave of the set)

All in all… fantastic show… 2 hours and 40+ minutes of amazing musicianship… the only things to make it better?  My own pictures perhaps… oh, and winning the guitar would have been nice. :)

I hope they come around again in the fall… I’ve seen all three of the ZPZ tours.  And this was technically the “2008” tour, even though it was in 2009 (obviously).  Seeing as I wasn’t into Frank’s music before he died, this is the next best damn thing.  Thanks, Dweezil and Co.!

The Appropriate Linkage:

~Dan – np: Ryan Adcock – Finished -LP-

Categories: Rock & Pop Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Over the Rhine – Taft Theater Friday the 19th

19th Dec 08 (Fri) 2 comments

Over the Rhine – 1st Decade
Friday the 19th of December 2008
Taft Theater, Cincinnati, Ohio

Does anyone have a good recording of this reunion show with Ric Hordinski and Brian Kelley?

If so, please email me. :)  I wasn’t able to attend, but I would love to hear it…

~Dan

Photo by euro60

Setlist posted by rotary11

SET ONE
Eyes Wide Open
How Does It Feel?
How Does It Feel? (Reprise) <– this was silly and awesome
Within Without (with Kim Taylor)
Like a Radio
Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander
June (with Kim Taylor, Jake, Kenny Hutson, and Julie Lee)
Circle of Quiet (with Kim and Julie)
Daddy Untwisted (with Kim and Julie)

SET TWO
Paul and Virginia (L&K with Jake, Kenny, Mickey, Kim, and Julie)
Poughkeepsie (same minus Mickey) <– this was different than before, so much FULLER
Mary’s Waltz (L, K, Paul Patterson)
Silent Night (Duet) (L, K, Paul, Julie)
Faithfully Dangerous (with Jake)
A Gospel Number (with Jake, Kim, Julie, and some awesome “cool” glasses and berets)
All I Need Is Everything (with Jake, Kim, and Paul)
If I’m Drowning <– old-school one-by-one departure. My best moment of the night

ENCORE NUMBER ONE
My Love Is a Fever
I Painted My Name (with Kim and Julie) <– my second favorite of the night. What a beautiful song, I’ve always loved it

ENCORE NUMBER TWO
Happy With Myself? (except I don’t think they played it?)
Latter Days (L & K)
What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding? (with Jake)

Categories: Music Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: My Brightest Diamond @ W.O.W. Hall (Eugene, OR – – 11/21/08)

22nd Nov 08 (Sat) 6 comments

FYI… my PHOTOS of the SHOW are at the BOTTOM

Yay… I’ve been waiting for this show for a few months.  I last saw Shara Worden (aka My Brightest Diamond) in April 2007 at the MusicNOW Fest in Cincinnati.  It was at that show where she debuted many songs that ended up on A Thousand Shark’s Teeth.  I was going to drive up to Portland on Thursday for the show, then they announced a Eugene show (yay!).  It was sparsely attended, though not as sparse as a Glen Phillips’ WOW Hall show earlier this year.  I don’t know… WOW Hall shows seem so hit or miss.  Maybe the Blues Traveler show at McDonald Theatre on Friday hurt MBD’s crowd?  Anyway, the artists were in good spirits and put on a great show nonetheless.

Openers, Clare and the Reasons, went on around 9pm and played 40 minutes of very cinematic-tinged, indie-pop fare.  The band was made up of singer/guitarist Clare Muldaur Manchon, multi-instrumentalist Olivier Manchon, and string-players Hiroko Taguchi & Maria Jeffers – – all four dressed in all red costumes.  (The MBD & Clare touring collaboration was also an efficient one, as Olivier, Hiroko & Maria were MBD’s backing band as well.)  After their set, buying their studio CD The Movie for $10 seemed like a steal. I look forward to hearing it, as it’s littered with guest artists / studio collaborators such as Van Dyke Parks (!!!!!) and Sufjan Stevens.

(click for larger)

Clare & the Reasons’ Setlist:

  • Pluto – a fave of the set, nice pizzicatto strings
  • Better Without You
  • Pluton / Rodi – a fave of the set, nice saw work, 1st song done in the dark with flashing lights
  • Nowhere
  • Can Your Car Do That? (I Don’t Think So)
  • Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears cover)
  • Cook for You

Next up was My Brightest Diamond, who has gotten a lot of dedication here on this blog – – for which I do not apologize.  In fact, she’s been the most prolific (or at least most little web goodies) of the Asthmatic Kitty artists lately.  I mean, come on, Sufjan!  You’re overdue. :)  Anyway, back to MBD…

(click for larger)

MBD’s performance was excellent, as usual.  As mentioned above, Olivier Manchon, Hiroko Taguchi, and Maria Jeffers were her backing band as well – – this time dressed in black & white costumes. They played around an hour, which included a magic show, a shadow & puppet show, twirling & whistling hoses, and much storytelling.

MBD’s Setlist:

  • Golden Star – a fave of mine
  • If I Were Queen
  • Apples – a fave of mine
  • To Pluto’s Moon
  • Olivier’s Magic Show
  • Disappear – a fave of mine
  • Dragonfly – a fave of mine
  • From the Top of the World – started Shara’s At the Back of the North Wind storytime
  • Black & Costaud – a fave, started with Olivier’s storytime
  • The Ice & The Storm
  • Inside a Boy – a fave of mine
  • Je n’en connais pas la fin / Hymne à l’amour – with an excellent shadow and puppet show
  • Encore: The Gentlest Gentleman – with Shara on mandolin

Check MBD‘s music out on iTunes, Amazon, or your local record shop…

My Brightest Diamond’s CDs:


(plus she’s got a ton of remixes and b-side whatnot on iTunes)

The Appropriate Linkage:

The Next Tour Stops:

Nov 22 2008 – Swedish American Hall, San Francisco, CA
Nov 24 2008 – Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz, CA
Nov 25 2008 – Casbah, San Diego, CA
Nov 26 2008 – Hotel Café, Los Angeles, CA
Nov 29 2008 – Solar Culture, Tucson, AZ
Nov 30 2008 – The Cooperage, Albuquerque, NM
Dec 3 2008 – Granada Theater, Dallas, TX
Dec 4 2008 – Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack, Little Rock, AR
Dec 5 2008 – The Bottletree, Birmingham, AL
Dec 6 2008 – Square Room, Knoxville, TN
Dec 7 2008 – The Earl, Altanta, GA
Dec 9 2008 – Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
Dec 10 2008 – Gravity Lounge, Charlottesville, VA
Dec 11 2008 – Rock n Roll Hotel, Washington, DC
Dec 12 2008 – First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA
Dec 13 2008 – (Le) Poisson Rouge, New York, NY

OK, that’s all for now from me…

~Dan – np: Mostly Other People Do the Killing – This is Our Moosic

CLARE & the REASONS -and- MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND CONCERT PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2008 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

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

REVIEW: Sigur Rós @ Arlene Schnitzer Hall (Portland, OR – – 10/6/08)

7th Oct 08 (Tue) 8 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW are at the BOTTOM

This was my third time to the Arlene Schnitzer Hall.  It’s a great venue, and while I thought I would have gotten a better ticket via ordering from Klink (the Sigur merch site)… well, I was further to the back and left than I would have liked.  It was still a good spot for pics and hearing some wonderful music.

The opener, Parachutes, is a band I got into sometime in 2007 due to a linkage to Sigur Rós via the MySpaces.  I was excited to see them on the bill.  They were obviously influenced by Sigur Rós.  I mean… obviously.  But in my world, that’s not a bad thing.  They had 8 or 9 players, and at one point I know 10 people were playing with them.  Again, very Sigur Rós-y, slow build, xylophone, strings, bombastic drums, keys, soft vocals.  They played about 40 minutes, and I enjoyed them very much.  I picked up their EP for $5 (usð)… i.e.- a steal.  Unfortunately, my pics of theirs didn’t come out, as they didn’t have as much light on stage as Sigur Rós.

Now on to Sigur Rós…

Sigur Rós was… Sigur Rós.  This was my 5th time seeing them, and while some may consider there to be the law of diminishing returns, with Sigur Rós the diminishments are such minutae that it’s not even diminishing anymore.  Their shows are like taking a nap on a cloud during a rainstorm… or something.  It’s completely surreal, mesmerizing, powerful, gentle, sublime, and… shiny.


(not my pic… obviously)

It’s funny to me, that with their non-English song names and their non-English singing… I still knew about half of the song titles within the first few chords.  I think it’s osmosis or something, as I’ll admit that I don’t listen to them all that often (or often enough to know all of their song names).  Anyway, thanks to the SR forum, I was able to fill in the remainder of the setlist (see below)…

10/6/08 Portland Setlist: (as noted on the SR forum)

  • Svefn-g-englar *fav of show*
  • Glósóli
  • Ný batterí *fav of show*
  • Fljótavík *
  • Við spilum endalaust *
  • Hoppípolla *fav of show*
  • Með blóðnasir
  • Inní mér syngur vitleysingur *
  • Svo Hljótt
  • Heysátan
  • E-bow – on setlist, not played
  • Viðrar vel til loftárása – on setlist, not played
  • Sæglópur
  • Festival *
  • Gobbledigook * *fav of show – confetti kaboom*
  • encore: All Alright *
  • Popplagið *fav of show*
    * For pronunciations of the songs and album name from their most recent album, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, go HERE (blog link with audio).

Overall, this was an amazing time.  Every time I see Sigur Rós, I am blown away.  This was their 2nd to last date on the North American tour (and their last date in the United States for this tour); so they’ve been getting a lot of practice lately.  They were on top of their game, and put together an amazingly mesmerizing show

The Appropriate Linkage:

~Dan – recently played: Yoshie Fruchter – Pitom

SIGUR ROS CONCERT PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2008 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

Categories: Concert Photos, Indie Rock, Post-rock, Rock & Pop, World Music Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Branford Marsalis & Philarmonia Brasileira @ Hult Center (Eugene, OR – – 10/2/08)

3rd Oct 08 (Fri) 2 comments

I first got into (Grammy Award-winning saxophonist) Branford Marsalis when I sat through the 10-disc (20 hour) Ken Burns JAZZ documentary that I got from the University of Oregon Library.  Let’s just say that I spent a lot of rainy spring weekends watching these discs and getting more into the roots of jazz when there wasn’t anything to do outside.  Prior to this, my jazz experience was more on the avant-garde side of things (with John Zorn), with occasional listenings of Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman, et cetera.  The JAZZ documentary series opened my eyes to many more beautiful jazz greats, both past on as well as those still alive and kicking.

Branford’s brother, trumpeter/band leader Wynton Marsalis, was prominently featured in that documentary as a historian of sorts as well as a leader in the current jazz movement.  Branford also popped up in several spots.  That set up my familiarity with the “Marsalis” name… then I started getting more into Wynton’s music, as well as picking up some Branford here and there.  When I saw that Branford was coming to Eugene with a Brazilian music meets jazz concert – – well, I jumped at the tickets.

This was my first concert at the Hult Center (and thus the Silva Theater).  It’s a very gorgeous facility, and I hope I can make it here for a Eugene Symphony Orchestra or other great show in the future.  The Silva Theater at the Hult is similar to venues like the Aronoff in Cincinnati or the Palace in Columbus (i.e. – a great big, ornate concert hall).   I also got to check out the Mayor’s Art Show at the Jacob Gallery.  It had some great stuff in it, but alas, no jewelry art.  I’m still wondering why my wife and her co-worker’s great pieces didn’t make it in the show.

The musical program for tonight was Branford and the Philarmonia Brasileira conducted by Gil Jardim, celebrating the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos 49 years after his death.  It was Branford & the PB’s first show of the 40-day tour.  They had met only the day (or two) prior.  With that being said, it was unnoticeable.  They were ON…

A Heitor Villa-Lobos celebration! Program

(the following was a change from the printed program – updates from the Hult Program Director)

  • Philarmonia Brasileira only playing Abertura Concertante: dedicated to Aaron Copland (by Camargo Guarnieri)
  • Philarmonia Brasileira joined by Branford Marsalis playing Fantasia for Saxophone (soprano) and piano or orchestra (1949 by Heitor Villa-Lobos) *a fave of the night*
    i. Animé
    ii. Lent
    iii. Trés Animé
  • La Creation du Monde, op 81 (1923 by Darius Mihaud)
    i. Overture
    ii. The Chaos Before Creation
    iii. The slowly lifting darkness, the creation of trees, plants, insects, birds and beasts
    iv. Man and woman created
    v. The desire of man and woman
    vi. The closing section (coda) the man and woman kiss
    < < intermission > >
  • Bachianas Brasileiras no 9 (1945 by Heitor Villa-Lobos)
    i. Prelude: Vagaroso e mistico
    ii. Fugue: Poco apressado
  • Scaramouche for Saxophone (alto) and Piano op. 165c (1937 by Darius Mihaud) *a fave of the night*
    iii. Vif
    iv. Modere
    v. Brazileira
  • Bachianas Brasileiras no 5 (1938 by Heitor Villa-Lobos)
    i. Aria (Cantilena)
    ii. Dança (Martelo)
    ———————
  • Encore #1 (title not given)
  • Encore #2 (title not given)

The Philarmonia Brasileira was quite amazing.  They swapped out members and instruments for each piece, and all 8 pieces of the night had a different feel.  It was much more enjoyable than I was expecting (and I was expecting it to be quite enjoyable to start).  Several of the pieces were a full orchestra, several were more string-oriented, some with piano & orchestra, one with just piano and Branford, and some with more of an exotica with Brazilian percussion.  Branford was also quite great / amazing.  This was definitely a more classical sax setting, but he did break loose in a more “jazz way” on the song with just him and piano.  I hear he comes through often (from a Veg Club friend); so I hope to see him again in the future.

All in all = A-freakin-plus.

The Appropriate Linkage:

~Dan – np: Medeski Martin & Wood play John Zorn’s Masada Book Two – Zaebos

The Rest of the Branford Marsalis & Philarmonia Brasileira Tour

October 2008
03 – Seattle, WA – Benaroya Hall
05 – Stanford, CA – Stanford Memorial Hall
06 – Modesto, CA – Mary Stuart Rogers Theater
08 – San Bernardino, CA – Riverside Municipal Auditorium
09 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Christopher Cohan Center
10 – Los Angeles, CA – Royce Hall Auditorium/UCLA
11 – Orange County, CA – Segerstrom Concert Hall
13 – Santa Fe, NM – Lensic Theatre
14 – Albuquerque, NM – Popejoy Hall
16 – Lufkin, TX – Angelina Center for the Arts
18 – Fayetteville, AR – Walton Arts Center
19 – Overland Park, KS – Yardley Hall Carlsen Center
20 – Conway, AR – Reynolds Performance Hall
22 – Milwaukee, WI – The Kuttemperoor Auditorium
23 – Detroit, MI – Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts
24 – Wheaton, IL – Edman Memorial Chapel
25 – Minneapolis, MN – Orchestra Hall
26 – Winona, MN – Winona Middle School Auditorium
28 – Storrs, CT – Jorgensen Auditorium
30 – Ithaca, NY – Bailey Hall Auditorium/Cornell

November 2008
01 – Bronx, NY – Lehman Center for the Performing Arts
02 – Stony Brook, NY – Staller Center for the Arts
05 – Newport News, VA – Ferguson Center for the Arts
06 – Durham, NC – Page Auditorium/Duke
07 – Rockville, MD – Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center
09 – Birmingham, AL – Stephens Center for the Performing Arts

The Roster for the Philarmonia Brasileira

Conductor
Gil Jardim

Violin
Esdras Silva
Cinthia Zanco
Daniel Stein
Flavio Meyer
Gilberto Paganini
Maria Brandào Neto
Natalia Visona
Paula Vazquez
Pedro Gobeth

Viola
Glesse Colleti
Mariana Jelen

Cello
Marisa Silveira
Ji Shim

Doublebass
Neimar Dias

Flute
Maria Carvalho
Clarissa Andrade

Clarinet
Marcos Junior
Marcelo Silverio

Bassoon
Erick Ariga

Horn
Michael Alpert
Flavio Faria

Oboe
Alexandre Ficarelli

Trumpet
Wellington dos Santos
Ismael Brandào Neto

Trombone
Sidnei Borgani

Piano
Nahim Marun Fo

Percussion
Vinicius Barros
Glaucia Vidal philharmonic filharmonia brasil brazil brazilian brasilian

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

REVIEW: Richard Crandell @ Cozmic Pizza (Eugene, OR – – 9/13/08)

14th Sep 08 (Sun) 2 comments

I had Richard Crandell‘s Mbira Magic (Tzadik 2004) back when I lived in Ohio.  I had no idea that he was from Eugene, OR.  I happened upon a listing of a performance he did earlier this spring at Saturday Market, but a day late.  When I saw that he was playing yesterday at Cozmic Pizza for free… well, I jumped (and bike rode 2+ miles) at the opportunity.

Richard Crandell gave us a solid hour of full on metal.  Well, fingers on metal. :)


mbira: the instrument of choice

He plays the mbira (a “thumb piano” pictured above), and he’s quite good.  His compositions are very melodic, and his technique is quite fluid.  It’s almost as if the instrument is part of him.  He was carrying on a conversation with the sound guy when he ran into some technical difficulties, playing all the while.

Anyway, he played from around 1 to 2pm and played 9 songs… the ones he mentioned the names to are:

  • Bells
  • Missing in London
  • Spring Steel (based on the Japanese pentatonic scale)
  • Ghost Writers in the Sky

all pictures (cc) 2008 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

One of the songs that he didn’t mention the name had a mbira loop played behind his live mbira, and he used a guitar finger pick to create a nice additional percussion to the loop.  His records are good as well (but mbira is more interesting to see live, IMO)…  his most recent, Spring Steel, features Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista.  Cyro’s fantastic… either with Beat the Donkey, Supergenerous, Electric Masada, Marc Ribot, or many of John Zorn’s pieces…

Richard Crandell’s records

His websites:

~Dan – np: Metallica – Death Magnetic

PS– whoa, completely unrelated, the new Metallica album, Death Magnetic, actually sounds… really… good.  It’s been 20 years since that’s happened… too bad the album cover looks like they didn’t pay their invoices timely to the graphic artist.  It’s crap, as has been expected with Metallica for the past 17 years.  But when it comes down to the music, it’s finally not rubbish.

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

REVIEW: God of Shamisen @ Samurai Duck (Eugene, OR – – 9/11/08)

12th Sep 08 (Fri) 4 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW are at the BOTTOM

Well, before the show, I was kind of bummed, as Todd Sickafoose (Ani DiFranco’s upright bassinator) was playing a show at Sam Bond’s in Eugene last night as well.  GOS totally won, but Todd would have put on a great show as well.  Anyway, I swung by Sam Bond’s before heading over to the Samurai Duck… to pick up Todd’s new CD, Tiny Resistors.  I figured I might as well support indie jazz artists.  Alas, the doorman told me that Todd had to cancel.  Bummer… well, maybe he’ll reschedule, though I think he’s from New York; so maybe it’s just not meant to be this time around.

a great cartoon GOS by Rulo Barrera

On to the venue… hmmm… what to say about the Samurai Duck.  Well, you can get fried pizza.  Um… ick… I opted for a Blue Moon & a bag of pretzels.  The rest of the menu was faintly “asian,” but nothing I’d really consider to be all that interesting.  This place is definitely a dive metal bar, but they’ve got a decent stage, and the bands got set-up / switched over between sets really quick – which is a major plus, especially for a late night show.

The 1st opener, Deosyl, was really good.  I had never heard of them, but they’re from Eugene.  They were an instrumental rock/metal trio.  They were all very good musicians.  The guitarist seemed to have some great chops, in the vein of Dream Theater’s John Petrucci or Dimebag Darryl or a breed of the two.  Great stuff…

I saw GOS’s Kevin Kmetz warming up with his shamisen in between the openers’ sets…

Shat came on next, around 11pm.  I was a fan of their prior to this show.  I mean, we go way back… we’re the bestest of MySpace friends.  Or something.  Well, I first heard of Shat via the (now defunct) Coma Lilies.  They are connected to Righteous Gabe Records…

Which is absotively-posilutely supposed to confuse you with Righteous Babe Records.  They make music very much unlike Ani DiFranco, though. :)  Very much… crazy, spastic, turrets syndrome-induced rock.  Oh, I think they’re also linked to the international smash hit “Tonight Tonight Tonight Tonight.”  Or maybe just linked via Righteous Gabe…  Anyway, they put on a lively show.  They’re from Portland; so I’ll likely get to see them again.

God of Shamisen went on right around midnight.  I was tired, but doing OK.  I work right across the street; so I had popped over there to get a Coke. :)  God of Shamisen is Kevin Kmetz on tsugaru-shamisen, Karl Schnaitter on guitars, Mark Thornton on bass, and Lee “ninja” Smith on drums.  They played a great set, and it was well worth staying through a late night and two openers to see them play.  I also got to pick up their new CD, Dragon String Attack.  I’ve been listening to it today at work, and it’s great.  My favorite track so far is “The Science Fiction of Ray Bradbury Attack!”

The CD (click the picture for more info):

The Set List: (with adjustments by Mark from GOS*)

  • Traditional (Kevin solo)
  • Bad Dog Attack
  • The Prisoner (called “The Village Attack” on the CD*)
  • Tar Bomb Attack (not recorded yet*)
  • Ripe Fruit Attack
  • Stacie’s Song (for Kevin’s s/o)
  • Dragon String Attack
  • Mary Jane (with Danyl Johnson)
  • The Science Fiction of Ray Bradbury Attack
  • Metallica’s For Whom the Bell Tolls* (with Christian from Shat)

The Appropriate Linkage:

The Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey is on for tonight.  I’m excited.  I’ve been a fan of theirs for a few years, but missed them when they came to Eugene in the spring, because I was at the Ani DiFranco/Judy Grahn/Animal Prufrock show down the street at the same night.  Well, JFJO coming back to town 5 months later is a-OK with me.

~Dan – np: Jeff Ament – Tone

GOD OF SHAMISEN CONCERT PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2008 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

Categories: Concert Photos, Metal, Rock & Pop, World Music Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Radiohead @ White River Amphitheatre (Auburn, WA – – 8/20/08)

21st Aug 08 (Thu) 19 comments

Well, first off, I wasn’t going to attempt to take my own pictures of the show… I’m an amateur, I was far away, outdoor venue, yadda yadda. For a great review (of the Boston show 8/13) with pictures & video, check out this review.

The venue was White River Amphitheatre (outside of Auburn, WA)… bleh. Not far enough away from Seattle to avoid traffic. Two lane road going in and out of the venue. Crappy gravel parking. No food within 6 miles. Crappy sound. I don’t think I’ll ever go back there… unless there is a Pink Floyd reunion, a Faith No More / Mr Bungle reunion tour… or Chroma Key plays there. All of those events are highly unlikely.

The opener (Liars?) got completely missed. I heard them playing their last song as I was walking from my car. Oh well…

Radiohead came on just after 9pm… and played for a long time. They played a good mix of songs, but the sound at this venue (as alluded to above) was pretty much crap for any of the louder songs. The quieter songs sounded really good, but the big rock songs were mush (not the good kind of mush). Now, the lighting… holy crap. Fun / cool / awesome lighting.


(from the Boston show – Courtesy of Cole Kinsler)

Jonny Greenwood has ever so gently been eeking up in my favorites list, and I think he’s officially taken over as my favorite Radiohead (and body). He’s the anti-guitar hero. He plays with artistic conviction and an “I don’t care if you like it or if it looks cool, this is what I’m doing now” demeaner. I can dig it.


Courtesy of Hyphen

I was also lazy in the “write down the setlist” department, as I know Radiohead has their many minions. Here’s what I got over at the atease blog (thanks to Flaaneuse who submitted it & the descriptions in italics):

Radiohead’s Setlist:

  • 15 Step
  • Reckoner
  • Optimistic
  • There There
  • All I Need (a fav from the night)
  • Pyramid Song
  • Talk Show Host (holy crap!! 90s era b-side… one of my favs from the night)
  • The National Anthem
  • The Gloaming
  • Videotape
  • Lucky (another fav from the night)
  • Faust Arp [Thom messes up lyrics several times, starts singing Neil Young’s “Tell Me Why”; Jonny tries to follow along but can’t quite get the chords. Phil comes out and drops an American dollar bill out in front of Thom and Jonny and runs away laughing. Thom and Jonny crack up completely to loud cheers. Thom tries again, says “Fuck it!”, but then continues and finishes the song.]
  • Jigsaw Falling Into Place
  • Climbing Up The Walls (another fav from the night… I love this melody)
  • Dollars and Cents
  • Nude
  • Bodysnatchers
  • Encore 1: How to Disappear Completely
  • Arpeggi/Weird Fishes
  • Idioteque
  • In Limbo [Tambourine accompaniment by Nigel Godrich. Thom, ‘This is Nigel’, Ed, ‘He makes our records.’]
  • Street Spirit (another fav from the night… I love this melody)
  • Encore 2: You And Whose Army? [Thom dedicates to the people who demonstrated against the WTO in Seattle in 1999]
  • No Surprises (would have likely been a fav from the night; alas, I was on the road – starting my 4 hour trip home)
  • Everything In Its Right Place

The Appropriate Linkage:

Good show… it’s a pleasure to see Radiohead just about any time. This time was in the “OK/Good” category, but not their fault. I just think I’m getting too picky to go to the big outdoor venues…

~Dan – np: John Zorn‘s The Dreamers

Categories: Rock & Pop Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW: Nellie McKay @ Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR – – 8/15/08)

16th Aug 08 (Sat) 4 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW are at the BOTTOM

Early shows are problematic, especially if you have to drive 2 hours to get to them. Oh, and also if the artist thought they started later. Blame for this goes squarely to the Doug Fir Lounge, in my opinion. Double-booking a night is horrible. Horrible. Nellie McKay* would have likely played much longer, had she been allowed to… argh.

*– for the newbies, her last name rhymes with “McPie”

Anyway, the opener Amorèe Lovell started right at 7pm, and played a stellar 40 minutes. She is from Portland, and plays a mean piano with quirky lyrics and fun banter. I’d say she fits in with the likes of Regina Spektor & Nellie McKay with a touch of Tori Amos. She also brings her own charm & style. She was very entertaining. She played mainly originals, but also threw in some Tom Waits, Johnny Cash & David Bowie. On to Nellie…

Nellie‘s start time was supposed to be 8pm. She didn’t hit the stage until nearly 8:30, due to a mix-up with her start time. Most of the crowd was getting antsy (myself included), as the late show had a “doors open” time of 9:30. Yikes. With that being said, Nellie came on and put on a great just shy of an hour show. She seemed more comfortable and confident, and she was as funny / spunky as usual.

Nellie’s Setlist:

  • Toto Dies
  • Old Enough
  • Mother of Pearl [on uke]
  • story about prince chunky, the 44 pound cat
  • The Dog Song (a fav of the set)
  • Real Life
  • Tipperary
  • Don’t Fence Me In [on uke]
  • Vote for Mr. Rhythm [with Obama tag at the end]
  • Sari (a fav of the set… with Dylan impression at the end)
  • Feed the Birds
  • Politan
  • Don’t Fence Me In [false start… she remembered she already did it] :)
  • Me Gusta Mañana [on uke.. a silly spanish song]
  • explanation about her NPR song “Cavendish”… she didn’t have time to brush up on it, but sometime soon
  • Zombie (a fav of the set)
  • Encore 1: Really
  • Encore 2: Ding Dong

The Appropriate Linkage:

Next show for me?  Radiohead next Wednesday at White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, WA (up near Seattle).  Woot!!

I was a pageant gone bad…
~Dan – np: Thelonious Monk & Sonny Rollins – Thelonious Monk & Sonny Rollins

NELLIE MCKAY CONCERT PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2008 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

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