Patrick's Music Reviews

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (with Rubblebucket) - Live 2011.10.18

2011-10-22T17:29:00.002-05:00

Another recommendation from a bandmate.

Artist: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Venue: Old Rock House
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
Date: October 18, 2011

Opening Act: Rubblebucket

Review:

Going into the performance knowing next to nothing about the opening act or the headliner, I figured it was best to be open-minded. When Rubblebucket climbed on stage, the eight members looked half-stoned, very young, mildly hipster, and surprisingly confident. With two percussionists, three brass players, a bassist, a guitarist, and a keyboardist, they did their best to fill up the venue with sound. They played a sort of dub/funk fusion, more in the line of jazz than rock or pop. Some of the spacier songs, particularly due to the vocals, reminded me of the Cocteau Twins or My Bloody Valentine.

The single female member split her time between a saxophone and ethereal singing. Unfortunately, in both cases, her output was drowned in the mix of tones, especially by the other brass players. I believe she was singing lyrics, but it sounded nearly wordless. Only when other musicians offered harmonies could I hear and appreciate her contributions. Most of the other instruments fit together fine, but I couldn't help feeling like the whole thing was overkill. The music was actually fairly good, but it was unfocused. Despite fairly good performances, the songs were scattered and there was no guiding light to offer direction for their motives. The set seemed to drag on endlessly, even though it was just an hour long.

Due to the venue's relatively small size, there is no real backstage, so the stage had to be entirely reconfigured for Trombone Shorty. Furthermore, the band had to wait in their tour bus until show time, at which point they poured through the doors, climbed on stage, and jumped right into a song. Shorty was backed by Orleans Avenue, who consisted of two percussionists, two saxophonists, a bassist, and a guitarist. (Sound familiar?)

Thankfully, Shorty got right to the point. He started strong on his trombone and led the band through a non-stop deluge of songs. Hardly pausing for breath between his intense solos, he also picked up a trumpet and took the mic to sing on a few songs. His own musicianship was matched by his band, particularly the guitarist and bassist. The guitarist had several incredible solos during the show, and while the bassist only took one, he also had the most consistently vibrant riffs of anyone in the band.

After about an hour of intense, high-quality jazz, the mood began to change. The jams and solos kept getting longer, Shorty spent more and more time at the mic than on his instruments, and the music loosened up a bit. The energy didn't fade, but the originality of the first hour began to recede, and the banality of most of Shorty's lyrics started to grate on me. Ultimately, it would seem that the more time he spends with his trombone, the better the quality of the material. Despite his reasonably good voice, his energy is much better spent as an instrumentalist.

Beyond that, the environment of the show just kept amping up. The main floor was packed with unselfconscious dancing, the music was violently loud (my ear plugs saved me from extensive auditory damage), and it became increasingly difficult to focus on the music with the encroaching claustrophobia. After over two hours, the band still did an encore, but I had to take a step back. By that point, the music had taken a turn for the decidedly funky. Not only did the beats get dancier, but the band even did a James Brown cover. At the very end, the musicians traded instruments for a final jam.

Unquestionably, all seven musicians are top tier performers, but at two and a half hours, it was hard to keep my attention in line. The music started out fantastically, but as Trombone began singing more and more, the quality went down and the drive began to waver. Although Shorty and his band were clearly a level above Rubblebucket, both needed to learn their strengths and focus their energy a bit. Nonetheless, I wish I hadn't been so distracted by the invasive environment, because Trombone Shorty's music was high quality, especially in his strong opening stretch.

Scores:

Rubblebucket: B-

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue: B+

Beirut (with Lætitia Sadier) - Live 2011.10.09

2011-10-13T18:50:00.001-05:00

For what it's worth, this is a fairly new band to me. I barely knew anything about them, but my bandmates recommended the show to me and I figured I should go. I'm glad I did.

Artist: Beirut
Venue: The Pageant
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
Date: October 9, 2011

Opening Act: Lætitia Sadier

Setlist (adapted from setlist.fm):

01. Scenic World

02. The Shrew

03. Elephant Gun

04. Vagabond

05. Postcards from Italy

06. The Concubine

07. Santa Fe

08. A Sunday Smile

09. East Harlem

10. Forks and Knives (La Fête)

11. Nantes

12. Port of Call

13. Cherbourg

14. Goshen

15. After the Curtain

16. Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)

17. The Penalty

First Encore:

18. My Night with the Prostitute from Marseille

19. Gulag Orkestar

Second Encore:

20. Serbian Cocek [A Hawk and a Handsaw cover]

Review:

I had heard that the opener, Lætitia Sadier, is/was a member of the currently-inactive band Stereolab. I think I'm supposed to like them, so I was curious what she would do. Despite the alternative/post-/experimental rock background of her band, her solo act is really just her and a guitar. I was pleased to see her go Billy Bragg-style and stick to an electric, but after a couple songs I realized that she was never going to alter the tone of her guitar nor her style, and I was left disappointed.

In fact, truth be told, I thought her entire performance was disappointing. Lætitia is a good singer, and she can certainly play guitar, but unfortunately her melodies, rhythms, and structures were decidedly minimalist and predictable. I wanted to like her; she seemed cool, and she seemed like she could be a good person to have in a band, but her solo music just wasn't very good. On two songs, she borrowed some of Beirut's musicians to back her up, and even if they didn't add much, the added complexity made those songs stand out far above the others. But the rest of her set faded into repetition.

Beirut currently functions as a six-piece, grounded in lead singer and ukulele/flügenhorn-player Zach Condon. The band entirely eschewed guitars in lieu of more interesting instruments. Perhaps most important was the presence of an accordionist, who provided the primary framework of the sonic continuum. A bassist (who preferred an electric stand-up over his bass guitar), a drummer, and two additional horn players/vocalists filled out the sound. A piano and a glockenspiel were also occasionally employed. I was impressed by how easily the band made music that one could call "indie rock" without relying on any of the instrumental clichés of the movement.

The music was great. It's been called folk or world music, and there are clear influences from these genres, but the band is really going in a different direction. It sounds like the band wants to make distinctly modern music but with a very keen awareness of the past – a past that goes far beyond just the English-speaking world of the 60s. The choice of instruments makes a genre hard to define, because the combination almost seems to come from every direction at once. However, Some sort of folk tendency does seem to shine through, but the music is too dynamic and complex to truly justify such a plain label.

The point is, Beirut can see what musicians around them are doing, and what musicians have done before, and they take the precise elements they like from each and reconstitute them in a beautiful fashion. They aren't breaking barriers or reinventing sound, but they know how to paint an aural picture that sounds delightfully fresh. For example, their rhythms were consistently unpredictable and quite varied. Despite the presence of a typical rock drumset, I never heard a cliché drumbeat – the percussive rhythms were always something delicately innovative. And to top it off, the whole production was incredibly well mixed. I don't know if it was the band's personnel or the venue's, but the show just sounded great. It fit together fantastically, and no instrument dominated the mix or was buried too deeply. The horn players knew exactly how far from the mics to stand and exactly how to keep a constant pitch. What an incredible performance!

The show was actually just a bit short, clocking in around 75 minutes. Nonetheless, they blasted through their setlist and played some twenty songs, all the while hardly pausing to talk. At the end of the set, everyone but Zach left, and he performed a song alone with his ukulele. After he left, the whole band returned quickly for a standard encore. After that, the audience began to head for the doors, but the house lights did not come on, and sure enough, the band came back for one more song.

For not knowing much about the band, I was thoroughly impressed and quite pleased. Even if the opener disappointed me, the main act was great. I highly recommend seeing this band live.

Scores:

Lætitia Sadier: D

Beirut: A

The Music Game

2011-10-06T20:53:00.001-05:00

I'd like to introduce a new feature of Patrick's Music Reviews: the appropriately-titled Music Game. Inspired by the Film Walrus' Movie Game, this is simply an exercise of one's creative ability to think of songs that fit a set of conditions. If you look on the right side of this blog, just below the description, you should see a subsection containing the game's basic interface.

The rules are simple. Press the button that reads "Draw Cards". You will see three short words, phrases, or statements appear. Each of these items or cards represents a theme, topic, or other element distinguishable in modern music. The idea is simply to name a song that meet the criteria of at least two of the cards.

For example, I just drew "Subject of a documentary", "Reinvention or genre shift", and "City". How about David Bowie's "A New Career in a New Town" from 1977's Low? I don't know if it was ever the subject of a documentary (although Bowie certainly has been), but the instrumental song stands as part of Bowie's shift from glam, funk, and soul into experimental and electronic realms. And if the word "town" in the title isn't close enough to city, then what about the fact that the album is part of the classic Berlin Trilogy?

Anyway, the subject matter runs a wide spectrum, including lyrics, genres, statistics, history, personnel, and technical information. We've tried to keep any one card from being too obscure or difficult, but in knowing that challenging cards can sometimes be the most fun, we struck the balance of including some of these ideas but encouraging the pick-two-of-three concept.

Playing in a group is recommended, either by taking turns or by each throwing out suggestions. As such, there is no "winning" or even really any scorekeeping, although if you really are the competitive type (can you tell that I am not?), you could certainly devise such mechanisms. The key is to be creative and have fun. Liberal interpretation of the cards is welcomed, if not encouraged.

If a particular set of cards seems totally impossible, then try to name an artist or band whose material fits the descriptors. Alternately, if you want an extra challenge, try to name a song that fits every combination of two cards, or try to name a song that fits all three cards. As another example, I just drew "Dissonance", "10+ album band", and "Guitar solo". Almost too easy – how about anything by Sonic Youth? Take "Candle" off of Daydream Nation, as long as you can call that instrumental guitar noise break a "guitar solo", which I will.

Have fun! Feel free to leave comments or suggestions for improvements or alternate gameplay styles.

P.S. I know that the game is somewhat rockist, or at least biased towards certain genres and styles, but that's what the authors know the most about. You can certainly try to apply classical or jazz works to the cards, but it may not be easy. There's no reason not to try if you'd like, though.

P.P.S. I should explain the "we" I've spoken of: most of the credit for the game goes to the Film Walrus and Jim Sabo. Thanks guys!

They Might Be Giants (with Jonathan Coulton) - Live 2011.09.24

2011-09-28T23:05:00.002-05:00

The third in a series of awesome concerts at the Pageant over a four-day period.

Artist: They Might Be Giants
Venue: The Pageant
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
Date: September 24, 2011

Opening Act: Jonathan Coulton

Setlist:
01. Dead
02. Can't Keep Johnny Down
03. Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) [Tom Glazer cover]
04. Particle Man
05. Meet James Ensor

06. St. Louis (aka Mississippi Nights) (tease)
07. Hollywood (aka Los Angeles or West Hollywood House of Blues)
08. Turn Around
09. Celebration
10. Don't Let's Start
11. Your Racist Friend
12. Cloisonné

13. Crazy Train (tease) [Ozzy Osbourne cover]

14. "Epic Fail Baloney Sandwich" (performed by the Avatars of They)
15. Spoiler Alert (performed by the Avatars of They)

16. Crazy Train (second tease) [Ozzy Osbourne cover]

17. Older

18. Alphabet of Nations

19. Old Pine Box

20. Ana Ng

21. Judy Is Your Viet Nam

22. We Live in a Dump

23. Birdhouse in Your Soul

24. Withered Hope

25. Clap Your Hands

26. Battle for the Planet of the Apes

27. The Mesopotamians

First Encore:

28. Careful What You Pack

29. Istanbul (Not Constantinople) [The Four Lads cover]

Second Encore:

30. Lie Still, Little Bottle

31. Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes

Review:

When I heard that Jonathan Coulton would be opening for They Might Be Giants, I thought that sounded pretty good. After all, this was a musician who'd written the hilarious outro music to the video game "Portal" and who is known for having an internet-aware sense of humor theoretically comparable to They themselves. Coulton came out alone wearing a strange contraption strapped around him as if it were a guitar. It was in fact a Zendrum, a type of MIDI controller which he uses to sample the parts of his oddball song "Mr. Fancy Pants". The song was mildly humorous and the performance was great, but I probably didn't appreciate it the way some others may have (the individuals near me flew into an ecstatic fit of shouting and hollering, perhaps inspired by a large dose of alcohol).

However, after the one rather unique performance, Coulton put down the Zendrum and picked up a guitar, at which point he was joined by drummer Marty Beller (who also plays with TMBG) and bassist Chris Anderson. The band proceeded to then play five or six songs, mostly of a rather bland punk-pop style. I know Coulton is famed for his wit, but I could hardly understand his lyrics (probably the fault of the mixing and not himself) and the music really didn't do anything for me. He did perform "Still Alive" from the aforementioned "Portal" game, which was perhaps the only standout song. The live rendition didn't have the same complexity and depth as the recorded version, but it had a bit more energy and spirit, which carried it along fairly well.

They Might Be Giants (nominally just John Linnell and John Flansburgh) were joined by drummer Marty Beller and bassist Danny Weinkauf. Oddly, the usual fifth member (guitarist Dan Miller) was not present. The band hardly seemed to miss him, as they were able to rock quite well on their own. They ripped through several new songs and a few from their last non-children's album, The Else, and somehow managed to play songs from all sorts of corners of their discography. They played an extended version of the strangely funny and impressive "Alphabet of Nations" from their second children's album and "Hollywood" (aka "Los Angeles", or as it was introduced at the show, "The House of Blues") from the Venue Songs album. They even did a tease of their "St. Louis" venue song in honor of the now defunct Mississippi Nights!

Much of their set leaned on the band's classic material from their early years, roughly equating to their first three albums. Signature rockers like "Ana Ng" and "Don't Let's Start" as well as the quirky hits "Particle Man" and "Birdhouse in Your Soul" went over extremely well. The band might get tired of playing their old standby songs at every show, but the audience adores it, and it does seem like the band tries to play around with the material to keep it interesting. They frequently alter lyrics or play the parts differently than expected (Flansburgh sang the spoken parts of "Why Does the Sun Shine" and "Ana Ng"), which may come from boredom or may come from an obsession with experimentation.

In the middle of the set, the stage went dark and the Johns hid behind a raised bass drum on the side of the stage. They turned on a camera hooked up to a projection screen and held up sock puppets known as the Avatars of They. The segment was actually fairly funny. It was introduced by Marty and Danny playing the infamous riff from "Crazy Train". The sock puppets explained that they now had a corporate sponsor, Epic Fail Baloney Sandwiches. They sang the theme song of the establishment ("Putting baloney in your face since 1972 – it's Epic Fail!") and then did "Spoiler Alert" from the new They album. After another tease of "Crazy Train" the band resumed their "normal" state of affairs.

Flansburgh must have had a bit of a sore throat or something, because he kept drinking and talking about "showbiz tea". Even his avatar was drinking it. It was to the point that he would leave stage in the middle of songs and reappear with another cup of "tea". He did seem to disappear only when he wasn't playing parts, but it seemed extreme. He must have had at least five or six cups. Furthermore, it seemed like Linnell sang the vast majority of the songs. Flans certainly sang lead on several songs, but back in the day it used to be an almost 50-50 split in singing, and that was not the case at this show. Perhaps this is simply the state of the band's newer music. Flansburgh also had a ridiculous mustache that I'm hoping was fake. He was in high spirits but seemed in an odd mood or something. (Maybe there was a special ingredient in his showbiz tea – the Johns joked plenty about hazelnut LSD.)

They Might Be Giants are known for their humorous banter and they certainly did not disappoint. They played nearly thirty songs and somehow still had plenty of time to joke around. They played well and had a full sound even with just the four-person line-up. However, I was disappointed by the minimal use of Linnell's accordion and the relatively limited set of instrumentation in general. Linnell's keyboard can certainly emulate a wide variety of tones, but the only other instrument he brought out was a bass clarinet. Flansburgh kept to his guitar almost exclusively. They didn't even bring out the Stick for "Lie Still, Little Bottle". As such, their newer material was a little hard to distinguish and appreciate as it began to fade into regularity.

I certainly appreciated their encores, which included their classic rendition of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (although without Dan Miller's typical extended acoustic guitar solo) and the delightfully strange "Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes". Their setlists are always fairly unpredictable and thus fairly fun. I just wish They had been a bit more willing to experiment around on stage and honestly, I think I'd say the same thing about Coulton.

Scores:

Jonathan Coulton: C-

They Might Be Giants: B+

Thanks to This Might Be a Wiki for setlist help and other references.

Psychedelic Furs and Tom Tom Club - Live 2011.09.23

2011-09-26T10:28:00.003-05:00

Two classic 80s bands in one night? Unbelievable!

Artists: Psychedelic Furs and Tom Tom Club
Venue: The Pageant
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
Date: September 23, 2011

Tom Tom Club's setlist:
01. Who's Feelin' It
02. Punk Lolita [The Heads "cover"]
03. Man with the Four-Way Hips
04. She's Dangerous
05. L'Éléphant
06. On, On, On, On...
07. Don't Say No
08. Genius of Love
09. You Sexy Thing (I Believe in Miracles) [Hot Chocolate cover]
10. Wordy Rappinghood
11. Take Me to the River [Al Green cover]
12. Psycho Killer [Talking Heads "cover"]

Psychedelic Furs' setlist:

01. Like a Stranger
02. Love My Way
03. Danger
04. Alice's House
05. Heaven
06. Highwire Days
07. Only You and I
08. Believe [Love Spit Love "cover"]
09. Pretty in Pink
10. Wrong Train
11. Heartbreak Beat
12. Sleep Comes Down
Encore:

13. Mr. Jones
14. India

Review:

Tom Tom Club are known to most people simply as the side-project of the rhythm section of Talking Heads that wrote a couple frequently-sampled dance hits in the 80s. That may be an accurate description, but it lacks much of the depth of what makes the band interesting. Tom Tom Club, along with David Byrne and Talking Heads, had a long phase of pursuing funky dance music to the core. Few other white bands were interested in those directions or even knew where to start. Byrne and the Talking Heads went down all sorts of other paths, but the Club stayed the course down the line of dance music.

It is also no small coincidence that the shared members of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz, are married, and that their son also plays turntable and handles samples for the band. Tina's sisters once sang with their early records, but Tina look-alike and sound-alike Victoria Clamp is now handling the additional vocal duties. A solid funk-rock guitarist (Pablo Martine) and a keyboardist/percussionist (Bruce Martin) round out the group. It's exquisitely clear that these musicians get along well together and just have a lot of fun. They dance across the stage, they trade parts, they can jam, and they keep the energy level up.

I can't say I'm intimately familiar with most of the band's material, but they kept the groove going. Pablo had a great tight rhythmic style and Bruce would pull out flashy percussion bits in the breaks. Tina laid down solid riffs while trading the singing with Victoria, and Chris added the occasional vocal part from behind his kit. When the so-often-sampled keyboard part of "Genius of Love" came up, the crowd ate it up. The following Hot Chocolate cover was perhaps even more fantastic; the female vocal lead was seamless and surprisingly smoothly executed.

Tom Tom Club closed their set with two songs from the days of Talking Heads: the Al Green song "Take Me to the River", fully executed with an extended jam, and a faithful take of "Psycho Killer" with Tina singing lead. The performance was perfect, complete with a great guitar jam at the end. After all, Tina and Chris did co-write the song, so it didn't come as too great a surprise to hear Tina sing a third verse that I didn't recognize, possibly from an early incarnation of the song.

Although billed simply as the opening act, Tom Tom Club played for over an hour, which was probably just about as long as the Psychedelic Furs ended up playing. The Furs are another band that had a big name in the 80s but has been infrequent and largely ignored ever since. The two founding brothers (vocalist Richard Butler and bassist Tim Butler) ended up being the only constant members of the band, and after they put the band to rest, they also co-founded another alt-rock band in the 90s, Love Spit Love. The current incarnation of the Furs is sort of an amalgamation of members from throughout the history of the brothers' two bands: Paul Garisto on drums, Amanda Kramer on keyboards, Mars Williams on saxophone, and Rich Good on guitar and backing vocals.

The Psychedelic Furs can still pack a punch. Mars' sax was a true delight; his lines were the strongest of any of the instrumental breaks. The other musicians were able to reproduce the classic material effortlessly, although this also meant that the band hardly strayed from familiar territory. Nearly the entire set was comprised of hits from the band's first four albums. The only surprises were "Believe", originally a Love Spit Love song, and "Wrong Train", a relatively new and unreleased song. For both of those songs, and in fact most of the second half of the show, lead guitarist Richard Fortus (a local St. Louisian who co-founded Love Spit Love and also plays with Guns N' Roses) joined the band. I can't say this his parts added very much to the sound, and the point at which a rock band reaches seven members means that someone is going to get lost in the mix. Fortus can play a decent guitar, but he certainly jumped around the stage enough to seem like he was trying a little too hard.

Richard Butler's vocals have hardly changed from his glory days. He still has his trademark, slightly gravely, somehow melodic, and impressively constant voice at his disposal. He sings without playing an instrument but remains active enough on stage that it doesn't seem odd. Despite these motions and his mid-song fan interactivity, at every song's end he let out a half-chuckled, rather nervous-sounding "Thanks!" while waiting for the band to play the next tune. His lyrics remain strong and valid, but one couldn't help wish for some of his even more explicitly political lyrics, like "President Gas", which still applies just as well today as it did in Reagan's era.

Unlike Tom Tom Club, the Furs were granted the grace of an encore, for which they played two of my favorites: the sardonic "Mr. Jones" (with one of the band's best lines: "Movie stars and ads / And radio define romance / Don't turn it on") and the grandiose "India", the opener from their debut album. "India" was one of their strongest performances; they matched the studio version's beautiful instrumental crescendo and broke out into the thumping beat of the core of the song.

Both bands managed to pack a lot into about 70 minutes. Initially, I had thought the combination may be a bit of a mismatch, but they actually complemented each other rather well. I suspect that Psychedelic Furs might be the better band ultimately (in terms of bequeathing a greater artistic oeuvre), but the Talking Heads would trump that, if such a thing existed anymore. Tom Tom Club certainly have the dance groove down, and in some ways, one would expect that their resulting higher level of energy would be more likely to land them the slot as headliner, but alas, the Furs probably have the bigger name. It's hard to say which put on the better show, but since it's my job to pick, I'd say the Club. They surprised me – they were having a lot of fun and their set was solid and never uninteresting. Even if I've been a fan of the Furs for much, much longer, and I find their music ultimately more meaningful, their set was a bit too static and predictable. And since I'm reviewing the show and not the sum total of these bands' outputs, that's what determines my grades.

Scores:

Tom Tom Club: A-

Psychedelic Furs: B

Erasure (with Frankmusik) - Live 2011.09.21

2011-09-24T18:14:00.000-05:00

Why do good concerts often come in pairs... or trios? I'm seeing three concerts in four days this week. Here's the first!

Artist: Erasure
Venue: The Pageant
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
Date: September 21, 2011

Opening Act: Frankmusik

Setlist:
01. Sono Luminus
02. Always
03. When I Start To (Break It All Down)
04. Blue Savannah
05. Fill Us with Fire
06. Drama!
07. You've Got to Save Me Right Now
08. Ship of Fools
09. Chorus
10. Breathe
11. Victim of Love
12. Alien
13. Hideaway
14. Love to Hate You
15. I Lose Myself
16. A Whole Lotta Love Run Riot
17. Breath of Life
18. Chains of Love
19. Sometimes
20. A Little Respect
Encore:

21. Oh L'amour
22. Stop!

Review:

Whenever I hear about an electronic or dance-pop band going on tour, I always wonder how they'll reproduce their music live. It seems that bands more grounded in rock will try to perform as much live on "actual" instruments as possible. (See, for example, The Faint, although they also obviously "cheat" and use samples to augment their sound.) But it would seem that most bands in these genres just through caution to the wind and let samples dominate the show. Although I much prefer seeing the music reproduced on "real" instruments before my eyes, I can't truly blame electronic artists for eschewing that ideal. It's just not really practical to do it all live sometimes.

The opening act, Frankmusik, is really just one person, but he appeared on stage with a drummer and a keyboardist. This led one to the believe that they would try to reproduce their full sound live, but it quickly became apparent that this was not the case: the vocals were clearly processed, multi-tracked, and heavily autotuned. The keyboardist sang as well, but her vocal and instruments parts were minimal and could not account for the full sound, and she left her instrument to sing a duet, exposing the band's heavy reliance on samples. However, the live drummer surprised me. He was probably the best performer in the band, and his set was miked and mixed incredibly well for the style.

More important than arbitrary snobbery about performance style is of course the quality of the music. Frankly, it wasn't good. It was very generic pop without a hint of innovation. I am saddened that the core member of the band is producing Erasure's new album. Frankmusik has no sense of subtlety or depth and I can only hope he keeps his hands out of Erasure's craft as much as possible. I was glad their set was short.

Erasure, normally just a two-piece in the studio, hit the stage with two backup singers, which is apparently fairly standard for their live act. Instrumentalist (and former Depeche Mode and Yazoo co-founder) Vince Clarke and vocalist Andy Bell both appeared in bright, sequined, red jackets. Vince had a matching top hat while Andy donned a large sort of mask. The stage was surrounded by cylindrical cages and large gargoyle statues, which created a somewhat dark mood in contrast with the band's rather uptempo sound. Vince stood behind one of these gargoyles and presumably handled the programming and sampling. One could see a Mac laptop behind the gargoyle, and it appeared during most songs that he was playing keyboard parts live, although it was impossible to see an actual instrument. But while Vince hardly moved, Andy danced around the stage and handled all the talking.

Andy removed his mask after the first song, and after the second, he removed his jacket to reveal a tight shirt laced across the back. Halfway through the set, Andy called Vince over, and he proceeded to cut the laces. Upon completion, Andy put on a Michael Jackson t-shirt. Let it be said that Andy Bell does not hold back. During instrumental breaks, no matter how short, he usually passed the time dancing little routines across the stage. And of course, his voice was in top form. I would not surprised if he also used an autotuner, but at least he didn't sound like a machine, and he let his backup singers hit the harmonies instead of using samples.

Vince remained thoroughly isolated from the action until he pulled out an acoustic guitar and strummed through a few songs. He repeated this at the end when the band played their extremely popular early singles in series. Most of the concert consisted of the band's biggest singles across their long career, although there were five songs from their upcoming album interspersed. Nothing else on the setlist could be called a surprise, but the chosen material was clearly what the audience wanted. The whole venue was in a jovial mood and by the end nearly everyone was out of their seats and dancing wherever they could. There was an effervescent energy in the air.

The music sounded great. The instrumental work, whether sequenced or live, retained the signature two-part, electronic, uptempo, pop feel, and the vocals were simply superb. The classics sounded great, and they certainly played every one of their songs that I wanted to hear, but I couldn't help wonder where the ABBA covers were – it was once a trademark move of the band. The band's own songs are generally very gender-neutral (for fairly obvious reasons), but the band has covered multiple ABBA songs without changing the pronouns (as if the message wasn't already clear). I was really hoping for "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" in the encore, but I can hardly complain about "Oh L'amour". When Vince used a little soundbox to give Andy the notes of the melody, the crowd went wild. Even if they don't make all their music live, at least their melodies and harmonies stand the test of time. These guys know the craft of pop songwriting well.

Scores:

Frankmusik: D

Erasure: B

The Everest Ruin - Operationalization (2011)

2011-08-07T22:11:00.002-05:00

Artist: The Everest Ruin

Album: Operationalization

Released: 10 July 2011

Label: Self-released (via bandcamp, http://theeverestruin.bandcamp.com/album/operationalization)

Producer: Brad Schumacher (Oo-De-Lally Audio) and Joshua N. King

Tracklisting:

01. A Tribute to My Independence

02. 8 Minutes to 11:30

03. Show Me How to Dance

04. Missouruh

05. The Good Book

06. When the Cattle Sleep

07. Eric

08. Baby Steps

09. The Fairest Maid

10. Beautiful Brown Eyes

11. Life Emulates Decay Emulates Life

12. There Once Was Love

13. Ticonderoga Wood

14. I Am a Crazy Person (80% About a Cat) [hidden track]

15. Being a Ghost Train

16. Pete's First Drink @ The Place 2 B

17. I Know How You Feel, Dustin Hoffman

18. By(e,) God [live 2008 in Shanghai] [bonus video]

Yes, as stated before in my review of the last time I saw him perform in my area, I know the musician behind The Everest Ruin personally and professionally. That isn't going to stop me from reviewing his new album as long as you trust that I can evaluate the music reasonably objectively. No matter what, though, I usually write about music that already means something to me, so of course I'm inclined to tell a story and try to convince you that you should listen to the music yourself. So if I write a positive review, what's the difference in providing free marketing for an artist I don't know personally versus one I do? In this case, at least I can tell some stories that might not be publicly available elsewhere!

Now that that's out of the way – where should I begin? Perhaps at the beginning. The album opens appropriately with "A Tribute to My Independence". Even if the track itself is not that special, it introduces the scene perfectly. The Everest Ruin is an independent musician, Josh King, working with an independent producer, Brad Schumacher, and using an independent distribution platform. The indie label goes beyond the logistics; this is not a predictable album and for a musician that is ostensibly a singer-songwriter, Josh throws many punches that put himself far outside the realm of your standard solo acoustic guitarist.

This independence is a credit and a risk. However, those labels do not apply in a predictable pattern: for example, for being indie, the production on the album is complex and nuanced. Brad lends his touch all over the album, sometimes delicately and sometimes deliberately. You can feel it in the vast space of songs like "There Once Was Love" and in the vocals of songs such as "I Know How You Feel, Dustin Hoffman". Even without knowing that Brad and Josh have performed and recorded together in past bands, you can immediately detect how smoothly they work together. This fact becomes gradually more obvious as the album progresses. You can hear snippets of Brad's studio banter, and his voice and percussion on "The Place 2 B", and most notably, his noise compositions on "8 Minutes to 11:30" and "Being a Ghost Train". His measured but expansive soundscapes lend those tracks the core of their strength and power.

But this attitude also carries a certain danger. Even if the sonic quality is pristine, the performances are often imperfect. Josh defends this in an extended document released with the album, claiming that this is a more authentic presentation of his work. However, this will certainly be difficult topic for some listeners. For example, the "Shenandoah" solo in "Missourah" will throw some for a loop, and the improvised nature of "Show Me How to Dance" means that it does falter at points.

But in a way, it works. It may be distracting, but it is funny to hear Brad shout "keep going!" after Josh misses a note. And the sloppy rhythm and guitarwork of "The Place 2 B" does, after all, fit the theme of the song. Perhaps there is a master plan, even if part of it is simply grounded in playfulness. Consider the almost obnoxiously ridiculous drum machine and sound effects of "Baby Steps" – it is clear that Josh knows the song is over-the-top, but whether it is in jest or not, some element of it remains valid.

Compare this to the subtle sigh at the start of "Eric", one of the most beautiful and sincere songs on the album, apparently written about an old friend from Josh's hometown. Eric is Josh's friend, not mine, and I don't think I've ever met him, but this song makes me feel like I know him well, and it reminds of people I miss in entirely different contexts. It was someone's decision to leave that sigh in the recording, but it actually fits the tone perfectly.

The playful aspect permeates the album in many places. "The Good Book" and "Ticonderoga Wood" are really stories set to music, and although they might not have the same relistenability as other songs, they are hilarious stories. These works may thrive best in the live setting, but these are good recordings. Similarly, "Life Emulates Decay Emulates Life" is a bleak view of post-collegiate life, but it is also quite funny – to the point that I almost break out laughing every time I hear the tease of "1979" shortly after Josh sings, "half-heartedly regurgitating lines that are over twelve years old". (The W-2 bit is a close second favorite line.)

Then there are the songs that have essentially no trace of humor, irony, or playfulness. Sometimes it feels almost like a different performer. The majestic, dramatic "Being a Ghost Train" is sandwiched between two fairly absurd songs. The melodramatic "When the Cattle Sleeps" is an honest consideration of life after a lost love, and who cares if a couple notes are a touch off. And then there's the seriously impressive solo bass on "Beautiful Brown Eyes".

There are two forces at work on this album. One is a more pure, serious craft of songwriting, complete with strong melodies and careful arrangements. The other is a somewhat loose, jocular style of storytelling, featuring great lengths of absurdism and dramatic gestures. Both are important to Josh, or else he wouldn't alternate between these extremes so quickly – or blend them together, as with "I Know How You Feel, Dustin Hoffman". For fans of one or the other, I'd fear that the other half would get tedious, but despite my first impressions, I have to admit that somehow it works. It's hard to only like one side or the other, and they end up complementing each other far more than imbalancing them. (Except for "I Am a Crazy Person" – that one's really only for the hardcore.)

And this is certainly the first album I've ever bought that includes not just 14 pages of lyrics but also 5 dense pages of what amounts to essays about the background of the music. It's a good read, but far more than most musicians ever care to write!

Score: B+

P.S. There are a hundred little extra things I could say about this album – funny passages, stories I know personally, musical trivia, and so on – but it is probably better for you to find it on your own. A few good listens reveal a lot.

Styx and Yes - Live 2011.07.24

2011-07-30T15:58:00.003-05:00

I've seen some local shows around St. Louis, which I suppose I could be reviewing, but I haven't seen a big-name rock band in quite a while. But when I heard that Styx and Yes were touring – together! – for sixteen dollars! – it was too hard to say no.

Artist: Styx and Yes
Venue: Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Location: Maryland Heights, Missouri
Date: July 24, 2011

Yes' setlist:

01. Tempus Fugit

02. Yours Is No Disgrace

03. Heart of the Sunrise

04. I've Seen All Good People

05. Fly from Here Pt. 1 – We Can Fly

06. And You and I

07. Owner of a Lonely Heart

08. Starship Trooper

Encore:

09. Roundabout

Styx' setlist:

01. Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)

02. Grand Illusion

03. One with Everything

04. Too Much Time on My Hands

05. Lady

06. Lorelei

07. Man in the Wilderness

08. Suite Madame Blue

09. Crystal Ball

10. Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)

11. Miss America

12. Come Sail Away

Encore:

13. Renegade

Yes are perhaps *the* prototypical progressive rock band. They've been around for decades and they still haven't stopped making music. Their current line-up features mostly long-standing members of the band. The only recent newcomer to the band is singer Benoît David, filling in for Jon Anderson, who is apparently absent for health reasons. For a group aged mostly in the 60s, it's impressive that the others are still trucking along. Steve Howe may look skeletal, but he can play the guitar like nobody I've seen.

The band were in good form. I couldn't help but notice some faltering harmonies and missed bass notes, but they kept their act together. Although they mostly stayed with songs that are tried and true, and well beloved, they didn't hide their dramatic extended instrumental passages. They allowed their songs to grow and fill the space, so their nine songs lasted well over an hour. A couple songs may have been noticeably simpler and poppier ("Only of a Lonely Heart"), but these were still quality performances, and I was pleased to see a song from their newest album, Fly from Here. It might not have held up quite as strongly as the classic pieces, and I might be a bit surprised that they didn't play more from the album, but I suppose they were out to please their audience.

Styx might have had their progressive moments, but they wouldn't be the first band I would think of to be headlining a "Progressive U.S. Tour", as it was billed. They've always struck me as being more focused on the classic rock and the pop, but maybe I missed the memo. Their performance, however, confirmed my beliefs: they know how to rock, but they are more interested in wild guitar solos and dancing around stage than in constructing an expansive, multilayered soundscape. That's fine, it's just that they didn't really put on a "progressive" performance.

Their show was a lot of fun, but it's almost hard to take seriously. Only one original member (James Young) remains, and although Tommy Shaw may have been around for a long time, the other members had no part in writing most of the songs that were performed. Styx also didn't stray far from comfortable territory; they stayed close to the heart and only played popular singles and classic album cuts (including over half of The Grand Illusion), with the sole exception of 2006's "One with Everything". James and Tommy both had plenty of stage time for their hypermasculine guitar jams, but keyboardist Lawrence Gowan may have taken the cake with his theatrics. He spent more time dancing around stage, jumping on his keyboard stand, and playing his instrument from around his back than he did actually focusing on playing any seriously complicated parts.

The further the set went, the more ridiculous the themes and the backdrop got. "Miss America" may have been written about the dark side of the pageant, but you wouldn't have known it from all the patriotic Americana and the stills of pageant participants. The glories of this nation were extolled many a time, and by the time they closed with "Renegade", the backdrop mostly featured strange cowboy-themed images and shoddy graphics of rotating sheriff's badges. The band certainly has a high level of energy, and if you're willing to join them on their ride, it is hard to stop laughing and enjoying it all.

Fun as it was, there is no doubt which band has the greater artistic sincerity. When I heard about the concert, I assumed that Yes would headline based on their continued presence, the high quality of their output, and their deep impact on modern music. However, I forgot to ask myself which band sold more records. Even if Styx does have more fans, Yes writes better music. The way their weave pieces and parts together, the way they layer instruments and vocals, the less showman-based nature of their solos, and the variety of their total sound output are all unarguably superior. And when they did decide to dance around a bit and start to rock hard, they didn't hold back. When Howe and bassist Chris Squire locked parts together in a powerful jam, suddenly keyboardist Geoff Downes appeared out of nowhere next to them with a keytar! Incredible. That's the way into this writer's heart.

Scores:

Yes: B+

Styx: B-

Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra - Live 2011.03.19

2011-03-21T21:36:00.002-05:00

Once again I have been honored with an invitation to the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra's Blogger's Night. I was a fan the first time I ever set foot in Powell Hall, but my appreciation for the SLSO has only deepened with time. Here's the latest:

Event: Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Carlos Kalmar

Venue: Powell Hall

Location: St. Louis, Missouri

Date: March 19, 2011

Program:

1. Mephisto Waltz No. 1 (Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke), composed by Franz Liszt, 1856-61

2. Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, op. 58, composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, 1804-07, featuring Arnaldo Cohen on piano

3. Atmosphères, composed by György Ligeti, 1961 ->
4. Also sprach Zarathustra, op. 30, composed by Richard Strauss, 1896

Review:
Arriving early enough to the concert to attend the Pre-Concert Perspectives, I was immediately surprised to see not musical director and primary conductor David Robertson, but another man with what I assumed to be a slightly Germanic accent. Somehow I'd failed to notice that the night's performance featured a guest conductor, Carlos Kalmar. Born in Uruguay to Austrian parents and holding a resume that boasts years of work in Germany, my assumption wasn't too far off – and he could pronounce the German names and titles with an obvious fluency. Anyway, he discussed the works to be performed and explained some of the context, which is quite nice: it's not a bad deal to get a bonus half-hour music history lesson before the main event of the night.

And after another half-hour, after the rest of the attendees found their seats and the musicians tuned up, Kalmar returned to the stage and jumped into Liszt's Mephisto Waltz No. 1. Based on a licentious scene from the Faust legend in which the devil picks up a fiddle and drives Faust and an entire village into a frenzied, orgiastic dance in the woods, the piece blends serene pastorals of village life and innocent dancing with wild, dramatic leaps across the consciousness. The highlight is clearly the increasingly ecstatic uproar as the end approaches. The triangle rang clearer and higher than I knew the instrument capable of, and then everything else became intense, demanding, scattered, and loud. After a great flourish of the harp and a turn for the mysterious and unknown, several sharp jabs heralded the finish. The devil's tune was over; his task was complete.

Beethoven's rather unloved fourth piano concerto followed. Kalmar had indicated a connection between this piece and Liszt, but I failed to observe it: Arnaldo Cohen's piano was the showpiece, the work has no grounding story or text, and the piece is unfocused and overlong (over half an hour compared to the Waltz's ten or eleven minutes). The concerto begins with a brief twirl on the piano before awkwardly transitioning to the full orchestra. Such a start was apparently highly uncommon in the times of Beethoven, and so I applaud the idea of countering expectations, but the fact remains that it was a strange beginning, perhaps ultimately unfavorably constructed.

Cohen's virtuosity is unquestioned; his performance was solid and strong. The orchestra was similarly in step, but I couldn't help feel that this was simply not as strong of a piece as Beethoven was capable of composing. I wanted to like the trading of parts between piano and orchestra, but I kept wishing for them to truly blend and merge, but they kept their distance and refused to move closer. Every time one began to approach a conclusion, the other took over and brought the piece somewhere else. The piano chased the orchestra but could never catch it. This did occasionally work well: near the end of the first part, the piano ran all up and down the keyboard, and just as the orchestra joined the fray, the piano flitted in and out of the other instruments, defiantly standing independent. That interplay was successful – but little in the second or third sections matched it. The piece seemed to try to go everywhere and yet reach nothing.

After the intermission, Kalmar offered us a unique treat: Ligeti's Atmosphères, followed without pause by Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra, both known in the public eye primarily for their inclusion in Stanley Kubrick's epic film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Ligeti's work was the only "modern" piece of the night, and also by far the most abstract, unusual, and experimental. Featuring no discernible melody or rhythm, the work is based on tone clusters and pointed directional ideas. Many segments were quite discordant, others were dark and thick and slow, others were spaced out and spooky. I couldn't help but observe the increased predilection of the audience to cough during this work; was this a sign of disapproval? And during a particularly harsh segment in which the instruments reached the maximal height of their scales, I caught a tacit musician on stage plugging her ears with her fingers.

And as things settled and cleared in a low, sparse moment, suddenly I recognized the first warming notes of Also sprach Zarathustra. The timpanist, as excited and engaged as a orchestra percussionist can be, cast resounding, powerful notes to welcome the dramatic excess of the piece. Bass drum and organ encouraged what was perhaps the loudest I've yet heard the SLSO perform. This is what people think of when they think of "classical music": big, grand, epic, sweeping. Two harpists strumming away. Massive percussion. Dramatic gestures.

And then the piece goes in a different direction entirely. It calms and settles and becomes a complete work totally separate from the relatively brief segment known to the general populace. The work grows and returns to powerful drama just slightly reminiscent of the start, and then recedes again into a smaller affair. It is strong, varied, and beautiful. And as it nears the ultimate conclusion, glockenspiel and chimes ring strong and clear, the music ascends and expands, and the weight becomes so much that it eventually must detonate, leaving a softer, slower, lighter finish.

It felt like a long concert. They fit a lot in, and there wasn't much overlap. The Liszt was perfect – loose yet requiring a dedication proficiency from the musicians – while Beethoven's concerto may ultimately fail even if the performance was solid. Ligeti was an experience, a challenge; but I like to be thrust out of my comfort zone sometimes, to be removed from my own context. I enjoyed the work, because it truly brought something new, and the juxtaposition with Strauss' masterpiece was perfect. A pause was unnecessary, since it was abundantly clear to the audience where one work ended and the other began. And Strauss' work – it was beautiful, powerful, and a wonder to behold in its entirety.

This was a fun night.

Score: B+

Thanks to Eddie, Dale, and my parents.

Reconstructing the Velvet Underground's Lost Album

2010-12-20T22:06:00.000-06:00

Anyone who has listened through the standard canonical works of the Velvet Underground will probably notice the vast differences in sound between each of the albums (and each member's solo output). Perhaps the most glaring, but least obviously explicable, is the shift from melodic, sparse, subdued work of The Velvet Underground and the direct pop-rock of Loaded. A bit of research reveals that the band was beginning to stall in mid-1969 after The Velvet Underground was released and their label, MGM/Verve dropped them for being too subversive. Supposedly, they were not allowed to take their masters with them, so the album they had been working on was lost and had to be restarted from scratch. On top of that, by the time that Loaded was recorded for a new label, Atlantic, original member Moe Tucker was absent due to pregnancy and her unique drumming style was replaced by a more traditional approach from a set of revolving drummers.

What happened to the missing songs and the so-called "lost" fourth album? Many of the songs were re-recorded by Lou Reed for his early solo records, but the original recordings remained unreleased until the 80s and later. The first insinuation to the public that any such material existed came in 1974 with the release of 1969: Velvet Underground Live, which includes several hitherto unreleased songs and strikingly different early versions of several Loaded tracks, albeit in the form of live performances recorded with modest quality. Finally, a compilation of the best of the band's forgotten outtakes was released in 1985 as VU, and Another View followed the next year with another set of unreleased tracks. Between them, they include fourteen tracks from the lost album (and five from 1967-1968, when founding member John Cale was still present). The Peel Slowly and See box set from 1995 and the "Fully Loaded" reissue of Loaded from 1997 include several additional songs from this era, and The Quine Tapes, an "authorized bootleg" of live material from 1969 (released in 2001) also provides some interesting perspectives on much of this material.

The problem is that there is no singe place to get a cohesive idea of what this lost album would have sounded like. The Velvet Underground Web Page suggests a version that essentially just sequences the fourteen tracks from VU and Another View. (They suggest using Peel Slowly and See over the VU versions were applicable, but I think this is irrelevant, as the versions are identical.) That works, but then there are additional problems. How do we really know that those were the only songs from that period to be considered for the band's next album? How do we know that those are the versions that the band deemed best? The band re-recorded some of the songs for Loaded but still left them off the finished product, and there are live versions of several additional songs that either cannot be found elsewhere or that sound completely different. Perhaps some of this material should be considered as well.

Thus, I have compiled an arbitrary assemblage of songs that I deem as the best single-disc compilation of the "lost album" era. Many decisions must be made when constructing such a collection. I generally chose the best quality recording available, and thus live versions are only used when a studio version does not exist. The live versions are often fantastic in their own right, but in live performances the band would extend their songs often to two or three times their standard length. In compiling material for a single compact disc, brevity becomes preferred. I chose to remove any songs that ended up on Loaded to prevent redundancy, although any material later re-recorded by Lou Reed in his solo career I consider fair game, since Reed's versions are usually substantially different in terms of style, production, and arrangement. And of course, I generally only included songs I rather like, and so the few that I do not failed to make the cut. So, here is my version of the Velvet's "lost album":

01. We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together (Another View version)

02. Foggy Notion (VU version)

03. Countess from Hong Kong (demo version from Peel Slowly and See box set)

04. Coney Island Steeplechase (Another View version)

05. Andy's Chest (VU version)

06. I'm Sticking with You (outtake version from the 1997 reissue of Loaded)

07. I Can't Stand It (VU version)

08. It's Just Too Much (live 1969.09.19 in Dallas, Texas, from the Peel Slowly and See box set)

09. Over You (live 1969.11.25 at The Matrix, San Francisco, California, from The Quine Tapes)

10. One of These Days (VU version)

11. She's My Best Friend (VU version)

12. Lisa Says (VU version)

13. I Love You (outtake version from the 1997 reissue of Loaded)

14. Ride into the Sun (demo version from the 1997 reissue of Loaded)

15. Ocean (outtake version from the 1997 reissue of Loaded)

And because that still leaves room for more on a standard 80-minute CD, here are some extra tracks that don't quite make the first cut but are still quite good:

16. Ride into the Sun (instrumental version from Another View)

17. Love Makes You Feel Ten Feet Tall (demo version from the 1997 reissue of Loaded)

18. Sad Song (demo version from the 1997 reissue of Loaded)

19. Satellite of Love (demo version from Peel Slowly and See box set)

20. Rock & Roll (early version from Another View)

21. Sweet Jane (Live 1969.11 in San Francisco, California, from 1969: Velvet Underground Live)

Much like my revisionist Get Back compilation that I devised earlier this year, I'd like to explain my choices, in terms of what I included, what I excluded, what versions I chose, and why I picked this track ordering. Here goes!

01. We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together (Another View version)

Never originally released in a studio version, the general public first heard this on the 1969 live album, released in 1974. Patti Smith began opening her concerts in 1974 (and for several years afterward) with a great version of this song with her own additional lyrics. Lou Reed eventually released a studio version in 1978 on Street Hassle, but that version is full of tremolo and other effects and totally lacks the powerful drive of the Velvets version. The outtake heard on Another View has the same energy as the live versions but was recorded in much higher fidelity. When the Velvets reunited for a tour in 1993, they opened their shows with this song, and in that tradition, I think it makes a perfect opener.

02. Foggy Notion (VU version)

The live versions available on the Quine Tapes are interesting (especially the medley with "Sister Ray" recorded at Washington University in St. Louis!) but the audio quality suffers terribly. The outtake from VU rocks and captures some of the solid extended jamming that makes this song stand out.

03. Countess from Hong Kong (demo version from Peel Slowly and See box set)

A beautiful piece unavailable anywhere else. It sounds more like an outtake from The Velvet Underground, but it was supposedly recorded during the "lost album" era.

04. Coney Island Steeplechase (Another View version)

This isn't a particularly awesome song, but it does have a great charm, and if you've ever gone to Coney Island, you'll know how perfect the lyrics are. There are no other versions.

05. Andy's Chest (VU version)

A truly weird song, but I kind of like it, and it fits with some of the other slightly deranged pop songs like the previous and following tracks. Reed's solo version from Transformer is quite good, but the Velvets version is more bouncy and strange compared to Reed's more direct rock. (But hearing Bowie doing the background vocals is cool!)

06. I'm Sticking with You (outtake version from the 1997 reissue of Loaded)

This song is incredibly cute and I love the arrangement. Sung mostly by Moe Tucker, the ending where she jumps back behind the drumset is great. This is particularly cool in the live take from the Quine Tapes, but that version is too lo-fi and isn't as good of a take overall. VU also has a version, but the arrangement is too simple and the performance less impassioned. I recommend editing out the studio chatter at the beginning of the Loaded outtake version.

07. I Can't Stand It (VU version)

This song isn't great, but the guitarwork, particularly the noisy solo near the end, is good. The theme of weird lyrics continues here. The Quine Tapes and 1969 both feature live versions of this song with extended jams, but both are too unfocused and lo-fi. Reed released a version on his first solo album, but it is too overdone and lacks the awesome solo. The VU version captures the best of the solo without going on for too long.

08. It's Just Too Much (live 1969.09.19 in Dallas, Texas, from the Peel Slowly and See box set)

Just like the previous track, this song isn't the best, but the guitarwork is nice. The live versions from the Quine Tapes and 1969 are good, but are lo-fi and meander a bit too much. The 1969 version is featured in a medley with "Sweet Bonnie Brown", but there just isn't much there with that song. Since no studio version exists, the live version from Peel Slowly and See seems to match the best quality with a concise take.

09. Over You (live 1969.11.25 at The Matrix, San Francisco, California, from The Quine Tapes)

A simple but good song, it is also only available in a live form. The version from 1969 is comparable to the Quine Tapes version, but the latter features a slightly better performance and less noise.

10. One of These Days (VU version)

The country feel of this song makes it feel very much like a few songs that ended up on Loaded. It is unavailable elsewhere.

11. She's My Best Friend (VU version)

I like this song a lot, and this is the only version.

12. Lisa Says (VU version)

A bit slow and dramatic, but it works. The 1969 live version is really good but also really long, while the VU version is cleaner and more to the point. Reed did a version for his first solo album, but it suffers from overproduction and overdramaticism.

13. I Love You (outtake version from the 1997 reissue of Loaded)

A really pretty song, and the outtake version is rather loose but still strong. The emotion is much stronger than the demo version also included with the Loaded reissue, and that version suffers from sparseness and apparent incompleteness. Reed's version from his first solo record is good but totally different, based mostly around acoustic guitars.

14. Ride into the Sun (demo version from the 1997 reissue of Loaded)

This is a really cool song, and it's hard to pick the best version. I think the demo from the Loaded reissue is best, since the organ and vocal parts are so good. The instrumental version from Another View is almost as good; it features awesome guitarwork but has a very different feel, but the lack of vocals puts it squarely in second place. The Quine Tapes include a cool version, but it is way too long and too lo-fi. Reed also did a version for his first solo album, and it has some good parts, but it is far more rock-oriented and a bit too overproduced and overblown.

15. Ocean (outtake version from the 1997 reissue of Loaded)

This is probably my favorite Velvets song, and it makes a perfect dramatic closer. There are several versions, but the outtake version from the Loaded reissue has tons of great guitar and organ parts, and the ominous feel and slow tempo totally work in its favor. The demo version from the same reissue is also good, but just not as full and complete. (Supposedly John Cale guested on the organ for that version, but that's unconfirmed and the outtake version has a better organ sound anyway.) The VU version is also good, but the drumming is too cymbals-heavy, and the organ is far inferior. 1969 also has a good live version, but it's just too long and lo-fi. Reed's version from his first solo album is good but more directly rock-oriented and lacking many good parts.

And now for the "bonus tracks". They were all re-recorded and released on either Loaded or one of Reed's first solo albums, and although these versions are interesting, they just don't quite make the cut.

16. Ride into the Sun (instrumental version from Another View)

As I said above, this is a really great version. It's extremely pretty but just doesn't quite beat the demo version.

17. Love Makes You Feel Ten Feet Tall (demo version from the 1997 reissue of Loaded)

This song is pretty good but not awesome, but has a different, slower, and more drone-like feel that Reed's later solo version from his first album.

18. Sad Song (demo version from the 1997 reissue of Loaded)

Also not particularly awesome, but this version is far more focused and direct than Reed's overblown, overproduced, and overextended version from his first solo album.

19. Satellite of Love (demo version from Peel Slowly and See box set)

The demo from Peel Slowly and See is just barely better than the alternate demo from the Loaded reissue; this version is simply a better take (and lacks the studio chatter at the start). The Velvet's version might not top Reed's classic version from Transformer, but it is an interesting alternate version.

20. Rock & Roll (early version from Another View)

This is a nice alternate version, although it doesn't beat the Loaded version. This version has a very different feel – it's far more drone-like, and the verses almost sound like the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows". The demo from the Loaded reissue and the live versions from 1969 and The Quine Tapes are good but aren't as interesting (and are too lo-fi). This track is generally considered part of the "lost album" in full right (particularly by the Velvet Underground Web Page as mentioned above), but I think it's better to focus on material that didn't appear on Loaded.

21. Sweet Jane (Live 1969.11 in San Francisco, California, from 1969: Velvet Underground Live)

This is a really cool early version, and although it could never beat the full-length version from Loaded, this one does feature different lyrics and a much more laid-back style. The early version from the Loaded reissue is somewhat similar, but the annoying cowbell is just too distracting.

And that's all! There are a few notable exclusions that I'd like to point out. The most significant is probably "Ferryboat Bill", which appears on Another View and is often considered a necessary part of the "lost album", but frankly, the song is too weird and nonsensical and just plain not good. "Follow the Leader", released as a 17-minute jam on The Quine Tapes, is just too long and unfocused to consider. The version Reed later did for Rock and Roll Heart in 1976 is superior. "I'm Gonna Move Right In" from Another View is a contender, but that version is an instrumental and not that interesting. Bootlegged live versions from 1968 with vocals aren't that much better. "Oh Gin" and "Walk and Talk", both found as demos on the Loaded reissue, are not bad, but also not that great. They may be less overproduced and more focused than Reed's solo versions from his first album (where they were renamed "Oh Jim" and "Walk and Talk It", respectively), but that doesn't actually make them better.

There are also early versions of several additional tracks from Loaded available on the 1997 reissue (and extended early versions of "New Age" can be found on 1969 and The Quine Tapes), but none of them are all that particularly different than the final incarnations, with the possible exception of "I Found a Reason". Presented as a demo, it is done in a sort of country style with harmonica and Moe Tucker on drums. It's still just not interesting enough to make the cut. The only other tracks that I'm aware of that could possibly be included are the unreleased songs from 1967 and 1968 with John Cale that can be found on VU and Another View. However, since they were almost certainly not considered to be a part of the "lost album" that the other songs on those albums reconstructed, they do not really deserve to be a part of this discussion, no matter how good they may be.

As I've said before, I don't feel comfortable in breaking copyright laws to upload my mix for public download, but if you own the albums, it should be really easy to put this together on your own. If you have constructed your own version, please let me know! I'd love to hear some other ideas.

hereafterthis / The Everest Ruin / Ian Fisher / Dots Not Feathers - Live 2010.11.07

2010-11-22T11:18:00.000-06:00

On Halloween, I saw a friend of mine I hadn't seen in about a year and a half. We narrowly missed each other in St. Louis, Brooklyn, Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, and probably a few other places, too. It was at this sudden convergence that he told me that he was about to leave the country and go back to Berlin – but before that, he was going to be playing a show in my current hometown of St. Louis. It turns out another friend of mine would be performing as well, and the whole thing was arranged and promoted by yet another friend of mine. Hence, this will be an undeniably biased review – but what can I do? I'm a musician and many (if not most) of my friends are as well, so it is inevitable that I'll see concerts based at least partially on personal interest rather than pure musical interest. I want to be up-front about this potential conflict of interest, but it's not going to stop me! So here goes:

Artists: hereafterthis / The Everest Ruin / Ian Fisher / Dots Not Feathers

Venue: The Focal Point

Location: Maplewood, Missouri

Date: November 7, 2010

Review:

hereafterthis would appear to be primarily the work of one man named Jeremy. He sang in a melodious swoon along with his acoustic guitar and piano chords. He seemed to prefer his guitar and mostly let guests (including the promoter, Ben Majchrzak) take a second chair at the keyboard. His stylings and structures aren't the most complex, but he kept my attention with his solid voice. Excepting a few forgivable flubs, the performance was great. Download a few songs here.

Score: B

The Everest Ruin is really and truly just one man, Josh King, and tonight it was just him and his Chinese guitar. He's a tricky one, because most of the focus is on his clever lyrics, although underneath his sly voice is a mean set of acoustic riffs and chords. He sings about the glory of Missouri, the dangers of Facebook in the modern world, his advice from years ago to Ben concerning his love interest, and so on and so forth. Being "in" on some of his jokes is great, but even outside of the insider knowledge, the stories are hilarious. And the guitarwork never slows down behind it all. He's got a bandcamp page with a studio recording of one of the songs he played on this night, and supposedly he's got an album due out soon.

Score: A-

Ian Fisher shares my love of Germany, Austria, Berlin, Vienna, traveling in general, and playing the guitar. Thing is, he's better than I at the lattermost, but when he performs songs about certain ideas and places, it's eerily familiar. It's been years since I've seen him perform and yet he still possesses the same vitality and passion. He asked the audience for some suggestions, so I called out "Candles for Elvis". I think I had heard him perform the song years ago, before he'd recorded it, but my memory is weak sometimes, and hearing him perform it so powerfully on this night felt like some sort of strange mission had just been completed. I'd always liked the lyrics, and I finally caught the story that accompanies them: upon viewing the BBC World News homepage one day, Ian was confronted with two images, side by side. One showed thousands mourning the deaths of countless victims of an earthquake in Peru, and the other showed thousands mourning the death of Elvis Presley thirty years prior. The song was written from the perspective of a somewhat unlikeable man who cares far more for the one man over the masses.

Before I could shout my next request, someone else asked for precisely what I had in mind: "VIE", which hits home especially hard for me, since I can remember just like yesterday the day when I took the S-Bahn to the Vienna airport to head back to the USA. And he played several other solid songs before a guitar string broke and he left the stage. The point is, Ian rocked. I don't know how he does it, but he takes repeated folk-style progressions and adds so much emotion and energy that it's hard not to be swept under. Good luck in Berlin, man. (Check out his Myspace and iTunes page to hear his stuff.)

Score: A+

Dots Not Feathers, the so-to-speak headliners, were the only true "band". A five-piece with a rotating set of string and keyboard instruments, these guys knew how to throw down some solid harmonies. Keeping an acoustic feel, they traded vocal parts as they swapped around instruments to keep their melodies lively. I was a bit confused by what the one song featuring a bass guitar was doing, but generally the instruments did meld together in a cohesive sort of beauty. Something about them reminds of a significantly less deranged Pere Ubu. That's a good thing, I think. (Here's their Myspace.)

Score: B+

Incredibly fun night. Yes, I just gave an A+. He deserves it. This was a really cool event, and the mood was just right.

Overall score: A

SLSO Blogger's Night 5 Summary

2010-11-20T19:48:00.000-06:00

In case you didn't catch the other reviews of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchesta's fifth Blogger's Night, go check them out on the SLSO blog. Here are the direct links:

Dear Dominik (link from SLSO blog) - I also wondered about some of those techniques, particularly the rubbing. I know what it sounds like on a guitar, and it's usually not pretty.

Jen from Euclid Records (link from SLSO blog) - The first Haiku review I've ever seen.

Urban Hoedown (link from SLSO blog) - I also wasn't sure about the clapping thing. And I love the #70 Grand. It goes two blocks past my home, so I ride it all the time. And the seats were indeed great.

Cici from Washington University's KWUR (link from SLSO blog, which includes some of her related tweets) - Sometimes I'm jealous of young people who grew up on this kind of "classical" music. I think Cici's connection with Scheherazade is akin to my connection with the Beatles or Kraftwerk.

Small Town Girl's Guide (link from SLSO blog) - I was also impressed by Fred Bronstein's appearance in the Met Bar. Yeah, sometimes even just showing up means something.

I Went to a Show - I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Concentric Paths was incredible! The other reviews seemed less appreciative of it, but it was probably my favorite piece of the night. And this line is perfect (I thought the exact same thing): "The conductor is charming and charismatic, and he explains things in a way that isn't condescending or tedious to people who know what's what, but he doesn't lose the attention of the uninitiated with elaborate fancy-talk." Gotta love David Robertson. My university even gave him an honorary degree at my graduation!

That's all I'm aware of. If I'm missing anyone, let me know! To all you SLSO bloggers, it's great meeting you/seeing you again, and I eagerly await the next one.

Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra - Live 2010.11.12 (review)

2010-11-14T15:01:00.001-06:00

Following up from yesterday's semi-nonsensical post about the fifth Blogger's Night at the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, this is my review in my normal style of writing and structure.

Event: Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, part of the Russian Festival, conducted by David Robertson

Venue: Powell Hall

Location: St. Louis, Missouri

Date: November 12, 2010

Program:

1. Symphony No. 1 in D major, op. 25, "Classical", composed by Sergei Prokofiev, 1916-17

2. Violin Concerto (Concentric Paths), composed by Thomas Adès, 2005, featuring Leila Josefowicz on violin

3. Scheherazade, op. 35, composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, 1888

Review:

The night opened up with a relatively small set of musicians – plenty of strings, but just one percussionist on the timpani. Prokofiev began his "Classical" symphony in a traditional style, starting with a big, dramatic, triumphant allegro part before bringing in a slower, softer, more serene larghetto section. While the allegro part hurled by quickly, the larghetto sprawled out and let the musicians descend in and out of a fairytale scene. David Robertson appeared to float through the misty fog of violin strings rather than merely conduct it. He urged the musicians to a dance in the woods, a bit of light, casual fun.

But then – ! Suddenly the the third segment, the gavotte, rushed to the scene. The picture sharpened, the cellists tapped their strings, and suddenly the orchestra was running through the woods and dancing on the air. With hardly a trace of a transition, the finale rocked hard and brought a surprise ending. Lulled by the enthusiasm and spirited vigor of the orchestra, I didn't even see it coming. Fifteen minutes had just flown by.

Leave it David to stick a contemporary English composition smack in the middle of two traditional, very classical Russian works. And yet, he succeeds. Adès' Concentric Paths appears otherworldly, much unlike the Russians that remain grounded in this one, even if they might recall times long past. Adès invokes the darker side of the traditional works for his rhythmic base, but he uses their forms as a springboard to jump into the unknown. The piece starts with something akin to a synthesizer, probably affected by the woodwinds. Led by Leila Josefowicz (whom I previously saw two years ago perform Steven Mackey's Beautiful Passing), the violins flew wildly across the room. Leila jerked around and convulsed, caught in the passion of performance, while the other strings players jabbed and plucked with all their might.

Weird warbles, perhaps emitted by the scaling violins, evoked a theremin, and by extension, a 50s sci-fi flick. The high-tension strings and dark accompaniment set the mood of a spooky planet in some other solar system: an enemy alien has been spotted, it crawls and lurches, and it might just attack. Moments of respite came with flutes and peaceful violins, but deep, thick rhythms exposed the inner anxiety, should the alien being reemerge. By the time the third and final segment, "Rounds", began, Leila appeared as if ready for a challenge. Some other weird tone emerged, sounding like a didgeridoo, before a drumset kicked in and the orchestra began to move. The strange time signatures and dark tones that finished the piece sounded almost familiar by then – something cool was happening, but it was something we'd seen before, so the excitement and tension weren't quite the same.

The final work of the night was the more traditional Scheherazade. (At David's Pre-Concert Perspectives before the actual performance, almost the entire present crowd raised their hand at the question of if they'd heard the work before.) After the raw, intense nervousness and anxious curiosity of Concentric Paths, this work felt staler, entrenched firmly in the past. Some segments felt surprisingly similar – the jabs and punches, the occasional subtle tension, the sweet plucking – but much of the first half felt too methodical, predictable, or premeditated. It felt directed, perhaps too ordered, but yet that makes some sort of sense, since the whole concept is that the eponym of the piece tells a long series of stories (the 1001 Arabian Nights) to try to prevent the Sultan from murdering her. Perhaps Rimsky-Korsakov intended such a deterministic structure.

Consistent throughout the piece was a fugue of just the first violin and a harp. The rest of the large-scale orchestra would drop out and let just the two instruments spin their pretty little bit before the story would continue. The third part, "The Young Prince and Princess", felt appropriately very courtly and stately, in contrast with the charging knights and feudal heralds of the previous parts. This part was perhaps the tamest and least interesting, but this led into the final segment, a series of shorter tales that jumped around wantonly and rashly. Grand rushes and big percussion devolved into a more cacophonous jam, but the musicians remained united and descended slowly before running up and down, back upwards and further upwards and the feelings rose higher and higher to a harmony that felt impossibly good for its towering position.

And then the night was over. For a 45-minute piece, Scheherazade feels long, but not that long. In its own context, the work is adventuresome and complex, but that just can't compare to Concentric Paths, which reached another whole level of exploration and development. Neither of the Russian works offered much of a surprise, but the performances were beautiful. It was easy to become lost in the waves of melody and start dreaming of other places and scenes. In that sense, the performance can only be described as a success: this was probably the first classical concert that I've attended in which my mind was alight with such wondrous imagery. Just as David floated and danced with the music, my imagination transcended the seat and the city I was sitting in.

Score: A-

Thanks to Eddie, Dale, and Shannon.

Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra - Live 2010.11.12 (notes)

2010-11-13T20:57:00.001-06:00

I was invited last night to the fifth Blogger's Night of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. After discussing the night with the blogging crew, I shall post two versions of my review. This first one is simply a transcription of my notes that I took during the performance. I'll let the reader try to make sense of it. The second review, which will be posted tomorrow, will feature my traditional style of writing and analysis.

Remember, I came all the back from Germany for this! Here goes:

7:00 Pre-Concert Perspectives

Prokofiev too fast, like Formula 1

No Communism!

Genetically modified music

singing at cows, staring en masse

8:06 Prokofiev

Big open strings, dramatic

triumphant, sweet

sehr upbeat, grand, dramatic

so many strings, not much else, only perc timpani

drives to one big moment, one big swing, allegro over

Larghetto: soft, serene, slower

David floats, picked pretty bit, woods/brass chill

oh! big! no, released again

soft bed descending bits, fairytale

waltzing through the forest

softens, descends, peaceful a dance in the woods, spring

Gavotte: bigger, grander, sharper,

cellos tapping strings loud page turn

oh! fast! sudden! sharp! whirling about!

flutes really going! fast! through the trees!

woah violins, all over fast [arrow to previous line] dancing on air

row of women changed page for men (cellos)

~~woodwinds~~/brass really rockin it!

went right into finish, surprised ending,

lulled into the vigor + sweetness

timpani like a cat

8:22?

Adès: 8:24 new timpanist + perc now

Leila in a pretty grey dress

David: aware of 300+ year violin tradition

she moves as possessed, just like before

8:32 very spooky, dark, violin squeaky

ominous, descending into darkness, falling

vio all over, wild, heavy

8:33 wavering lead vio

synth-like notes – woods?

vio all over all over, shit dark already

[scribble] those wavering high notes

like a theremin, sci fi

on some fucked up planet

super high v notes, minimal accompaniment

dreamy, spacey, feathery

she is beyond good and evil

strings jerk alien! enemy! scared!

gasp! Percu! shit! hit hard, stop

Paths: jab jab pluck jab stretch pluck

aggressive plucking Bam Again

structure growing heavy shit strange jungle

dark but logical don't take it for granted

she flies convulses the the only one standing but the timpanist

deep comp, crazed v moment of movement [?]

No vs at all, descending creepy something's coming

there it is oh shit, strange, jabs out

ugh thick deep rhythm

oh sweet now, softer, v + flutes alien is away peace on earth

i want that dress smooth serene a bit heavier more dramatic

darker but not evil

beyond good + evil

fucked up v notes

no logic there wont stop

everything else cools

v finally slows finally

Rounds: she awaits the challenge

starts low + creepy Digeridoo [sic] sound! wtf

drums hell yeah strings, woods going, eerie

learning new things, this aint too bad can handle this

v there it is, normal though – sorta cool [?]

she's freakin out generic dark, cool but not as cool

whirling exploration low taps 5/4 oh jab that v

ouch! big final sudden swipe! not totally unexpected

but still big 8:51 lots of clapping

9:19 Rimsky-Korsakov

Big, heavy, ominous, puncuated (Police sirens)

soft, tragic, pointed – harp! Much fuller orch

first v solo more classical, trad

Grand majestic, timpani soft + sweet lilting in the air

decisive scheduled precise strictly non-loose

oh – bigger grander, wilder, is this a dance?

brass make it big pointed directed formulated

pretty but predictable

Another part? slower even more premeditated

still lilting swaying as if to dance

bigger grander really big notes really really big

huge brass notes slower, methodical

nice pointed conclusion bring led from point A to B

harpy + v solo bassoon (oboe?) solo

slow but subtle beauty plucks

sounds classical, medieval, court [undecipherable]

[arrow to two lines prior] oh crap – harsh injection feudal call

riders on the storm comin from afar heralds

shake those vs somethings coming fast

alles shaking trembling okay calmer tense though nervous

tap tap tap nice perc bis triangle yeah

knights coming oh lots of them here they march

tromp stomp tra la la triangle jump!

relative peace soft plucking

fairly triumphant charging in control

coordinated chaos wild strings

jab jab, punch crescendos nice

oh sweet plucks held high oh that harp

subtle but a bit tense rising tension bigger + bigger

big!!! big note [arrow to "tense" in previous line] | pause

melodic strings soft + simple + serene unghh

pretty though floating impatience in the crowd

wheres the action – or am I just noticing

snare!? so subtle + grey

dancey back + forth .............

first v + harp nochmals

crash big follows basic melody storybook

very small + subtle pause

that first v + harp again oh god so much more

dramatic bang big fest big event movement

courtly? grand presentation tambo

let the [undecipherable] big thrusts chase jumping

o, now serene und schön noch wieder

pluck – pluck 1-2 / 1 2 1 2 3 –– !

those threes chasin drama big david is all over it

perc shit big long grand a bit dark

cacophonous but united in a grand front

descend [scribble] [scribble] up and down

dark back sweet top lulled into peace

[arrows sweeping upwards] [scribbles] just over [undecipherable]

squeak whistly [scribble] forlorn

rising to a harmonious top note . . . .

10:03 individuals standing up thx david

hoots and hollers ha ha

The Magnetic Fields - Live 2010.03.30

2010-04-30T17:49:00.001-05:00

A month after the fact is better than nothing, right? Well, before I got really busy in April with international travels, I caught a relatively recent newcomer to my musical radar live in my current home town.

Artist: The Magnetic Fields
Venue: Mousonturm
Location: Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Date: March 30, 2010

First Set:
01. Kiss Me Like You Mean It
02. You Must Be Out of Your Mind
03. Interlude
04. The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side
05. Better Things
06. I Don't Want to Get Over You
07. Acoustic Guitar
08. The Nun's Litany
09. I Don't Really Love You Anymore
10. I Don't Know What to Say
11. Shipwrecked (originally recorded by The Gothic Archies)
12. Suddenly There Is a Tidal Wave
13. Walk a Lonely Road
14. I'm Sorry I Love You

Second Set:
15. Xylophone Track
16. Long Vermont Roads
17. The Dolls' Tea Party
18. Wi' Nae Wee Bairn Ye'll Me Beget
19. Always Already Gone
20. All the Umbrellas in London
21. The One You Really Love
22. Night Falls Like a Grand Piano (originally recorded by The 6ths)
23. Fear of Trains
24. I'm Tongue-Tied
25. We Are Having a Hootenanny
26. From a Sinking Boat

Encore:

27. 100,000 Fireflies
28. Papa Was a Rodeo

Review:

I heard about the Magnetic Fields a long time ago, but for some reason I never pursued them further. It happens. We all make mistakes. Later I went to college and and half of my friends never stopped spinning the triple-disc 69 Love Songs. And one day I saw the whole box on sale at a good price, so I bought it. I've never regretted that decision.

Anyway, I had the pleasure of catching them on their European tour to promote Realism, which I neither own nor have heard in any part. They played at a medium-small theater in Frankfurt-Bornheim; there were probably a good 300 people there. My first thought was, "Woah, this is where all the alternative people in Bankfurt go!" Instead of an army of suits, I was mixed in with people with crazy hair and clothes with actual style. It was quite refreshing.

There was no opening act; the band just played two sets. They were no drums or crazy beats; Stephin Merritt suffers from hyperacusis and even covers his ears when the audience claps. The instrumentation was fairly constant: Shirley Simms sang and played autoharp; Claudia Gonson sang, played keyboard, and occasionally played auxiliary percussion; John Woo played acoustic guitar; Sam Davol played cello; and Merritt sang and played ukelele.

The setlist included most of the new album, plenty of tracks from the band's biggest album (69 Love Songs), and a handful from very early albums. To be honest, I'm really only familiar with 69, but I was quite pleased with the song selections from the album. "The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side" and "I Don't Want to Get Over You" were great, but they sounded quite different than their synthy, heavy-reverb guitar and drum album versions. It worked, though. The melodies and all the parts were all there, just on different instruments. And Merritt's deep bass sounded perfect – I can't believe how well he can hit such low notes. (Maybe I just say that because I'm jealous.)

It wasn't just the instrumental parts that got swapped around – vocal parts were as well. Merritt didn't sing "I Don't Want to Get Over You" on record, and both the female vocalists took parts originally sang by other singers. This was never blatantly obvious, in the sense that nothing sounded "wrong" or particularly strange. I think the quality of the tunes and lyrics carries over extremely well to about any set of instruments and voices, as long as their respective performance quality is up to par. And with these musicians, that's certainly the case – I don't think I heard a single significant mistake the entire night. There were some technical problems, but that's another story.

I think the Magnetic Fields function so well because of the incredible combination of top-notch pop with great lyrics. The music is not straight-up traditional pop; the band likes to experiment around and their albums have plenty of odd sounds, but the lyrics are top-notch. I hate love songs and yet I love Merritt's lyrics, which usually focus on love or death. No matter how ironic or bitter or harsh or flippant, the lyrics are always delivered with a straight face and a perfect intonation. That's impressive.

These songs are not, in terms of technicality, all that complicated, but there are plenty of exceptions. Several songs feature complex interwoven parts, and the musicians were capable of letting loose and tossing out cool solos and lead bits. The best example was "Acoustic Guitar", which is just Gonson on vocals and Woo on guitar, and Woo did the entire thing note-for-note perfect, and considering some of the fancy little runs and fingerpicking patterns, I wouldn't rate that as easy.

After 26 songs (including two from Merritt's side-projects) and some two hours of music, the band gave a great encore: "100,000 Fireflies" from the band's first album and the ballad/storytelling duet "Papa Was a Rodeo". A nice rocker might have been even cooler, but the slower-paced finished was pleasant enough.

Score: B+

SLSO Blogger's Night 4

2010-04-18T16:58:00.001-05:00

In my absence from Saint Louis, I've been unable to attend the last two Blogger's Nights at the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. Thankfully, Chris Maue made it to the last one. Check out his first part of a coming set here.

To read other blogger's posts, check out the SLSO blog posts here and here. There may still be more to come...

As for myself, I've got plenty in the works but progress is slow as a result of constant travel.

[Edit 4.27.2010: You can see all of Chris' latest round of SLSO comics here. Make sure you read the alt texts!]

Towards a Compromise Between Get Back and Let It Be

2010-03-12T16:07:00.003-06:00

I've been a fan of the Beatles for as long as I can remember. They were the first band that I "inherited" from my parents. I've actively listened to them consistently throughout my life, I've learned to play most of their oeuvre, I've collected their bootlegs, I named my solo act after one of their songs, I've seen their films, and I've obsessed over the life and music of John Lennon. They're one of my favorites, and their mass popularity somehow hasn't turned me off from them. Despite the seemingly endless plethora of written and other information, I'm going to try to add something.

Perhaps the most controversial part of the Beatles music still remains today Let It Be, or Get Back, as it was originally intended. Although all of the latter-day Beatles albums sound pretty different from each other, and very different from their first albums, Let It Be stands out. The only album of theirs not produced by George Martin, it sounds a bit rough, despite the obvious, heavy overdubbing in several tracks, and it features studio chatter and two odd little jams and improvisations. Their last studio album to be released, it sounds like their last – even more so than on the White Album or Abbey Road (recorded after Let It Be but released before it) – because of the very different styles of composition by the members, and especially the harsh "I Me Mine".

Of course, there's a long story to explain all this, and I'll save myself the trouble of repeating it; plenty of others have done it before. I'm concerned here just with the music itself. See, although I really liked it, Let It Be never sounded quite right to me. Like many other people, including some of the Beatles themselves, the album felt a bit... mangled, shall we say, by Phil Spector's production. Don't get me wrong: I think John Lennon wasn't lying when he said something to the effect that Spector took a loose assemblage of half-baked rehearsals and came out with a finished, marketable product. But to me, there's no doubt that Spector went too far in his overdubbing.

The only other original source of songs from the Get Back / Let It Be project are the singles from the album and the "Wildlife" version of "Across the Universe", all of which are these days conveniently collected on the Past Masters compilation. I've always liked these versions, but it's not a whole album, just a few tracks presented in different mixes (and produced by George Martin). The same can be said of the alternate versions released on the Anthology. Most of them are loose alternate versions, although a few interesting takes certainly do turn up.

The first and only official alternative version is Let It Be... Naked, released in 2003. This version certainly de-Spectorizes the album, but some of the mixes and alternative versions are almost too different, and several little things are missing, like the chatter and jams. It often feels too clean and smooth.

Of course, there are bootleg versions of Glyn Johns' mixes of the album when it was still known as Get Back. The two best and most common versions are his May 1969 mix and his final version from January 1970. Both feature a different set of tracks, practically no overdubs (as was originally intended), and an even rougher and looser feel, but they suffer in their lack of general production quality. There's no doubt that Spector did a better version of mixing things together to create a higher-quality sound. (Spector didn't get famous for nothing, but to be fair, Johns' goal wasn't to get a clean sound.)

And this is not all: there are plenty of other bootlegs to find more alternative versions from. It is possible to find recordings of everything the band put to tape during the Get Back sessions (including, of course, the takes from the Let It Be film), but the audio quality really suffers, and it's nearly impossible to actually find better versions there. However, the Anthology Plus bootleg features a few particularly interesting versions, and the bootleg of the live rooftop performance is also of special note. (Several of the songs were used in some form on Get Back, Let It Be, and Let It Be... Naked.)

After listening through all of this material over the years, it seemed natural to me to try to sit down and pick out my favorite versions. For some reason, I never got around to doing this... until now! I would now like to present to you my ideal mix of Get Back / Let It Be, with tracks borrowed from most of the sources I mentioned above.

01. Two of Us (early version from Anthology Plus bootleg)

02. Get Back (Get Back May 1969 version)

03. Don't Let Me Down (Get Back single b-side, also Past Masters)

04. Dig a Pony (remixed live version from Naked)

05. Maggie Mae (Get Back January 1970 version)

06. I've Got a Feeling (remixed live version from Naked)

07. One After 909 (original live version from Let It Be)

08. Dig It (original edited version from Let It Be)

09. Let It Be (single version, also Past Masters)

10. For You Blue (remixed version from Naked)

11. Teddy Boy (Spector's outtake version from 1970, a bonus track on the Get Back January 1970 bootleg)

12. Two of Us (original from Let It Be)

13. The Long and Winding Road (alternate take from Naked)

14. I Me Mine (remixed version from Naked)

15. Across the Universe ("Wildlife" version from the World Wildlife Fund charity album and Past Masters)

16. Get Back (live version from Anthology 3)

You may be surprised that I chose 16 tracks, of which two are duplicates and one was never released by the band, and that I changed up the tracklist a lot. It would be my pleasure to explain these choices, as well as why I chose each source for each track, and of course, why I left out certain other tracks. As far as the length of my version, it's actually under 48 minutes, and it contains just as many tracks as Glyn Johns' final mix. And now to the specific track choices:

01. Two of Us (early version from Anthology Plus bootleg)

Originally, "Two of Us" was a chugging, faster-paced, guitar-based rocker. This is the best version that I'm aware of that original version, but it breaks down after two minutes. I really like this version, and the loose feel of the track fits in with the whole; as the opener it sets the stage for what's to come. All versions of the album start out with more rocking songs; Let It Be starts with this song, and both versions of Get Back feature several very loose jams in their first few tracks.

02. Get Back (Get Back May 1969 version)

Very similar to the single version, and not at all far from the Let It Be version, since they were all based on the same master take. I prefer this early mix (even over Johns' final 1970 mix) because of the louder, more reverby drums and the rougher edges. Somehow I think the quality is high even in its less-produced stage. And personally, I really like the coda. The fact that both Let It Be versions drop it (even if it wasn't originally there) is to me a loss. I like having this song early in the album, as with Naked, although I also like the idea of a reprise at the end of the album as with the Get Back versions. More on that later.

03. Don't Let Me Down (Get Back single b-side, also Past Masters)

One of my absolute favorite tracks from these sessions, it was left off of Let It Be since it was the b-side of the Get Back single, although I agree with every other version of the album in including it anyway. However, my favorite version remains the b-side version; it's clearly the best take, and even if the live version cobbled together for Naked has some power, this version has yet more. This is approximately the location of the track on both versions of Get Back and Naked. For a slowish but impassioned rocker, third in line seems to work fine.

04. Dig a Pony (remixed live version from Naked)

Most versions are about identical, especially the original Let It Be version, but I find the Naked version was remixed quite well. This is the strongest version I could find. This was also the approximate placement of the track in each version of the album.

05. Maggie Mae (Get Back January 1970 version)

All versions are nearly identical except for the lead-in and fade-out. I disagree with Naked's removal of the track; I think it's important to the overall loose and "fun" feeling of the album. Plus it's kind of funny in how it doesn't fit with the band. I chose this version because it includes the line "and so we leave the little town of... London, England" at the start, lacking from Let It Be. (However, that version does have a slightly better fade-out; this version starts to fade out just a bit too early.) My placement follows Let It Be in that it precedes "I've Got a Feeling".

06. I've Got a Feeling (remixed live version from Naked)

The Let It Be version is pretty good; it's a powerful song in any version, but the live rooftop takes are especially strong. Although the heavy editing done to this track on Naked may go against the original intentions, I find the mashing of the two live takes to be the absolute best version I've heard. This is also the approximate placement in every version but Let It Be. I like the live versions in general because of their sheer spontaneous power, and this is a perfect example. To me, the rooftop concert embodies the spirit of this album, and hence, except for "Don't Let Me Down", I choose live versions in every case possible.

07. One After 909 (original live version from Let It Be)

The standard Let It Be version suits me best, as does it's placement after "I've Got a Feeling" (the sequence is also used on Naked.) I prefer Spector's production of the live version over Get Back's weaker mix, whereas the remix looses some of its feeling – and the "Danny Boy" tease at the end, which is, of course, extremely important.

08. Dig It (original edited version from Let It Be)

"Dig It" has to be immediately before "Let It Be" because of Lennon's great line "... and now we'd like to do... 'Hark, the Herald Angels Come!'" I prefer the edit over the full take heard on both versions of Get Back, because, honestly, the full version isn't very good and it gets old. The edit features the best lines ("... like the FBI / And the CIA / And the BBC / B.B. King! / And Doris Day! Matt Busby!") but cuts the less interesting parts. Naked mistakenly cuts the song entirely, but I think it's important to the the general atmosphere, and especially to contrast the almost-too-overt "Let It Be". There is a bit of a problem in that the fade-out from "One After 909" into the fade-in of this song takes way too long, and manual editing is probably necessary to shorten the gap.

09. Let It Be (single version, also Past Masters)

This is the version of the song I always think of. Even if the lyric is a bit too heavy-handed for me, I still like the song; the emotion is pure. This is also one of the most controversial songs of the whole project, but I agree with many when I say that the strings, horns, choir, and tape echo on the drums of the Let It Be version are just too much. Too much Spectorism for me. Other versions (from Naked, Anthology 3, and Get Back) just don't make the cut: the production is either too weak or the guitar solo isn't quite right. The single version is well-produced, has the tom-toms in the latter half (which I actually like for the nice syncopation they create), and has the best guitar solo (especially since you can hear the second-best solo somewhat more quietly in the other speaker). The one downfall is that the guitar solo over the last part is too low in the mix (which the Let It Be version has higher up), although in every other way, this is the mix for me.

10. For You Blue (remixed version from Naked)

All album versions feature the same master take, but Naked has the best mix. The Get Back versions have some studio chatter that is relatively uninteresting and thus I'd rather have the version that sounds the best. I like that the Anthology 3 version has a more prominent piano, but the take is weaker on the whole. The placement after "Let It Be" follows Johns' 1970 mix's ordering.

11. Teddy Boy (Spector's outtake version from 1970, a bonus track on the Get Back January 1970 bootleg)

This might be a bit of a surprise, but this song appeared on Johns' early mix, and he did another mix with George Martin that didn't make the cut; Spector also did this version despite leaving it on the floor. McCartney later did a solo version, but this version fits with rest of the session, and I love Lennon's random square-dance section. This song was apparently always something of a contender, and I like it enough to include it. The Anthology 3 version is a bit cleaner, but it's also edited, and I actually like Spector's work on this version. The other versions sound far lower-quality. I follow Johns' 1969 mix in having it follow "For You Blue" and precede "Two of Us".

12. Two of Us (original from Let It Be)

Still one of my favorite tracks from the project, I think Spector did a fantastic job with this song, which mostly meant just letting it be. (Heh.) The Naked version is a pretty straightforward remix, but I prefer this version, partially because of Lennon's opening banter. Having that dialog so late in the album is a bit weird, but as far as the song goes, I like the sense of progression you get from beginning with the early version and getting to this more thought-out version by this point in the album.

13. The Long and Winding Road (alternate take from Naked)

Almost certainly the most controversial track from the whole project, I again agree with many in finding Spector's extensive overdubs simply too much. Most other versions, though, I find to be simply poorly produced, and most feature a spoken bridge that Spector edited out of his version. I agree with his decision to remove it; I prefer the sung version. This version of the song sounds good and is actually a different take with nice subtle guitar and organ touches. I agree with every other version of the album, though, in having it near the end of the album.

14. I Me Mine (remixed version from Naked)

Another example where the Spectorism is just too much, but his general production values were top-notch. Copying half of the song to make it a brief two and a half minutes instead of a super-short 1:45 was a good idea, but the strings just don't belong. The Naked version reaches a very acceptable compromise. I like the placement near the end, as was done on Naked and Glyns' 1970 version (where it also follows "The Long and Winding Road".

15. Across the Universe ("Wildlife" version from the World Wildlife Fund charity album and Past Masters)

I love this song, but I prefer the psychedelic tendencies way over the cheesy choir and strings from the Let It Be version. The strings themselves would be fine, actually, and the female backing vocals in this version are almost a bit too much, but this take is the best compromise. No version is perfect. The Anthology 2 and Naked versions are both wonderfully psychedelic, but they cut or lack John's own extra vocals, the cool bass riff at the end, and the maracas, all of which I really like. This version has the slightly annoying wildlife sounds (although the opening sounds can be manually cut and the sounds at the end aren't too distracting) and could be more psychedelic, but to me it gets closest to the point. If the wildlife sounds and female vocals are too much for you, then take the great alternative version from Anthology 2. I copy Johns' 1970 version and Naked in placing this song second-to-last before a version of "Get Back".

16. Get Back (live version from Anthology 3)

As I said before, I really like the idea of having a reprise of this song, and it's a great song to end the album on. However, the reprise version used for both Get Back versions is too weak for me. I prefer this historically interesting live take, cleaned up for Anthology 3. It's the last song the band played on the rooftop, and thus the last live performance of the Beatles: what better way to end the "last" Beatles album? You can hear the guitars cut out at one point when the police start pulling plugs, and you can hear the nervousness or tension in Paul's voice and the guitars (although the English winter might have also been a factor). It's really not a bad take at all, and Paul starts ad-libbing some funny lyrics at the end, which is a nice balance, since most of the funny comments on the album are from John. I do wish that this version had the banter from the end of the Let It Be version ("I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves [sic], and I hope we passed the audition", a fantastic line to close the album on), although I could always edit it in.

My version leaves out "Rocker" and "Save the Last Dance for Me", found on both versions of Get Back, but they are very scattered, incomplete takes, and I think the rough, early version of "Two of Us" and the other little jams and bits of banter cover the same task better. Otherwise, every other track on every version of the album is present in some version, and I generally went for versions that didn't stray too far from the version that everyone knows best, Let It Be (except for excising the gratuitous Spectorisms), and I largely borrowed track ordering from somewhere between Get Back and Let It Be. There were plenty of other songs performed during the sessions, many of which ended up on Abbey Road or various members' future solo albums, but none of them (except "Teddy Boy") neared completion or garnered enough attention to be thoroughly produced, and therefore I've left them off.

I don't feel comfortable in breaking copyright laws to upload my mix for public download, but if you own the legitimate albums, I find no sin in downloading bootlegs of unreleased material, and these bootlegs are very easy to find. It shouldn't be too hard to piece this together on your own, although I wouldn't be surprised if you have your own preferences and tweaks. Feel free to let me know what your favorite mixes are!

[Edit 3.16.2010: I also left out "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)", released as the b-side to "Let It Be", since it was recorded originally around the time of "All You Need Is Love" and The Magical Mystery Tour and finished during the Abbey Road sessions; hence I don't think it fits here at all.]

The Spencer Davis Group - Live 2009.10.31

2009-11-01T05:13:00.003-06:00

Artist: The Spencer Davis Group
Venue: Blues Garage
Location: Isernhagen, Germany
Date: October 31, 2009

Review:
I must admit that I know very little about the Spencer Davis Group. I know their singles, especially "Gimme Some Lovin'", but as far as members and albums and backstory I know practically nothing. Regardless, when I was invited to see the group in a well-regarded blues joint outside of Hannover, I couldn't say no (especially when nothing else was going on on Halloween in this town).

The venue is pretty cool. It's an old automotive workshop that was converted into a concert venue, and keeping with the theme, part of the stage and the mixing desk are made out of the front sections of old cars. The place fits maybe 500 people, and there were probably 400 there once the show started. Before coming to Germany, I would never have guessed that blues acts would draw such crowds here. Apparently, there's quite an audience for the genre. (I'm told blues is even bigger in Poland.) However, as seems to be the case with every concert I go to, I was one of the youngest people there. Whatever.

My limited knowledge and research tells me that the Spencer Davis Group of today bears little resemblance to the group of the same name from 40 years ago, when they made their hits in the UK. The organist, Eddie Hardin, was the only member other than Spencer himself that remained from the original days, but the other members were actually probably even better than Hardin.

Davis, despite being the bandleader, did not monopolize songwriting, introductions, lead singing, or solo parts, and I appreciate that. The second guitarist had a great voice, and even the bassist played a few songs solo that featured some fantastic fingerwork. An acoustic interlude featuring "Norwegian Wood" was also a lot of fun to see. There's no doubt that these musicians are phenomenally talented. Whatever they wanted to do, they could. Their jams were incredibly proficient, and they could make 40-year-old songs like "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "House of the Rising Sun" rock hard enough to still sound fresh.

However, despite being enthralled by the musicianship, only a few songs were actually structurally interesting. I know, we're talking about a blues-based band, but still, many of the structures and patterns were pretty tried-and-true. Worse, though, was the lyrical content. I'm not sure how many of the Germans have a clue what the band was singing about in English (although Davis himself can speak perfect German, as a result of studying linguistics in Berlin), but I could understand, and there was nothing there. Again, it's blues music, I know, but still. When given the opportunity to make something original and creative or at least slightly interesting and dynamic, why not take it? I mean, for example, the verses to "I'm a Man" are pretty good, but many of the songs were just standard male gaze formulas.

In any case, seeing live music is always fun when the band can rock, and the musicianship was top-notch. Some mixing, feedback, and amp problems put on a bit of a damper, but it didn't slow the band down. Standing up close to the band, I could see that most of the solos were done spontaneously, that is, Spencer would just give a bandmember a signal and they would kick off a solo, and then another signal and another member would start up. It was quite fluid but from afar you wouldn't even notice.

Score: B

P.S. Davis clearly is a fan of Germany, and especially this venue: in 2006, he released a live album recorded at the same place.

P.P.S. During a break, I went up and introduced myself to Davis in English by saying I'd come all the way from Kansas to see him. His linguistic skills have not weakened with time, as he called me out on a grammatical mistake I made that is typical for Germans to make, noting that I must already be thinking like the Germans.

Peter Murphy (with Lettie) - Live 2009.10.18

2009-10-21T14:48:00.000-05:00

Two great concerts within four days of each other in Hannover? Seems impossible, but it just happened.

Artist: Peter Murphy
Venue: Capitol
Location: Hannover, Germany
Date: October 18, 2009
Opening Act: Lettie

Setlist:
01. Burning from the Inside (originally performed by Bauhaus)
02. Velocity Bird
03. Peace to Each (?)
04. Disappearing
05. Memory Go
06. Instant Karma (John Lennon cover)
07. In Every Dream Home a Heartache (Roxy Music cover)
08. Marlene Dietrich's Favourite Poem
09. Time Has Got Nothing to Do with It
10. Too Much 21st Century (originally performed by Bauhaus)
11. The Prince and Old Lady Shade
12. Deep Ocean Vast Sea
13. Uneven and Brittle (?)
Encore:
14. A Strange Kind of Love → Bela Lugosi's Dead (originally performed by Bauhaus)
15. She's in Parties (originally performed by Bauhaus)
16. Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie cover)
17. Transmission (Joy Division cover)
18. Space Oddity (David Bowie cover)

Review:
After how long the line was when the doors opened when I saw Porcupine Tree with Robert Fripp just three nights before, I was surprised to be about the fifth person to enter the venue just after doors opened for Peter Murphy. Sad but true: Murphy isn't exactly as famous as he could be. By the time he actually hit the stage, there was a respectable audience, probably in the area of 200 people.

First, however, came Lettie. She came out by herself, grabbed her Fender Stratocaster, and started playing tunes with something of an ethereal new-wave vibe. She had a second microphone loaded with extremely heavy reverb and delay that she would sometimes switch to. She slowly integrated a loop pedal, a keyboard, samples, and a friend who came out and played some sort of electronic keyboard instrument. (It must have been some sort of synthesizer, but he used it to create fairly noisy, ambient melodies, if you can imagine that.) On one hand, Lettie isn't a great singer, the songs are fairly simple, her dancing was kind of awkward, and the whole act just felt a bit loose. But on the other hand, the music was interesting and she has a definite charm. The whole deal felt a bit retro, in a good way. Honestly, she kind of reminded me of my own performances, or maybe those of the Cure from their earlier days.

Peter Murphy came out accompanied by a standard rock trio: guitarist, bassist, and drummer. Considering Murphy's history with Turkish-influenced music, acoustic ballads, and more ambient textures, I wondered what sort of array of sounds he'd pull off through the night. I had no worries about hearing his gothic or alt-rock personas, and indeed, the opening song was a classic Bauhaus rocker. Even though "Burning from the Inside" isn't one of Bauhaus's more instrumentally impressive tracks, I couldn't help feel that the band wasn't entirely capable of filling the shoes of Murphy's first band. Daniel Ash's complicated picking patterns and David J's tricky basslines were not to be found here.

Nonetheless, Murphy was able to rock out rather well, introducing several new songs along the way. I'm not sure about all the titles; he's debuted about five or six new songs over the past tour. Although Murphy supposedly has an album in the works, this tour is labeled the Secret Cover Tour, inspired by a series of covers that he is releasing as singles in the meantime. His website makes it clear that there will be four, but only the first three have been thus far released: "Instant Karma", "Space Oddity", and "Transmission". The first is something of a surprise to me, but Murphy pulls it off fairly well. Murphy has long been a Bowie fan; Bauhaus released their fantastic cover of "Ziggy Stardust" in 1982, and he's been playing "Space Oddity" live since 2002. "Transmission" is also no surprise: Murphy played it live with Bauhaus in 2006, and later in the same year he performed four other Joy Division covers in a radio broadcast with Nine Inch Nails.

Murphy graced us with all three covers, along with his long-time favorite "Ziggy Stardust" and the surprise "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" (likely to be the fourth single). Considering his known idols of Bowie, Ian Curtis, Brian Eno, and Marc Bolan, Bryan Ferry isn't hard to picture as well, but John Lennon is still a surprise to me. A good surprise, but I wouldn't have guessed it. The Roxy Music cover was also performed very well, with Peter playing the eerie keyboard part.

I have to admit, though, I felt a bit let down when Peter left the stage the first time. Where were all his hits? I was disappointed by his choice of two inferior Bauhaus songs, and I don't think Murphy was in top condition – "Time Has Got Nothing to Do with It" and "Deep Ocean Vast Sea" both felt weak and tame. The new songs were fairly good, the covers were good, and "Marlene Dietrich's Favourite Poem", complete with Peter on his 12-string guitar, was great, but I knew he'd have to do a solid encore to make up for the lesser parts.

Indeed, returning for the encore with the 12-string, Murphy started off again strongly with a great version of "A Strange Kind of Love", with the lyrics to "Bela Lugosi's Dead" appended to the end. It was a bit weird, just a bit dissonant, but it mostly worked, although the two sets of lyrics have nothing in common. "She's in Parties" was awesome and finally got the crowd moving. "Ziggy Stardust" was similarly well-performed (although, again, the guitarist was no Ash, let alone Mick Ronson!), and "Transmission" was the clear peak of the night – the crowd was way into it.

Covers can be a tricky business. Murphy has generally done a surprisingly good job of taking songs from his idols and tweaking them just a little bit to suit his fancies. Most of his covers don't sound that different from the originals, but his distinctive voice lends his versions their own unique flavor. That was certainly the case with "Transmission" – he sang it incredibly well, as opposed to the version he released as one of his singles, in which he tries a bit too much to sound like Ian Curtis and in the process ends up a bit off-key.

However, his take on "Space Oddity" confuses me. Instead of the psychedelic, transcendental pop of the original, he does a string-synth-laden ambient version that kills the folky funk of the bridge break and thus looses the driving momentum of the original. Apart from that, his version is good – it drops the whole folk feel and focuses on the spaced-out, thoughtful mood of the song. Live, though, he sang the words to his recording after he and his band sank to the floor. Weird. All four of them just lay there with the lights dimmed. I didn't see Murphy move at all – he might not have even been singing. And afterwards, they got up, said thanks, waved, and left. Confusing.

I remain surprised by the lack of his hit material – where was "Cuts You Up" or "Gliding Like a Whale" or "Indigo Eyes"? I suppose those songs might have been a bit complicated to perform with his setup, but I'm confident that he could have done it. And where were the funkier songs, like "Kick in the Eye" or "Final Solution"? Assuming his musicians were up to it, they could have really rocked those. In any case, I think Murphy was a bit off on this night, and the song choices were interesting but still left something to be desired. The covers are a decent idea, but I'll be curious to see how his new album turns out.

Scores:
Lettie: B+
Peter Murphy: C+

Porcupine Tree (with Robert Fripp) - Live 2009.10.15

2009-10-16T07:02:00.001-05:00

As I explained before, I'm living in Germany for the time being. I recently moved to Hannover and was surprised to learn about the great bands coming here. Unfortunately, Depeche Mode is already sold out, marking my third missed opportunity to see them, but I'm certainly going to take advantage of everything else that I can manage. Last night was my first experience of live music in Hannover.

Artist: Porcupine Tree
Venue: Capitol
Location: Hannover, Germany
Date: October 15, 2009
Opening Act: Robert Fripp

Review:
When I heard about this concert I figured that despite my relative ignorance of the headliners it would be worth a shot. See, I've known about Robert Fripp for years; I've heard some of his experiments with Frippertonics, his collaborations with Brian Eno, his work with King Crimson, and of course his guitarwork on David Bowie's "Heroes". Although I don't know his whole catalog and I've never been a rabid follower, he's a well-respected pioneer. I mean, he's a big name. On the other hand, the only things I knew about Porcupine Tree are that they are a contemporary band and that my father is a fan. Usually I can trust my father's opinions on contemporary music quite well, since, I mean, he doesn't have time to listen to bad music, and why would he bother when he's been collecting good music for so long? In any case, I came to hear Fripp probably a little more than I came to hear Porcupine Tree.

Robert Fripp came out first, just him, his guitar, and his electronics. No longer using his signature Frippertonics technique, today he favors a style or technique he calls "Soundscapes", which is more or less an updated, digital version of Frippertonics. As I witnessed it, he sits down and starts playing on his Gibson Les Paul, using a digital processor to make ambient synth tones. He used some sort of digital delay units to create a somewhat ambient soundbed loop, to which he would add and subtract elements as he went along. Over the loop he played more normal-sounding guitar solo bits.

He played one single piece for about twenty minutes, and although it was kind of cool, I was a bit disappointed. His soundbed was nothing revolutionary, and I kept waiting for him to drop a really intense guitar solo, but nothing came. He played great, it all sounded good, but he just didn't pull any surprises. (It didn't help the certain sectors of the audience didn't appreciate the mellow tone, either; a number of punters were clearly impatient for the old bozo to leave the stage so that the hipper, younger Porcupine Tree could hit the stage. I am reminded of the barroom gig scene in Ghost World.) I hate to say it, but Fripp isn't on the cutting edge anymore. The scene that he pioneered over thirty years ago has since outgrown him – I mean, seriously, after seeing someone like Andrew Bird, I'm not as impressed. This is a good example of a situation in which the original creative force has ceased to grow, while new innovators have come to the field and taken things to another level. But don't get me wrong – it was still cool to see Fripp, and his piece was fairly good, but not mind-blowing.

I had no idea what to expect from Porcupine Tree. When they came out and played a loud, riff-laden metal jam, I was a bit taken aback. I mean, they pulled off a mean 5/4 rhythm, but I was hoping they wouldn't just be a Tool rip-off. The song wasn't bad at all, though, and when further songs showed a much more diverse array of sounds and tones, I was much more receptive. Unfortunately, I can't offer much in the ways of a setlist since I am totally unfamiliar with the band's catalog. They said that would play the entirety of their new album, The Incident, and I do believe that kept to that promise. From what I've read, most of that album was conceived as one extended suite, and I did get a feel for that in the live performance. It was often hard to tell when songs actually started or ended, and many parts seemed to go on for a while without pause. This was not to their detriment – I found the music quite enthralling. I quite appreciated the dynamics of the band: acoustic-based pieces were right next to more ambient parts, which could be followed by heavier jams and riff- or guitar-solo-based segments. It all flowed together quite well.

After finishing the album song-cycle, the band left the stage for a ten-minute break. Upon return, they played a full second set of material, about 45 minutes, presumably from their back-catalog. (The one song name I caught was "Lazarus".) The general sound of the music remained similar, although the variety of tones was perhaps even further widened. Lower-key and/or acoustic segments seemed a bit more prominent. After their second set, they left the stage, but as expected, they came back again for a brief encore. The first song featured a fantastic acoustic guitar part, and second song was announced as "Trains". (The singer asked what "train" is in German, but he had some difficulty hearing the answer.)

Porcupine Tree ended up putting on a pretty good show, especially for playing over two hours of music. I know they are labeled, for better or worse, as a modern progressive band, and I think the classification fits – they like long, expansive songs; they like to experiment with styles and sonic directions, even within one song; and they like to push the boundaries of rock music. They don't like to stand in one place too long. They are clearly rock musicians, but they don't want to be contained by just one corner of what rock means. And I really like that. Some of the intense metal bits could be a bit much for me, but with the energy of a live show, I could still get into it in the context of the whole performance.

Scores:
Robert Fripp: C
Porcupine Tree: A-

P.S. What would have made this show really cool is if Fripp had joined the band for an encore. They would have fit together well, I think, and that would have really blown my mind.

Nouvelle Vague - Live 2009.09.09

2009-09-10T12:15:00.003-05:00

I know, I just wrote about how I wasn't going to write much, and here I am writing. Well, don't get your hopes up too much, but I figured I should write up a little review of the show I just saw.

Artist: Nouvelle Vague
Venue: Zakk
Location: Düsseldorf, Germany
Date: September 9, 2009
Opening Act: Gerald Toto

Setlist:
01. One Hundred Years [The Cure cover]
02. Master and Servant [Depeche Mode cover]
03. Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've) [Buzzcocks cover]
04. Metal [Gary Numan cover]
05. Road to Nowhere [Talking Heads cover]
06. Human Fly [The Cramps cover]
07. Guns of Brixton [The Clash cover]
08. Too Drunk to Fuck [Dead Kennedys cover]
09. God Save the Queen [Sex Pistols cover]
10. Sex Beat [The Gun Club cover]
11. Just Can't Get Enough [Depeche Mode cover]
12. Don't Go [Yazoo cover] [with Gerald Toto]
13. Heart of Glass [Blondie cover] [with Gerald Toto]
14. Israel [Siouxsie & the Banshees cover] [with Gerald Toto]
15. Blister in the Sun [Violent Femmes cover]
16. Oublions L'Amérique [Wunderbach cover]
17. All My Colours [Echo & the Bunnymen cover]
18. Friday Night, Saturday Morning [The Specials cover]
19. Bela Lugosi's Dead [Bauhaus cover]
20. Love Will Tear Us Apart [Joy Division cover]
Encore:
21. Eisbär [Grauzone cover]
22. Relax [Frankie Goes to Hollywood cover] [Gerald Toto solo]
23. [Unknown]

Review:
After starting a half hour late for unknown reasons, Gerald Toto came out and played five songs, accompanied only by his own classical and acoustic guitars. He tried to talk to the crowd in German but quickly gave up and used English, which is the language of his songs anyway. He's a talented guitarist and singer, but I found his songs a bit lacking. They were far from bad, but he relied too heavily on repeating his choruses into oblivion. He tried to get some audience participation in these extended codas, but sadly he failed to get much. After half an hour, he left the stage and the audience impatiently awaited the main act.

Nouvelle Vague on tour consists of the two masterminds of the band, Marc Collin and Oliver Libaux (playing acoustic guitar and keyboard, respectively, I think), along with a drummer/percussionist, an acoustic bassist, and two singers, Melanie Pain and Nedeah Miranda. In the studio, Marc and Oliver play most of the instruments, while the songs are sung by a variety of singers, most of whom are female except for the notable exception of the aforementioned Gerald. Live, Melanie and Nedeah traded vocal parts, although Gerald came back out a few times to sing (and play guitar) as well.

I was immediately surprised by the intensity of the band and the behavior of the singers. Based on the songs I'd heard from their albums (of which I've admittedly not heard that many), I'd expected them to be fairly quiet, tame, and restrained. The band is typically characterized as playing bossa nova music, which is partially true and also provides the play on words of their name. See, "nouvelle vague" in French means the same as "bossa nova" in Portuguese, namely "new wave", which happens to be the style of music that the songs they cover were originally recorded in. However, in this show, they did not shy away from heavier grooves, dark and droning ballads, acoustic rock, and plenty of other sounds.

They half-jokingly, half-earnestly referred to their take on "Road to Nowhere" as a country version, but they were telling the truth. Their version of Bauhaus' was (predictably) a somewhat darker groove, as was also the case with "All My Colours". However, songs like "Just Can't Get Enough" and "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (both covered on their first album of three) sounded more like traditional bossa nova. I get the impression that the band quickly tired of sticking to pure bossa nova, and have instead decided to radically rework these punk, new wave, and post-punk classics into all sorts of acoustic arrangements with emphasis on impressive vocal talent and style.

I was quite surprised by the energy and vivacity of the singers: both were fairly active in their style and movements, and they had no problem shouting at the audience or screaming as appropriate during the songs. The energy was mostly a welcome surprise, although it sometimes went a bit too far. I never really liked "Too Drunk to Fuck" in the first place, but their take got increasingly rowdy as they endlessly repeated the chorus, and after the song they asked the audience to shout the word "fuck" in unison for no apparent reason. The immaturity reminded me of a story a friend once told me about Green Day pulling the same trick with their preteen audience.

In any case, the performances were all solid, and the song selection was superb. (I didn't recognize every last song, as I've always preferred post-punk just a touch over new wave and punk, so I don't have complete background knowledge about some of their songs that lean in that direction, but many of their choices are quite dear to me.) Their opening was fantastic; the first songs were all great, especially "Master and Servant" and "Metal". Gerald's take on "Israel" was a pleasant surprise for me; it wasn't particularly inventive, but the song stands as one of my absolute favorite Siouxsie & the Banshees songs. "Blister in the Sun" was another nice little surprise.

"Oublions L'Amérique" (aka "Forget America") was introduced by explaining the name and that it was written by a French punk band during the Bush era, so the singers apologized, since they clearly like Obama much better. I appreciated the gesture, and I wish I could have understood the French lyrics of the song. "Eisbär" was a wonderful delight; it was performed by only Melanie and Marc, and they pulled it off fantastically. Both singers spoke no German (both preferring French or English); but Melanie faked the lyrics well enough. I think the German audience really dug it, and I did too.

Since the show started late and I had to catch a train back to my current home in Cologne, I had to leave the show early. I'm fairly confident that I left during the last song, but I didn't recognize the song and I couldn't stay to figure it out. In any case, I still got to hear about an hour and a half of fantastic reinterpretations of some of my favorite songs. Again, musically speaking, the band is spot-on – these are very skilled musicians and singers, and even if they aren't writing their own material, their songcraft is evident in their arrangements. They make for a more engaging show than I was expecting.

Scores:
Gerald Toto: C+
Nouvelle Vague: B+

P.S. I think it is physically impossible for me to write a short review.

Why I've Been Absent

2009-09-04T06:45:00.002-05:00

Dear readers, I apologize for my continued absence. I know that I always apologize for not writing much, but I have been fairly busy, you know, living my life and earning degrees and things. Anyway, these days I'm living in Germany and I've had enough going on here that I haven't been able to make writing music reviews a high priorty. I'm still willing to do it, though. For example, I might see Nouvelle Vague or Pere Ubu in the next month, and writing live reviews isn't too hard to do. Of course, I did see the Junior Boys in New York City at Webster Hall in late July, but I was way to busy with my transatlantic move to write a review. So, we'll see what happens. Don't expect regularity, but inspiration strikes, I'll write something up.

I have been finding some good music while here. I got my hands on a few works of classic Neue Deutsche Welle (German New Wave) and that's been great, or I could review the Boys Next Door's album (their only one before they changed their name to The Birthday Party).

And in other news, if you care about what I'm up to these days in Germany, I have a travelblog to document my journeys:

http://agermanyear.blogspot.com/

I know, I know, I'm blogging about my personal life instead of about music! What am I doing!? Sorry, it's just a convenient communication tool when most of your friends live on another continent.

Sonic Youth - Live 2009.07.18

2009-07-21T00:48:00.000-05:00

I know, it's been forever since I've written, and considering my upcoming plans to spend a year living in Germany, I have to admit I can't guarantee consistent posting in the near future. Time will tell. In the meantime, I managed to catch one last show in the US.

Artist: Sonic Youth
Venue: Uptown Theater
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Date: July 18, 2009
Opening Act: Awesome Color

Setlist:
01. Tom Violence
02. No Way
03. Sacred Trickster
04. Calming the Snake
05. Silver Rocket
06. Walkin Blue
07. Anti-Orgasm
08. Malibu Gas Station
09. Leaky Lifeboat
10. Antenna
11. Poison Arrow
12. Massage the History
13. White Cross
First Encore:
14. The Wonder →
15. Hyperstation
Second Encore:
16. What We Know
17. Pacific Coast Highway

Review:
Since I don't have a lot of background information about Sonic Youth and I don't know their entire discography, I can only provide a brief review. I will proceed nonetheless. I should note that the setlist is borrowed from the Kansas City Star, whose review I generally agreed with.

Openers Awesome Color failed to impress. They played a half-hour of fast, punky grooves. Their singer/guitarist was clearly the dominant member; he was the only dynamic musician. In every single song, the drummer and bassist had merely one riff to play and that's all they did. For all their energy and headbanging, all they did was the same thing for four minutes at a time. The guitarist was creative and had a variety of riffs, but it was entirely up to him to make things interesting. The weight was a bit much for one musician to handle and even with some good tricks and riffs, the songs got old fast. His vocals were undecipherable and lost in the mix.

Sonic Youth, however, were in fine form. They mostly focused on their newest album, The Eternal, but they threw in just a few older songs, which of course garnered strong appreciation from the crowd. The band frequently just shoegazed, but they had energy and they did engage in at least some dialog with the audience (unlike infamous shoegazers My Bloody Valentine). Thurston Moore was the main man, talking the most, singing the most, and playing the lead guitar parts highest in the mix, but the other two original members, Lee Ranaldo and Kim Gordon, each had a few turns at the mic.

Most songs did not have clearly separable instrumentation; the combination of four musicians' guitars and basses created a wide sonic landscape held by drummer Steve Shelley's rhythm and overlaid by the relatively sparse vocals. Thurston's guitars usually were the dominant part, either the main riff of a song or part of a noisemaking machine. Lee's parts were almost pure noise, but they were important to the total sound of the songs. Kim alternated between rhythm guitar, second bass, and dancing, and Mark Ibold held down the main bass parts. The bass was especially hard to pick out in the mix, but I could tell that Mark's parts were usually lower in pitch, and when Kim also was on bass, she'd played higher parts, more similar to rhythm guitar parts (kind of like Peter Hook used to do in Joy Division/New Order).

Many songs featured extensive noise jams, but they usually were dynamic and interesting enough to keep my attention. Somehow the band found a perfect match of convoluted noise with an underbelly of melody and rhythm. The pieces found a way to fit together – the most abstract jams had little foundation, but most were grounded in some sort of riff that was low in the mix yet present enough to tie things up and keep the movement and flow of the songs.

The mix wasn't entirely perfect, especially as the vocals were hard to distinguish, but the sound was generally good, and the band kept things rolling for over two hours. They didn't offer much familiar territory, and their sonic assault can be intense, but it's well worth it if you've got earplugs.

Scores:
Awesome Color: D+
Sonic Youth: A-

Morrissey - Live 2009.04.08

2009-04-11T18:50:00.000-05:00

When I heard Morrissey was coming to town again, I knew I couldn't say no. This time I actually went with a friend and happened to meet up with a couple more at the show. Coincidentally, the last time I saw Moz perform, I wrote my first review for this blog.

Artist: Morrissey
Venue: The Pageant
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
Date: April 8, 2009
Opening Act: The Courteeners

Setlist:
01. This Charming Man
02. Billy Budd
03. Black Cloud
04. How Soon Is Now?
05. Irish Blood, English Heart
06. When I Last Spoke to Carol
07. How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?
08. I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
09. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
10. Something Is Squeezing My Skull
11. Seasick, Yet Still Docked
12. The Loop
13. The World Is Full of Crashing Bores
14. Death of a Disco Dancer
15. Best Friend on the Payroll
16. I Keep Mine Hidden
17. Sorry Doesn't Help
18. Ask
19. Let Me Kiss You
20. I'm OK by Myself

Encore:
21. First of the Gang to Die

Review:
The night opened up with the Courteeners, a five-piece alternative band from Manchester. They played ten songs in about 35 minutes. They sounded somewhat Britpoppy, but with more of a post-80s feel. These guys were obviously fans of the Smiths, and they said as much on stage. I wasn't blown away, but they were friendly and made decent music. The fit the bill as an opener for Morrissey, and I liked that they seemed like a young band that might otherwise belong in smaller venues.

After they left the stage, just like Morrissey's last tour, music videos and other clips were projected onto a big screen covering the stage. This time the video featured plenty of Shocking Blue songs and a live television performance of the New York Dolls, a documented love of Morrissey's. The stage fell a few minute before 9:00pm to reveal a background filled with a massive, buff sailor. After the intro music ran for a minute or two, the band hit the stage and burst into the classic Smiths single "This Charming Man".

Morrissey split his set fairly evenly between tracks from his new album, Years of Refusal, songs from his solid 2004 comeback album, You Are the Quarry, and old Smiths songs, with a few older songs from his solo career thrown in. The choice of his songs is quite interesting in terms of what was and wasn't represented. Among the Smiths songs he played, three were charting singles, two are slightly obscure but great album tracks, and "I Keep Mine Hidden" is notable as the last recorded Smiths song, found only on the b-side of "Girlfriend in a Coma" (and the extremely belatedly-released "Sweet and Tender Hooligan" single). The solo tracks were rather curiously focused; Morrissey nearly completely overlooked his entire early career (no "Suedehead" or "Everyday Is Like Sunday"!?) in favor of five or six songs each from two of his latest albums. Nothing from his first three albums was included, only one song from the next three was present, and nothing from his relatively recent 2006 album, Ringleader of the Tormentors was to be heard. Did he suddenly turn his back on that album? It may not be as good as the new album or You Are the Quarry, but it certainly wasn't bad.

Regardless, I can't complain with what he did deliver. The band rocked out in top form, except for a few guitar problems (e.g., lead guitarist Jesse Tobias had one of his strings break during "Ask", so he couldn't do the lovely lead parts at the end of the song). Morrissey sung perfectly, but he just didn't seem quite as spirited as he could be. He was in a good mood; he still talked some in his normal coy manner and received plenty of gifts from the audience (including what appeared to be vinyl copies of the first two Smiths albums), but he said at one point, "We had a great time in Kansas City, you may be jealous," and said that even though he liked Saint Louis, he liked KC better. He certainly wasn't having as good of a time as last time he was here, although, to be fair, that was his birthday.

Standouts included "How Soon Is Now?", done as a shortened version but with an extended guitar and kettle drum outro, "Death of a Disco Dancer", also featuring a great outro with rhythm guitarist Boz Boorer on clarinet and ending on something of an instrumental freakout, and "First of the Gang to Die", which concluded in a big collective bow by the band. "Seasick, Yet Still Docked" was new to me but sounded fantastic. It was just about the only slower, less rocking song of the night, and it featured acoustic double bass and guitar. The instrumental was particularly beautiful. The only real low point was "I Keep Mine Hidden". It's cool for Morrissey to pull out such an obscurity, but it just isn't a good song, and considering how many amazing Smiths songs there are to choose from, why pick one of the weakest ones?

I was surprised that the encore only consisted of one song – I wondered if Morrissey was snubbing us after a good night in Kansas City, but apparently that's the norm for this tour. Really, the whole band performed quite well, and the songs rocked. It was a lot of fun, but I do wish Moz had put just a bit more energy into it all.

Scores:
The Courteeners: B-
Morrissey: B+

P.S. This time he only took his shirt off and threw it to the audience once. (Last time it was twice.)

SLSO Follow-Up

2009-04-08T17:34:00.002-05:00

The story of Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra's Carnegie Hall performances just keeps getting more interesting. I already reviewed one of their warm-up nights in Saint Louis, but I wanted to share how things ended up at the real deal. If you've been reading the SLSO blog, you've probably already caught most of this, but apparently, at the actual Carnegie Hall performance, the flights were delayed and the musicians didn't arrive until under two hours before showtime. For the first night (the night I didn't get to see), the composer of one of the pieces who was also set to perform a solo vocal part failed to arrive at all. David Robertson, the SLSO conductor, had to do the job himself and let someone else handle the conducting. Apparently, it turned out well anyway. The New York Times has a positive review of both nights with more details.

Speaking of the SLSO blog, I never linked back to the other reviews from that night. The first set can be found here, another here, and the last set (including a link back to my own review) here.

I'd like to thank Eddie Silva at the SLSO once more for a great night. I can't reiterate enough how much fun I've had at the SLSO recently. I'm still surprised I never went before six months ago.

Cup Collector / Brad Schumacher - Live 2009.04.02

2009-04-04T12:15:00.001-05:00

Disclaimer: both of the musicians that I am about to write about are my friends. I still believe that I am capable of evaluating and commenting upon their work in a reasonably fair manner, but be aware, bias may creep in.

Both of these guys rock, by the way.

Artists: Cup Collector / Brad Schumacher
Venue: Sci-Fi Lounge
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
Date: April 2, 2009

Review:
The Sci-Fi Lounge is a unique venue. In fact, I don't even think it was a venue a few weeks ago. It's more of a space, a place you can go to to just hang out. It is owned by a man named Coyote, and it is his collection of art, video and arcade games, music, toys, and books that are spread across the place. The cover charge is $2 (at least when there is live music), but that also nets you a free (non-alcoholic) drink or snack. The atmosphere is great, the people are nice, and the whole thing is rather user-friendly. The only downside is that the place has very limited hours – think I heard it's just open Tuesday and Thursday nights from 8pm-midnight. Coyote has a day job, after all.

Anyway, Cup Collector hit the stage precisely at 9:18 and the crowd went WILD. It was madness. Chairs were thrown about the building, drinks were knocked over recklessly, someone charged at the band and stole all the amplifiers, and then the power went out. We all went home and cried. End of review.

Just kidding. Cup Collector turned on his equipment and asked Coyote if he was too loud. He turned down some, turned to the meager audience and gave a big smile. His setup was his electric guitar, a looping pedal, some effects pedals, and two amplifiers. He turned towards his amplifiers and began playing a very droning riff, mostly consisting of different variations and voicings of the same base chord. Through looping some of these, he created a thick layer of a single massive chord. After a few minutes, he began using his guitar to create feedback hums over the looped chords. The total effect was beautiful, almost relaxing. After six minutes, he suddenly stopped the loops and his playing.

After a quick retune and capo overlay, Cup Collector started a second piece, this time based off of a series of fingerpicked riffs (or at least, that's my guess considering that his back was to us). Several of these were looped over each other to create a swarm of picking. The piece began to build up, and then some distorted undertones appeared in the mix. The sound got louder and more intense until he was adding layers of feedback on top of it all. He removed the layers slowly and faded into a return to quiescence. After completing the ten-minute piece, he cleared his equipment from the stage to make some room for Brad.

Brad Schumacher prepared his equipment for a while and apparently somehow destroyed his orange-painted amplifier in the process. Nonetheless, he still had a PA mixer, two orange-painted speakers, a television wired to display audio waves, his laptop, his guitar, and several pedals. He also had some sort of large sheet which some sort of rough outline of his set sketched out upon it. When he was ready, he played some distorted harmonics and thanked everyone present. He then preceded to play something he "dreamed up a few days ago".

Brad opened with his programmed digital synthesizer on his laptop. After letting his guitar feed back, he scraped his strings a few times and went back to playing with his laptop again. The rawness of the noise came down a notch for a minute, but then he started pounding on his guitar to get some sounds out, and then he started using a whammy pedal to really freak out his guitar. This was matched by a rise in the digital synth upwards to very high pitches. The guitar sound turned very strange and mechanical as the whole soundscape turned dirtier and more tense. Eventually the noise level came down and turned into distant-sounded rumbles. Brad switched to a more electronic-sounding guitar effect, but then began using heavier distortion, some sort of gate, and his whammy pedal. The sum sound was a very thick, dark tonal freakout. Brad bent his guitar neck and used harmonics for more weird sounds, and faded out on synth washes and heavy chords. The whole piece lasted about twenty-two minutes.

This line-up of performers made for an interesting combination – they sounded different, yet they fit together well. Cup Collector is more of a drone sort of thing, but his fancy fingerwork means that there is more going on than a single protracted note – he kept my attention well by his fairly constant subtle changes to the soundscape. Brad's piece felt like an honest composition: there were distinct sections with different sounds, and he balanced his work well between his guitar and the digital synth. I have no idea how he created some of the sounds he made, and that fascinates me.

Both loosely fall into the ambient scene, and both were solo musicians focusing on their guitars, pedals, layering, and feedback, instead of vocals, melody, or rock stylings, but their approaches are somewhat different, and I was left in a different mood after each. Even when Cup Collector approached more intense ground, the atmosphere was more relaxing than abusive. Much of Brad's piece was darker, but the whole sum of his performance was more varied than just that; there was a process, a development, some sort of logical progression from start to finish.

It's rather a pity, though, that the audience was mostly just a few friends of each of performer. The musicians of the night fit the environment well, but I can't help but think that there are plenty of people that should have been there and would have loved it if they had been. The Sci-Fi Lounge is a cool venue that deserves some more attention. I hope a few more people start heading there – it may be tucked away a little bit, but it isn't hard to find and it's just off the Loop.

Score: A-

Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra - Live 2009.03.27

2009-03-29T23:02:00.001-05:00

So it happened again: the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra offered me a ticket to a concert of great import under the guise of "Blogger's Night 2". Who am I to say no? Last time was so much fun, and it was an engaging new challenge for me to write about classical music. This time, after checked out an exhibit at the Contemporary Art Museum curated by a classmate of mine, I took along my film-reviewer brother along for the ride to the symphony.

Event: Transformations, performed by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Robertson
Venue: Powell Hall
Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
Date: March 29, 2009

Program:
1. Good Friday Music from Parsifal, composed by Richard Wagner (1882)
2. Canto di speranza, for cello and orchestra, composed by Bernd Alois Zimmerman (1952-53, revised 1957), featuring cellist Anssi Karttunen
3. Luonnotar, op. 70, composed by Jean Sibelius (1910-13), featuring soprano Karita Mattila
4. Mirage, composed by Kaija Saariaho (2007), featuring soprano Karita Mattila and cellist Anssi Karttunen
5. Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, op. 82, composed by Jean Sibelius (1915-19)

Review:
As conductor David Robertson took his place on stage, he started by responding to a resounding walkie-talkie message that echoed through the silent building with, "We're the only orchestra with Richard Wagner on the walkie-talkie." It was humorous, but it reminded me of what sort of acoustics we're dealing with at Powell Hall: the microphones dangling from the ceiling are only for recording purposes; there is no sound reinforcement whatsoever (unless I'm totally missing something, that is). Robertson spoke his line with his back halfway turned to the audience and yet he was loud and clear (as was the original walkie-talkie sentence). I'm amazed by the clarity of the unamplified sound in the hall.

The performance opened with Good Friday Music from Parsifal, which began with a standard arrangement of sweet-sounding strings, but the piece built up into a grand crescendo before slow flutes and the string section dominated a mellower section. A sudden change to a minor key heralded a softer section led by the woodwinds. As the piece went on, it continued to vacillate between longer, brighter, fuller segments and short, dark parts, usually accented by some strong but minimalist bass and timpani parts. It finished with a bevy of descending lines slowing down quietly into a final resounding note. My favorite part might have been that the timeline in the concert program that noted that the most important event of 1882 (other than this piece's composition) was Friedrich Nietzsche's proposition that God is dead. I find the relationship between the piece and Nietzsche to be tenuous at best.

Canto di speranza, composed by a German but carrying an Italian title, translates to Song of Hope. Where the hope comes in is beyond me, but this was probably my favorite piece of the evening. The performers rearranged themselves significantly; there were no violins and fewer other strings and brass. The piece began with an abstract, discombobulated arrangement of percussion splashes: a bass drum, bongos, and quad tom-toms laid out a wildly syncopated pseudo-rhythm with piano strikes thrown in at odd moments. Plucked violas and strange brass and harp parts filled in the sound spectrum while solo cellist Karttunen grew more active in his part. A sudden breakout into a briefly recognizable beat with strong horn blasts withdrew into a more disconnected but still dramatic section that only loosely felt in key. (As it turns out, the piece was composed in twelve-tone serialism, meaning that there truly is no key.) The pianist turned and reached over to a conveniently-placed celesta to add in a few small parts of relatively low volume. A mad dash of trills and notes in the highest registers dropped down back into the "normal" weirdness of the opening of the piece before ending in cello slides, squeaks, and a low dragging close.

Luonnater was composed by a famed Finn for a solo soprano, performed here by well-regarded Marita Mattila. The lyrics were in Finnish, so a large projector displayed the translation. The tale is a creation myth sourced from the Finnish epic Kalevala. A faint string bed opened, and Mattila began almost immediately thereafter. As she sung of a lonely woman of the heavens complaining of her empty life and descending into the ethereal sea, the tense but pretty string and harp parts entered a darker segment. The woman remained unhappy until a duck came, heralding a build-up of strings and brass. A loud and dramatic section began as the duck couldn't find a place to nest, until the woman, described now as the mother of waters, granted it a place on her knee. The music quieted and then grew again darker as the woman was bothered by the warmth of the growing eggs. The nest eventually rolled off and broke apart, and although beauty emerged, the music remained dark and uncertain. The piece ended on a slightly upward happier note as the eggs became the sky, moon, stars, and earth.

Mirage is a contemporary Finnish piece with English lyrics, just two years old. Featuring solo cellist Karttunen and soprano Mattila now together, I had high hopes. Weird squeaks, squalls, and glissandos made for a really cool dark opening. A percussionist did a weird thing on the cymbals at several points in the work: he had a long (wooden?) shaft that he drew across the edge of the cymbal while using his other hand to perhaps steady the cymbal. It generated an unusual high pitch. Mittali, now clad in a wide yellow gown, began singing about flying, calling herself a "sacred eagle woman", and later, a shooting star and a "sacred clown". The piece is based on the effects of a hallucinogenic mushroom, and the psychedelia thereof was clearly borne out through Mittali's strange vocal stylisms and the strange noises and crashes of the accompanying music. The solo cello played a less important role; Karttunen almost seemed overlooked by the intense vocals until about two-thirds through during the craziest parts before Mittali sang, "I am! I am the shooting star! Because... I can fly!" The music became louder and more dramatic until the end of her pronouncement, where the strings began to make descending wails. Slow glides downward, much like a siren, brought the resolution, perhaps revealing that her drug-induced vision must eventually end; she must come down and return to normalcy.

The final piece, Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, was a more traditional work, again by the Finnish Sibelius. After the stranger middle three pieces, this brought us back to the more familiar ground established in Good Friday Music from Parsifal. This work was a much longer piece than the others, lasting over half an hour. Timpani and brass opened, with woodwinds and strings following, eventually crescendoing into a big swing. The brass and woodwinds began a bold interchange of lines, which led into an intense and dramatic rising string part that resolved into a bigger and lusher segment. This fell into a softer part that quickly became tenser before a bassoon took a pretty lead segment. As the music swelled louder and bolder again, the tempo rose along with the tension. This fell into nicer territory before the strings began to prance all over the place, with different parts appearing to rise out of a different part of the stage at each second. A large build-up into a loud section was dominated by clear brass parts and big chords. The timpani grew stronger before everything halted for just a beat. Light woodwinds, brass, and pizzicato strings picked up again. Eventually, after another brief pause, the strings picked up to an incredible pace, wavering and flying about until settling into what sounded like a section borrowed from a classical movie score. It sounded celebratory or especially epic, but then collapsed into a much quieter part. Speedy violins led into a darker, sadder section. More familiar bold brass lines brought a dark drone from the strings, concluding in big timpani rolls and a final series of quick string jabs.

I found that Good Friday Music from Parsifal was fairly tame and calm. It isn't a bad work, nor was it poorly performed; but it just seemed rather plain, especially in comparison to the other works of the night. Canto di speranza ended up as my favorite – Karttunen is a fantastic cellist and he really held down the piece. The obtuse percussion was cool, but could have been aimless and distracting had it not been for the superb cello work acting as a sort of counterpoint. Luonnator was certainly interesting, but the context of the epic tale was a bit difficult. Mattila is clearly a talented vocalist; she has complete control over her voice, and she wrought that power well in the work. In Mirage, however, I felt like she was perhaps too intense and overdramatic. It may be that in a classical context that shouldn't even be a concern, but I felt distracted and removed from the piece. The intention of the piece was solid, and the music worked, but Mattila's stylisms were a detraction for me, and Karttunen seemed occasionally underutilized. Sibelius' Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major was fairly good; the work neared the point of being too traditional to be interesting, but it branched out well and had several really cool parts, especially with the brass sections. I liked that it was big and varied, but it was a bit too long and overdrawn, almost too big in scope.

Since this concert was a preview for a performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City (on April 4th), I'm sure a lot of work was put into this production. It was a long and varied program, and the best parts were truly excellent. However, there were parts that I felt dragged a bit, or where my interest faded some. Mattila is intensely skilled, but I found her actual performance to be hit-and-miss; Karttunen was similarly excellent but occasionally lost in the forest of sounds. The symphony as a whole performed quite well and I was pleased with the endeavor as a whole.

Score: B+

[Edit 4.8.09: Also check out my follow-up report here.]

Andrew Bird - Live 2009.03.15

2009-03-19T10:29:00.001-05:00

I must admit that I am something of a neophyte when it comes to Andrew Bird, but when I heard he was coming I figured that it would be a show worth checking out. (It is strange, though, that I am more willing to spend $20+ on a concert instead of $12+ on a CD as my introductory experience… although I suppose the concert is more unique.) Anyway, I convinced one of my friends who has been a longtime fan to come along with me, and it made for a good night.

Artist: Andrew Bird
Venue: The Pageant
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Date: March 15, 2009
Opening Act: The Heartless Bastards

Setlist:
01. Improvisation (Solo)
02. The Water Jet Cilice (Solo)
03. Masterswarm
04. Natural Disaster
05. Effigy
06. Oh No
07. A Nervous Tic Motion of the Hand to the Left
08. Fitz and the Dizzyspells
09. Not a Robot, but a Ghost
10. Lull
11. Anonanimal
12. Imitosis
13. Souverian
14. Doctor Strings ->
15. Fake Palindromes
Encore:
16. Improvisation (Solo) ->
17. Why? (Solo)
18. Tables and Chairs

Review:
Right on time at 8pm the Heartless Bastards took the stage. The band is a singer/guitarist (who also did some keyboard), a lead guitarist (who occasionally did bass), a bassist (who also did some pedal steel and acoustic guitar), and a drummer. They played nine songs in just about 45 minutes, most of which were bluesy rock numbers. Their songs were pretty heavy, but the song structures and arrangements were excessively basic. There were no alarms and no surprises whatsoever. Even the one acoustic number was just three chords accompanied by a simple picking pattern on a second guitar. The one song with pedal steel was a welcome change, but they left the instrument otherwise unused. The singer did a few loops, but they were really basic and she only made them so she could solo over them. However, this was rather unnecessary considering that the other musicians kept the music held down fine as it was. Her keyboard, too, was just used for the verses of one song. Why cart around so much stuff if you are barely even going to use it? I was pretty disappointed, especially in the last number, which was an extended jam where the musicians just played the same simple riff for several minutes. I was expecting a solo or something, but no, they just kept playing the same chord over and over. Boring.

At 9:15pm, Andrew Bird came out and immediately started plucking his violin and creating loops. This was apparently an improvisation, and even if that hadn’t been the case, he created quite a soundscape just by himself. At his disposal was his trusty plucked and bowed violin, a hollow-bodied electric guitar, a glockenspiel, a modest set of effects and looping pedals, his amazing capacity to whistle, and his regular voice.

After another loop-laden solo piece, he brought out his band, which is currently Martin Dosh on drums, Jeremy Ylvisaker on guitar, and Mike Lewis bass. Dosh usually played slightly intricate but restrained rhythms; only on a few songs did he let himself go to rock out more (but obviously, this isn't your normal rock band). He had a whole bunch of extra equipment in the form of some sort of combination of effects processors, samplers, loop pedals, and auxiliary percussion (and maybe some sort of keyboard instrument?). I was never too sure what all he was doing, but I know it sounded great. Ylvisaker mostly did modestly complex fingerpicking riffs that really helped fill in some of the parts of the sound base that Bird wasn't doing himself. He sometimes also played with loops and other effects, and once or twice he picked up Lewis's bass when he switched to saxophone or bassoon. Lewis kept up solid basslines through the entire set and he was able to occasionally pick up other instruments and do pristine lead parts.

I won't be able to describe things in too great of detail or talk too specifically about which songs were the coolest, but I do remember some particularly interesting things. The stage had four massive gramophone-style speakers, and the two largest ones were usually lit in some stark color. Sometimes this was the same as the rest of the stage but sometimes they were strikingly different. The other two speakers were connected and hooked up to one of Bird's pedals so that he could control how fast they would spin around. His amplifier must have output to those speakers, because a microphone stood right beyond them so that when they spun fast, it created a rotary effect.

I was very impressed by the total sound output of the musicians. My first thought of the complete band (during "Masterswarm") was a very chamber pop thing, but songs like "Fitz and the Dizzyspells" got pretty rocking. "Not a Robot, but a Ghost" was introduced as a collaboration with Dosh (who originally wrote the music under the title "First Impossible"), and the song did sound a bit different than the rest. It was a pretty good jam with a cool outro; Dosh threw down some weird percussion samples, Lewis was looping his bassoon, and Ylvisaker had a little box with a long antenna that he held over his strings to create weird sounds.

"Lull" was preceded by two false starts, apparently because Dosh was controlling some of Bird's loops and he wasn't satisfied with the timing or something. As Bird said, "This is tricky stuff, you know." Ylvisaker had some sort of pen-thing or a weird slide, and between that and Bird's glockenspiel, they created a beautiful soundscape once they got going. After a false start of "Imitosis", Bird said their errors were just inexperience: this was the first show of their tour. Again, once things got going, the song had a great groove. Ylvisaker did a little guitar solo, which led into a violin solo by Bird, and later he did a solo in which he alternated between whistling, glockenspiel, and guitar. Way cool.

Many songs opened with solo instrumentals by Bird that suddenly transitioned into the "actual" songs after a minute or two; the one before "Effigy" was particularly notable due to the sudden but cool change in atmosphere. The "Doctor Strings" bit seemed to confuse some people (or at least me), but it appears to be a short humorous piece about fixing stringed instruments. It sort of segued into "Fake Palindromes", which the audience totally loved. They cheered and moved more to that song than any other by far. As it is a rocking song, I supposed this was deserved.

At 10:45, the Bird and the band left the stage, but within a minute, Bird came back out by himself for an encore. He started into a piece with a really weird syncopated rhythm, and he screwed it up twice and had to restart, but it was cool once he got it. The audience didn't seem to mind, but he said, "You're awfully patient," and apologized. That moved into "Why?", which was a quite abstract and unusual song. The band returned for one last song, and they left their loops going as they left the stage, just a minute or two after 11:00pm.

I have to admit, I was really impressed. I'd heard some of Andrew Bird's recorded material before, and even though I liked it, I never thought too much about it. Seeing him live was an experience. He is an incredibly talented and creative musician, and he truly has figured out how to capitalize on looping. He can switch instruments and alternate whistling and singing so quickly that you are left amazed that just one man can produce so much sound.

Scores:
Andrew Bird: A
The Heartless Bastards: D

P.S. Thanks to Josh Potter for the setlist!

Charlie King - Live 2009.03.03

2009-03-15T16:54:00.000-05:00

I've been too busy to write about a couple of the shows I've attended over the past couple months, but I saw one in particular that I'd like to at least briefly document. Charlie King came to Webster University, and I happened to be quite involved in one of the groups that sponsored his appearance. King is a folksinger activist who has been active since the late 70s, and although folk's popular peak may have been years before he started performing, King has been working hard to keep it alive.

Artist: Charlie King
Venue: Winifred-Moore Auditorium, Webster University
Location: Webster Groves, Missouri
Date: March 3, 2009

Review:
I'm not familiar enough with Charlie's back catalog or the modern folk tradition to be able to provide a setlist, but I will at least try to discuss some of the themes that Charlie addressed during the evening. The most important part of folk songs are the words, since these are the actual media through which messages are shared, so I'm going to focus on the lyrical content instead of the actual tunes. Most of them weren't extremely complicated anyway, but that's fine. The words are more important. Just about every song King played covered a topical political theme; he went from the privilege of the rich to anti-war protests to environmentalism and beyond.

These themes aren't particularly surprising, but it is nonetheless a delight to hear someone sing their heart out quick candidly about their opinions on these subjects. Many were quite creative; for example, one of the songs early in the set focused on a baboon colony in which all the adult males had somehow died. As the next generation grew up, instead of using typical aggression and giving into standard hierarchical power structures, the baboons worked together and minimized their in-fighting to great success. King asked us why we can't do the same.

Charlie seemed mostly pleased with our newly elected president, but strongly encouraged us to keep him accountable for his campaign promises. King remembered when he had initially supported Bill Clinton, only to be disappointed by the "great compromise" of his "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which led into a storytelling song about the issue. King also lamented the urban renewal and class warfare occurring on Laramie Street in Denver, where the former businesses friendly to the homeless and lower-class were bulldozed in favor of an expensive shopping district.

King discussed his attempts to improve his fuel efficiency by refusing to drive over 60 miles per hour; he claimed that each 5 miles per hour that one drives is matched by a 10% increase in fuel efficiency, but his slow driving also earned him countless evil glares. He had a great line to the effect of, "Don't you know, we all have Prius envy," that sent the auditorium laughing. This led into a song about wanting a gentler car, but realizing that it's better to take the train, or better yet, a bike, or still better, to walk.

I felt a bit more mixed about the latter half of King's concert. I appreciated the songs about supporting unions and showing actual support for American troops through peaceful means. However, I do not agree with King's rant against video games. I prefer moderation over censorship, although I did find King's abstraction to his concerns about preparing children for the military to be valid. Worse, though, was a deeply anti-progressive song against technology and mechanization. I understand King's concern that this can lead to a loss of certain jobs (such as his father's), but I feel like King left out a large part of the story of modernization.

The last songs were a return to form; his closer was "Our Life Is More Than Our Work", a classic of his own that opened his first (commercially available) album, and for an encore he covered an antiwar song by Bobby Darin, much to the surprise of the audience.

King is in many ways a typical folkster, which is mostly a good thing even if he is imperfect. It is regrettable that there are not many other people with any degree of popularity carrying on the folk tradition. There is a younger generation of singer-songwriters with a strong folk bent that are a bit more modern and progressive, but King is one of the last old-style folksingers. He is legitimately concerned about the everyman and about peace and the environment. I'm glad that there are still people out there singing about these things. Even if I think King could take a few steps towards the future in some of his opinions, he mostly does a solid job bringing together the past and present.

In addition to performing about eighteen songs, King told plenty of stories and provided introductions for many of his pieces (and he always gave credit for the songs he didn't write). He kept the audience interested and involved, especially by inviting us to sing along with many of his songs. His choruses are usually well-suited for audience participation, and he successfully got us to take part. Regrettably, however, the audience was frightfully thin. There were only about thirty or forty people in attendance. For a fairly open-minded liberal arts college with a significant enough musical community in a city of a few million, where was everyone?

Score: B+

P.S. The only other review of this show that I'm aware of was written by a friend of mine for the school paper, and it can be found here. Coincidentally, I'm quoted in it.

The Smashing Pumpkins - If All Goes Wrong (2008)

2009-01-02T15:23:00.001-06:00

I don't want to focus so much on the Smashing Pumpkins, but I've been thinking about writing a review of their latest single ("G.L.O.W.") or their latest music videos or something, and after watching their new DVD, I decided I had to say a few words on the topic. Here goes:

Artist: The Smashing Pumpkins
DVD: If All Goes Wrong
Release Date: November 11, 2008
Label: Coming Home Media
Producer/Director: Jack Gulick and Daniel E. Catullo III

Tracklisting:
Disc One:
01. "If All Goes Wrong" documentary
02. "Voices of the Ghost Children" featurette
03. Interview with Pete Townshend
Disc Two (Live at the Fillmore, San Francisco):
01. The Rose March
02. Peace + Love
03. 99 Floors
04. Blue Skies Bring Tears
05. Superchrist
06. Lucky 13
07. Starla
08. Death from Above
09. The Crying Tree of Mercury
10. Winterlong
11. Heavy Metal Machine / White Rabbit [Jefferson Airplane cover]
12. Untitled
13. No Surrender
14. Gossamer
15. Zeitgeist
16. 99 Floors (Rehearsal)
17. Peace + Love (Rehearsal)
18. Mama (Rehearsal)
19. No Surrender (Rehearsal)
20. Promise Me (Rehearsal)

Review:
I didn't quite know what to expect when I bought this DVD. I figured the second disc would be predictable, but I wasn't sure what the documentary would focus on. It essentially covers the Smashing Pumpkins' residencies in Asheville, NC and San Francisco, CA in the summer of 2007, right as Zeitgeist was released and right after their first reunion shows in Europe. The band played nine nearly-consecutive shows at the Orange Peel in Asheville and twelve at the Fillmore in San Francisco. The idea was that the band would tighten up, have an opportunity to write new songs, and perhaps have a certain degree of dialog about the material with the audience.

The documentary semi-chronologically follows mainly the band throughout the nights and but also frontman Billy Corgan during the days while he tries to write songs. Several songs are singled out and described; we are told when each of these songs was written and first performed (often just a day apart) and Corgan often explains how the songs fit into what is going on around him. Most relate directly to his experiences with the audience and his environment across the six weeks of the residencies.

Considerable time is given for Corgan to explain that he feels held back by his audience, that they are living in the past and don't want the Smashing Pumpkins to grow and change. He continually talks about trying to move on have a new start beyond his band's former identity. This strikes me as interesting for several reasons. First, when Corgan first put an ad in local Chicago papers saying that he wanted to reform the Pumpkins, he explicitly said he wanted his old songs back (after adamantly refusing to play them during Zwan and solo tours). Second, his setlists from the first reunion shows in Europe, the residencies covered here, the extended world tour thereafter, and the 25th anniversary tour that he just completed all are filled with old material. Granted, he has written many new songs while on tour that he frequently performs, but the tracks from Zeitgeist are infrequently performed live, especially on the latest tour, where they rarely appeared on setlists. Why would he overlook the obvious new material and favor old material if he's trying to get away from it?

A large conundrum here, though, is that in many ways, Corgan is moving on. He has written at least forty songs since reforming the band, in addition to adopting plenty of new cover songs, revamping old songs, and bringing back some forgotten songs (like the previously unperformed "Translucent" and "I Am One, Part 2"). As far as performing concerts goes, Corgan is doing exactly what he should be: mixing old favorites and overlooked songs with newly written material. He hasn't forgotten the songs that made the band great, but he's adding a new chapter to the story. He keeps talking about trying to move on, and he is. I wish he'd stop talking about it and ripping on his audience members and just do it. He doesn't need to proselytize – there are plenty of people out there picking up what he's putting down.

This doesn't mean that everything the Pumpkins are doing is great. I really like the American Gothic EP and many of the songs seen only in concert (especially "A Song for a Son", "Owata", and "99 Floors"), but Zeitgeist and the "G.L.O.W."/"Superchrist" single both sound so static and trite. I can't recommend them or any of the recent music videos, all of which are just flashy excuses to dance around without actually having any content. And at the same time, I recommend the EP and a concert ticket, even if the latter is expensive and I still don't really like how the band has been ending many of their concerts (such as the one I attended). This is partially addressed in the documentary when the band performs 30+ minute versions of "Gossamer" as their closer. One of these performances is included on the second disc, and it's really obnoxious. In the film, the band complains of people losing interest and the camera shows people yawning and leaving the concert early. Honestly: what do you expect? The still-long but significantly more tolerable 15- or 20-minute versions of the song have some really cool parts, but the 30-minute versions just drag on and have extended periods of senseless jamming. These things are fun to do in your basement (and I can attest to this), but they don't translate to the stage well.

The two bonus features on the first disc are of limited interest (just as the main feature, I suppose). The "Voices of the Ghost Children" segment is just fans saying typical and predictable things about the band and the reunion shows. They are obviously one-sided, just as most of the fans shown in the film itself. The interview with Pete Townshend is far more interesting, as he talks about the relationship between musicians and fans and his own experience with residencies.

The second disc is decent. It compiles fifteen songs from the Fillmore residency and makes a good setlist out of them. Some songs are done acoustic or with sparse instrumentation, and some are full-band. The performances and sound quality are top-notch, and the song selection is appreciable outside of a few songs that are just metal-riff jam-fests. The eight-minute rendition of "Blue Skies Bring Tears", though, manages to be a heavy song that totally rocks and sounds great. The main set is augmented by five songs from a rehearsal done on July 27, 2007 on the floor of the Fillmore. There are a few repeats with minimal differences from the stage versions, but the two extra songs both sound good. My main problem with all of the live performances on the disc is that the mix really favors the guitar and drums (which are conveniently the instruments played by the only two original members). Ginger Reyes' bass and Lisa Harriton's keyboards (and all the backing vocals) are frequently nearly inaudible.

When it comes down to it, I'm happy to have the Smashing Pumpkins back. Honestly. Corgan talks a lot about how his fans won't trust him, but I do. I think he often treats the people around him and his audiences fairly poorly, but he's still a good songwriter and musician. He's not always spot-on these days, and that's fine. I'm confident that he will continue to make music that will occasionally shine brightly. I'm willing to accept that the band must evolve and that the personnel involved must also change. The new members fit their roles well enough, and although I think nearly everyone would like James Iha or D'arcy back, it is understood that they are not interested in participating, and that's fine. They've moved on in their own ways. I do, however, find it a bit inappropriate for the documentary to use several interviews to minimize the role those members played in the band – especially in having one of the band's soundmen, Kerry Brown, reiterate this with a title under him mentioning his status as D'arcy's ex-husband.

Corgan must understand that not everyone will follow him everywhere he goes, but he cannot deny that many people will. (Zeitgeist has gone gold in the US, so there's at least half a million people on board.) He doesn't need to rant about moving on, he should just do it. Instead of berating his audience and lamenting the disinterested people, he should simply let his audience know that he wants to explore new directions and then go for it. People will listen.

Scores:
"If All Goes Wrong" documentary: D
"Voices of the Ghost Children" featurette: C-
Pete Townshend interview: B
Live at the Fillmore: B
Entire package: C

Bonus scores (just for fun and reference's sake):
American Gothic EP: A-
"G.L.O.W."/"Superchrist" single: D+
The four music videos made since the reunion ("Tarantula", "That's the Way", "Superchrist", "G.L.O.W."): F

Free Local Music

2008-12-27T13:52:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to write a quick note about a few friends who have their music available for free download. First is Falsetto Boy, whose recent live performance I just wrote about. He's a solo mostly-acoustic act based out of St. Louis. If you go to his website and click on the links on the right, you can download a bunch of his EPs, totally for free. Enjoy. He also has a punkier album out with Muscle Brain that you still might be able to get a copy of (if you pay).

Second is Savant Trigger, who just released a new EP after spending four months in Vienna. If you go to his really crazy website and click on Free Downloads, you can get the EP and the Terminal album from earlier this year, again totally for free. He's an electronic artist that makes a sort of experimental dance pop thing. He's also based out of St. Louis and occasionally has dance parties that totally rock. I recommend spending some time playing around on his extended website maze.

I'd also like to mention Ian Fisher, who is currently touring Europe and probably won't come back to his semi-native St. Louis for a while. He's an acoustic folk artist that often plays with a cellist and/or some other friends. His two albums aren't free, but you can download them from iTunes. According to his website, he's got another full-band album in the works, too. He's a great songwriter and his recordings sounds fantastic.

Someday I'll get some more of my own music up for download online, but currently you can only stream a few songs off my Myspace page and download some old tracks at my old download.com site that I haven't updated in years. Of course, if you want a physical copy of my latest album, just let me know.

Support local music! (And if you don't live in St. Louis... support independent music!)

Falsetto Boy / Luc Michalski / Jordan Knecht / You, Crumbling - Live 2008.12.21

2008-12-23T13:48:00.000-06:00

I've written about the Lemp before, and I'd like to do it again. Last time I attended part of a noise festival, but last night was described by the musicians themselves as "a nice night of friends and acoustic music." It's a somewhat different scene, but it's interesting that the audience isn't all that different. Certainly, they weren't all the same people, but I'm sure there were plenty of people at both shows.

Artists: Falsetto Boy / Luc Michalski / Jordan Knecht / You, Crumbling
Venue: Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Date: December 21, 2008

Review:
The Lemp is such a fascinating place. Almost every show is $5, the audience is young (certainly plenty under 21 if not under 18), and their mantra-of-sorts is "no booze, no drugs, no jerks." It also helps that the people that run it and frequent it are just so damn friendly! There's such a community atmosphere there that something like the Pageant (let alone Riverport/Verizon Wireless Amphitheater) could never dream of. That's probably in no small part due to the smaller audience sizes and lack of real stage, but still. It's hard to go there and not have a good time.

So, anyway, this was an acoustic show featuring four different acts. I'll write a little bit about all four. I have to apologize for not being able to be as descriptive as I'd like – I accidentally left my notebook at home, so I'm going off of my fairly poor memory.

Falsetto Boy came first. The act is actually just one man, Jim Fitzpatrick, and his acoustic guitar. He played four or five songs, and I would say that of the four performers, he was probably my favorite. (I'm not just saying that because he's my friend. I swear.) His songs often feature some slightly odd tunings and strangely shaped chords, but it gives them a great sound. Nothing sounded dissonant, but Jim takes advantage of the chordal possibilities of a guitar to create voicings that are just a little bit out there. This was combined with his melodies that didn't always follow predictable patterns – several parts provided some nice counterpoint with the guitar riffs. The best song was a longer piece about death, inspired by the passing away of his grandfather. The lyrics were intelligent and there were several distinct segments that together built a cool song.
Score: B+

Luc Michalski was second. This was his first show (although an audience member shouted something to the effect that he has played in a band before), which is cool, but it kind of showed. I'm sure he did better than I did at my first show, but his guitar was consistently out of tune and he was visibly nervous, meaning that he was just a bit shaky and warbly. Regardless, I thought his melodies were good, and he certainly didn't perform poorly. This is definitely someone who has potential. With more experience (and a better guitar), he could become a really good act. He didn't do bad for his first show, and I suspect he'll do better in the future.
Score: C

Jordan Knecht performed next. He forms half of the sort-of-broken-up Muscle Brain with Jim, but in that band, he plays/played drums, whereas here he was sporting an acoustic guitar. Like the other performers, he also played only maybe five songs. His guitarwork was decent on the first few songs, but then for one song, he plugged in to a looping pedal and a small amp and preceded to make a pleasant sonic landscape for himself to sing over. His vocals were probably the best of the night; he sounded the most trained and the most accurate. For his last song, he had a friend (I think the name was Michelle) come up and play one of her own songs, to which Jordan added baritone harmony and lead guitar parts. It was a good set.
Score: B

You, Crumbling came last, and sadly, at least a third of the audience left before he started playing. This is the solo act of Curtis Tinsley, who played on a steel-stringed classical guitar with a rope for a shoulder strap. I wish I could remember more about his set, but what sticks out in my memory is that his guitar-playing was perhaps the best of the night. I was quite impressed by his ability to whip out great little riffs and melody lines on his guitar. I don't think his vocals were anything special, but I specifically recall a few guitar parts that were just really cool.
Score: B-

On the whole, this was a nice evening. As advertised, it was a pleasant night of friends and acoustic music (and free cider and hot chocolate!). I love the environment, and the music was good. Check out the links to each artist's webpages if you want to hear some of their recordings.

Overall score: B

Statement of Intent: An Introduction of Sorts

2008-12-18T14:45:00.005-06:00

I'd like to do something a little different for once. I'd like to provide a sort of statement of intent, or an explanation of where I'm coming from when I write reviews. This will be a bit biographical, but I hope that you will bear with me as I attempt to clarify why I hold the opinions that I have. I barely ever introduced myself on this blog, so I'd like to do that in a more organized fashion now. (My previous attempts can be found in the opening paragraphs of my first and fifth posts.)

Hello! My name is Patrick Vacek, and if you can't tell based on a quick statistical analysis of where my live reviews come from, I currently live in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. I am a student, and although I don't study music, I have been playing music as a hobby for about eight years. I have played in a few different bands of various degrees of seriousness, but my solo act (The Nowhere Man) is the only one currently active. Because of my background in music, I evaluate other people's music with a modest understanding of music theory and a degree of experiential knowledge.

Perhaps I owe it to my father for more or less introducing me to good music, but it wasn't until years later that I began to appreciate many of his favorite bands (the Beatles, Neil Young, Kraftwerk, Brian Eno, etc.). My interest in music began with what was on the radio (bland modern rock), then went through industrial music (Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy, Einstürzende Neubauten, etc.), and has now taken me primarily in two different directions. The first path is the best of contemporary "alternative" bands, like Radiohead, the Faint, Belle & Sebastian, and in particular, the Smashing Pumpkins. The second path correlates moderately to the favorite bands of those bands on the first path, such as the Cure, the Smiths, Bauhaus, Joy Division, et cetera. All of these bands fall under the heading of post-punk, and I remember that when I first learned about these and other similar bands, I devoured every album I could find. To this day, finding "new" post-punk music is often more exciting for me than learning about new releases.

Post-punk is arguably a very broad title, and I think that's fine. After the rebellious torch of punk music exploded on itself in 1977, the next ten years or so brought out some very creative music, and the most common thread is simply that it was born out of the energy of punk rockers that grew tired of the constraints of punk. Somehow, much of this music was largely overlooked at the time, especially in America. For me, post-punk brings together many aspects of modern music that appeal to me greatly. Of course, every genre has the possibility of doing this, and occasionally, each genre does. There are merits to be found in nearly every corner of the musical spectrum, but I find that certain corners tend to yield better results than others. This could be attributed to my own inherent prejudices. You decide.

For the second half of this post, I would like to spend some time explaining my opinions on various aspects of music. Hopefully, this will help make sense out of my reviews. Everybody notices different things about music and is attracted or bored by certain aspects of songs. I would like to explain what catches my ear and appeals to me, since these are the things that guide me in writing reviews.

The first thing that usually grabs me when I hear a piece of music is simply how it sounds; that is, what instrumentation was used and how it was played and processed to end up sounding how it does. I absolutely love songs that just sound different. I like guitars, but I often like them best when they are used in unconventional ways or when they hardly sound like guitars. Using unusual instruments or performance techniques or recording methods or processing tools really attracts me.

The opposite to this is a band that continually uses the same instruments and tones with little or no change in total sound. This happens to be one of my biggest problems with a lot of metal music – the continual sonic attack of distorted guitars means that the notes and texture get lost and muddled in the mix. This can be desirable, but overuse leads to a generally uninteresting sound with no auditory depth. This is similar to how I feel about screaming. I usually can't understand what screamers are screaming about, and it is rather alienating for someone to expend so much energy into something that is largely ununderstandable. I prefer texture and melody over a harsh, vocal cord-destroying scream.

The next thing I'll probably notice about a song is its structure. This takes a bit more effort to analyze, but it's usually not too hard to figure out if a song is fairly static or has several different parts with different rhythms or textures. I'll take a dynamic song with several diverse parts over a verse-chorus-verse-chorus song any day. Everyone can write songs using the 12-bar blues or just three chords borrowed from the folk or punk back catalog – I'm far more interested in complex chord structures, tricky contrapuntal solos, a variety of multivariate segments, or completely avant-garde or nontraditional song structures. In particular, highly repetitious music can really bore me. Rarely is a chorus worth repeating more than three times in a song. I fault a lot of dance and hip-hop music for their repetition, but at the same time, these genres often excel at making really cool rhythms and beats, which can make an otherwise bland song quite interesting.

After general sound and structure, the main thing left to observe is the lyrics. Simply because of the devotion necessary to focus on all the words and make sense of them, this is usually the last thing I notice in a song, but that certainly does not mean I don't think lyrics are important. To the contrary, a song with little else to its credit can be extremely meritous if its lyrics are top-notch. However, inane or prejudiced lyrics, even in an otherwise cool-sounding song, nearly instantly turn me off. I love listening to a song and learning something new or seeing something from an angle I'd never thought of before. Therefore, I'm incredibly tired of hearing songs about nothing more than trying to sleep with members the opposite sex of the singer. Music about love/romance/sex is so incredibly dominant that it becomes a serious bore to listen to a new song that rehashes the same idea already sung about hundreds of times. Some bands, though, have realized that even these topics can be approached from new or alternative angles and made more interesting (for example, the Faint's "Casual Sex" or "Worked Up So Sexual"). Of course, a songwriter could simply pick a different topic and come up with something creative.

Generally speaking, I like it when bands try something out of the usual status quo. I love a healthy dose of experimentation, and I adore songs that just sound "out there" and cool and different. When I review, I tend to disapprove of bowing to mainstream interests and thus to appreciate the nontraditional.

Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think.

[Edit 4.4.09: I'd like to clarify my grading scale here, too. I use letter grades. That means a "C" is average, "B" is fairly good, "A" is great, "D" is disappointing, and "F" is outright horrible. I use pluses and minuses as appropriate. I rarely give an "A+", since that implies that the work was quite nearly perfect, but I also don't give many "F" and "D" scores since I don't really like bad music and I usually avoid it.]

(Free) Ticket to Ride

2008-12-14T14:28:00.000-06:00

Remember when I saw the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra for free a few weeks back? Well, thanks to SLSO Publications Manager Eddie Silva and fellow blogger Chris Maue, you can do the same (albeit through slightly different means). Skip to the end of Chris' latest SLSO post at Highway 61 and read a quote from Eddie on how to get your free tickets.

The Faint - Live 2008.12.12

2008-12-13T01:22:00.001-06:00

I know, I know, I just saw and reviewed the Faint in Columbia. And it's also true that every single one of my friends that had wanted to go with me to see them in St. Louis dropped out, but still. How can you pass up $20 tickets for a great band on a boring Friday night when you're trying to avoid the reality of a massive amount of homework? So, yeah, now the Faint are not only the only large-scale band I've seen twice, but they're also the only band I've seen three times.

Artist: The Faint
Venue: The Pageant
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Date: December 12, 2008
Opening Acts: The Pragmatic; The Show Is the Rainbow

Main Setlist:
01. Agenda Suicide
02. Drop Kick the Punks
03. Take Me to the Hospital
04. Forever Growing Centipedes
05. Psycho
06. In Concert
07. Posed to Death
08. Desperate Guys
09. Get Seduced
10. The Conductor
11. Worked Up So Sexual
12. Machine in the Ghost
13. Mirror Error
14. Paranoiattack
15. I Disappear

Encore:
16. Birth
17. The Geeks Were Right
18. Glass Danse

Review:
So whatever, I went alone, just like I did to the Columbia show. This time, though, instead of sitting in the balcony, I decided to hit the pit and dance for once. I made the decision to attend roughly fifteen minutes before the show began, which is also the approximate amount of time it takes me to drive from my apartment to the Pageant. Again, whatever.

The first opening act was the Pragmatic, a local quintet (whose Myspace claims they have a second hometown in Porto, Portugal) that does pretty great nearly-pure synthpop. I say "nearly" because they use a live drummer, but I actually generally prefer that anyway. The other four members all danced around their keyboards and synthesizers, with a lead singer that looks, sounds, and acts eerily like one of my friends who had to work during the concert and therefore couldn't attend. He mostly just sang and only did a little bit of keyboard work, but their only female member contributed the occasional vocal part, too. I have to admit, I think I missed the first few minutes of their set, but from what I did hear, I like them. They might not be absolute standouts, but they had some good hooks and rhythms and all that. I'm currently downloading their latest digital single from their website. Free music rocks.

The second opener was The Show Is the Rainbow, again on tour with the Faint. Frontman/only member Darren was just as wild and active as when I saw him last, but this time he didn't have a drummer and he had a larger venue to run around, which he made full use of. Even if I think he's immature in his lyrical topicality, I love his self-deprecating but simultaneously self-aggrandizing sense of humor and attitude, and his energy is just so intense. Every song finds him running around stage, and usually he ended up jumping into the crowd and then either dancing with audience members, running around the bar, or climbing on top of tables. It was great. He ran past me several times, so I gave him a solid high-five. So much energy.

Finally, after at least a half-hour of waiting after The Show Is the Rainbow left, the Faint hit the stage. And then.... they played the exact same setlist as when I saw them two months ago in a city just two hours away from this venue. On one level, it doesn't matter, but on another... it was pretty much a nearly identical concert; a total repeat. The same songs rocked just as hard and got the same crowd response. (To be specific, the songs that rocked and got the best response were just about all the songs they played off of Black-Wave Arcade and Danse Macabre, specifically "In Concert", "The Conductor", and "Glass Danse". "Take Me to the Hospital" was again fairly unexpected (relatively speaking) and fairly cool.) They played the same video projections and said just about as little as they did at the Columbia show.

The mix was a beat weak because the extreme lows were too loud and the normal bass guitar range was too quiet, as were the guitars during most songs. It's a shame, considering that I like their guitar and bass parts just as much as their synth parts. At a couple different points, though, we were treated to little noise solos by Todd on his special sampler/synth thing. I'm pretty sure he did one between "The Conductor" and "Worked Up So Sexual" at the Columbia show, too, but this time he did one as an introduction to "Mirror Error", too. Also unique to this performance was Todd's mic failing during the last verse of "Birth". His voice went unheard until he grabbed Jacob's mic halfway through "The Geeks Were Right". After that song, they spent a few minutes sorting out the issue, and during that, Dapose did a nice sampler/synth solo of his own.

Other than that... I don't know what else to say. The show was 90% the same as the Columbia show, so read my review of that night if you want more details about their general live performance. It was fun, but it was kind of a drag to realize a few songs in that they were using the same setlist. I was expecting some different songs or a longer setlist or just something different, but alas, only the first opening act was different.

Scores:
If I don't take into account the fact that the show was basically identical to when I saw them two months ago: B+
If I do: D+

Final Comments:
Honestly, I was disappointed that I didn't get almost anything new. At the same time, though, if I hadn't been to the previous show, I probably would have thought this one was as good as that one, because, by and large, it was. However, I do I have to say, I just listened to The Pragmatic's "Circles" single, and although it is good, I like Haii Usagi's album better.

Why couldn't the Faint have pulled a total surprise akin to covering the Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" like they did when I saw them in 2004?

The Smashing Pumpkins - Live 2008.11.26

2008-11-28T20:07:00.002-06:00

When the Smashing Pumpkins reunited and started playing live shows, I was fairly excited and even thought they sounded decent based on bootlegs recordings. When Zeitgeist came out, I was disappointed by the blandness and uniformity of the album. Since then, they released the download-only American Gothic EP, the “G.L.O.W.” b/w “Superchrist” digital single, and the If All Goes Wrong documentary/live DVD. The EP shows the Pumpkins moving in a more acoustic direction, exploring complex vocal layering, and generally being much more creative than what Zeitgeist indicated. The single is okay but nothing revelatory. I haven’t watched the DVD yet, but I know that it contains about a half-dozen new songs that are continuing in the direction of the EP but making progress. Now on tour, the band has another four or five new songs, most of which I actually really like.

On the band’s current tour, christened their 25th Anniversary Tour, the band has been playing double-night residencies in each city they play in. They use just about the same setlists in each city for the two nights; the first is billed as “Black Sunshine” and the second as “White Crosses”. The former tends towards the louder, heavier, more guitar-centric songs while the latter is more balanced with softer and more acoustic songs and thus probably more interesting. In a few cities, they just are just playing one night, blending the two setlists together. One of these cities was St. Louis, which is where I caught them.

Artist: The Smashing Pumpkins
Venue: The Fox Theater
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Date: November 26, 2008
Opening Act: None

Setlist:
01. Tarantula
02. G.L.O.W.
03. Kill Your Parents -> Siva
04. Eye
05. Mayonaise
06. Tonight, Tonight
07. A Song for a Son
08. Superchrist
09. Heavy Metal Machine -> White Rabbit [Jefferson Airplane cover] -> Glass' Theme
10. Landslide [Fleetwood Mac cover]
11. Disarm
12. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
13. Soma
14. Cherub Rock (“Cocktail Version” tease)
15. Cherub Rock (normal version)
16. Zero
17. Bodies
18. Gossamer
19. The Sounds of Silence [Simon and Garfunkel cover] -> Lil' Red Riding Hood [Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs cover]
20. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun [Pink Floyd cover]

Review:
After reading Pitchfork’s roast of the current Smashing Pumpkins tour and being aware that Corgan has a tendency to preach or rant or just get obnoxious at recent shows, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect out of this show. However, I liked the look of the setlists and sound of the bootlegs that I have been able to get a hold of. I went on in hoping for the best.

The core touring band (singer/songwriter/guitarist Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin from the old days along with second guitarist Jeff Schroeder, bassist Ginger Reyes, and keyboardist Lisa Harriton) came out to some guitar feedback that led into “Tarantula”, the lead single from Zeitgeist. Next came the new single, “G.L.O.W.”. Both of these newer songs were performed well, but neither is a particularly great song; both are loud, heavily-distorted rockers, but at least “G.L.O.W.” has some good dynamics.

The band then started doing a little jam bit that I was fairly sure I recognized, and sure enough, it was the intro jam to “Siva” (dubbed “Kill Your Parents” by fans), only performed live back in the day. “Siva” is simply one of the best songs from the Pumpkins’ 1991 debut album, Gish, and its live performance was quite a treat, since they rocked it well and extended the middle break sections into creative feedback and guitar jams. This was followed by “Eye”, one of the band’s coolest songs (available on the Lost Highway soundtrack or the Rotten Apples greatest hits compilation). It is also one of the most electronic, which means live renditions never mimic the studio recording. This take was largely adapted to guitars, which made it rock even harder, and several parts were still done on keyboards to keep with the general sound.

Harriton’s keyboards on “Eye” were accompanied by second keyboardist Kristopher Pooley and by 10-string violinist Gingger Shankar. These two musicians are new to the Pumpkins’ touring band, and they appeared now and then on certain songs, totalling about half of the concert. Some songs also featured Gabrial McNair on trombone and Stephen Bradley on trumpet. So far, all of the touring members are yet to appear credited on a studio release, but it would seem that at least the core three members (Schroeder, Reyes, and Harriton) are full-time members. However, Corgan does have quite the reputation for being a perfectionist and playing all the non-drumming parts on his albums, so I suspect there is little chance of these members appearing on record. (Past touring keyboardists, such as Jonathan Melvoin and Mike Garson, and Chamberlin’s replacements during his temporary leave of absence were never considered official members, but original bassist D’arcy Wretzky’s replacement, Melissa Auf der Maur, was somewhat recognized as an official member.)

All these additional members really made “Tonight, Tonight” sound full and comparable to the orchestrally-arranged studio version. They stayed out for “A Song for a Son”, which is a new, as-of-yet-unreleased song that features some nice guitar work and classic Pumpkins dynamics. The melody is catchy, it builds up into a great full arrangement, and it has some good keyboard parts, too. Out of all the songs the reunited Pumpkins have performed, this may be my favorite.

Next came “Superchrist” (available as the b-side of “G.L.O.W.”), a long jam with just a few lyrics. Corgan has claimed the song is the sound of the band “back in free territory”, but I think it’s the sound of a band that likes to play really loud electric guitars and play mundane metal riffs. They can do better, and most of their other new songs demonstrate this.

A restructured “Heavy Metal Machine” followed. The band has played it consistently since reforming, and they continually rearrange it, in part by throwing in lyrics from other peoples’ songs. Other than the frequent “White Rabbit” segments (which are the coolest parts of the medley), on this tour they’ve usually thrown in parts of Laid Back’s “White Horse”, Ted Nugent’s “Strangehold”, and Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” and “YYZ”. (Since I am not familiar with any of these songs, I cannot verify if they were done at this performance.) Generally, though, the song just felt overlong. It seemed that the band was just reaching for any excuse to add another segment to the song, and many of these extensions were based on just using different thickly distorted guitar riffs that don’t do anything for me. It ended well, though, by segueing into the awesome Machina II rocker “Glass’ Theme”. I wonder if the lyrical content of the medley is coherent in any sense.

After that, everyone but Corgan and Schroeder left the stage, and they traded their electric guitars for acoustics to do a pleasant version of “Landslide”. Schroeder left while Reyes, Shankar, and the horn section returned for “Disarm”, which Billy claimed he wrote at 6am while standing under the St. Louis Arch. Since he also said during the show that he likes to lie and he does it frequently, something tells me his story is inaccurate. You can never be sure, though.

Billy left the stage, but the rest of the band stayed to do a beautiful take on a rearranged “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness”, which was never performed live before this tour. Billy then came back and led the band through four really awesome classics. “Soma” was great, but “Cherub Rock” was one of the best moments of the show. It started with a false start because Corgan forgot to switch guitars, but then the guitarists did a short smooth-jazzy “cocktail version” of the song before the band played the real thing.

The last part of the show was the Billy jam-fest. “Gossamer” is an unreleased song that has been played since the initial reunion shows, and it was given a decent rendition without doing the full half-hour version from some of the concerts last year. The song is a long, multi-segment prog-rock piece that is largely an excuse for Billy to do some extended guitar solos, but it does sound pretty cool. This was followed by two covers morphed into incredibly long jams that crossed over from the cooler prog-rock territory into the somewhat less-cool space-jam territory. “The Sounds of Silence” sounds nothing like the original and wasn’t particularly worth the amount of time it took to perform. “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” mostly followed this pattern, but it was superior due to a better arrangement. After a significant period of aimless noodling, the band hit their experimental jam peak when the members started changing instruments. First, Corgan set down his guitar and played on some timpani (even though he didn’t really do anything that cool with them). Next, Schroeder set down his guitar and started playing with a theremin and Reyes traded her pick for a bow. The resulting segment of abstract jamming was actually pretty cool. It was out there, but it came together and worked. (It helps that theremins and the like fascinate me.)

Now, on the whole, those three jam sessions lasted about 45 minutes, and although they were mildly interesting, they weren’t that great, and the worst part is that afterwards they just left. No encore, no goodbyes, nothing. They just left and the stage lights came on. I think everyone was expecting the band to come back and break out into “1979” or something similarly riveting. After all the abstract spaciness, I think everyone was sort of mellowed out and ready for a rousing conclusion. And yet it failed to materialize.

I can’t really complain too much here, especially since the band played for nearly two and a half hours and they did do a lot of my favorite songs. However, I did notice that we only got twenty songs, whereas every other show on this tour thus far has had more like 23 or 24. (“Only” must of course be used relatively here.) Again, I think the jamming only occasionally entered exciting territory, but I probably wouldn’t be so negative about it if they had finished with just one or two more great songs. It would have really sealed the deal and made for a near-perfect night. As it was, I enjoyed it a lot, but it just felt like it wandered off at the end of the night and got lost out past Neptune.

The setlist is also intriguing. Most nights they’ve played two or three of their newly-written unreleased songs, but on this night we just got “A Song for a Son”. As much as I like it, other new compositions (“99 Floors”, “Owata”, “As Rome Burns”) were overlooked. Also noticeably absent was anything from the recent American Gothic EP, which I rather liked.

Actually, if you analyze the setlist, you’ll notice that the greatest concentration comes from the Pumpkins’ two best-selling albums (at a rate of four from each: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Siamese Dream. Much as I love these albums, I also love Adore, from which nothing was played, and Machina II, from which only one brief song was played. Furthermore, only one song was played from each other album (Gish, Machina, and the recent Zeitgeist). None of this would be of much concern if it weren’t for this tour being billed as a 25th anniversary tour. If this is supposed to celebrate 25 years of their (discontinuous) existence, why would the song selection be so imbalanced? Wouldn’t it have been cooler to play a few of the rare early songs? Couldn’t one or two of the less creative extended jams have been replaced each for three or four better selections, or at least the more obnoxious segments of the jams excised in favor of five minutes towards an Adore track?

What I’m trying to say is that I liked a lot of what the band did, but the more directionless jams were a lot less engaging than they could have been. I’m happy to have my favorite band back and putting on fairly good shows, but they are holding themselves back from being truly impressive and invigorating. They have potential, but they aren’t living up to it quite as fully as they could. Nonetheless, I do not hesitate to say this show was incredibly enjoyable. I never got to see the band in their original lifetime, but I am not disappointed by their current incarnation. The various replacement members actually do a decent job of living up to the original members, and they play some great material. Despite their many imperfections, they play a good show.

Score: B+

P.S. In Atlantic City, the band covered the Beatles’ “Nowhere Man”, obviously one of my personal favorites. If anyone comes across a recording of this performance, please let me know.

[Edit 12/12/08: Via LiveSmashingPumpkins.com I found the cover of "Nowhere Man" from the Atlantic City show. In fact, if you're willing to pay, you can get mp3s, flacs, or CDs of soundboard recordings from each night of the tour. I bought this concert and the single "Nowhere Man" track, and the quality is great.]

Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra - Live 2008.11.15

2008-11-18T02:22:00.004-06:00

As is probably obvious by now, I usually write reviews on rock music, and I don't think I've yet even really gone into jazz or folk (but maybe a little dance or pop). I've also spurned classical music... until now. I actually saw the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra about a month ago, but I didn't review it because I didn't feel qualified or knowledgeable enough on the subject. Although I still feel that way, I was invited by Chris Maue of Highway 61 Revised to see the symphony again, as he was invited by Eddie Silva, Publications Manager of the SLSO, for a so-called "Blogger's Night". Other reviews and commentaries on the night by the other invited bloggers should be available from http://www.slso.org/blog/. (Chris' can be found here.) Due to the nature of the event and my invitation, I figure that it's only appropriate for me to comment. And in the future, maybe I'll review other classical concerts I attend. Anyway, on to the review:

Event: Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (loosely part of the Guitar Festival), conducted by David Robertson
Venue: Powell Hall
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Date: November 15, 2008

Program:
1. A Prayer Out of Stillness, composed by Mark-Anthony Turnage, 2007, featuring John Patitucci on acoustic bass and electric bass guitar
2. Beautiful Passing, composed by Steven Mackey, 2008, featuring Leila Josefowicz on violin
3. The Rite of Spring, composed by Igor Stravinsky, 1911-13

Review:
I took four pages of notes while listening, but most of them are incomprehensible and I think that getting that detailed wouldn't be helpful. I'll just go a work at a time and then give an overall impression.

The first piece, A Prayer Out of Stillness, was probably the one that netted the association with the Guitar Festival, which was actually more related to the previous Thursday, where the SLSO played Frank Zappa and some other out-of-the-ordinary pieces at the Pageant. Regardless, this piece featured John Patitucci on electric 6-string Yamaha bass for half of it. The work is divided into four parts, and each did have a different feel.

The first part, "First Prayer," featured Patitucci on his upright bass, mostly plucking in the higher registers, but then also bowing. The second part, "Second Prayer," had Patitucci switch to the electric bass for some intense fingerpicking runs in the higher strings. Throughout, the rest of the orchestra, using only a fairly small set of musicians, played fairly simple parts, clearly just laying a foundation for the soloist to work off of.

The third part, "Call and Response," was just that: a second bassist came out on an upright, and Patitucci stayed on his electric. The other musicians remained silent as the two bassists held what in the rock world would be called a bass-off. I figure there are two ways to view this: either it's a very, very skilled, theoretically masterful improvisation, or it's just "disconnected noodling" (as my compatriot half-jokingly quipped). I was fairly absorbed by it all, really. The dual nature of flawless electric fingerpick-soloing and comparable bowing in the lower ranges on the acoustic bass was pretty cool. The fourth part, "Third Prayer," was something of a reprise of the second part, with Patitucci on acoustic bass and the rest of the orchestra again in tow.

Instrumentally and compositionally speaking, Beautiful Passing was a step higher. The orchestra brought out some percussion (including a drumset!), a harp, a piano, and the woodwinds and brass (which were notably absent from the previous piece). Leila Josefowicz was featured on violin. She led things off, but then the orchestra started doing short crazy parts every few measures. The piece continually alternated between very frenetic segments and much calmer parts with Josefowicz a bit more prominent. At the height of it all, she was bowing her highest notes, then doing great trills accompanied by the woodwinds, and then sliding all over the strings. Things got progressively louder and louder, more and more intense, with Josefowicz all over the place and the orchestra crashing hard on the percussion and hitting some dark notes. Eventually it calmed down and came to a slow end with Josefowicz on a final long note.

The Rite of Spring was probably the highlight of the night. Although I'd heard the piece before, I'd never seen it performed, and it is quite the experience. A video projector carried explanatory text during the piece, as it was originally written for a ballet, and the context would have been otherwise lacking. "Part One: The Adoration of the Earth" begins with a pleasant festival, with the woodwinds, brass, and strings all doing nice bits, but slowly moving in some more intense and dark parts. Before long, timpani entered, the cellists were tapping their bows against the strings, and the other string musicians were doing great pizzicato parts.

As the festival dance gets a bit more extreme, things continued to amp up and get darker. The cellos in particular were great, and the timpani and cymbals let us know things were awry. During a duel with a rival tribesman, the instruments exhibited jabs in line with what must have been the fight. A new cacophony rose as a sage appeared, but then suddenly things settled down significantly. The music droned at low volume and got steadily more intense before pausing briefly to transition to "Part Two: the Sacrifice". Strange sounds started things off; the violins did a quick repeating ascending part, then the music became more drone-like before once again becoming very intense. As a girl is sacrificed, the strings shrieked and the percussion crashed about. After slowing and calming down for a minute, the music returned to the frenzy, and as the sacrificial girl fell, the pitch of the instruments rose and suddenly stopped.

For the most part, the music of A Prayer Out of Stillness failed to impress, but I understand that the main draw was the featured bassist, and Patitucci was certainly talented. I rather wish that I could have seen him perform a good melody over a more interesting piece. Beautiful Passing was more complex and dynamic, and Josefowicz instilled a lot of passion into the piece and helped keep my attention. However, even she was no match for The Rite of Spring, which blew me out of the water. I can't think of any other piece I've heard that is quite as extreme and dramatic and nearly avant-garde (while still maintaining structure) as this one. The orchestra really put a lot of energy into the work and it showed well.

As a sort of sidenote, I rather enjoy observing the nature of a symphony concert. The culture is somewhat fascinating. Everyone dresses up very well and barely so much as coughs during the performance. (Imagine a rock band demanding that kind of respect!) I'm never sure what other people think about a young, longhaired (post-)punk coming and making postmodern social commentary, but maybe if the orchestra can go out on a limb and do The Rite of Spring, I don't stick out too much.

Score: B

Thanks again to Eddie and Chris.

[Edit 11/22/08: Here is the permanent link to Eddie's main post on the SLSO blog (hilariously titled after a panel in Chris' comic), here is a link to another review of the show by Jen from the Euclid Records blog, and here is a link to a related post on Confluence City.]

My Brightest Diamond - Live 2008.11.11

2008-11-15T10:06:00.001-06:00

This week I had the pleasure of seeing a band that I knew nearly nothing about – and I am pleased to say I rather enjoyed the performance. I went at the suggestion and accompaniment of a good friend and I was not let down. It’s just a pity that there wasn’t a big crowd (maybe 50-75 people), but I suppose the venue wouldn’t fit too many more than that anyway.

Artist: My Brightest Diamond
Venue: Cicero’s
Location: University City, Missouri
Date: November 11, 2008
Opening Act: Clare and the Reasons

Setlist:
01. Golden Star
02. If I Were Queen
03. Apples
04. To Pluto’s Moon
05. Disappear
06. Dragonfly
07. From the Top of the World
08. Black and Costaud
09. Ice and the Storm
10. Inside a Boy
11. Hymne a l’Amour (Édith Piaf cover)
12. Gentlest Gentleman

Review:
The show was supposed to start at 9pm but of course started late. The opening act, Clare and the Reasons, came out all dressed in red (not in uniforms, just in entirely red outfits). I’m guessing by their accents, multilinguistic abilities, and comments about green cards that they are French-Canadian, but I have no proof of this. Their setup was Clare on guitar and vocals, a cellist, a violist, and a violinist/bassist/xylophonist. They did about a 40-minute set, including an imaginative cover of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and a hilarious song about their beat-up car. It was enjoyable and fit well with the style of the headliner.

After a long break, My Brightest Diamond finally hit the stage after 10pm. I noticed that the main bandleader/singer/guitarist Shara Worden was accompanied by the same trio of musicians as Clare – but now they were all dressed in fanciful stylized black and white outfits. Their general format is similar to what Clare and the Reasons presented, but My Brightest Diamond takes things a step further in experimentation and innovation.

Worden had three or four guitars at her disposal, in addition to a nice set of at least a dozen pedals and a few assorted other instruments. She also had a weird-looking mic that produced a Faint-style distorted output (but was only used for one song) and a drum machine of some nature that she used intermittently for some backing beats.

Worden has a fascinating guitar-playing style. I think all of her guitars were tuned to different nonstandard configurations; I suspect her main guitar was in open-D but the others are anybody’s guess. She alternated between fingerpicking and strumming, and although she usually kept to repeated patterns, those patterns were usually intricate and clever. The most interesting part was that the guitar she used for “Disappear” had an unsharpened pencil positioned under the strings next to the fretboard so that it suspended all the strings above the highest fret. She had it tuned just right so that she could pluck patterns on the open strings above the pickups to get harmonious notes, but for a few parts of the song, she plucked on the other side of the pencil (above the fretboard) to get a slightly different set of notes. I’m curious as to what sort of tuning she used for that guitar.

The interesting instrumentation didn’t stop with the guitars. “Apples” had Worden using a weird little wooden box with metal strips that she would pluck with her thumbs. She only used it to make one or two repeated melodies, but it generated a quite unique sound. “To Pluto’s Moon” featured a plastic tube that, when spun around, generated different high-pitched tones. These were used again by the other musicians during one of Worden’s stories, which she told a couple of during the night. One explained the opera experience that inspired “Black and Costaud” while another summarized a book about a boy and a horse named Diamond that provided the source of “From the Top of the World”. Worden implied that the name of her band is derived from the story.

Between “To Pluto’s Moon” and “Disappear”, Worden stepped back for a minute to allow the violinist/bassist to do a little magic show. There wasn’t really an explanation, but it added the feeling that the concert was more than just a band playing songs of their latest record. The feel of the music is too much of a blend of classical and pop elements with a healthy dose of the avant-garde to feel like a normal rock show. The volume level was kept at a tolerable level, and the audience remained fairly well-focused and appreciative. The way Worden talked about her songs and chatted with her bandmates kept the mood intimate and slightly unusual.

As things drew to a close, the out-of-the-ordinariness came to a climax. During a cover of “Hymne a l’Amour” (available on the “From the Top of the World” EP), Worden sang accompanied only by her guitar while the other musicians set up a puppet show off to the side on a table that remained otherwise unused. Because the stage isn’t set very high, they asked those of us in the front rows to crouch down so the back could see.

After that, the band ran off-stage, but they barely even got into the green room before turning around and jumping right back on for what I suppose could be considered an encore. Worden picked up a ukulele while the other musicians, joined now by Clare (still in red), huddled around microphones to provide backing vocals for “Gentlest Gentleman” (available only as an iTunes bonus track to her second and latest album, A Thousand Shark’s Teeth), which they encouraged the audience to help out with.

Although My Brightest Diamond only played twelve songs and were on stage for just about an hour, it didn’t feel like a short performance (and for ten dollars, who could complain?). They kept things interesting with their assorted interludes, sideshows, and instruments, and the audience was dedicated and absorbed by the performance. Their version of what most critics call chamber pop is precise and well-thought out, but it is brought to a different level with Worden’s multifaceted, wide-ranged vocals and innovative guitar work. If she keeps making music this interesting, I suspect she will be met by larger crowds the next time she tours.

To see Worden’s eccentric haircut, her weird box used on “Apples”, and two of the same songs she performed at this show, check out her performance on Pitchfork.tv’s “Don’t Look Down”.

Score: B+

Much thanks to Josh Potter, who provided my introduction to the band, my ticket, and the setlist. I couldn’t have asked for more.

The Faint - Live 2008.10.19

2008-10-21T08:23:00.001-05:00

The first band I ever saw in concert was The Faint. I saw them in Lawrence, Kansas during their last tour four years ago. Beep Beep opened (and TV on the Radio played on every other night of the tour) and I remember really digging the show. Well, opportunity came knocking and I just saw them a second time. I bought my ticket for their show in Columbia before they announced shows in either of my hometowns (Kansas City and Saint Louis), but now they have scheduled gigs in both places in December. Regardless, I got to see a pretty special night in Columbia (and I might see them yet again).

Artist: The Faint
Venue: The Blue Note
Location: Columbia, Missouri
Date: October 19, 2008
Opening Acts: Haii Usagi; The Show Is the Rainbow

Review:
The first opening act was Haii Usagi, a local Columbia duo that played a half-hour set of electronic music. It reminded me of Air's Moon Safari minus some of the layers, but a bit rockier and harder, with more active drums. One guy just played keyboards and used a laptop to add some samples in; the other guy faced him and sat on a drumset that had a keyboard where the tom-toms should have been. He usually just drummed, but on several songs he played some keyboard bits, sometimes using one hand to drum and one to hit the keys. I thought they totally rocked; I bought their handmade album after the show for just five dollars. You can't argue with that – and the album is great. Look them up on Myspace or something.

The next opener was The Show Is the Rainbow, a self-proclaimed one-man-show from Nebraska (although a friend played drums). The music was mostly pre-recorded, played off of a laptop, but the main guy did play a few guitar lines. He mostly just sang and danced around. He was incredibly energetic and active, jumping in the audience on almost every song and even crowd-surfing a couple times. Each song also had a video accompaniment, which were usually fairly lo-fi animations that sort of went along with his lyrical content. The mix wasn't very good, so I wasn't all that impressed with the actual tunes, but the energy kept it interesting and made for an exhilarating performance. After the show, he gave me a sampler from his record label with a few of his songs on it, and with the advantage of the studio, his songs sound much better. He's pretty cool. If you're already on Myspace checking out Haii Usagi, check out The Show Is the Rainbow, too.

After The Show Is the Rainbow's 40-minute set and then a half-hour wait or so, the Faint hit the stage at about 10:00. Lead singer Todd Fink came out in a scientist's white lab coat and goggles. The band immediately rushed into "Agenda Suicide" from Danse Macabre (2001), with a projector playing the music video in the background. The band appeared quite into their performance; they all danced in their little areas, with synthesist Jacob Thiele bending around especially much while still hitting his keyboard notes. Todd occasionally also played on a little synthesizer, and either he or Jacob ran the samples that they couldn't replicate otherwise. I prefer when bands do everything they can to keep things live, but they did a good job not relying on samples too much.

I was impressed with the amount of parts that they did on guitars. Dapose handled most of the guitar and Joel Peterson the bass, but on several songs, mostly the new ones, they switched instruments. On "Machine in the Ghost" Dapose added extra synth parts and Joel did guitar, and on "The Geeks Were Right" both played guitar. Clark Baechle handled the live drums well, covering even the parts that on record must be electronic. During the whole show, the projector was on, but it mostly kept to abstract two-tone images, often of the band members.

Generally speaking, I was really pleased with their setlist, especially "Take Me to the Hospital", which was only released on a compilation from their former label, Saddle Creek. The song is great but something of a rarity; I was hoping they'd play it at the last show of theirs I caught, so I consider myself lucky that they did it this time. "In Concert" (from 1999's Black-Wave Arcade) was a special treat, and "Worked Up So Sexual" (from the same album) and "I Disappear" (the single from 2004's Wet from Birth) elicited a huge crowd response. "The Conductor" was a particularly energetic and riveting performance with some awesome guitar work from Dapose. They did a good job of picking the best of their back catalog and playing the better half of their new album, Fasciinatiion (2008). I would have liked to hear "A Battle Hymn for Children" off the new album or maybe "Call Call" or "Let the Poison Spill from Your Throat" from the older ones, but what they did do was excellent.

They didn't experiment with their sound much, but some of the synth tones were different than on record. The guitar and bass parts were great; I was impressed by several of them, particularly the metallic-sounding rhythm guitar in the bridges of "Forever Growing Centipedes". Several songs featured Dapose or Jacob on processed, robotic backing vocals (like for the "like a cast shadow" line in "Agenda Suicide"). Todd used the processed mic for the verses of "The Conductor" and "Mirror Error".

The mix was good and the audience was really enjoying the show. The venue seats over 800, and although it wasn't sold out, it was nearly full. The floor was filled with people moving to the beat, and even on the balcony people were dancing to the music. It was a fun night.

After about an hour, the band left the stage, but they quickly returned for a short encore. "Birth" was particularly rocking, but "Glass Danse" was even better and the audience loved it. Todd thanked us, and Joel told us to vote for Obama before everyone left the stage.

The Faint rock. Go see them and dance your head off – and enjoy the opening acts, too.

Score: A-

NoisefeSTL Day One - 2008.10.17

2008-10-18T19:06:00.001-05:00

Out here in the Midwest, there's always a certain number of fascinating things going on under the surface. I've known many people to deride this part of the country, but I contend that you just have to dig a little bit to find plenty of great things. The noise scene is one of these things. It sure isn't for everyone, but here in St. Louis and in many other cities there are small albeit dedicated followings for this kind of music. Here, we have two venues very friendly to the scene: the Lemp and Camp Concentration (underneath Apop Records). I've been to the Lemp several times with friends or to see friends perform and it's always quite fun.

Since I started reviews, I've wanted to write about a show there, and now I'm finally ready to do it. This weekend is NoisefeSTL V, the fifth annual instance of bringing together noise musicians from across the Midwest to a single venue for a long weekend. I attended the first night, and I'd like to write about what I saw. I'll start by describing the bigger picture and then each performance and my reactions. I'll give each act a score.

Event: NoisefeSTL V (Day One)
Venue: Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Date: October 17, 2008

Review:
If you aren't familiar with the noise scene, it deserves a certain amount of explanation. The scene is dominated young musicians that tend to be male and a part of the counterculture. Most of the acts are soloists, but duos and collaborations are frequent. Full bands of three or four or more are the exception, and they tend to be more of a structured noise-rock thing, like Einstürzende Neubauten or Neptune. Many of the musicians simply have huge pedals boards that they use to process and filter whatever their input is. Simple sine-wave generating oscillators can be found right next to microphones, home-made percussion, guitars and bass guitars (often fairly maligned and atonally tuned), and the occasional keyboard or synthesizer. Signals are frequently overdriven and distorted. Tonality is normally absent and the volume levels are very high. (Earplugs are a necessity).

Most artists work just with sound, and if they vocalize, there are no audible words. Those that do sing or speak generally process and distort their vocals; the subject matter is diverse but often is based on social commentary and rarely just about relationships and the standard matter of pop songs. The overall sonic quality is very harsh, and the artists frequently get very into their music. It is not uncommon to see musicians jumping around and lashing out, occasionally even hitting each other, walls, or the audience (which, at the Lemp, stands around the artist at a distance of just a few feet without any sort of elevation or officially designated "stage"). There is usually no consistent beat to the noise, but many audience members focus on the beat frequencies of atonalities or just whatever they feel like and end up moving their bodies in any number of ways along with their notion of the beat of the music. Often, audience members' gyrations are out of sync with each other, but there is more consistency when things get intense and people start to move their bodies around more.

Crowd sizes vary; the Lemp has a dedicated base with several people who seem to be around just about every night. An official city document above the door to the place claims the fire code limit to be 70 people; I'd estimate at any given moment at this night of NoisefeSTL that number was not exceeded, but probably nearly so. Throughout the night there were probably a hundred people there.

Also: the whole night was just $6, and they had coffee, awesome lentil-butternut squash soup, and a few other dishes all for free. This was just the first night of three plus an afternoon and three workshops, so there is much more to come (that I will not be able to write about). To the artists:

Porcelain Dorsal Fin (from Milwaukee, Wisconsin): This artist used a didgeridoo as his input into a series of effects pedals. His performance was short and consisted of a lot of thick noise and distorted screaming. I liked the didgeridoo, but I felt like the sound he produced wasn't very interesting.
Score: C

Unknown (I can't figure out who this was): This artist simply used a microphone to generate massive feedback from his amplifier. I think he was playing with his input jack to generate some more noise. I was not particularly impressed; the passion was there but this is the type of thing that literally anyone can do.
Score: D

Peter J. Woods (from Milwaukee, Wisconsin): This guy started out by criticizing a few of the musicians from last year's NoisefeSTL, then explained the point of his set, which was something along the lines of "do your own thing" and "we're all family here, and if you don't like, it's just how it is". He started by reading some lyrics, then also making some very pleasant ambient drones on a bass guitar. Gradually both the vocals and the bass got harsher and harsher until he was thrashing on his bass strings and screaming "there is romance in this" over and over. Eventually he set his bass down and screamed his last lyric with every bit of his body that he could. Very intense.
Score: B

Ghost Ice (from St. Louis): I've seen him before, and he hasn't let me down yet. He uses a series of pedals in a big cabinet and has a keyboard (or maybe just oscillators?) and a mic for inputs. It seemed like he was vocalizing, but because of his processing, there was no apparent correlation between his vocals and what came out of the speakers, which is a weird thing to observe. He got a lot of sounds and was all over the place (in a good way). He had some good dynamics and several layers going on.
Score: A

Boar/ARU (from Iowa): These guys were a very intense duo. One had a drum machine and a feedback loop along with several pedals. He also had single drum that he used near the end of their performance. The other mostly vocalized (at one point putting the mic in his mouth) and maybe had some oscillators. He got really into it and started jumping around quite a bit, hitting some audience members at one point. Their noise had some movement to it, though. There was a building-up, and the beats from the drum machine and drum meant the audience had further incentive to get into it. I dug it.
Score: B+

Charlie (from St. Louis): He started with some vocal processing but then began focusing more on his keyboard and the effect pedals hooked up to that. It seemed that he used something to keep some of the keys depressed so he could fiddle with knobs with both hands and modulate more effects. Near the end he added some more distorted vocals to the mix. I liked parts of what I heard, but a lot of the middle section just seemed like jumbled blurts that didn't seem to have any connection. The result was that I'm not sure that any of the effects being modulated were really given a change to show themselves. I really liked some of the vocals and sounds earlier in his performance, though.
Score: B-

Dave Stone and Danny McClain (from ?): These guys were really a avant-garde free jazz band (if any label fits). They are a duo, sax and drums. They played a very frenetic extended piece. The saxophonist would just go all over the place and wail as he saw fit, while the drummer kept a constant clatter of snare and toms with only some hi-hat. I thought their energy was great, and I liked that they weren't on quite the same spectrum as most of the rest of the performers.
Score: B

Eric Hall (from St. Louis): He did something of an ambient dub performance with sampled loops. It started very ambient, just warm tones, but he had a drum machine come in at one point. That's where the dub qualities came in – the snare had huge reverb. He also had a DJ's CD player and would "scratch" it and play with and process that sound to add some nice touches. Near the end, either his drum machine or some other source got some extra kicks and he was making some rougher noise, but it was still fairly warm. (It reminded me of the noises in Radiohead's "Palo Alto", if that helps.) He kept it up for a while, but the beats kept the audience swaying. I liked it a lot, and I appreciated that he opted for more pleasant tones instead of the harsher tones favored by most of the other artists.
Score: A

Ben Allen (from ?): His most interesting feature was some sort of sound generator that appeared to be similar to a theremin (one of my favorite instruments, much like the ondes Martenot). His version worked such that his hand's nearness to an antenna jutting out of the box controlled either pitch or some distortion effect. He must have also had some other means of generation. He was alright but mostly kind of lost me in his continual, messy noise. I liked the instrument but once he stopped playing with it as much his dynamics were lost.
Score: C-

Overall, this was fun. I'm happy to be able to say a few words about these artists, because they are at a level of underground that simply does not ever get reported on. I was sad that there were another four artists or so listed on the tentative schedule that did not perform. Nothing was announced about them at the show.

Anyway, if you like the avant-garde and are into sonic experimentation, check this scene out. Many of these artists have MySpace accounts, they usually play shows fairly frequently, and many have highly-independent albums and singles out. If you catch this post in time, try to catch the show tonight or one of the ones tomorrow.

Overall score: B

Ben Lee - Live 2008.09.26

2008-10-12T11:55:00.001-05:00

The night before driving up to Chicago for the My Bloody Valentine and Nick Cave concerts, I actually attended yet another concert. Much like last year when my university brought in Mat Kearney, this year we brought in Ben Lee, and I got to work at the concert, mostly blocking cars from entering our street. Getting sworn at because of making people take a two-minute detour is great fun.

Artist: Ben Lee
Venue: Webster University (Parking Lot E)
Location: Webster Groves, Missouri
Date: September 26, 2008
Opening Act: Tim Session

Review:
Just like with Mat Kearney, I'd never heard of Ben Lee before. I quickly learned that he's an Australian pop musician, but that's all I knew going in. I have no idea what the setlist is, and I could only halfway pay attention to the whole show, so I must give a word of caution that my review can't be considered too seriously; I wasn't an active participant. From where I was standing for most of the night, the sound was bouncing off our parking garage and creating some weird delay, so I don't think I got the full auditory experience (or visual, considering that I was a ways away from the stage). Nonetheless, I'll say a few words about my general feeling about the show.

Opener Tim Sessions played four or five songs. He is a a guitarist and singer, but he has some of that fancy overdubbing and playback equipment so he can record loops live and play different parts or instruments over that all by himself. It's pretty cool, but I think anyone that can do that (that is, buy the whole electronic setup) is kind of cool. He didn't really do anything that out there, but it was fine.

Ben Lee hit the stage after a short break and brought just his acoustic guitar and a fellow keyboardist. He played for something like 75 minutes. With just two instruments and his voice, he wasn't making a big show, but his songs worked pretty well. He's a poppy singer/songwriter, so I think a certain amount of where he's coming from is is pretty uninteresting and dull, but he did a good job of doing what he does. I wouldn't call his music bland, just unexceptional: not much in the ways of surprises, fairly basic structures, fairly constant tone throughout the set. He had plenty of catchy bits and kept things lively, but not much stood out strongly.

I wasn't really enthused about the concert, but it was pleasant. It was music that if I heard it in a store or at a low-key party I wouldn't mind, but it's not the sort of thing I would go for on my own prerogative. I kind of wonder what his album sounds like, but I don't really like many of his guest musicians and famous friends (Mandy Moore, members of Good Charlotte, etc.).

However, I wish I could have caught more of his lyrics, because I heard him mention that one song was dedicated to Yoko Ono. Well, after the show, he invited everyone to come say hello to him at his CD booth, and once I finished my work, he was still over there, so I went up and asked him about the song. Turns out the song is named after and written for Yoko. I said that I thought that was great, since I think everyone unfairly looks down on her, and he said that was the point of the song. I have to admit that I'm impressed.

It helps that he was really friendly, and even though the crowd was fairly small (probably just a couple hundred), he was appreciative to everyone there and seemed happy just to play. I particularly liked that when his main set was over, he told the audience that instead of leaving the stage and coming back, he and his keyboardist would just turn their backs, let the audience cheer for two minutes, and then turn around to play the last two songs. He might do that at every show, but it was kind of fun and he seemed sincere about it. It felt like he had to have made a more intimate connection with the crowd to be able to do that, even if it was perhaps aided by the smallish quantity of people.

Score: C

P.S. Here's a link to what I'm sure is the only other review of this show out there. (It's from my school newspaper).

P.P.S. It's sad that I thought Ben Lee was a notch better than Mat Kearney but Kearney attracted like four times as many people. Such is the nature of popular music, I suppose. Actually, looking back on it, why'd I give Kearney a C? That whole review was fairly negative, and he really wasn't very good. If I could redo it, I'd give him a D. The year before him, though, was Edwin McCain, and I only stayed long enough to see the opener, my friend the talented Ian Fisher. Oh, and this past spring semester we got the Roots (and I worked at that one, too). I'd meant to review that one and never did. I'd give them... a B. Not really my thing, but they did a good job, and that place was packed. People were way into that. And the openers were Illphonics, whose frontman is a charismatic and intelligent figure around my university.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Live 2008.09.29

2008-10-07T10:41:00.001-05:00

As promised, here is the second concert I went to while in Chicago:

Artist: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Venue: Riviera Theater
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Date: September 29, 2008
Opening Act: Black Diamond Heavies

Setlist (possibly a bit out of order in the middle):
01. Hold On to Yourself
02. Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
03. Tupelo
04. The Weeping Song
05. Midnight Man
06. Red Right Hand
07. The Mercy Seat
08. Nobody's Baby Now
09. Deanna
10. God Is in the House
11. Moonland
12. Get Ready for Love
13. We Call Upon the Author
14. Papa Won't Leave You, Henry
15. More News from Nowhere

Encore:
16. Jesus of the Moon
17. Hard On for Love
18. Stagger Lee

Review:
Originally, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds were scheduled to play just one show in Chicago: this one. Me and some friends got our tickets right away, which was quite to our luck as the show sold out. At some point, though, they added another show the night before. That one didn't sell out, but that's the one all the local reviewers went to.

Anyway, the show started at 8:00, opening with the Black Diamond Heavies. For being a two-piece (just a drummer and a keyboardist/vocalist), they kept the volume and intensity pretty high. The keyboardist had a few guitar pedals to make his tones a bit fuller and more distorted, but they sure pulled off a heavy, thick sound for only two instruments. They kept it up for about 45 minutes. I wasn't too into it, but it was an appropriate introduction for the more multilayered but fairly intense headliner.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds hit the stage around 9:15 and rolled right into a couple songs off the new album, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! Although the sound was a bit muddled for the first few tracks, I thought their take on the title track was great. The song rocked a bit more than the studio version and felt a bit looser (which worked to its advantage). The backing vocals (coming from just about every member of the band) sounded particularly good.

Sadly, their performance of "Tupelo" was subpar, and while the music to "The Weeping Song" was fine, Nick Cave forewent the normal duet nature of the vocals. In the studio version, former member Blixa Bargeld (also known for being the frontman of Einstürzende Neubauten) did a fantastic job of trading verses with Cave. With Blixa being sadly absent (which is quite a shame, considering how well he'd fit with the noisier tendencies of the last two albums), I was hoping one of the other members would pick up the part, but Cave just did it himself.

In any case, "Red Right Hand" was performed extremely well; the band was tight and Cave slinked around the front of the stage while delivering the lyrics. On the whole, the song selection was pretty good; they picked plenty of songs scattered throughout the band's long career. I'm still not too familiar with the new album, which is naturally where many of the songs came from, but I was quite surprised that they picked just one song from their previous album, the double-CD Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus (2004).

The band performed the material well, and Cave definitely kept command over the audience, but it felt like something was just a little bit off. I think that after Cave formed Grinderman (a band composed of himself and three of the other Bad Seeds) and recorded a raw, noisy album with them, he wanted to bring some of that intensity and power back to his main band. Considering that the Bad Seeds started as a fairly raucous post-punk band that grew out of the ashes of The Birthday Party, an even noisier No Wave band, maybe it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that Cave and the Seeds are going strongly in that direction. However, that's overlooking several albums in the 90s and 00s where Cave started playing keyboard more and more, Warren Ellis joined the band to provide violin (and later, mandolin, flute, and other instruments), and the general tone of the band became more personal, softer, and less harsh. These are some of Cave's most beautiful works (especially The Boatman's Call (1997) and No More Shall We Part (2001)). One of my co-attendees likes to differentiate between "Old Testament" Nick Cave and "New Testament" Nick Cave.

It is perhaps because of that shift that Bargeld had left the band: his experimental/noise background and spooky guitar tones (and voice) didn't mesh well with the softer sound, but ironically, right as he left, the band created Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus, which sounded a lot punkier that anything they'd done in ten years. The Grinderman album saw Ellis move from making traditional, sweet violin sounds to acting as a sample-master while distorting his violin into incredible feedback and noise, and that's only continued onto the new Bad Seeds album, where he also plays electric mandolin and tenor guitar. Live, he took things yet another step farther. He now looks like a wild pariah hippie Jesus, he leaps and lunges around onstage, and he distorts all his instruments to the point that I think he was covering some of the parts that are normally done on electric guitar. Oddly, Ellis' role has become most like what Blixa's once had been (and certainly what Blixa's role is in Einstürzende Neubauten!), but he now seems to play one of the most important roles in the band, acting as a background (and foreground) noisemaker and a key rhythm and lead player.

The point of this long divergence will come clear in a second. The other change Grinderman brought about was Nick Cave picking up the electric guitar. On Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, Cave still mostly plays keyboards, but live he played keyboard on just a couple songs (notably, "God Is in the House" and the solo in "Red Right Hand"). Mostly he just thrashed on his guitar or just strutted around while singing. The problem that I mentioned before I think is rooted here. All of Ellis' noise and Cave's messy guitar means that the band rocks quite a bit, but what they've gained in rocking they've lost in texture and intricacy. The band actually has two keyboardists right now (not counting Cave nor Ellis' and guitarist Mick Harvey's occasional contributions to the same instrument), but one, James Johnston, barely plays on the new album and isn't with the band on tour. The other, Conway Savage, just does handclaps and backing vocals on the album, and although he did perform live, there were a few songs where he walked off stage or sat on the side, and many were he just played auxiliary percussion. When he actually was playing keyboards, he was often entirely drowned out.

For most of the material, the main things coming through the PA were Cave's voice and Ellis' various parts. Harvey's guitar was often slightly audible, but if both him and Cave were playing guitar, one was always drowning out the other. Martyn P. Casey's bass was there if I looked for it, and the drums were there, but since there are two drummers (Thomas Wydler and Jim Sclavunos), their parts sometimes blended together, too (although they did often trade different percussive roles). It just feels weird that an eight-piece band that is quite capable of using each member quite well could just as easily been cut down to a four- or five-piece for the show and hardly anyone would have noticed the sonic difference.

It was fun to see the band play more rocking versions of their songs, but I view it is a harsh trade-off that might not have worked totally in their favor. I felt their complexity was often absent. In the same vein, Cave's more melodic and beautiful vocal tendencies were traded in for his raunchier, darker, and slightly sloppier side. It fit with the music, but I value both sides to his swagger. However, much as I'm complaining, I still recognize that this is simply a byproduct of the band growing and transitioning. Perhaps I should be glad that a 25-year-old band can still grow, although certain elements are quite reminiscent of their earliest records.

Despite the general noisier tone to the concert, both "God Is in the House" and "Nobody's Baby Now" were performed closer to their more melodic studio versions. "The Mercy Seat" and "Deanna" were both rousing renditions of classic tunes, and "More News from Nowhere" was treated with an especially good performance. To solidify which side of things Nick Cave was on for the show, his encore included the rough "Hard On for Love" (complete with references to Lazarus and Leviticus) and closed with what is perhaps the crudest song in the band's oeuvre, "Stagger Lee".

Even if I have some misgivings about some of the angles with which the band approached the performance, I had a lot of fun, the concert totally rocked. The instrumentation got a bit mixed up in the delivery, but most of the songs turned out fine, and several were great. On the whole, this was a very good concert.

Score: B+

P.S. Thanks to Keagan for getting me a ticket and for providing his perspective and domain knowledge. Actually, thanks to Niza and "the Czech", too. The input of all three helped me write this review and the last.

My Bloody Valentine - Live 2008.09.27

2008-10-04T22:27:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I had the rare pleasure of road-tripping up to Chicago with some friends to see not just one of my favorite bands, but two. Here's the first one:

Artist: My Bloody Valentine
Venue: The Aragon Ballroom
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Date: September 27, 2008
Opening Act: Hopewell

Setlist:
01. I Only Said
02. When You Sleep
03. You Never Should
04. (When You Wake) You're Still in a Dream
05. Cigarette in Your Bed
06. Come in Alone
07. Only Shallow
08. Thorn
09. Nothing Much to Lose
10. To Here Knows When
11. Slow
12. Soon
13. Feed Me with Your Kiss
14. You Made Me Realise

Review:
I've been a fan of My Bloody Valentine for years, but I'd counted them amongst the many bands that had stopped making music and that I would never, ever see a performance of. The band never did actually break up; it was just that after recording Loveless (1991) and spending forever to make a new album, they just stopped functioning. Frontman Kevin Shields has often talked about reissuing this or that album or EP or unreleased thing, but finally his band has made some real progress and has decided to regroup and do an international tour. I was lucky that one of their five US dates happened to be within 300 miles of my residence.

Anyway, I got their fairly early and had a fairly good spot on the ballroom. The opening act, Hopewell, came on stage early at about 7:50pm. The five-piece played for about 40 minutes. I'd never heard of them before, but then again the opening act had never been announced before the show – it was a complete surprise. Their version of rock, a bit psychedelic, a bit indie, a bit noisy, and a bit dancey, was rather enjoyable and worked well as an opening act for a beautifully noisy rock band. One of my friends particularly enjoyed the selection of a Jane's Addiction cover as the closer.

My Bloody Valentine took their sweet time to hit the stage. It was about 9:15 by the time they came out. The members, by now certainly in their 40s, still look good and have largely kept their heyday looks. Kevin had a large array of pedals and switched guitars for just about every song. Belinda Butcher remained much more constant, using just a few guitars and pedals. Debbie Googe kept to the same bass for every song but one, and Colm Ó Cíosóig didn't bring out any surprises behind his drumset, except for maybe a few samples that would take a little much trickery to play live (although they could have hired a keyboardist).

The choice of material wasn't really a surprise, either. They played over half of their acclaimed second album, Loveless, and an equal number of songs from their first album, Isn't Anything (1988) and the preceding "You Made Me Realise" EP. Although I really like that EP and the four songs (of the five total) they selected, nothing from their other six EPs and mini-albums appeared. I'm not trying to make a big deal about it, but it is a slightly odd distribution. Regardless, I am complaining that their setlist hasn't changed for several concerts and the previous ones had only a few alterations. I would have loved to hear "Sueisfine" or "Sometimes", but the songs that they did perform were well-chosen.

Much as most of these songs really rocked, I can't get over the fact that the general sound was pretty monotonous. I was able to recognize each song and catch the different parts, but the vocals were mixed so low (even lower than on the records!) that I barely caught a word more than "slow" from the song of the same name. The guitars sounded awesome, but at the same time were often just slightly distinguishable tones. I could barely tell that they were playing "Only Shallow", which on record is such a distinctive song. At other times I had to just focus on the bass to tell what was going on. One of my co-attendees was a total neophyte, and she gave the clichéd but appropriate criticism that it all sounded the same.

The one big "trick" that My Bloody Valentine is fond of pulling in concert is extending the closer, "You Made Me Realise" into a 25-minute so-called "holocaust", in which the bridge is converted from a noisy one-minute drone into a 23-minute sonic assault. Even my co-attendee that was a fan was left unimpressed. I knew what was coming, since they've pulled this at every show they've done since the 90s, but it was a bit much. I understand the purpose – getting lost in the intensity could be quite an interesting mental and physical sensation, but my mind just wandered and I'm surprised I didn't get impatient. It was an experience, even slightly enjoyable from my perspective, but I can't recommend it to anyone but noise musicians and curious meditators.

Both the holocaust and the general noisy distortion are only enhanced by the extraordinary volume of the concert. The band is considered to be one of the loudest ever and the doormen to the venue gave out free earplugs with an appropriately strong recommendation. The whole intensity of the thing is further amplified by the annoying lighting. Throughout the whole concert, during just about every song, the stage lights are directed at the audience and often strobe brightly into their eyes. I know the band are pioneers of the Shoegazing genre, but I prefer to be able see the bands I pay money to see. Again, I understand that it's their "thing" to be so unengaging, but they said all of two things to the audience throughout the whole night: a thank-you from Belinda followed by a barely sincere "Yeah, thanks" from Kevin.

In spite of all my criticisms, I still think the show rocked. It was flawed and I really wish they'd do some new material, but it was awesome to hear Debbie fuzz out her bass far more than as heard in the studio versions and then rock out in her part of the stage. Colm was active, but he is a drummer and the band's music videos sure made it seem like he was the only one capable of movement anyway. The songs were all well-performed (except for a slightly off-beat sample in "Come in Alone") and it was fun to see Kevin trade his guitars for all his different tunings and sounds. He even got out an acoustic for "Cigarette in Your Bed".

I'm quite happy that had I had the opportunity to see My Bloody Valentine in the body, and it was a whole lot of fun. Their 75-minute set was fairly rocking, the opener was good, and I'm not really surprised that the gig was sold out. I just wish they weren't quite so seemingly distant... and apparently unwilling to do an encore.

Score: B-

Billy Bragg - Talking with the Taxman About Poetry (1986)

2008-06-26T12:57:00.006-05:00

In the last six months or so I bought the reissues of the first three Billy Bragg albums. I'd known about the man for a couple years because of a friend (thanks, Gabe) and Bragg's collaborations with Johnny Marr and the Smiths. I bought the first album and liked it so much it didn't take long before I got the next two, and I think it's inevitable that I'll end up acquiring a few more before long. I could easily write reviews for each of the three albums I have, and eventually maybe I will. (It's always nice to be optimistic.)

Artist: Billy Bragg
Album: Talking with the Taxman About Poetry
Released: September 1984, reissued 2006
Label: Go! Discs (UK), Elektra (US)
Producer: Ken Jones, John Porter

Tracklisting:
01. Greetings to the New Brunette
02. Train Train (The Count Bishops cover)
03. The Marriage
04. Ideology
05. Levi Stubbs' Tears
06. Honey, I'm a Big Boy Now
07. There Is Power in a Union (traditional adaptation)
08. Help Save the Youth of America
09. Wishing the Days Away
10. The Passion
11. The Warmest Room
12. The Home Front

Reissue Bonus Disc:
01. Sin City (Flying Burrito Brothers cover) (Outtake, 1986 / Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards b-side, 1988)
02. Deportees (Woody Guthrie cover) (Greetings to the New Brunette b-side, 1986)
03. There Is Power in a Union (instrumental) (traditional adaptation) (Greetings to the New Brunette 12" b-side, 1986)
04. The Tracks of My Tears (The Miracles cover) (Outtake, 1986)
05. Wishing the Days Away (Alternative take)
06. The Clashing of Ideologies (Alternative version)
07. Greetings to the New Brunette (demo)
08. A Nurse's Life Is Full of Woe (Outtake, 1986)
09. Only Bad Signs (Outtake, 1986)
10. Hold the Fort (traditional cover) (Outtake, 1985 / Square Roots compilation, 1986)

Review:
Billy Bragg is basically a folk musician, but unlike most singer-songwriters (myself and David J being the only other exceptions I know), he uses an electric guitar while playing solo. His music began as just guitar and vocals, but he gradually began adding more instruments and eventually even assembled a band. Talking with the Taxman About Poetry is his third album and finds Bragg still alone with his guitar quite often, but many tracks feature overdubbed guitars and occasionally bass, horns, mandolin, or piano. A few even have backing vocals and percussion (but no drums!). Lyrically, Bragg fits in quite comfortably in the folk tradition, even as he leans towards a more rock sound as time has gone on. He usually sings about love and politics, and in both cases, from a variety of angles. I like his guitar parts, but his witty lyrics might be even better.

The album opens with "Greetings to the New Brunette", quite possibly the strongest song on the album. It is Bragg's first real pop-esque song, and his most arranged up to that point. Studio sounds and effects can be found here and there, and percussion, bass, backing vocals from Kirsty MacColl, and lead guitar from Johnny Marr all grace this track. Marr's guitar is great, but Bragg's lyrics really lift the song to a higher plane. He finds a great way to discuss relationships with getting clichéd, as for example: "Shirley, you're my reason to get out of bed before noon". Somehow Bragg manages to wrap up his two primary subjects into one song. The narrator discusses his relationship with Shirley, a socially progressive woman who seems to make the narrator rethink his ways: "Shirley, your sexual politics have left me all of a muddle / Shirley, we are joined in the ideological cuddle". Although he stands by his love, the narrator does seem to get a bit frustrated partway through: "Shirley, you really know how to make a young man angry / Shirley, can we get through the night without mentioning family?"

"The Marriage" begins with a great trumpet part and features several overdubbed guitars to great effect. (I wonder if Bragg took a cue from the Smiths via Marr.) The instrumental in the middle of the song has a great part with three rapidly descending chords that I could listen to a hundred times. Again, the lyrics are fantastic; the chorus is: "And marriage is when we admit our parents were right". Bragg takes the anti-traditional perspective of shunning marriage in favor of just loving and living: "If I share my bed with you / Must I also share my life? / Love is just a moment of giving / And marriage..."

"Ideology" is the first purely political song on the album, and it harkens to the sound and feel of Bragg's first album, with just a solo guitar, a vigorous indignant, strongly accented voice, and a lot of reverb. Bragg uses the song to criticize politicians interested more in financial and personal gain than the common good. Apparently the song is based off of Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom".

"Levi Stubbs' Tears" is perhaps subtly political and subtly romantic, much like "The Marriage". The female figure of the song married "one of those blokes, the sort that only laughs at his own jokes", and the stress of their marriage led to him shooting her, but, for better or worse, she lived, leaving her quite alone with her Four Tops cassette. Their lead singer, Levi Stubbs, remains as something of a constant through her upheavals. The music is mostly just a guitar, but the namechecking bridge kicks it up a notch with some tambourine, and the end has some drum bops and a horn part.

"There Is Power in a Union" is a traditional adaptation (of "Battle Cry of Freedom"), done with just a guitar or two and some extra vocals for the anthemic chorus. The title is self-explanatory, and the song is a clearly an old union chant appropriated by Bragg for relevant contemporary politics. This is appropriately followed by "Help Save the Youth of America", which cracks me up: "Help save the youth of America / Help save them from themselves / Help save the sun-tanned surfer boys / And the California girls". Beyond the humor, Bragg makes a point: "And the fate of the great United States / Is entwined in the fate of us all". America can get quite wrapped up in itself, but, "The cities of Europe have burned before / And they may yet burn again / And if they do I hope you understand / That Washington will burn with them / Omaha will burn with them / Los Alamos will burn with them". Omaha sticks out as a sore thumb (especially as that's where my parents are from!), but I take the point to be that even smaller cities are still a part of the big picture (although it may not be coincidence that there is a significant air force base, including the headquarters of US Strategic Command, in Omaha).

"The Passion" is a sad song about a marriage slowly splitting apart, featuring Marr again on lead guitar and MacColl on background vocals. "The Warmest Room" is a resoundingly upbeat song that goes all over the place but seems to focus around some strong feelings for another person that appear to be requited. And "The Home Front" is sort of about family politics, about a traditional, fairly conservative family structure. Gender roles are uphold, the "quiet life" is the ultimate, "the lonely child looks out and dreams of independence", and "nostalgia is the opium of the age". The family seems to ignore and generally not understand politics, but it is Bragg's aside that add the poignant edge: "If paradise to you is cheap beer and overtime / Home truths are easily missed", and "If it takes another war to fill the churches of England / Then the world the meek inherit, what will it be worth?"

Not every song is a winner, to be sure. I like all the ones I described above, but the others are a notch lower. "Train Train" is an old cover that, despite some nice viola and guitar parts, has fairly and uninteresting typical lyrics. "Honey, I'm a Big Boy Now" uses a harpsichord to get a more country sound or something. It feels like a song that'd be played at a bar in the 30s, which was probably the point, but I think Bragg can sing about a girl leaving a guy for someone else in a better way (and he has). "Wishing the Days Away" also has a more country or folksy feel, and again, the traditional theme of be impatient for a phone call or meeting with a loved one could simply be far more interesting.

The common theme in all three of these lesser songs is that Bragg sings about relationships in the same context as everyone else, and instead of adopting folk to a more interesting rock blend, he tries to use older, tried-and-true styles that aren't quite his own. When Bragg gets more adventurous and creative, he makes far better music. He can sing about families, government, and love in plenty of ways and bring up some worthwhile ideas, but when he falls back on what's been done before, it's not nearly as interesting.

The reissue adds a second disc of ten tracks. None of them are totally awesome, but a few are worth a good listen. The first two ("Sin City" and "Deportees") are covers done with Hank Wangford, a mandolinist and singer, and the third is an instrumental version of "There Is Power in a Union" done with producer John Porter on mandolin. Each was released as a b-side at some point, but these aren't your typical Bragg fair. Even those these are very folky, traditional songs, they don't sound quite as trite as the songs I complained about from the original album. If you aren't a folk fan, though, you probably won't like these songs. (Personally, I think some folk music is really bland, but some is great, and Bragg transcends even that with his best material.)

There are three alternate versions of album tracks, each of which just sounds lower-fi and has some different lyrics and plainer arrangements. The four real outtakes are fairly interesting. "The Tracks of My Tears" is a fairly un-special cover of a Miracles song; it's not bad but not standout. "A Nurse's Life Is Full of Tears" and "Only Bad Signs" are unadorned but nicely done. The former is often difficult to decipher (and is one of the few songs for which I cannot find a lyrical transcription online) and the latter is a decent way of lamenting that a loved one is with another person. "Hold the Fort" is a traditional cover, another old union anthem. It is done a capella with vocals from Robert Handley.

The bonus disc may not be worth repeated listens and a few of the album tracks might be duds, but most are winners, and I deeply appreciate Bragg's music and lyric sensibilities. His politics are a bit radical and a bit strong, but I like that he actually bothers to write about the things he sees wrong in the world – as my mother has pointed out, no one else seems to be writing about modern politics anymore. (Contrast with CSNY's "Ohio" from 1970, quite a number of late 70s and early 80s punk and new wave bands, 60s Bob Dylan, or 70s John Lennon.) Furthermore, when he does sing about relationships, he usually branches out from the standard language and vocabulary of love songs. He tries to explore different situations and do something a bit unusual. I heartily appreciate these efforts, as I think they are not in vain. Folk rock music like this is hard to come by.

Scores:
Original album: A-
Reissue: B-

P.S. I should consider giving a bonus point for the awesome subtitle: "The Difficult Third Album".

Electro Pop at Its Best

2008-06-18T11:17:00.007-05:00

I caught wind yesterday of a post by fellow blogger idyllicmollusk that I figured was worth giving some attention to. I present you with "The Excessive Jubilance of Electro Pop":

http://www.sodblog.com/media/musical-sod/the-excessive-jubilance-of-electro-pop/

In other news, I noticed that the formatting on my posts is looking weird to me. Has this always been the case? The spacing is different for some of the posts and I don't like that. I'll try to fix that eventually.

[Edit 10/6/08: I finally went through and did my best to correct all the weird formatting issues. I have no idea how things had got so weird and ugly.]

[Edit 11/22/08: idyllicmollusk has become The Czech and now has her own blog from which she now hosts the above essay.]

Belle & Sebastian - Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (2000)

2008-06-10T14:00:00.006-05:00

I'm back in Germany, this time on an internship at Marquardt GmbH. I'm speaking a lot of German, but I'll keep my reviews in English (unless someone requests otherwise). If you're interested, here's the link to my travel blog. Moving on...

Artist: Belle & Sebastian
Album: Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant
Released: June 6, 2000
Label: Jeepster (UK), Matador (US)
Producer: Tony Doogan

Tracklising:
01. I Fought in a War
02. The Model
03. Beyond the Sunrise
04. Waiting for the Moon to Rise
05. Don't Leave the Light On Baby
06. The Wrong Girl
07. The Chalet Lines
08. Nice Day for a Sulk
09. Women's Realm
10. Family Tree
11. There's Too Much Love

Review:
Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant is arguably the most interesting album Belle & Sebastian have done. The band's career can more or less be divided in half. Their early years were more folky, light, and kind of twee, while the latest two albums have a much different production and feel: more directly poppy and electric. Most people probably know and/or like their second and third albums best, those being If You're Feeling Sinister (1996) and The Boy with the Arab Strap (1998). Fold Your Hands is their fourth, and the last of the older style. The album finds the band trying to diversify in several directions but retaining the same general feel and moods as previous album. Something about the album makes you understand why the next one went in a totally different direction. (I'm not counting the Storytelling soundtrack here, because I've never heard it and I don't know what it sounds like. If you know a bit about it, by all means share.)

None of this is to say that Fold Your Hands is bad. It's just stretching out, reaching for something different. It's the band's fourth album (with four EPs in between, too), and there was no way they could make another classic like If You're Feeling Sinister. However the band made their decisions, they decided to try switch things up a bit here. Normally, Stuart Murdoch writes and sings just about every song by the band, but this time things are different. Cellist Isobel Campbell sings lead on "Family Tree" and shares the mic on "Beyond the Sunrise" with guitarist Stevie Jackson, who also sings lead on "The Wrong Girl". Violinist Sarah Martin makes her only lead vocal contribution on a B&S record on "Waiting for the Moon to Rise". Jackson and Campbell also sing the occasional line or verse in a few other songs.

It's not just vocals that are different. "I Fought in a War" is a sad bit about the dull and dangerous life of a soldier, while "The Chalet Lines" is probably the most emotional song Murdoch has written. Switching sexes, he sings as a girl who has been raped, and he pulls it off through a subdued accompaniment and his own brutally honest confession. Until I read the lyrics, I'd never thought much of it, but the words really hit home. "Don't Leave the Light On Baby" has something of a soul feeling to it thanks to a great keyboard line. And then "Before the Sunrise" is an overtly slow, downcast duet with a sort of traditional peasant song feel to the lyrics.

I rather like Sarah Martin's song, "Waiting for the Moon to Rise". The lyrics aren't really new for the band, even though they are written by a different vocalist, but I kind of like the imagery anyway: "There's a train I want to catch / But it won't leave here for a while / Till darkness fills the eastern sky / And streetlights stretch for miles / Through the spring / And the winter and the morning." I really like the vocals, too, which are very soft but less breathy than Campbell's, which is odd since Martin is incredibly soft-spoken in public.

"Family Tree" is a solid contribution from Campbell where she laments the superficial interests of her peers ("It saddens me to think / That the only ones I see are mannequins / Looking stupid, being used and being thin / ... / The way they act, I'd rather be fat than be confused"), modern schooling ("... they never teach us / A thing I want to know / We do Chemistry, Biology, and Maths / I want Poetry and Music and some laughs"), and the expectations set upon her, presumably by her family ("If you're looking at me to be an accountant / Then you will look but you will never see / If you're looking at me to start having babies / Then you can wish because I'm not here to fool around"). I love her lyrics.

Of the remaining songs, none really break new ground. That isn't to say they aren't good, it's just that "The Model" and "Women's Realm" sound like they could have been outtakes from The Boy with the Arab Strap. Jackson's "The Wrong Girl" is a straight-forward pop song with simple lyrics that somehow manages to be quite catchy, and that works well, but others just don't sound new. ("New" being relative here, since this album is eight years old at the time of writing.)

My question is, why does the Legal Man EP sound so ahead of this album, a step further in terms of quality, songwriting, and style, when it came out just a month before Fold Your Hands? The title track is a blatant 60s revival, with vocals, guitars, and keyboards straight out of some imaginary 1964 pop classic. The reverb on the guitar is intense (in a good way). The lyrics, though, are something of a humorous parody about love using business terminology. "Judy Is a Dick Slap" has a curious title but is in fact an instrumental... with awesome synthesizers and a good bassline. And "Winter Wooskie" is a slightly weird song more typical of the band, but with bassist Stuart David singing lead. The lyrics are a bit odd but apparently about filming a girl walking by the singer's window in winter. It works well.

Two other EPs/singles were released in 2001 (Jonathan David and I'm Waking Up to Us), again with no overlapping tracks from Fold Your Hands. In both cases, the lead tracks are fantastic and the backing tracks are decent but not stand-out, much like half of Fold Your Hands. The Legal Man EP, though, is three solid tracks that make me wonder why the album didn't feature more arrangements and ideas like those. Between the two works, the band must have been trying out several things, and perhaps they decided the three EP tracks belonged in one group and the eleven album tracks in another. Who knows.

In the end, Legal Man makes for a fantastic EP but Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant is a merely good album. It's far from bad, but it just doesn't live up to expectations from earlier albums or to the brighter tones of later work. The problem is not that there are other singers and songwriters besides Murdoch prominently involved, as other reviewers tend to suggest, but rather that the arrangements tend to be either too plain or too similar to familiar territory. However, the lyrics are often great, and there are plenty of subtleties that are quite rewarding. For a fan of the band, this album is worth having and listening to, but for a casual listener, this might very well end up as the last pick. This album is not outstanding, but it's not bad or particularly disappointing. It's just a bit reserved and subdued.

Score: C+
Score for the Legal Man EP: A