Author Archive for Thom

eMusic - March/April 2008

Published
by
Thom
on April 25, 2008
in Albums
. 2 Comments

I’ve been a paid eMusic subscriber for over 3 years now. So it’s about time that I start commenting on the albums downloaded each month. Since my subscription refreshes around the 16th, expect these posts to not-so-randomly appear in the middle at the end of the month.

Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster W00t! Fun and poppy indie rock. This album is exactly what you need for those Friday afternoons in the summer. Alright, I’ll admit that it feels a tad repetitive early on, but that can be expected for such frolicking goodness. Listen to “Don’t Tell Me To Do The Math(s)” to get a real feel.

Tift Merritt - Another Country Oh my - am I suddenly a country fan? Tift’s song “Broken” weaved itself into my head via a sampler and hasn’t left in like two months. She has a beautiful voice, and knows how to craft a captivating song in the traditional country sense - not the honky-tonk variety that so many find irritating these days.

She & Him - Volume One M. Ward (the indie guitar god) and Zooey Deschanel (the indie screen goddess) teamed up to create this delightful set of classic pop music. It’s a refreshing throwback to the radio waves of the 60s and 70s. Just start listening to the opening “Sentimental Heart”. If that that doesn’t sound like a throwback to simpler times or, more accurately, if that’s not a throwback you want, just skip this over. Me, I wish I had a pool deck that I could lounge on while listening to such sweet sounds.

The Whigs - Mission Control Someone, somewhere said that “Right Hand on My Heart” was a great freakin’ song. I’d like to thank that person for making me finally listen to the best track off one of the finest albums this year. The hardest reviews are often the ones about albums that are just plain awesome rock. What can you really say? It’s a little sludgey, rather catchy, occasionally cumbersome, but always rocking… Does that make any sense? The Whigs are essentially updating early 90s modern rock. Everybody hates the term post-grunge, but they would have loved it if bands like this got the label.

Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours Holy crap… That should be the entire review. Seriously. I need to create an award called “The Holy Crap! Award”. I’ll give it to the bands that put out an album that makes me sit and say… well, you know. From my first listen to In Ghost Colours there has been almost no hiatus. It’s in the car. It’s on at work. Speakers need to be wired into my shower. This album is everything great about new wave and electro. It’s the Pet Shop Boys on steroids. It’s also a good explanation for why I’m more likely to be hit on by a guy at clubs. Just pop on “Lights & Magic” and watch me go. Put it on repeat for a few hours and I still won’t be tired.

The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed Wait… The Stones… on eMusic? Yeah. Their early albums on the ABKCO label have been released on my favorite music store. To celebrate, I decided it was time to get reacquainted. And not a moment too soon. With all of their commercialization and refusal to retire well past their prime, it’s easy to forget that The Stones were a revolutionary rock act. Forgetting the popular singles we all know, Let It Bleed is a great place to start for the brilliant rock and blues album tracks that fill their catalog. There’s even a little country - the original “Country Honk” makes this album a must all by itself.

Eliza Carthy - Rough Music I became one of two fans of Eliza Carthy in the States after stumbling upon a copy of Red/Rice 9 or 10 years ago. That double disc set was a stunning collection of folk music that bridged traditional and modern sensibilities. Unfortunately, her debut in these parts came across as a major label attempt to turn her into a pop star. Not terrible, but lacking the unique wonder that Eliza’s music possessed. So after reading that Rough Music was a return to her more acoustic roots, it became an essential download. And while this album may not embrace the electronic experimentation that peppered her magnum opus, it successfully and passionately embraces the folk music that her voice (and fiddle) were made for.

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago Justin Vernon’s solo debut under the moniker of Bon Iver is every bit as beautiful, touching, haunting, and powerful as the rave reviews suggest. “Skinny Love” grabbed my attention immediately, but after a couple listens the entire album began to unfold for me. While I wouldn’t make a direct musical comparison, there is a strong sense of honesty and intimacy similar to that of singer/songwriter Matt Pond.

Moby totally destroys Hoboken

Published
by
Thom
on April 16, 2008
in Concerts
. Closed

And here lies the reason this site will never truly succeed. I am finally updating again, only to talk about last week. What a posting schedule. Anyway, early last week I managed to stumble upon a very important post. It started with simply noticing that the header on Music Snobbery listed Moby as part of his 3rd Anniversary show at Maxwell’s. After doing a little research I realized that he was indeed talking about THE Moby. Since word travels around these parts rather quickly, I was amazed to find myself able to score a pair of tickets for such a mythical event. But score I did… indeed do… er, yeah…

So Thursday night I headed over to my old stomping grounds to check out a couple local acts and one of my all time favorites. The evening started with a French pop outfit from New York City, La Laque. And what can I say? I’m a sucker for anything related to French New Wave movement. The real selling point for La Laque is front woman Devery, who plays the part of the sexy chantreuse so perfectly it’s almost shocking that she’s American. But beyond pulling off the look and vibe, her voice is fantastic.

The band has a fun and frisky sound, but obviously don’t want to be pigeonholed as evident by Ben Shapiro animalistic drumming or Michael Leviton’s screeching vocals on one of the tracks. I’ll need to re-visit these guys as I get acquainted with the 5 track EP they were selling.

Next up was another local act, Salt & Samovar. Right off the bat I’ll let it be known that I get a little nervous when “local acts” take the stage, because too many of them turn out to be just another generic, punk/indie/rock band that cranks the volume knob to make up for a lack of talent. But these guys… damn… what a show. Everything they played seemed to be coming from a familiar place, yet was fresh and new at the same time. It was like watching Dr. Dog cover the Allman Brothers or Bob Dylan’s cousin deciding the alt-country scenes wasn’t psychedelic enough.

The guitar work… the harmonizing… damn. So yeah, I highly recommend checking them out. And my car is getting quite familiar with their debut full length, “Old Joy, New Joy.”

At this point the evening was already a smashing success. Moby could have walked on stage and done a twenty minute a cappella version of “Body Rock” followed by half an hour of Britney Spears and Mariah Carrey covers and it still would have been fun. But he wasn’t about to be shown up by these “youngsters” and pulled no punches in a rocking set that saw him cover the likes of Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen, and, yes, even Billy Idol.

When it comes down to it, the man loves to play. Chris from Music Snobbery covered it very well with his intro to Moby and commented on just why he would come to such a small venue. This is what it’s all about for a musician. I spoke to him after the show and told him it was yet another great performance (my third time) and how much fun he looked to be having. He said it was such a shame having to come down off that stage. I believe him. Whenever an artist can laugh at mistakes, they must be having a good time:

Probably the highlight of the evening was the rousing rendition of “Honey” (WARNING: Very loud and very NSFW introduction):

For full details on the evening, and the great story behind how it all came together, make sure to read Music Snobbery’s account. A hearty thank you goes out to Chris for making it happen and, of course, to Moby for putting on another incredible show.

Let there be live music

Published
by
Thom
on March 18, 2008
in Uncategorized
. Closed

Is anyone else there in the New York area tired of missing out on all of the cool festivals? Chicago, California, and even Tennessee get to host really awesome multi-day events year after year that make me drool over the line-ups. And while New York City can be awesome for it’s nonstop live music scene that no self-respecting act would skip, it is severely lacking in this department. Until now…

From the same people that run the incredible Coachella out on the west coast comes the All Points West Festival this August. I’m not going to bother re-printing the information as you can check out all the relevant facts on that site. While not as impressive as its Western sibling, the lineups are pretty solid. And if this is to become an annual event, they will certainly improve. Personally I hope to make it out for Sunday (Rodrigo y Gabriela AND Amadou & Mariam? Holy crap!), although Friday has a lot of appeal, too (The Go! Team alone would be worth it).

On top of that, next year the producers of ACL, Lollapalooza, plus most of the great English festivals will be adding to the options with the Vineland Festival. And the good news doesn’t end there…

Scores tried to buy the Wellmont Theater in nearby (to me) Montclair, NJ to turn it into a strip club - but they were beat out by… guess who? The Bowery Presents! That’s right, the same group that books shows at Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge, Terminal 5, and Webster Hall will be spending a lot of money to rip out seats and convert the old movie theater into a live music venue. Suddenly there’s a chance that my concert-going days may not be coming to an end with the arrival of my baby girl this summer. Thanks to brooklynvegan for the heads up.

Pat Metheny Trio at The Keswick Theatre

Published
by
Thom
on March 18, 2008
in Concerts
. Closed

I feel woefully inadequate to write a review of jazz music, much less of an actual jazz concert. As much as I enjoy jazz, it has never been a big part of my collection which can make it very difficult to talk about when knowledge is so integral to the experience. Nevertheless, when I saw that Pat Metheny was touring with Christian McBride and Antonio Sanchez, it was a show I had to check out.

For those unfamiliar with Pat Metheny, he is a guitar virtuoso. And that’s putting it mildly. He does things with the guitar that can leave you scratching your head. The music can be subtle and gentle yet at the same time intense and engaging. His work under the Pat Metheny Group has an almost dream-like quality that I was first introduced to, believe it or not, while watching the pseudo-classic 80s film Fandango. But this show was a tad different as it featured a true jazz trio.

To start things off, Metheny came out on the stage and played a couple solo guitar works. These pieces meandered to and from melodies that had a familiar sound but avoided anything cohesive enough to get a labeled as a song… well, maybe the latin-tinged one might, but the definitely not the first. While they were pleasant enough, I was anxiously awaiting what was to come with his third guitar swap - the donning of the Pikasso I. In a way, that 42-string monstrosity demonstrates everything there is to know about Metheny - it is complex and beautiful and appears impossible to play yet produces amazing music. He certainly did not disappoint.

The main course was yet to come, as McBride and Sanchez joined Metheny on stage as the last notes of the Pikasso I died out. For the rest of the night, musicianship was in top form and on center stage. While Metheny is truly the star of this trio, McBride’s endeavors on the bass may have been the most impressive performance of the night. His fingers moved faster than I thought possible on such a large instrument, and his solos had such a sweet vibe to them. Being a Philly crowd, the crowd definitely got behind one of their own, but I can only imagine that his playing would be greatly appreciated in any city. Sanchez was a different matter. While I loved his interplay with the rest of the trio, his first solo felt divergent from the music - almost like he was fighting the urge to break into a cacophony of rock breaks. But as the night wore on, he seemed to settle more and more into the feel of the trio.

All three of these gentlemen are superb musicians, and great musicians love to play with and around others like them. Watching the interplay as they added flourishes to each other’s solos, took over and gave back control of songs, and just generally bounced ideas off one another was incredible. One of the highlights was the final encore when Metheny had already donned an electric guitar for the end of “When We Were Free” and McBride joined in for another piece with an electric bass. Suddenly the music took on a jazz/rock fusion element and the energy for the evening was renewed again.

Overally, this was far more free form than I am used to; which runs the danger of becoming tedious (just ask my wife who joined me). It’s definitely not for everyone as the music can become overwhelming and even boring for those wishing for a melody. The few true “songs” that were played from the new album (such as “Is This America?” and the above-mentioned “When We Were Free”) definitely put their album Day Trip on my wish list. As brilliant as the live performance is, I still tend to cling to more structured music on my own. Nevertheless, this was a wonderful experience, and definitely one I would repeat.

I finally get it - Wilco

Published
by
Thom
on February 28, 2008
in Artists and Thoughts
. 1 Comment

Have you ever had one of those musical breakthroughs whe you finally get into an artist? It’s like when you’re young and everyone talks about how great Dylan and The Beatles are but it just doesn’t jive with you. And then on your 20th time trying to make it through The White Album there’s a snap, and suddenly Bungalow Bill is on repeat for a week.

Today I had that moment with Wilco. Having been labeled an indie nut (well, an indieb0i to be specific), it’s somewhat surprising that I’ve never really been into the alt-country darlings that seem to top almost every hipster and wannabe hipster’s playlist. Sure, Summerteeth had a spot in my collection, but it’s been years since I’ve given it a real listen. They remained a band that I had only casual interest in - pleasant enough, but nothing to queue up with intent.

But today that changed. For some reason when I started up Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, I was captivated from the first track. So A Ghost Is Born quickly followed (a tad overindulgent, but still pretty good) and then onto Sky Blue Sky (low key, but still engaging). Why did I not hear this before? Great Americana-influenced, modern music - that’s right up my alley.

Sometimes missing out on the “next big thing” can be disappointing. There are no shared stories of looking forward to any of these classic releases or heading out to see Tweedy perform live. Nevertheless, the music is the most important part. And even if it takes you 20 years to finally “get” a band or an album or even just a song, it’s still worth it in the end. Because you’re still left with even more great music to get you through the day.

St. Vincent - Marry Me

Published
by
Thom
on February 15, 2008
in Albums and Artists
. 1 Comment

St. Vincent - Marry MeIf you paid attention to my listening stats over the past few weeks, you would have noticed a couple artists staking a claim in the weekly top 10. One of those would be the absolutely delightful St. Vincent. One of my recent acquisitions thanks to eMusic, Marry Me is an album that took me a few tries to get into and now captivates me. I’ve listened to it just about every other morning for the past couple of weeks.

Annie Clark seem to get a lot of comparisons to Bjork, but I just don’t get it. Yes, she’s quirky. Yes, her music goes all over the place. But her voice has a far more intimate tone than Bjork’s, and her music feels more like that of a modern singer/songwriter than an operatic experimenter. Her sweet cry of “Mary me, John / Mary me, John / I’ll be so good to you” on the title track makes you want to wrap her up in a blanket and take her home - not put her up on a stage and idolize.

While she is difficult to pigeonhole, the video for “Jesus Saves, I Spend” will give you a fairly good impression of the album:

Isn’t that a brilliant way to start your day? Innocence in music can be a wonderful thing. Now if only that innocence could score me some tickets to Bowery Ballroom…

A flashback of sorts

Published
by
Thom
on February 11, 2008
in Concerts and Nostalgia
. Closed

So I’m sitting here listening to some classic Soundgarden, and it sure does take me back. It may seem a tad silly to get so nostalgic when you haven’t even made it through another decade, but albums like Superunknown and the unjustly overlooked Down on the Upside came at a major turning point in my life. Grunge… alternative… loud obnoxious shit… whatever you want to call it, this music was the real thing when my life changed in a rather profound and musical way.

Specifically these sounds take me back to November 16, 1996. A Saturday night when a college buddy of mine and I found ourselves debating about a concert across the river in New York City that night. Of course we didn’t have tickets for Soundgarden. We were both rather inexperienced concert-goers at the time. But we were emboldened by our recent trek to the ultimate show at the time: Pearl Jam. Hell, if we were able to make it to such a huge event as that one, why not give this one a try?

And so we headed for the PATH trains and walked all the way up to Roseland (about 20 some odd blocks) hoping that the scalpers wouldn’t kill us. When the first guy asked for over 100 bucks each, our hopes were almost shot. But we pressed on and watched the prices continue to drop until someone let us know that 20 dollar tickets were still available at the box office.

Holy crap! Was it really this easy? Here we were going to college just a 20 minute train ride from The City, and we could just hope over and gets tickets for a band we loved… I think I was hung up on the days of my sisters camping out all night for Peter Gabriel and didn’t realize just how many concerts went on regularly for us to immerse ourselves in the live experience without being forced to sleep on concrete.

But that was it. We were in. We rocked ourselves silly and moshed like there was no tomorrow. We screamed and shouted and even tried to sing along with “Black Hole Sun”. I helped some girl catch a guitar string and high-fived total strangers. Like I said, it may seem a tad silly, just a smidge over dramatic, but that night changed how we looked at music. We were no longer on the outside looking in. We were banging down the doors and joining in all of the fun.

From then on, we were… cool. Well, at least I used to be cool…