It took me quite some time and at least two renewals at the library (it’s now officially overdue, by the way), but I finally finished Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay the other night. Not for lack of interest, I just kept getting sidetracked by other things. I actually quite enjoyed the book which is the story of two cousins at the dawn of the Golden Age of comics who create a character – The Escapist – as a contemporary of Superman. Chabon does a good job of believably weaving his fiction into the true history of the industry and demonstrating his love of the medium without making it a book about comics – it’s squarely about the characters and their lives, which simply happen to be greatly informed by comics. Ah, fuck it – This is why I don’t do book reviews. It’s a good book. Look into it if you’re interested. For my part, I’ll be checking out Chabon’s other works after I get through my current massive backlog of reading materials.

I’m also planning on picking up the comics Dark Horse has begun publishing chronicling the fictional adventures of The Escapist. Featuring a host of the top talent in comics today, it looks to be the perfect extension of a great novel. The first two 80-page issues have already been collected in a trade paperback, but I think I’ll just be getting the regular issues – they’re thick and squarebound so they’d look just as good on a bookshelf as a compendium.

Wilco on Late Night with David Letterman tonight.

Endearing Records artists The Waking Eyes will be opening for Ted Leo this coming Monday at the ‘Shoe. The Waking Eyes got some serious praise from Chart for their set during NXNE last weekend. Should be good.

New York’s On!Air!Library! will be in town October 12 with Solex. No venue yet.

Paul Westerberg’s Folker has a release date – August 24. Sez Westerberg about the set, “It’s got the classic stuff. You know, the songs of mine that people always like? I think I’ve got more than I need this time. I think it might be a fan favorite.” From Delusions Of Adequacy.

The full official information on the Legacy Edition of Jeff Buckley’s Grace can be found here. I don’t know why they keep listing a Monday as the release date. Even if that is the European release date, you think they’d make some mention of the North American date.

Some release info from Lost Highway – Tift Merritt’s sophomore release has a title, Tambourine, and will be out August 24. The following week will see a still-untitled live Lucinda Williams record hit stores. A live Jayhawks record is out September 28.

Best wishes to Johnny Ramone in his battle with cancer.

Hardcore Uncle Tupelo fans may appreciate this news story. Others… will not.

So thanks to Bradley of the Almanac, I have a shiny new Gmail account. What I don’t have is any idea what to do with it. I already have three fairly entrenched email addresses in use that I really don’t have any problems with – spam or storage. So for now, I’ll just sit here and look at it. Kinda like just breathing in that new car smell without any need to turn the ignition.

np – Spoon / Kill The Moonlight

YAAAAY. New Steve Earle album! The Revolution Starts… Now is out August 24. Once again featuring the incomparable Emmylou Harris on guest vocals, details and tracklisting are available from Rolling Stone.

I’ve always preferred the work of the post-prison Fat Steve Earle (Train A-Comin’ through Jerusalem) versus that by the pre-prison Skinny Steve Earle (Guitar Town through The Hard Way), but now he’s gone and lost a whole lot of weight, creating a third iteration – post-prison Skinny Steve Earle. What will that mean for his music? Well, I’ll wager he’s still just as pissed off about the state of the Union as he was on Jerusalem (some song titles – “Rich Man’s War,” “Condi, Condi” and “F the CC”), and Angry Steve Earle is usually a guarantee of a great record. There’s no doubt some out there who would prefer Steve not make the overtly political records and I don’t doubt that he wishes he didn’t have to make them either – but times like these, someone’s gotta do it. And hell – everyone who’s gonna hate him already does, so what’s there to lose?

Time is the latest publication to review A Ghost Is Born and profile Wilco.

Good stuff from Said The Gramophone today – new tracks from the forthcoming Hidden Cameras and Rachel Goswell albums. Rachel Goswell’s Waves Are Universal is out next week, the Hidden Cameras’ Mississauga Goddamn sometime between now and the end of the year. Yeah, I’m useless, I know.

Newsweek took an exclusive visit to the set of Batman Begins and got a pic of Christian Bale in action. The first teaser trailer is in production and they hope to have it attached to Spider-Man 2 on June 30, but failing that, it will make its debut before I, Robot on July 16 or at the very latest, July 30 as the only thing worth seeing if you have some sort of mental moment and decide to go see Catwoman.

Best wishes going out to long-time Blue Jays radio broadcaster Tom Cheek, who is battling a brain tumour. Previous to his father’s death last month, he had gone an amazing 4306 games without missing a broadcast since the franchise’s inception. I’ve spent many hours listening to him calling Jays games, here’s hoping he’ll have many more.

Rasputin’s dick. ‘Nuff said.

Yahoo Mail is going ca-ca today while they upgrade everyone’s accounts (or so they say), so if you write me and I don’t respond for a bit, blame them. Or use my chromewaves account (link on ‘about’ page).

np – Built To Spill / Perfect From Now On

The problem the Coen Brothers have created for themselves is that they’ve set the bar for their work so high, that anything that fails to reach the same heights, even if it’s a perfectly good to very good film on its own merits, comes off feeling a little like a disappointment. Consider their last film, The Ladykillers. How could I not like a Coen comedy caper? That’s not a set-up, by the way, I really did enjoy it. Laugh-out loud in a number of places, the tale of Tom Hanks and a bumbling crew of would-be criminals trying to pull off a heist while dealing with a nosy old landlady is a perfectly solid comedy. The uncredited Eddie Murphy cameo as a super-enthusiastic church choir conductor is gravy. So why does it sound like there’s a but? Because there is a but.

But. The Ladykillers suffers from the same problem (though that is probably the wrong word) as the last Coen-credited film, Intolerable Cruelty – it’s not purely theirs. Intolerable Cruelty wasn’t originally intended to be directed by the brothers, so while perfectly enjoyable, it came off as watered down by their standards. The same goes for The Ladykillers. Maybe because it’s a remake of an old Alec Guinness film and they’re working with someone else’s source material (though I haven’t seen the original so I can’t say how faithful they stayed – I can’t imagine too much)? The film just seems slight somehow, like a toss-off. The character eccentricities, a Coen trademark, are a little forced, overplayed. It just didn’t feel like it had the full force of their inspiration behind it. If Fargo or Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? were oil paintings, then Ladykillers is a pencil and ink drawing. It’s not intended as a complaint but after two breezy comedies and one beautiful but somewhat turgid drama (The Man Who Wasn’t There), one gets a little impatient waiting for another masterpiece.

New blog alert – How Could This Movie Possibly Be Bad? gives you movie reviews with a (very) healthy dose of snark and wit. The picture captions alone are worth the price of admission. Which is free, by the way. But even if you had to pay, like, a nickel or something, it’d still be worth it.

Thanks to the wonder of bit torrent, I watched “season 3” of The Office this weekend, also known as the 2-part Christmas special. While I thought that the finale of the second series would have been a perfect way to wrap things up, the producers seemed to have felt that things deserved a firmer resolution, a happier ending. Thankfully, they do so without watering down the biting humour that made the show such a joy and the whole thing played out very naturally. And really, David Brent wasn’t really that big a prat, was he? Yeah, I guess he was. I nearly shat myself during the “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” video, though.

“At the end of the day I wonder what I’ve done. All I got is some crow’s feet. What’s the fucking prize?” In an interview with Rolling Stone last year, Beulah hinted that the end for the band was near – this coming August, to be exact. As others have pointed out, perhaps this is our punishment for taking such joy in the demises of Creed and Phish. It happens in threes, don’t it?

np – Beulah / Yoko

Feist’s show at the Mod Club last night may well have been one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in a long time. This wasn’t because it was a great show, which it was, but because Feist made the inspired move of including a visual artist (name: Shary Boyle) as part of her band. Her contribution was to create fascinating real-time art works on overheads projected onto the massive back screen using slides, silhouettes, inks, bits of foliage and even Leslie Feist herself. It was really a brilliant way of adding a whole new visual dimension to the show and really enhanced the experience. I often find that when bands incorporate slideshows or such into their shows it ends up being more distracting or anything, sometimes deliberately so for bands without stage presence oozing from every pore. While Feist required no help in the charisma department, the art show really put it over the top. Sorry to everyone catching the tour at later dates – apparently this was a one-time only deal, the production was assembled for last night’s performance only. Alas. I tried to capture some of the pieces in my photos from the show, but they can’t really do it justice.

As for the musical component, it was similarly unconventional and impressive. The show started with Feist expertly using a sampler/looper pedal to create layers of guitar and backing vocals while the band took their places – the looper was thusly utilized a few more times through the show with equal effectiveness. I was really impressed by how perfectly she timed the loops – speaking as someone who has tried in vain to get decent results from a looper, I can tell you it’s not easy. Her Gallic band also kept things interesting, musically, by playing a wide variety of instruments from trombones to keyboards to various curious percussion instruments. All of this helped recreate the warmth of Let It Die in a live setting, the main difference being Feist’s electric guitar work. This gave the material a rougher, rawer and bluesier edge than the album has. Live, it works really well. Her voice was in top form as well – jazzy, soulful, soaring, snarling and sexy in all the right places. From last night’s show, I don’t think it’s entirely inappropriate to call her Canada’s own blues-soaked Bjork.

If I have a complaint, it’s that for a homecoming show of sorts, there wasn’t a real love-in vibe. The sold-out crowd, though appreciative, seemed peculiarly restrained. Granted, this wasn’t a proper ‘rock’ show, but it definitely seemed overly polite. Maybe it was because it was an early show and people weren’t fully lubed up, but I put it more on the feeling of aloofness and haughtiness that Feist projected throughout the set, preventing her from really connecting with the audience. It’s something that Chart noticed at her Friday night show as well. Maybe she’s just been in France too long? I don’t know, but it was just a little off-putting. Didn’t ruin the show at all, though, just dampened the mood a bit.

Opener Gentleman Reg put on the best perfomance out of the several times I’ve seen him. I can’t put my finger on what was different, but for whatever reason last night it just clicked. A fine warm-up to be sure. I also want to comment that the Mod Club is a really nice venue – it reminds me of a smaller, more intimate Phoenix. Definitely more of a theatre than a bar or club. Great lights and sidelines – I’m looking forward to shooting some more shows there. Here’s my pics from last night.

Oh, and as a final note, rumour has it that Feist will be the “mystery” headliner at Wavelength tonight, making that three Toronto shows in three nights. It’s been kept on the down-low so as not to annoy NXNE organizers, but should be announced later today – I’ll confirm when it is (or let you know who the real mystery act is). She’d be scheduled to go on at 12 midnight, probably solo – I can’t imagine her band would set up all their equipment at Sneaky Dee’s. As (almost) always, it will be pay what you can.

Update: It’s confirmed, Feist is playing Wavelength tonight at midnight.

Hold the phone – Spoon have posted mp3s of two demos from The Beast And Dragon Are Adored (that can’t be the actual title!). Thanks to Catbirdseat for the tip.

People in Toronto who like buying other peoples’ old things, check this out – starting today, there will be a ‘vintage flea market’ at the 360 every Sunday from noon till 6. Since today’s is the first one, I can’t say if it’ll be cool or crap, but I plan on going down and seeing what they’ve got so I’ll let you know. Cause Lord knows what I need is more junk.

I got a new bed yesterday! No more with the foam-mattress euphemistically-named ‘twin’ bed on a frame older than I am, thanks. I got a grown-up queen-size bed with all sorts of crazy bed technology. Gotta say though, it’s big – didn’t seem quite so big in the store. Granted, it was in a giant department store and not in my little bedroom, but still. It takes up a lot of room in the bedroom and I take up not a lot of room in it. I could probably rent out half of it to a family of migrant workers and never even notice. Independently pocketed coils, dontcha know.

np – Rainer Maria / A Better Version Of Me

A lot of locals whinge about NXNE, how it’s a rip-off for the bands, how it doesn’t really do anything to promote artists who need exposure, how it’s not a patch on it’s Austin-based namesake (SXSW), and you know what? All fair points. But being out around the clubs last night I can say that the punters were out in full force, flashing wristbands and club-hopping between gigs and having a good time. There was a real energy everywhere and it was thanks to people going to see live music – never a bad thing.

For my part, I was hunkered down in Healey’s for the Rainbow Quartz showcase. Touting themselves as “your source for perfect guitar pop”, they actually run three labels – Rainbow Quartz handles the guitar pop and Turquoise Mountain is home to their roots/alt.country acts. I’m not sure what Amethyst’s deal is. Anyway, last night’s lineup drew from the first two imprints and was Detroit-heavy, featuring The Waxwings, Volebeats, and Denise James – all from the Motor City – and Myracle Brah from the DC area.

Denise James had been getting the bulk of the local press and after seeing her set, I’m not sure why. Her stuff was pleasant enough in a late 50s/early 60s female pop singer/songwriter sort of way (I keep thinking of Petula Clark as a reference point though I really don’t know what Petula Clark sounds like), but not really remarkable. Not much in the way of stage presence, either. But hey, I guess someone likes her stuff – much of the crowd left after her set.

From their name, you’d expect Myracle Brah to be a bunch of sophomoric jokesters playing Blink-182-esque punk pop. Well they’re actually more collegiate-looking (in a seventh year of an undergrad arts degree frat boy sort of way) but otherwise you’re in the right ballpark. Big loud fuzzy guitars, high energy, fairly high humour quotient. Not very standout, but enjoyable enough live.

I really enjoyed the Volebeats. Great country-esque tunes (including a fantastic rearrangement of Abba’s “Knowing Me Knowing You”) and spot-on harmonies and perfomances. Stage presence was a little low – the big lead singer guy barely moved the whole set – but Matthew Smith’s (also of Outrageous Cherry) guitar playing had my attention for most of the show. The man can play some sweet guit-box. I was impressed enough to get up right after and buy a copy of their last album, Country Favorites. Thumbs up.

The act I was most excited to see was headliners The Waxwings. I’ve only got their first record, but it’s a great collection of Byrds-ish jangle pop and amazing vocals, so I was a little curious when the more recent bios kept describing them as an all-out rock band in the vein of the Stones or such. I mean, I like the rock, but love the pop – I was curious to hear what they sounded like now. I got my answer when one of the guitarists plugged in his Gibson SG instead of the Rickenbacker (they were both playing SGs, actually, for the guitar geeks) – they brought the rock. I don’t think the blues-rock of the Rolling Stones is the best reference, but they were definitely all about the high-energy riffage though the pop sensibility and harmonies were still intact, if a little diminished. They put on a very satisfying set but the new material didn’t make me rush out to buy the new record. It struck me as the sort of stuff that was more enjoyable live than on record.

I hadn’t been in Healey’s before, but the sightlines are pretty good for taking photos. They’d have been better if there weren’t tables butted up right against the front of the stage, but the shots I got turned out pretty well.

The Magnetic Fields’ July 2 show at Trinity-St Paul’s is sold out, but if you waited too long for tickets or want to see them twice, you’ll be pleased to know a second show has been added, same venue, for July 3. Double the Merrit, double the fun.

Sadly, Beulah’s threats to split up after the release of their last album Yoko appear to have come true. Billboard reports that the band will call it quits after a show in New York City on August 5. They will be survived by four superb albums, a slew of EPs and a tour DVD, A Good Band Is Hard To Kill, coming out later this year.

Watched Master & Commander: The Far Side Of The World last night, a film which easily takes the title of longest website URL in existance. I mean, look at it. It’s absurd. The film itself was alright – certainly looked great and was a decent enough adventure film. I just kept waiting for everyone to burst into song, a la Gilbert & Sullivan or The Pirate Movie. Which they actually did at a few points, but not in the way I’m talking about.

Oh, and if anyone is interested, Minneapolis’ The Honeydogs and locals Elliott Brood are doing an in-store at Sonic Boom at Bloor and Bathurst today at 2pm. I’d be going if I weren’t having to sit at home waiting for a bed to be delivered.

np – The House Of Love / 1986:88: The Creation Recordings