Man, I thought I was done with losing buckets of sweat ’cause of Texas after last weekend but Friday night, there I was in a sweltering and sold-out Lee’s Palace waiting for the first local show from one of Austin – and America’s – finest bands in Okkervil River, making their first local appearance in almost two years.

Their tourmate on this leg was Seattle singer-songwriter Damien Jurado who, despite his imposing size and demeanor, played a set of slow, sad and pretty songs that were unfortunately lost on the restless and increasingly rowdy crowd. It was just the wrong setting for his stuff and I can only hope that his other dates on this tour have been in more sympathetic environs.

Okkervil, however, were more than up to the task of satisfying the audience’s desire for some rock. Though they got off to a bit of a comical false start – Will Sheff was unsure if he was in tune or if his capo was on the correct fret (two words, Will – contact lenses) and had to consult with keyboardist Jonathan Meiburg before starting off with a stately “Plus Ones” from The Stage Names.

It occurs to me now that I haven’t actually offered any formal thoughts on Stage Names, and considering that it’s the long-awaited follow-up to one of my favourite albums of the last five years – 2005’s Black Sheep Boy, of course – now’s as good a time as any. The short version is that no, Stage Names isn’t as grand and majestic as Black Sheep Boy but it makes no attempt to be. It looks to life instead of literature for inspiration, drawing on both popular culture and the experiences of being in a touring band but thankfully Sheff is too good a lyricist to fall into the potential cliche pitfalls that could lie down that road. Instead, The Stage Names is Okkervil’s most rocking and rollicking effort to date, simultaneously sounding looser and tighter than they ever have.

Which would be a pretty good way of describing them live, as well. In the past, the live Okkervil River experience could be chaotic and ramshackle in the most delightful sense but this time out, they were a deliberate, well-oiled machine. They still reached for the chaos at points, but it was obvious that even then they were still in total control. The front end of the show was actually a bit sedate by Okkervil standards, but near the halfway mark – incidentally right around the time Sheff shed his suit coat – they found the next gear and properly set about putting on an absolutely killer show. I never need reminding that Okkervil is one of my favourite bands going right now but it’s always good to see that opinion reinforced.

There’s still time to make it down to Hamilton to see them play the Pepper Jack Cafe tonight, and after that they continue touring pretty much through doomsday. The Boston Globe has an interview with Sheff about The Stage Names.

Photos: Okkervil River, Damien Jurado @ Lee’s Palace, Toronto – September 21, 2007
MP3: Okkervil River – “Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe”
MP3: Damien Jurado – “What Were The Chances”
Video: Okkervil River – “Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe” (YouTube)
MySpace: Okkervil River

The Duke Chronicle offers up an interview with John Vanderslice, in town October 1 at the El Mocambo.

Over at the Mountain Goats forum, John Darnielle has offered up an outtake from their new album to distribute and enjoy as we see fit. Say thanks by seeing them at Lee’s Palace this coming Tuesday night. Via Largehearted Boy.

M4A: The Mountain Goats – “From TG&Y”

SF Station talks to Matt Berninger of The National while Deaf Indie Elephants has their set at ACL last week available in MP3 form.

The Boston Globe talks to Yo La Tengo about science, offers photo of their midsections.

Atlanta’s Black Lips are staging a mini-invasion of Toronto this weekend, serving up their particular recipe of Southern-fried garage-punk no less than three times in the next few days, starting with an acoustic in-store at Criminal Records at 3PM 4PM 6PM tomorrow (Sunday the 23rd), a proper (read: loud and electrimafied) show at the Horseshoe that evening and finally an in-studio performance for MTV Live on Monday evening, all to support their spanking new record Good Bad Not Evil.

And while I don’t have tickets to give away – come on, two of those three shows are free (the in-store and the taping), courtesy of Vice Records Canada, I’ve got the next best thing (assuming that a CD, poster and earphones sit right next to free tickets in your personal hierarchy of “best things”). Specifically, a copy of the new album on CD, a pair of Sennheiser CX300 earphones and a Black Lips poster of some description for you to stare at while you listen to the CD on the earphones. Or anything, really. Your call.

I don’t have these particular earphones but do have a different kind of in-ear canal kinds and can and will vouch for the great sound quality from the design. Yeah, cramming these things way into your ear is kind of weird at first but you get used to it and as a bonus, if you wear them while eating, you can hear every single bone in your head moving. It’s fascinating. But I digress.

To enter the contest, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want Black Lips on my ears” in the subject and your full name and mailing address before in the body 7PM EDT on Monday evening, which is when The Black Lips should be about wrapping up their MTV Live set and hitting the road to continue on their merry mission of bringing the rock to boys and girls across America. None of whom are eligible for this contest because it’s open to Canadians only. Har har.

MP3: The Black Lips – “Cold Hands”
MP3: The Black Lips – “Lock & Key” (live at Amoeba)
Video: The Black Lips – “Cold Hands” (MOV)

Anyone get the reference in the title? Anyone?

And here, after drawing last weekend out over all of this week, we have the final installment. I may have missed day two of Austin City Limits in its entirety, but more than made up for that on the Sunday. For my money, the three-day sched was heavily backloaded on the final day and there were loads I wanted to see, meaning I was at Zilker Park before the performances even began, despite having barely gotten to bed by 4AM the night before.

The AM draw was Nicole Atkins & The Sea, who despite playing to a tiny crowd of early birds, was dazzling and set the bar for the day super-high. Adjusting their repertoire to the scale of the stage, they opened up with their more rocking material serving up terrific performances of “Carousel” and “Brooklyn’s On Fire”. And once they had the audience’s undivided attention, Atkins’ formidable pipes finished the job with the gut-wrenching “War Torn”. A starmaking performance, even if no one was there to see it. After Neptune City comes out on October 30, Atkins won’t be stuck playing the morning slots at festivals much longer. She’s in town at Lee’s Palace on October 14. Don’t miss it.

Photos: Nicole Atkins & The Sea @ AT&T Blue Room Stage – September 16, 2007
MP3: Nicole Atkins – “Bleeding Diamonds”
MP3: Nicole Atkins – “Carouselle”
Video: Nicole Atkins & The Sea – “The Way It Is” (MySpace)
Video: Nicole Atkins – “Neptune City” (YouTube)
MySpace: Nicole Atkins

Her set tag-teamed with some fellow New Jersey-ites in Yo La Tengo. I’ve no idea why the indie institutions got stuck with the noontime slot but they didn’t seem to be complaining about it – maybe they had BBQ reservations later in the afternoon. But they still drew a pretty sizable crowd for that time of day and showcased their versitility and eclecticism, veering from power pop to faux soul to fuzzed freakouts. The highlight, however, was watching/hearing Georgia Hubley turn blazing Summer sun into Autumnal dusk simply by singing “Tears Are In Your Eyes” and then having Ira bring things right back to sunshine with a rollicking “Little Honda”.

Photos: Yo La Tengo @ AMD Stage – September 16, 2007
MP3: Yo La Tengo – “The Summer” (live at KEXP)
MP3: Yo La Tengo – “I Feel Like Going Home” (live at KCMP)
MP3: Yo La Tengo – “Pass The Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind”
MP3: Yo La Tengo – “Beanbag Chair”
MySpace: Yo La Tengo

Seeing The National in the bright afternoon sunshine was going to be interesting, considering how intrinsic the dark – be it from nightfall or just the dirt in the corners of bars – is to their music. But rather than shrink in the light, The National’s romantic noir anthems gleamed. I know they’ve played other festivals this Summer but watching them enthrall an audience as huge as the one that’d gathered to see them, it felt like the band was no longer on the cusp of the big time but had properly and deservedly arrived. Their October 8 show at the Phoenix is almost sold out – if you’re on the fence, get off and get to a ticket outlet. And check out this interview at PopMatters.

Photos: The National @ AT&T Blue Room Stage – September 16, 2007
MP3: The National – “Fake Empire”
Video: The National – “Mistaken For Strangers” (YouTube)
Video: The National – “Apartment Story” (YouTube)
MySpace: The National

DeVotchKa, on the other hand, didn’t thrive as well in the festival setting as I’d hoped. They drew a modest (by ACL standards) but enthusiastic crowd and sounded fine, showcasing a goodly amount of new material alongside gems from How It Ends but their smoky charm, so evident and enthralling in a club setting, seemed to dissipate in the open air. It was still good to see them and it did stoke my anticipation for the new record, but I’d much rather see them on a club tour.

Photos: DeVotchKa @ AT&T Blue Room Stage – September 16, 2007
MP3: DeVotchKa – “Venus In Furs”
Video: DeVotchKa – “Till The End Of Time” (YouTube)
MySpace: DeVotchKa

As large as some of the crowds at the secondary stages were, they couldn’t compare to the throngs gathered around the AT&T main stage. Many were staking out spots for Bob Dylan’s closing set but others – like me – were there to see Bloc Party. I think it’s fair to say that any bands that cross over from the UK festival circuit to the North American one know how to work a huge crowd, because Bloc Party certainly do. In between fierce readings of material from both A Weekend In The City and Silent Alarm, Kele Okereke bantered with the hordes so charmingly that it was easy to overlook how cliched the material was (“how’s everyone in the back? And the middle? And the front?”). Musically, they were typically superb and I think I love this band a little more every time I hear them. Looking forward to seeing them at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto next Friday night.

Photos: Bloc Party @ AT&T Stage – September 16, 2007
MP3: Bloc Party – “I Still Remember” (acoustic)
MP3: Bloc Party – “Sunday” (acoustic)
Video: Bloc Party – “Hunting For Witches” (YouTube)
Video: Bloc Party – “The Prayer” (YouTube)
Video: Bloc Party – “I Still Remember” (YouTube)
MySpace: Bloc Party

After a spot of dinner, there had to be a decision between Wilco and My Morning Jacket. I’d originally planned on the latter since i’d seen the former at the ACL taping the day before, but the notion of fighting my way back through the main stage crowd, already swelled to ridiculous numbers, wasn’t appealing so I went for my second Wilco show in 27 hours. And even though there was no way this performance was going to compare to the taping, seeing Wilco in any context is never disappointing. No complaints.

Photos: Wilco @ AMD Stage – September 16, 2007
MP3: Wilco – “What Light”
MySpace: Wilco

Having VIP access to the Dell stage meant that I was able to watch shows from the side of the stage, which is where I took in The Decemberists’ almost-festival closing set. There’s no denying that Colin Meloy is a ham of the highest order but the audience ate it up. While he still looks like the unlikeliest rock star and the band’s drama club soundtracks are the sort of thing you’d think to be more suited to their usual theatre-type venues, Meloy speaks truth when he sings “I was meant for the stage” – any stage. For many, their rowdy and rousing set was the climax of the festival, but for everyone else, they were just the warm-up (or the unwelcome delay) for the main attraction – Bob Dylan.

Photos: The Decemberists @ Dell Stage – September 16, 2007
Video: The Decemberists – “O Valencia” (YouTube)
MySpace: The Decemberists

No one, and but no one, can deny Bob Dylan’s status as a living legend and someone who’s earned the right to do and play whatever he wants. This is a latitude he takes advantage of when playing live, favouring new material over old, twisting arrangements and melodies of the classics he does deign to play and, as he’s done in recent years, eschewing guitar duties in favour of the piano. Even into his senior years, he remains ornery and contrary, refusing to become a nostalgia act (casino gigs notwithstanding) and while that can be frustrating for the concert-goer, I can’t help but respect him even more for it. That said, I was happy to see that for this show, he was upright and slinging a Stratocaster in fronting his crack band. Vocally, he took a little while to warm up and even then, calling his voice somewhere between a rasp and a croak is being generous. I wasn’t willing to try and get more than a few hundred yards away from the stage so I settled for watching him on the jumbotrons on either side of the screen or just sitting on the grass and listening, I never actually laid eyes on the man but can now say I’ve seen Bob Dylan live.

Video: Bob Dylan – “Subterranean Homesick Blues” (YouTube)
MySpace: Bob Dylan

And that’s how you close out a festival. Even if I’d only attended on Sunday, it would have been a terrifically rich and music-packed day. Add in Friday, the Wilco ACL taping and of course both nights of Hot Freaks! after parties and you’ve got one incredibly fun and nearly-heat stroked weekend that completely kicked my ass in the very best way. That said, I’m not sure if I’m ready to make spending mid-September deep in the heart of Texas a regular affair. My delicate Canadian constitution just isn’t made to take that kind of heat – I’ve a lovely strip of sunburn across the back of my neck where my camera strap wiped off the sunscreen (though I think I got some pretty good photos from the audience and it was worth it). Of course, that may just be the exhaustion and relief of Summer festival season being over talking – I’ve spent more than my fair share of days out standing in a field the past few months. Talk to me again come April, betcha I’ll be raring to go.

Lightning round contest, people!

Tomorrow night’s Okkervil River show at Lee’s Palace is plum sold out – quite a far cry from their last time through when I had an extra ticket I literally couldn’t give away. Surely, if you had any interest in this show, you knew that it would sell out? Tomorrow night promises to be one hell of a sweaty party and if you were slothful and didn’t get tickets in advance, you are either at the mercy of the scalpers or just SOL. Or are you?

Courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got ONE pair of passes to give away to the show but to get em, you have to tell me why you should be excused for your sloth and why you deserve the passes. Leave your excuse in the comments with your full name and an email that you can be reached at and cross your fingers – you’ll know if your mea culpa has passed muster soon enough because this contest will close at midnight tonight. That’s five hours, people. Hop to it. Update: Passes go to Matthew, who was the only one without sloth as an excuse. And my 1D4 came up “1” anyways.

And while you wait, you can check out this (brief) conversation with Will Sheff at Hour or make plans to hit the official after party at Tiger Bar tomorrow night when members of the band will be swinging by after the show – around 1:30 AM-ish – to DJ and whatnot.

MP3: Okkervil River – “Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe”
Video: Okkervil River – “Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe” (YouTube)
MySpace: Okkervil River