Sunday, October 5th, 2008
CONTEST – Okkervil River @ The Phoenix – October 12, 2008
So next Sunday night, when most are sitting down to carve up a turkey or tofurkey or turducken and giving thanks for the last long weekend for more than two months, others – presumably those without families who love them – will be gathering at the Phoenix to welcome Austin’s Okkervil River to town.
And they’ll be giving thanks that the Okkervil M.O. of releasing an album (last year’s sublime The Stage Names), touring to support (last September’s barn-burner at Lee’s Palace), then releasing a second album from those sessions (last month’s The Stand-Ins) and again touring to support (the aforementioned Phoenix show). And odds are, as soon as they’re off the road this time out, they’ll be right back in the studio. Lather, rinse, repeat.
The album that’ll likely be focused on this time out – The Stand-Ins – is a worthy companion to The Stage Names. It’s consistent in theme, focusing on the relationships between performer and audience and the price of fame, but with a more rollicking delivery that gives it a more sprightly and sloppy feel than its more meticulous a-side. It’s impossible to imagine that anyone would enjoy the first record but find the second one in some way lacking, so while it might be a little less a coherent whole or as immediately memorable as last year’s release, it’s still a very worthy work that proves the band to be at the very top of their game. The more music they release whilst in this zone, the better.
And courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away to next Sunday’s show with Crooked Fingers as support. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I give thanks for Okkervil River” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, October 9.
MP3: Okkervil River – “Lost Coastlines”
Video: Okkervil River – “Lost Coastlines”
MySpace: Okkervil River
Tags: okkervil river
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