Thursday, March 15th, 2007
So the headliners for this year’s Virgin Festival, Toronto edition, has been announced and while I secretly hoped the lineup would be all tattoos and piercings and of no appeal to me, the headliners definitely have appeal. Sure, for the second day it’s more of a morbid curiosity kind of thing, but still.
Day one the big names are Amy Winehouse, Paolo Nutini, Interpol and Bjork while day two gets Jamie T, Tokyo Police Club, The Killers and Smashing Pumpkins. Obviously scads more will be added between now and September, but these are the big ones.
The festival goes September 8 and 9 on the Toronto Islands. Two-day early bird tickets are on sale right now through CFNY for $128 and go on general sale next Saturday for $138, Prices include a $1 charity fee, $12 ferry fee but don’t include ticket outlet service charges.
Thursday, March 15th, 2007
One down, three to go. My first full day in Austin was initially spent hanging out at the Convention Center getting my wristband situation sorted out, which it was and by early afternoon I had my wristband, camera pass, a spring in my step and tacos in my belly. First stop of the day. musically-speaking? The Mohawk, where Austinist, Gothamist and Gorilla Vs Bearist were throwing the best (and really, only) big party of the afternoon.
Headlights (Champaign, IL) @ The Mohawk Patio – I thought I arrived early so I was a bit perplexed to hear Headlights’ “TV” wafting down Red River as I approached the club. Since when do shows run ahead of schedule? Since never, that’s when. And yet, they were. So quickly getting inside, I caught most of their set, their jubilant pop chasing away the grey skies and enticing the sun to shine. Okay, it didn’t really – it remained overcast all day – but it felt like it could have happened. A terrific way to start the day and the festival.
MP3: Headlights – “TV”
MySpace: Headlights
Nicole Atkins & The Parlour Mob (Neptune, NJ) @ The Mohawk Patio – This was supposed to be billed as “Nicole Atkins & The Sea” but The Sea, her band, was stuck in Cincinnati so she had to enlist some ringers – The Parlour Mob – to back her up. They played an abbreviated set, but it was long enough to showcase Atkins’ powerhouse voice, steeped equally in raw blues and deep twang. I’d heard bits and pieces of her stuff before, but have been convinced to investigate her work a lot more closely. Wholly impressive.
MP3: Nicole Atkins & the Sea – “Bleeding Diamonds”
MySpace: Nicole Atkins
Loney, Dear (Stockholm, Sweden) @ The Mohawk Patio – Though they were playing many showcases over the week, this was going to be my only opportunity to see them and it was a real treat. On Loney, Noir, Emil Svanangen views melancholy through sparkling pop prisms but live, with a five-piece band four of whom contribute backing vocals and harmonies, his songs take on whole new emotional dimension – they sound utterly joyous. It may simply come down to the difference between the sound of instruments being multitracked in a studio and played live, but it was really, really something to behold.
MP3: Loney, Dear – “I Am John”
MySpace: Loney, Dear
That was it for the day shows. After some dinner, it was back into it starting with the Beggars/4AD festivities at the main Emo’s complex.
iLiKETRAiNS (Leeds, England) @ Emo’s Jr – This combo took to the stage in matching white dress shirts with black armbands, possibly in remembrance but more likely in affectation. They served up some decent if not especially remarkable tunes based on dark, swirling dirges, all deep and mournful lyrics and echoing, crashing guitars. And one very aggressive trumpet player.
MP3: iLikeTrains – “Terra Nova”
MySpace: iLikeTrains
Emma Pollock (Glasgow, Scotland) @ Emo’s – It’s important to remember that The Delgados’ dissolution wasn’t Emma Pollock’s idea, so there’s no real reason to expect that her solo material would be worlds away from her contributions to her old band. Though the one track from her forthcoming album made available below would imply a gentler, folkier direction, her showcase indicated that it was more the exception than the norm. “Limbs” notwithstanding, her set – backed by a full band – was actually quite raucous and uptempo, with a bit more raggedness than was evident in her old band. Consider my anticipation for her album officially heightened.
MP3: Emma Pollock – “Limbs”
MySpace: Emma Pollock
Beirut (Albuquerque, NM) @ Emo’s – I wasn’t overly bowled over by Gulag Orkestar – I thought it was okay but not much beyond that – but judging from the enthusiasm of the crowd that piled into the Emo’s main room to see Zach Condon and his mini orchestra, I’m maybe the only one of that opinion. The kids love Beirut, that cannot be debated. And I have to say, their roaring and ramshackle live show does come with a whole lot of charm – Condon and his deep croon ooze a definite charisma and his band, seven players strong, excellently bring to life the exotic Eastern European vibe of the album. For some reason the band thought they only had a short amount of time to play and when told otherwise, ended up soliciting requests from the audience.
MP3: Beirut – “Elephant Gun”
MySpace: Beirut
On my way out, I caught the last song of The Early Years’ set – and it was explosive. Can’t wait to see them do a full set at Hot Freaks on Saturday.
Minipop (San Francisco, CA) @ The Parish II – It’s saying something said that even with lots working against them – an unfriendly venue (waiters carrying jalapeno poppers were walking in front of the stage and I was able to get the basketball scores by glancing at any wall), lousy sound and a blown power circuit midway through the second song, Minipop still managed to impress. Of course, I was already half-sold based on their sweet power-pop/dream-pop blend based on what I’d heard from the SxSW torrent and their MySpace but what did come across live sealed the deal. I got a copy of their debut album A New Hope and if it delivers as I hope, you’ll be reading more about these guys and gals here in the future.
MP3: Minipop – “Like I Do”
MySpace: Minipop
Cortney Tidwell (Nashville, TN) @ The Ale Room – I was curious how the ethereal qualities of Tidwell’s Don’t Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up would be recreated live, and surprisingly the answer was “with lots of guitars”. In addition to Tidwell, either armed with an acoustic or omnichord, there were three other electric guitarists on the tiny Ale Room stage with her (plus a keyboardist and drummer) turning her dreamy country-esque tunes into miniature novas. And while you might think that approach would be contrary to the delicacy inherent in her material, it actually worked really well – especially since Tidwell’s massive, amazing voice was lifted up on the din instead of being smothered by it. By looking at things from a different angle, the show only served to reinforce how good that record is.
MP3: Cortney Tidwell – “Eyes Are At The Billions”
After her set, I called it an early night. There simply wasn’t anyone I wanted to be seeing and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about SxSW, it’s you take your rest where you can get it. And don’t forget – this was the SHORT day. Much more on the sched for tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 14th, 2007
So today it begins. Four days of glorious weather (though not the case yesterday, as it was pouring rain all day), foodstuffs cooked over open fire pits and round the clock rock’n’roll. The trip in was mostly uneventful – I actually slept pretty much every minute that I wasn’t required to actually be boarding or disembarking a plane. The past week/month/whatever has picked a fine time to catch up with me but last night’s 10 hours of sleep should go a looooong way. Be surprised if I get that much over the next four nights (okay, probably an overstatement but not by too much). My hotel room is interesting – it’s designed for wheelchair access so there’s a handy ramp from the the parking lot to my door and the washroom can accommodate the turning radius of a Buick Roadmaster. And there’s an IHOP outside my window.
But now I’m wide awake, its morning and I have a working cellphone (yay!). A man, a plan, a canal. Putting together my tentative game plan was a lot easier this year than in the past thanks to my obligations to the various day shows I’m helping present. Can’t very well not show up to my own parties. Thankfully the lineups are by and large solid so I won’t feel the urge to slip out the back door and check out someone else’s show (not too much, anyway). But if you’re curious, looking to find me or just living vicariously through me (not nearly what it’s cracked up to be, trust me), here’s the what where and when of the next few days.
Today I’ll mainly be at the Mohawk for the Austinist/Gothamist/GvsB show, mainly to catch Headlights and Loney, Dear but happy to catch Nicole Atkins, The Hourly Radio and Sparrow House while I’m there. This presumes, of course, that I get my wristband situation sorted out in the early afternoon and am not running frantically around downtown Austin looking for scalpers.
In the evening, after filling up at the annual Horseshoe BBQ, it’s off to Emo’s for the big Beggars/4AD showcases. The UK’s iLikeTrains are pretty much the only thing on at 8 so they’ll get the nod there, and then it’s ex-Delgado Emma Pollock showcasing material from her debut solo record. It’ll be a coin toss between seeing Beirut outside or The Early Years inside but no question about hustling over to the Parish at 11:30 for San Fran’s Minipop. We’ll see how long I stay there because at midnight Courtney Tidwell is at the Ale House and then… well I’m not sure since Daylight’s For The Birds has canceled their show at the last minute. Boo! Not a lot of other options so if I don’t turn in early, I’ll probably stay at the Ale House to see France’s Cyann & Ben.
Thursday’s the day of the Spaceland/LiveDaily jag I’m co-presenting at Antone’s, so my stomping grounds will be limited to the west end of downtown for the most part. Hoping I’ll be there in time to catch at least some of Monsters Are Waiting’s noontime set but am not optimistic. But I’ll definitely be seeing Dirty On Purpose, Annuals and Blonde Redhead and I’ve heard good things about Datarock. That’ll most likely do it for the day, and then it’s foraging for grub before night falls.
But when it does fall, I will be safely ensconced in the Central Presbyterian Church at 7:30 to see Shearwater play. With luck I’ll be able to squeeze in some of The Besnard Lakes at the Mohawk before zipping to The Ale House for Joan As Police Woman at 9. I hear Cloud Cult is the act to see at 10 – they’re at Emo’s – and then at 11, David Vandervelde has the inside track on my attention though I could be easily distracted by a shiny object. Or maybe I’ll just get in line for Bloc Party’s midnight set at Stubb’s. Apparently that’s a 3000-capacity venue so I’m hopeful that I’ll get in eventually. My optimism is somewhat less so for Okkervil River’s 12:45AM show at the Mohawk – if my two-hour wait to see them last year is any indication I’m not getting in, so as a 1AM fallback I’ve got either The Rumble Strips at the Rio or The Hot Puppies at BD Riley’s.
Friday equals Hot Freaks day one, so that’s me at the DeVille/Mohawk complex bright and early. I expect to be running around from stage to stage all day, but will definitely be taking in Small Sins, The Black Lips, Apostle Of Hustle, Imperial Teen, Midnight Movies and again, Shearwater. There may also be some sneaking out to see The Pipettes and Elvis Perkins elsewhere, but not for certain.
I’m hoping to start off Friday night at Exodus where Nellie McKay is slated to perform at 7:45. She won’t come to Canada because some of us club baby seals, but she’s no problem performing in the BBQ capital of the world. Okay. 9:00 means Buffalo Tom at The Parish and I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to see them live, something I thought I’d never get to do. Then it’s Via Audio at Club DeVille at 10 and Bon Savants at Buffalo Billiards at midnight. In an ideal world, I’d catch some of Bedroom Walls’ 11:20 set but Club One 15 is a bit of a hike from the other venues and I don’t think it’s going to happen. Then I intend to finish off the night on Maggie Mae’s Rooftop with the UK’s Electric Soft Parade.
For Hot Freaks: The Morning After, we’ve got the wonderful Broken West making 11AM a good time for Mohawk rock and Toronto’s Hylozoists offering a vibraphonic counterpoint at Club DeVille. Other hot and freaky must-sees are The Early Years, Land Of Talk, Asobi Seksu, The Rosebuds, Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s and many, many more. And if you haven’t guessed who our super-secret headliner is, you probably haven’t tried very hard.
Saturday night doesn’t offer the dizzying array of choices the previous nights did, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to fill up the sched. Locked in at 8PM are Scots My Latest Novel at Buffalo Billiards, whom I skipped some four or five times this past weekend in Toronto at Canadian Music Week. Then it’s Austin’s Lovely Sparrows at the Mohawk – I hear they’re lovely – and then possibly Tilly & The Wall at Beauty Bar. Partly because there’s not much else going on at 10 and partly to already be inside at 11 to catch The Pipettes, assuming I haven’t seen one of their dozen or so other appearances this week. And then, finally and at last, I’ll zip across town to Antone’s to see The Tragically Hip try for the umpteenth time to impress America.
And that’s all she wrote. The preceding has been geographically optimized – some artists I would have otherwise have liked to see were omitted if they were playing a venue clear across town from where I was going to be. So assuming reasonable lineups – and I’m only hitting a handful of what you’d call “hot” shows – I think the above is doable. I hope. But if not, there’s contingencies in place. I think this is going to happen. I can feel it in my bones. Yessir. But hey – if there’s something you think I should see (and you don’t work for a label/PR company/whatever), lemme know. I’m open. Pitchfork has their picks for the week but they’re rather the usual suspects so not that useful to me.
Trying to keep up with all the press surrounding artists playing the fest will be an exercise in futility so I’m not even going to try. These, however, are some that I’ve already saved down so I may as well get them out there.
Paste names Cortney Tidwell their artist of the week, Salt Lake Weekly talks to Malajube, PopMatters has an interview with Loney, Dear, Harp talks to Elvis Perkins, Uberdrivel interviewed Emma Pollock and The Austin Chronicle and Austinist have a slew of capsule interviews with, like, everyone.
And this Rolling Stone piece wondering aloud if SxSW has sold out or not makes me laugh, though I can’t figure out if it’s because RS is pretty much the last entity that should be calling out ANYONE’S integrity or because the writer seems to have such a hate-on for KC & The Sunshine Band. This Harp piece tearing the once-mighty tabloid is also a fun read.
Okay, that’s it. Once more unto the breach. And by breach, I mean breakfast tacos.
Tuesday, March 13th, 2007
It seems appropriate that I’m writing this in Chicago’s O’Hare airport because it was here in Chi-town in November 0f 2004 that I saw Luna for the final time, having taken what was probably the closest thing I ever will to a rock’n’roll pilgrimage and following their farewell tour south of the border. The previous week, I watched them walk off the stage at Lee’s Palace, expecting that it would be the last time I’d ever seen Dean Wareham in our fair town again. Though it was known that the Dean & Britta project would be continuing post-Luna, I didn’t really expect that it’d turn into a full touring proposition – from the sounds of it, Dean was more than tired with life on the road. But I guess two and a half years is long enough to re-evaluate because last night Mr Wareham and Ms Phillips once again graced the 416 and boy howdy – it was nothing short of amazing.
Josh Reichmann, formerly of Tangiers but now fronting an outfit called The Jewish Legend opened things up and you certainly couldn’t say they were conventional. The trio seemed to be assembled from a singer/guitarist who wanted to play hyper-fast acoustic folk, a saxophonist/flautist/keyboardist who wanted to play free jazz and a drummer who just wanted to rock out – and all decided to meet halfway and form a punk band. Interesting stuff but on this evening, just time-filler before the much-anticipated main attraction.
The band strode onstage at 10:15 sharp, and then beat a hasty retreat back to the wings having realized they’d broken one of the codes of rock showmanship. The second time, their drummer and keyboardist (the wonderful Lara Meyerratken) came onstage first and took their places, followed by Ms Phillips and then finally, Dean Wareham. They began appropriately with a set of the Dean & Britta material, benefiting from a terrific sound mix, bathed in warm coloured lights and with Wareham and Phillips trading vocals on “Singer Sing”. “Night Nurse”. But after Britta dazzled on “You Turned My Head Around”, Dean began an unexpected and familiar guitar rhythm. “Moon Palace”. I’d known they were going to be playing Luna material on this tour but I expected a token song or two from the later albums. Not “Moon Palace”, and yet here it was – sounding slightly different, obviously, yet still amazing. Dean handled all the guitar solos himself and while I’d never say Sean Eden was unnecessary… on this night, his absence wasn’t felt.
After that unexpected visit from the past, they returned to the D&B repertoire with numbers like winesome “The Sun Is Still Sunny” and lush “Knives From Bavaria” and then, once again, bam. “Chinatown”. Then “Tiger Lily”, with Meyerratken handling rhyhtm guitar duties for what was probably the first time (she played fine but lookeed more than a bit nervous about the role). Then back into the Galaxie 500 songbook for “Strange” (so strange to hear Dean’s older, more refined voice wrapping itself a song recorded so long ago) and the finale, expected but totally welcome, of “Bonnie & Clyde”. A glorious, glorious set made more remarkable by the fact that they managed to time it for one hour exactly. The encore – there was no way this crowd of devotees was letting them go just yet – was Wareham’s career in condensed form. Starting with “Ginger Snaps” from L’Avventura, then the title track from my favourite Luna album Bewitched, and finally with maybe the seminal G500 song, “Tugboat”. And then a final wave and goodbye.
Though Dean & Britta, the band, is unequivocally a partnership between Phillips and Wareham, the live show is still very much about Dean. The set lists they’re choosing brings him up to the mic far more than he has been in their recent studio efforts, there’s so much more guitarwork (and he’s gotten himself some sharp new guitars, let me tell you) and the audience – well, let’s just say they weren’t johnny-come-latelies. It was so great to see and hear a band that’s obviously not Luna, but also doesn’t feel the need to prove it. Dean had a sense of pride in his body of work and appreciation for the fans that was obvious to everyone in attendance and while I don’t know what anyone else’s expectations were, I can say that mine were fairly high and were still exceeded many times over. It might well be the fanboy in me talking, but that was one of the absolute best nights of music I can remember for a long time. So. Best. Long live Luna.
Dean & Britta assessed other musical husband-and-wife duos for The Boston Globe.
Photos: Dean & Britta, The Jewish Legend @ The Mod Club – March 12, 2007
MP3: Dean & Britta – “Words You Used To Say”
MP3: Dean & Britta – “Singer Sing”
Video: Dean & Britta – “Words You Used To Say” (YouTube)
MySpace: Dean & Britta
The AV Club lists off 14 cover songs that are better than the original. Yay for The Mountain Goats though I wonder how many indie kids these days even remember the original? I barely do.
MP3: The Mountain Goats – “The Sign” (Ace Of Base cover)
Stream Neil Young’s Live At Massey Hall, out today. Go on, stream it.
Stream: Neil Young / Live At Massey Hall
Trespassers William are taking pre-orders for their new EP The Noble House, with an eye towards shipping them out around the first week of April. You can stream one of the new tracks on their MySpace and also check out Anna-Lynn Williams’ own MySpace as she’s got a cover of Interpol’s “Leif Erikson” posted.
AOL’s Interface has posted their session with Ted Leo as well as some video footage of the interview at Spinner.com. If nothing else, Ted’s a good sport. Living With The Living is out next Tuesday.
Some show announcements – Arctic Monkeys and Be Your Own Pet will be at the Kool Haus on May 11 and Kings Of Leon are there June 12. And Interpol have announced a Canadian tour, bypassing Toronto but playing Kitchener. The Mennonites must be thrilled.
The Boston Globe chats with James Mercer, whose Shins play a sold-out show at the Kool Haus on Saturday.
Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse tells PopMatters he doesn’t like being interviewed. Awkward silence ensues.
Hi from the departure lounge at O’Hare, by the way. Hooray for 3 hour layovers, and by “hooray” I mean “boo”.
Tuesday, March 13th, 2007
Last time I ran a contest for passes to see Maria Taylor play here in Toronto, the show was canceled at the last minute because they were stuck in traffic and couldn’t make it. Hopefully her show next Wednesday at the Horseshoe goes off a little better, hmm? She’ll be here promoting her new album Lynn Teeter Flower which is really quite a good record, maintaining the forlorn atmosphere of her work with Azure Ray but rendered with more forthright, organic and even upbeat instrumentation. And I hear that live, she plays with a full band and actually rocks out some. As a bonus, opening will be Basia Bulat who’d be entirely worth seeing on her own and pretty much guarantees this’ll be a terrific show.
Anyway, to the contest bit – courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got three pairs of passes to give away to this show and this one’s straightforward – just email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with your full name in the body and “I want to see Maria Taylor” in the subject line. The contest will close at midnight, March 18. Thanks, and drive careful.
MP3: Maria Taylor – “A Good Start”
MP3: Maria Taylor – “Lost Time”
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