Saturday, February 4th, 2006
Okay, so grok the roll call: Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, Gary Louris, Rick White, Blue Rodeo, Jon Langford, The Good Brothers, The Deadly Snakes, Heavy Trash, Garth Hudson and Steve Albini, all in attendance at the behest of The Sadies. Tell me how this could not possibly kick incalcuable amounts of ass?
This was the first of two sold-out nights at Lee’s Palace being recorded for The Sadies’ first live album, and to get it right, they invited pretty much everyone they’d ever collaborated with to come and join the festivities. They split what would be a nearly four-hour long show into two (though really three) sets, the first taking a more traditional roots/country feel as they opened with some of their own material, Dallas politely introducing the song before and thanking the crowd after each song. They then invited The Good Brothers, aka their parents and uncles, onstage for a few and then Bob Egan, Kelly Hogan and The Band’s Garth Hudson out before calling a brief intermission.
After the break, the show got down and dirty, thanks in no small part to the presence of Heavy Trash, with Jon Spencer playing MC and working the crowd up into a frenzy while Matt Verta-Ray and Travis Good threw down greasy rockabilly licks. They were then joined by The Deadly Snakes for a number before stepping aside to allow The Mekons’ Jon Langford to hold court. After reeling off some numbers from his Mayors Of The Moon record, recorded with The Sadies, he gave up the stage for longtime collaborator Neko Case, who also brought back out Hogan and Hudson for a few. The next guest was a fellow I was especially excited to see – Gary Louris of The Jayhawks. Louris is producing the Sadies’ next album, and I was thrilled to hear them play “Tailspin”, off the last Jayhawks record, as well as a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Lucifer Sam”. Next up were The Sadies’ cohorts in The Unintended, Rick White and Greg Keelor, then Canadian roots-rock royalty in Blue Rodeo and finally the mandatory, everyone-on-stage big finish.
Except that wasn’t the finish. The encore ran almost as long as the other sets, and featured a steady revolving door of guests with returns to the stage by pretty much everyone who’d already played. Things ran till 2AM, last call, when Dallas Good thanked everyone for coming – both performers and audience – and bid us all good night. Until tonight, when they do it all over again.
If it seems like I’m rushing through the review, I apologize, but there was so much great music and performance that the only real coherent thought that could come out of it all was, “wow”. Wow at all the stars, wow at the music, wow at The Sadies. It’s really unbelivable how versitile they are as musicians – backing Louris, they were a pop band. As The Unintended, they were psychedelic. With Heavy Trash they were rough and raw blues-rockers. Langford-led, they were country-punk and with the Good Brothers, Case, Hogan and Blue Rodeo, untouchable country. But no matter who they were playing with, they were always unmistakably themselves. Pure diamond gold.
I nearly filled up an entire memory card with pics (note to self – get backup memory card), but here are the best ones. The first pic is of uber-producer/engineer Steve Albini, who recorded the first few Sadies records, and was out in the mobile truck on this night getting every note down on 2″ tape. If you’re going tonight, man are you in for a treat. And if you didn’t make either show – hey, at least there’ll be a live album soon.
np – Trespassers William / Different Stars
Friday, February 3rd, 2006
Beth Orton will release her fourth album Comfort Of Strangers on Tuesday, and after the rather universal (at least in my universe) indifference to her last studio album, Daybreaker, I’m only mildly curious at best. On paper, it helps that Jim O’Rourke produced the record and as this four-star NOW review correctly points out, Orton has usually only been as good as her collaborators (William Orbit and Terry Callier yes, Ryan Adams no). I will be watching the upcoming reviews to see if there’s any sort of concensus that Beth has got her game back. Exclaim! asks the alt.folkie about her run-in with a naked Keifer Sutherland and Harp finds out why she’s feeling so dang happy these days. And Carl Wilson has a review in today’s Globe & Mail.
I haven’t found any official MP3s to preview, but that doesn’t mean there’s not media out there to audition. There is this KEXP radio session from last month and Prefix has her recent appearance on Late Night With David Letterman available to check out. There’s also this puppet-powered video for the first single, “Concieved” – the song is alright but maybe a little jaunty for what I like to hear from Beth. Is it awful to say I prefer to hear her sing sad songs? Anyway, she’s in town for a show at the Carlu on April 6.
ASX: Beth Orton – “Concieved”
It’s a family thang as Dallas Good gives eye a field guide to the guest stars we can expect to see at Lee’s Palace tonight and tomorrow helping The Sadies record their first live album, brother Travis talks to The Toronto Star how the idea to record a live album came about and Papa Bruce tells NOW what he’s been listening to lately.
The San Francisco Bay Guardian talks to Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett about their extra-Rilo Kiley-cirricular activities. Paste has also run a piece on The Elected to go along with their Jenny Lewis piece from a couple weeks back.
Howling Bells have posted the video for “Low Happening” on their website. It’s dark! Not in tone, but in lighting.
Stars’ Torq Campbell tells The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix that Saskatoon is a fantastic place to play. Really. Stars are playing The Docks in Toronto on March 1 with Magnet, who is featured in Filter’s MySpace Booth this week, as part of the Indie Awards.
Simultaneously the most incongruous, yet completely logical bill in recent memory – Franz Ferdiand and Death Cab For Cutie – are going on tour together and will stop at The Docks in Toronto on April 17.
Sweden’s Love Is All will be at Lee’s Palace on March 21 to try and prove themselves worthy of the Pitchfork love. Their website is useless, so hit up their MySpace page for info. And by the by, speaking of PF faves, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s April 8 show has been moved from Lee’s Palace to The Opera House, though the extra 300 or so tickets that freed up are apparently all gone already?
The Guardian declares digital downloads a rip-off, aurally speaking. Via Largehearted Boy.
np – Six By Seven / Artists Cannibals Poets Thieves
Thursday, February 2nd, 2006
Brief preface – every band mentioned in today’s post is releasing a new record in the early part of this year that I expect great, great things from, and it’s only February. No doubt in my mind that 2006 is going to be an amazing year for music. End preface.
Filter declares Trespassers William a band to watch and The Great Beyond recently conducted an email interview with Anna-Lynne Williams and Ross Simonini about the new record, Having. The band have also posted their segment from a recent Anti-Hit List on their MySpace page. It’s brief, but positive. The new album isn’t out till February 28, but audio samples are beginning to appear here, there and everywhere. Nettwerk has audio from the whole album available to preview here, but if your RealPlayer doesn’t work (like mine, I think my router refuses to pass any RTSP requests… anyone know a fix?), then head over to Filter (again) and stream “And We Lean In”. And also be sure to grab this MP3 – it’s dazzling.
MP3: Trespassers William – “Safe Sound”
As the release of Belle & Sebastian’s The Life Pursuit on Tuesday draws near, there’s more and more to report. The AV Club has a sit down with Stuart Murdoch about this and that, while Pitchfork wants to remind you that there will be a special edition of The Life Pursuit available that comes with a bonus DVD featuring six songs recorded live for BBC Scotland. NME has three songs from the album streaming right now, but AOL trumps them by making the whole album available to preview.
Some exciting show news (at least for me) – At long last, Brooklyn’s Dirty On Purpose will make their Toronto debut with a show at Lee’s Palace on March 6. I’m a little surprised they’re playing a venue that big their first time out, making me think there might be someone else of note on the bill, but either way, it’ll be great to have them in town and I heartily recommend everyone attend and brings their mothers.
And though not verified, another highly-recommended act making what I think is their Toronto debut is Denton, Texas’ Centro-Matic. Donewaiting has some tour dates in support of their new album Fort Recovery and though at first glance it looks like they’re foresaking Canada again, according to this post at the Undertow Music message boards, they’ve actually already booked an April 4 date in Montreal and reading between the lines, an April 5 show in Toronto is looking likely. Naturally, I will be out of town for this momentous event but highly recommend anyone with an interest in roots rock or just good music hit this show. Centro-Matic are the awesome. That’s right, definite article. Their Triggers & Trash Heaps EP is out on Tuesday.
And speaking of conspicuous tour gaps, one can’t help but notice the days off between Lansing, Michigan and Montreal on Neko Case’s tour dates for Fox Confessor Brings The Flood. Neko back in Toronto on April 2 or 3? It could happen. And Young & Sexy have confirmed dates as close as Hamilton on April 23 to support their new one Panic When You Find It, out February 14. It seems inconcievable that they’d come all the way out here from Vancouver and only play Steeltown and not Hogtown, so I’m hoping that there’ll be something local to report on or around April 24.
Chromewaves – your one-stop, concert rumour-mongering shop.
np – The Zephyrs / A Year To The Day
Wednesday, February 1st, 2006
So this show has been a long time in coming – Low had been scheduled to come to Toronto to support The Great Destroyer way back in June 2005 but that date was one of the casualties of Alan Sparhawk’s breakdown and subsequent cancellation of all tour dates. But seven months hence and one bassist later, Sparhawk is feeling much better now and the tour was rescheduled and for smaller, cozier venues no less! Even the original support act, His Name Is Alive, was back on the bill along with Rhode Island outfit Death Vessel.
Though he referred to himself in the first person plural, Death Vessel on this evening was just one fellow, Joel Thibadeau, and his guitar. While this combination in and of itself isn’t particularly special, when he opened his mouth to sing, you couldn’t help but stop and listen – even if just for a moment. Thibadeau’s voice is almost indistinguishable from that of a pre-pubescent girl. Seriously. It’s high and pure and quite lovely, and more than a little unnerving coming out of the mouth of this guy with shaggy black hair. But once you got past that incongruity, he was quite winning with his repetoire of sing-songy old-timey folk tunes and group finger-snapping. But yeah, that voice. Wow.
All I knew about His Name Is Alive to this point was that they’re one of Five Seventeen’s favourite bands and that they’re in Saturday Looks Good To Me’s extended family. And on hearing them play songs from their new album Detrola I can add that, well, they’re a little odd. They play pop music, but it’s not immediately hooky and is often unconventionally structured. Their sound is somewhat minimalist, but what is there is quite lush. They played as a five piece but with no drummer, just occasional tambourines for rhythm. They’re like SLGTM’s weird, arty cousins. Really not sure how I felt about their stuff, to be honest.
And Low – it’s an understatement to say that Alan Sparhawk was happy to be here. I don’t know what sort of mental shape he was in last Summer, but it seems that he’s feeling much better now, and is appreciating every minute of it. The band, including new bassist Matt Livingstone, drew heavily from last year’s The Great Destroyer as well as reaching into the back catalogue. Interestingly for the newer material, they didn’t even try to replicate the speaker-blowing, Fridmann-powered production of the latest album, instead giving it a leaner, more tense tone akin to Things We Lost In The Fire. This worked for some of the numbers, but songs like “Monkey” and “California”, which were so defined by the heavier production, sounded a bit thin when stripped of the layers of sound and keyboards. By comparison, the older material sounded superb, taking full advantage of the sonic space and the strength of Sparhawk’s and Mimi Parker’s vocals. Truly, they sounded amazing – especially Parker. While Sparhawk took most of the vocal leads, her sad and pure voice lifted the songs up into a higher plane like some sort of mournful angel.
And pictures? Just let me say I love my new camera like I’d love a puppy who just learned to poop on the newspaper. It does better than I’d hoped in low light, and you didn’t get much lower than that for the opening acts last night (two red spotlights and that was it – about as bad lighting conditions as you could ever ask for). But with a little finessing and switching to black and white for HNIA, I was still able to get some great shots and far fewer write-offs. Thankfully the lights came up for Low (and disco lights for the encore), so in swapping from the 50mm f1.8 to the 18-55 f3.5-4.6 and even cranked up to ISO 1600, I got excellent, clean shots. DSLR = the awesome.
And related – Pitchfork interviews Alan Sparhawk about Low, circa 2006 and NOW talked to HNIA’s Warren Defever last week.
Under The Radar gets Isobel Campbell’s thoughts on 2005 while iFilm is hosting the “mature content” warning-sporting video for “Ramblin’ Man”. Hers and Mark Lanegan’s Ballad Of The Broken Seas came out yesterday and she’s in town at Revival on March 4.
Athenians Elf Power will release Back To The Web on April 25 via Rykodisc. Billboard has some deets. Preview new material at their MySpace page.
The Toronto Sun and Chart get a sneak preview of the guest star-studded Sadies-fest going down at Lee’s Palace this Friday and Saturday. I’ve got tickets for the first night, so check back Saturday for the low-down on the hoe-down.
np – Nellie McKay / Get Away From Me
Tuesday, January 31st, 2006
I’m not too proud to admit that before I went to see it on Saturday, I kept getting Woody Allen’s latest Match Point mixed up with Wimbledon. Not that I’d seen the latter. Anyway, it’s decidedly not a romantic comedy about tennis, rather a slow, taut suspense about a former tennis pro who tries to juggle his upper crust, social climber lifestyle with a mistress and does a rather poor job of it. Okay, that’s a rather flip description of the film, but I don’t want to get into it any more for fear of spoiling the plot. I believe this is exactly the third Woody Allen film I’ve seen, and based on that incredibly comprehensive sampling of his ouvre, I can say I definitely preferred it to his comedies – Allen’s humour, or more accurately his persona which he insists on projecting onto his characters – just doesn’t do it for me.
But Allen’s skill as a director is undeniable and he does a fine job in Match Point. It’s a slow film – so much time is spent building the situation and relationships that when it begins to shift gears from drama to suspense, it comes as something of a surprise. Once it does slip the thriller robes on, it builds the tension effectively but remains refreshingly grounded. There’s no giant lapses in plausability, breakdowns in logic, or frustrating moments of deus ex machina – just wholly believable luck, good and bad. Jonathan Rhys Myers and Scarlett Johansson are an absurdly handsome couple onscreen, especially contrasted against the relative dowdiness of the rest of the cast. Rhys Myers is particular effective in remaining inscrutable – by not coming off as obviously either a manipulator or opportunist, it’s hard to read exactly what he’s willing or going to do next. Overall quite a good film and it seems that getting out of New York City has done Allen’s creativity a world of good.
Bradley’s Almanac has converted another of his bootleg cassettes to MP3 form to share – this time a Spooky-era Lush show from Chicago taken from a radio broadcast, so the audio quality is pretty damn good (though you can hear the wow and flutter from the zillion times Brad has probably played the thing).
The New York Times thinks her audience might be a little scandalized to find out that Jenny Lewis likes country music. Once you’ve picked yourself up off the floor from that revelation, head over to her website and check out the video for “Rise Up With Fists”. Do kids these days even know what Hee Haw was? I mean, I barely do, and I’m old.
Mercury Rev alumnus Hopewell are at the Horseshoe April 11. I only know a little about them, but they seem like they might be up my alley. Anyone want to testify one way or the other? And Norwegian psych-rockers Serena Maneesh are at Lee’s Palace on March 30. I will not be around for that one, so I’ll have to try and catch them at SxSW (perhaps at the just-announced Under The Radar/Tag Team day party). What I’ve heard of them is pretty damn good – From Blown Speakers has an mp3 right now that may persuade you to agree. I can’t seem to find out exactly when the album is being released on these shores, I think it’s available as import right now but surely with the touring, a domestic issue is forthcoming? And Pitchfork has a live review (and references Match Point! Oh, synchronicity!).
American Music Club shows are now available at the Live Music Archive. Only one for now, but surely more to come. File under: awesome.
Amazon.com offers some advice on how to woo an indie rock girl via mix tape. Don’t ask me how I found this.
PopMatters wonders who will be the greatest bands ever once the classic rock generation is dead and buried.
24: Overheard at the White House last night – “Hey Dick, could we get away with that nerve gas thing? Jack Bauer’s not real, is he? He looks real.” This WMD twist is a good one. Clever clever. Bet the current administration wishes they thought of it first. Sure they did the White House coup thing a couple seasons ago, but this one is far more interesting and has more potential. It’s a shame Logan found a backbone so quickly – it’d have been pretty cool if they’d milked it a bit and had Jack working directly against the President for at least part of the season. But at least we got a fine (almost) tortune scene out of it. I wanted to see Cummings cry like a little girl. I just hope they have some more twists in store and it doesn’t settle into “chase the terrorist” for too long. That’s so done.
np – Lush / Topolino
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