Saw the incredible Matt Pond PA last night, at the Local 506.
Great show. Great songs. Great vocals. Even the sound was good (a rare and special treat).
Came away loving the band twice as much as I did before.
It was, however, hot as fuck in that club. A regular rock-n-roll sauna.
Bobby Long opened.
He does that big open-chord folky strummy thing. Plus, we were told, he’s friends with one of the Twilight guys.
Today I find that none of my comments are showing up on either Balloon Juice or on Matt Yglesias’ blog. This happens from time to time on both, but rarely both at once.
I feel rejected.
I also feel like I got run over by a train. Which is partially true, I guess. Thanks to Mrs. Cleek’s fine choice of high school classmates* , we got to spend a good part of last night and a slice of this morning watching and then hanging out with some of the guys from the band, Train. Good times, no sleeps.
I’m kindof ambivalent about Train’s music, but I can’t deny that they are a very entertaining live band (and apparently would be doubly-so, if I was a teen-age girl). I liked their songs a lot better live, than I do when I hear them on someone else’s radio. And, that guy can really sing.
* – specifically Jerry, the guy who now plays guitar, keyboards, etc. for them when they’re touring.
We saw this guy last night.
It was the second of two sold-out shows. And, for whatever reason, we were probably two of the 10 oldest people there. Everybody else was college or high-school age. This is a change from a lot of shows we’ve seen (ex. Robyn Hitchcock, Belew, Junior Brown, etc) where we’re the youngest b far. What kind of shows do people our age go to see ?
Whistling and playing the same melody on a glockenspiel, while holding a guitar chord. The guy’s a genius.
The mic in front of his glockenspiel is in 90% of all the shots I took. I should’ve moved it out of the way – it was only inches from my face.
He was great, as usual.
And unlike last time, we could watch him work his array of samplers and effects – shoeless, no less.
He had a band with him this time, which made for a bit of a different experience than when he’s solo – louder for sure, more focused too.
St. Vincent opened.
I’d never heard her before, not even of her, actually. St Vincent is the stage name of Annie Clark: the guitar player, singer, songwriter, etc., behind it all. What she, and her band, sounded like was… usually melodic though sometimes brutally harsh and dissonant, loop-based, complex in both layering of parts and in rhythm and structure, dense, with multi-layered (sometimes looped) vocals delivered by a woman who spent a lot of time with a haunted distant look on her face. She was also a really good guitar player.
Unfortunately, I didn’t really get into most of it, because the sound where we were standing (right in front of her), was just a huge barrage of noise. That’s what I get for standing up front – I don’t necessarily blame them. The crowd was more familiar with her stuff, and they seemed to love it.
Curious, I listened to some of her stuff on iTunes, today, and it sounded like a more experimental version of Fiest, or a more melodic Deerhoof. All that dissonance and harshness from the live show is pushed way back in the mix, the parts that jutted-out like rusty knives last night are texture in the studio, and the result is shiny and pretty. I like it.
We saw Colin Hay last night, at the Arts Center in Carrboro, NC. Don’t know who that is? Many years ago, he was the singer for Men At Work. It’s been a long time since Men At Work’s rapid rise and fall, but Hay’s been busy: he’s released solo 10 albums, he plays in Ringo Starr’s band, he’s even had a few acting roles. And last night was the last stop on a short solo acoustic tour.
He played Men at Work’s biggest hits (Down Under, Who Can It Be Now and Overkill – which he turned into a full crowd sing-along), played songs from his 22 year solo career, and told stories. In fact, I’d estimate that he spent almost as much time telling stories as he did playing songs – which was fine, since he is surprisingly funny. His solo stuff seems to fall squarely into the same groove as James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Randy Newman and Sean Colvin: smart, folky, singer/songwriter stuff – what I hear on my cable’s “Adult Alternative” channel (or XM’s “The Loft”). It’s a bit outside my zone, but he puts on a great show, and I was glad to have seen it. Catch him, if you get the chance.
After that show, I mentioned to my wife that I thought Middle Distance Runner (who we were listening to on the drive up to Carrboro) was playing at a bar the next block over. And despite it being a Sunday night (she has a job, so “weekdays” matter to her), she insisted we go give it a check-out. So we did.
It was a three band night, and the second band was just starting: Farewell Flight. I’d never heard of them before – I don’t think they even have a record out yet. But they were pretty good. They do that emotional, anthemic, mid-tempo (Coldplay + Americana = Kings Of Leon) thing which I’ve never loved, but they sold it well. The singer was mightily happy about his giant cup of beer. I was pretty happy with my Jamesons.
Then Middle Distance Runner came on and did a quick set. I’d heard good things about their live show, and was not disappointed. Great songs, great harmonies, energetically delivered – despite the sad fact that there were only 12 people in the room (no really, I counted). Some band called “U2″ was playing to a crowd of 55,000 down the road in Raleigh at the same time; maybe that had something to do with the turnout.
Even songs I was a little iffy on, from their “Plane In Flames” album, were terrific live. And the stuff from their new album sounded great. I was most impressed.
The surprising and shimmering Queen-style harmonized guitar solos in “Sundays Are Hell”, delivered without a hint of smirking irony, had me laughing with delight. If any of my bands had tried such a thing, back in the early 90′s while the world was still recovering from hair metal, we’d have been pelted with eggs. But thankfully we’re all past that now. And besides, the sound fits the song’s vaguely early 70′s vibe perfectly. I wish it was on-line somewhere.
So, I definitely recommend giving these guys a look, if they come to your town. And give their new CD a listen, too – I’m loving it so far.
Saw this band called “Heart” last Friday.
You’ve probably heard of them.
They fucking rocked.
Even if, for some reason, Ann’s vocals were often nearly inaudible unless she was wailing (which she can apparently still do, just as well as she could 30 years ago, FYI). When Nancy sang lead on a couple of songs, we could hear her fine. Mrs C blames the fact that we were 4th row in front of the guitarist’s amps – yeah, they were pretty loud.
A local band, Nantucket, who had a minor hit back in the late 70′s, (“Heartbreaker”) opened. They were pretty good, though I didn’t know any of the songs. I didn’t get any good pix, but here’s a crappy one of the singer:
Cary, NC.
T’was one hundred degrees out, and all through the house
Not a creature went outdoors: it’s August in the South;
Yet speakers were hung off the rafters with care,
In hopes that the audience soon would be there;
The bands were nestled all cool in their bus,
While whispers of heat stroke passed between us;
My wife in her sunglasses, and I in my cap,
Had found a good spot, to watch the opening acts,
I was buying some wine, when there arose quite a clatter,
I turned my head to see what was the matter.
Back to our lawn chairs I flew like a flash,
Passed the wine I’d just bought, and let out a gasp.
The rollicking cast of this bluegrass-themed show
Played the opening song, which I did not know.
But, who to my wondering eyes should appear,
But Gillian, David, and twelve tiny reindeer,
Err, no, t’were not reindeer, t’was a different show.
No, these were musicians, some you might know!
More rapid than weasels their guitars they played,
David strummed, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now, Critter! now, Ketch! now, Morgan and Gillian!
On, Greg ! on Christmas ! on, Ian and Justin!
To the top of the verse! now wait for the call!
Now solo! solo! Solos for all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When one missed a line, they all let it slide.
Through song after song the players they flew,
The dozens of boys (and Gillian too!)
And then, with a winking, most departed,
For the first band’s set had officially started.
Justin Townes Earle was doing his show,
Though soon was re-joined by some from Old Crow.
He was dressed all in white, at least it looked to me -
For from where we were sitting, we couldn’t see his feet.
An acoustic guitar he had flung on his back,
And he sang country songs, old-timey, in fact.
Then the Felice Brothers: their antics, how merry!
Their cheeks were like roses, their noses like cherries!
Carefree and raucous through their songs they careened,
Like Marah and Dylan, the Pouges and Springsteen.
So joyous their playing, we assumed they were drunk;
So young, so irreverent, my wife called them “punks”.
In his grey flannel suit and her simple black dress
The David Rawlings Machine came up to play next.
Songs about sugar, Cortez, and Queen Jane,
Gillian Welch strummed, while David Rawlings sang.
Though it’s not quite the same, to see them this way,
It’s still a good time, and boy can he play!
The Old Crow Medicine Show, they were the last;
They sang of cocaine and moonshine, love and white trash.
They’re a boatload of fun, with their songs about sin;
And they played fast as lightning, and sharp as a pin.
We’d seen them before, but they were better this time;
Or maybe it was the heat – and the beer, and the wine.
And then all the bands, they all went to work,
And filled up the stage; then started with a jerk,
A song from the Willburys: The End Of The Line
Though it was a little rough we all liked it fine.
And then a ‘Mats song, from Pleased To Meet Me.
Justin Earle sang it, it felt a bit sleepy.
Yet then came a song they played with real feel
Old Crow’s Dylan re-work, the great Wagon Wheel
The crowd sprang to their feet, with cheers and with whistles,
And the band played the song, and man did it sizzle.
And then they were done, and up came the lights,
“Thank you to all, and have a safe drive.”
We saw a truncated version of Marah last night: singer and guitarist Dave Bielanko (the only original member), a stand-up bassist and a keyboard player. The rest of the band quit/was fired – except for Bielanko’s brother, who is busy being a new father. But that’s not a problem; Dave Bielanko can sell a song without them.
I suppose it’d be better if he could sell some tickets though. There were probably no more than 40 people there last night. My wife and I were the only people to buy tickets in advance, so the guy at the door knew our name as soon as I said the words “will call” – ours was the only name on the list. I started thinking, during the show, that Marah could be this generation’s Big Star – they’re excellent but almost completely overlooked because their sound’s a few years behind the times. Though maybe that was the $3 quarts of Guinness talking. Check back in 15 years, to see if I was right.
Bielanko has a really great rockNroll voice, and he’s a surprisingly good guitar player, too. Very entertaining. Fantastic show. Catch it if you can – they’re on a short tour of the south right now.
I’m far too tired to write anything more, though. Friggin show didn’t end till 1AM.
(not from last night)
The Steely Dan came to Durham’s shiny new music hall, last night, on their “Rent Party” tour – and at $120 a seat (first balcony), they should be all set for rent ! I kid, I kid.
What did we get out of it? Well, we got 90 minutes of 30 year old songs from Becker, Fagan and their eleven accomplices. The set started with a completely reworked version of “Reelin In The Years” – the only similarity to the original was the lyrics. Unfortunately, the music was generic late-era-Dan adult-contemporary smooth-jazz groove thing. I didn’t dig it. If they’d done that to any of their C-list songs, I wouldn’t have cared – but that one? So sad.
Besides that, they played the rest of the songs pretty much straight-up.
It wasn’t totally a note-for-note duplication of the originals, though. For example, the-non-Becker guitar player played his solos in the style of the originals, which was a bit disorienting; ex., he started the first solo in “Peg” (one of my all-time favorite solos from anyone- all hail Jay Graydon), but only played a couple of bars of the original, then went off on him own for a bit, then played something from the original, then back to his own, etc.. And he did this for all of his solos. While I certainly dig a player who does his own thing, the effect of mixing new and old like that was to repeatedly raise, and then dash, my expectations – “He’s gonna do this one! Nope. Ok, he was just ducking that tricky section, now he’s back on it! Nope. Now I don’t know what he’s doing – did he just flub that section or was that intentional?” Imagine someone sing a song you’ve known as long as you’ve been alive; you want to sing along in your head, but they’re changing every other line – you’re right there with them, and then you’re lost, then you’re back, then lost again. I realize this sounds like I’m pining for things to be exactly like the record; but really, that’s not it – it’s just confusing to do it half-way.
And speaking of changing the words… Fagan’s voice is not quite what it used to be, and neither is his memory – he missed many lines, even skipped the first half of the 2nd verse in “Kid Charlemagne”. And in many songs he rushed through the lyrics completely out of time with the music – I got the feeling he just doesn’t have the breath these days to do it at the speed of the originals. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. He was having fun, though. So, that helped. Instrumentally, he split his time between sitting at keyboards and walking around with his melodica.
Becker sang one song (“Daddy Don’t Live in That New York City No More”) and did a little spoken word break in the middle of “Hey Nineteen”, but otherwise he avoided the spotlight – literally; if a spotlight came on near him, he would step away from it. He didn’t even have a low-intensity spot on him (as everyone else did – just so you could see them). Aside from his two trips to the mic, he was either lit from the back or from directly overhead – never from the front. It made him look like he was absorbing light, as if he’s 50% black hole. Sometimes he stuck the neck of his guitar into a spotlight, if he was doing a solo; once, his foot – by accident, I assume. Good guitar player though!
That’s Becker in the middle. Fagan is in front of the drummer, with his back to us, and is pointing skyward, with both hands.
Still, I don’t mean to sound like I didn’t enjoy it. It was a good show and I’d recommend it to any ‘Dan fan. They played a wide range of stuff, not just their hits. Sure, they did “Peg”, “Josie”, “Hey Nineteen” and “My Old School” (no “Deacon Blues”, “Haitian Divorce” or “Don’t Take Me Alive” (my favorite ‘Dan song)). But they also did “Aja” and “Parker’s Band” and “My Rival”, etc.. A good mix. The band was really good (especially the drummer!) , and they opened (sans Becker and Fagan) with a version of Miles Davis’ “All Blues”.
Funniest part of the show: during “Hey Nineteen”, there’s a line:
She thinks I’m crazy
But I’m just growing old
Unprompted, nearly everyone in the audience sang that second line in full voice. The crowd was, unsurprisingly, mostly 40+, mostly +. There were a lot of Hawaiian shirts.
Here’s “Bad Sneakers”:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
(Steeky Dan! that’ll teach me to do things at 7AM)
Also: Blu Seafood, in Durham, was quite good.
Here are a few more songs from that David Rawlings Machine show:
I Pity The Poor Immigrant :
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
A Dylan cover.
To Be Young :
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
This is a song David Rawlings wrote with Ryan Adams. It appearns on Adams’ first solo record, “Heartbreaker” (as does the short track “Argument with David Rawlings Concerning Morrissey”).
Elvis Presley Blues :
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Gillian Welsh usually sings this. But, IIRC, David Rawlings said he was the original singer.
Here’s Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (performing as The David Rawlings Machine) doing Robyn Hitchcock’s “Luminous Rose”, Feb ’07.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
OK, looks like this audio thingy works. Yay!