After my failed attempt to win tickets to Coachella, and hot on the heels of recent announcements that The Airborne Toxic Event (and a host of other wonderful indie rock bands) are playing Austin City Limits and the Fuji Rock Festival this year, I find myself bemoaning the fact that the East Coast really doesn’t have a decent indie music festival. Well, apart from I guess what is now only the second annual All Points West in New Jersey, which seems to be the only festival Airborne Tox isn’t performing at. Of course. There are plans, apparently, for a festival in upstate NY, but that wouldn’t be until 2010, so who the heck knows. Yes, here it comes — it’s Julie’s weekly rant.
Victor and one of the emus spend some quality time at the Topsfield Fair, 2006.
We do have the Topsfield Fair. Maybe Tox can play a set in the petting farm, next to the emu (always a personal favorite, though I think the ostrich is probably closer to my own temperament). We can have them on just after the pig racing, because no one likes to miss that. There’s also the Big E in Springfield, MA, with much the same. They’ve played at Six Flags. They’ve done Knott’s Berry Farm. Why not the Big E? Although actually, they can’t play this year – Foghat already beat them to it. Foghat. Yeah. I rest my case.
A google search on “New England rock festival” yielded the following results: New England Metal and Hardcore Festival (just held a week ago, appropriately in Worcester), a Connecticut Prog Festival (only it turns out to be a mere five bands at Toad’s Place in New Haven – not a festival, guys), and a Pet Rock Festival, which was something of a disappointment, as I was expecting this.
Yes, I suppose it’s rather unusual to review a birthday party, but Arthur is a pretty unusual (and immensely talented) guy. The invitation read:
As many of you know, besides teaching martial arts and doing healing work, I write music. But only a few of you ever heard me play the piano. Ten years ago, on my 50th birthday, I decided to give a party/recital and play the piano. People seemed to enjoy the music, so I said I would do it every ten years. Well it has been ten years.
So on Saturday, April 25th at 6pm I will give my ‘every ten years’ party recital.
This special event was held at Watertown’s First Parish Church, and if you think this is an usual venue for a party, well, the church also regularly hosts Mirabai Devi’s public Darshans, so no, not unusual at all.
The recital began with Arthur performing solo piano, in an unusual program featuring his “channeled works”, improvised pieces based on specific composers’ musical styles. These composers ranged from South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim to Eric Satie, Leonard Bernstein to Cecil Taylor, Ravel and Debussy to “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. Displayed around the stage and room were interesting sculptures courtesy of his artist friends.
I was blown away by how his music flowed so beautifully and moved as if carefully orchestrated from one piece to another, totally seamless and wildly engaging. Completely improvised?? How is that even possible!? But it was, and the joy Arthur had in presenting these spontaneous compositions for his appreciative audience of family and friends was contagious. That joie de vivre – how rare a thing to possess, and he has it overflowing and ready to share. My mood of late has been less than joyous (that’s putting it mildly), so when I felt myself completely relax into that gorgeous swirling piano, feeling it sweep me up and carry me off, this was nothing short of a miracle.
After a brief intermission, Arthur came back on with an amazing “cool jazz” band comprised of his friends: his nephew Gary L. Goodridge on piano, Rev. Trenton Rose on drums, the astonishing Matthew Dorko on guitar, and Michael Clarage on bass. All superb musicians, you could see how much fun they were having jamming together on classics “Take Five” (Paul Desmond), “Bluesette” (Toots Thielemans), “My Favorite Things” (Richard Rodgers), and “Foot Prints” (Wayne Shorter). Arthur started on alto saxophone, moving to flute, and then amusingly “horning in” on his nephew to add some piano. Only a natural musical talent could be so comfortable with complete spontaneity. He made everything appear effortless.
After the recital, there was a party downstairs with a lavish spread of great food, much merriment, interesting conversation, and good company, adding to the already perfect evening. Thank you, Arthur, and a very happy birthday! Already looking forward to your party in 2019…
About Arthur Goodridge
He began in the fourth grade by studying alto saxophone, playing until midway through college, when an involvement in the civil rights movement and Vietnam protests took him away from music temporarily. Many years later, he started playing piano to relieve stress, and then took lessons so that he could learn to compose. He states that he is “not a pianist in a traditional sense”, which is astonishing considering the level of virtuosity displayed during his amazing solo performance.
Besides playing piano, saxophone, and flute, Arthur composes music (with several compositions performed by others available on CD), he teaches martial arts, is currently revising a musical he wrote entitled “Winter Butterfly” and is also writing a book discussing his philosophy of politics, teaching and learning entitled, “Moving Together”. You can learn more about this fascinating person by visiting his website.
Victor’s guests for tomorrow on his Expanding Awareness show (WZBC 90.3 FM @ 10:00 a.m.) will be Katja Swift and Mischa, and they will be discussing herbs. Katja Swift has been practicing clinical herbalism since 2001. Katja worked actively to help pass anti-GMO legislation in Vermont: the Right to Know Seed Labeling Bill, which became the first such law in the nation, as well as the Farmer Protection Act. She teaches regularly at the Boston School of Herbal Studies, and is presenting an ongoing herbal series in Brookline. Mischa offers herb classes at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and is an adjunct faculty at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
You can listen to Victor Robert Venckus as he presents his Lucid Sounds/Expanding Awareness program on WZBC 90.3 FM (Boston College Radio) every Saturday from 7am – 11am. He begins with New Age, ambient, Native American and world music, with a weekly astrology report from Dietrich Pessin at 9:30 am. Expanding Awareness is at 10am, featuring interviews with a wide variety of guests speaking on paranormal, holistic health, environmental, animal rights and occasionally human rights topics, with listener call-in participation. An extremely popular show, Victor has been on the air, in some guise or another, since 1975.
On a Sunday night at T.T.’s, there were only about 20 people when The Break Mission came on (I’m guessing mostly other band members and their friends). Which is a shame, because these guys are incredibly good. [What is it with Boston residents and really great indie pop bands who come to play here?] From Brooklyn, NY, there’s Matt Hershey, drums, percussion; Jeff Knowlton – guitar, piano, vocals; and Ben Lindell – bass, keyboards. They’ve been compared to Elbow, Death Cab for Cutie and Doves (as well as early Shins and Band of Horses). Even without the piano that features prominently on their excellent “The Prospect” EP, they have a very full, complex and engaging live sound. As much as I love live shows, I often feel that the subtlety of a band’s material gets lost in your average bar setting, but I didn’t feel that way with these guys.
Break Mission
They have two previous albums – their self-titled debut, and “As Much Light As It Will Take” (2007) – and have been around since 2000, previously known as Redletter (and I guess originally from Boston, though they’re based in NYC now, and wisely so). They’re performing on May 13 at The Annex in NYC, June 25 at Rockwood Music Hall (also in NYC), and August 7 at 107.1’s The Peak Concert @ Rack n Roll in Stamford, CT. Definitely go see them if you can. Or at least pick up some of their music – “The Prospect” is quite nice.
Next band to play was Midatlantic (formerly known as the Bleedin Bleedins, based here in Boston). Well, I don’t know. I see these guys have great reviews and a decent following, yet I felt under-enthused by their set. Musically they were very good (Barry Kelly – guitars, keyboards; Rob Fusco – drums; and Matt Diekmann – bass), but I personally found Mike Coen, their lead singer, rather irritating and his stage antics distracted me from the music – not in a good way. He seems to have a penchant for picking up the microphone stand and moving around with it, which only resulted in the mic getting unplugged a few times and added nothing to their stage performance. It also seemed like choreographed moves, rather than a music-inspired spontaneous moment (not to mention being a bit silly and potentially dangerous on a stage the size of TT’s!). Their influences include The Who, U2 and The Cure. Obviously they’re aiming for that anthemic, stadium-sized sound, but for me at least, they don’t quite get there.
Midatlantic
Having said all that, my comments should in no way turn anyone off to checking out this band, if their music appeals to you. Their releases are Life Without Computers (2005) and The Longest Silence (2008). Upcoming shows include May 3 – NE Revolution Performance, Foxboro Stadium, Foxboro, MA and May 27 – Pinups for Pitbulls Benefit @ Middle East, Cambridge, MA.
Youth Group were the headliners, and they were awesome. A little background first. Hailing from Sydney, Australia, the band includes Toby Martin – vocals/guitar, Danny Lee Allen – drums, Cameron Emerson-Elliott – guitar, and Patrick Matthews – bass. They’ve been around since the late 90’s, though I wasn’t familiar with them until now (better late than never). They have a lush and dreamy, wistful and melancholy, emotionally engaging sound on their recorded works (currently listening to their beautiful new release, “The Night Is Ours”), and they’re just as compelling live. I’m delighted to see lyrics on their official site, as thoughtful songwriting such as this deserves to be poured over and pondered. They have four albums and several EPs, are compared to bands like Teenage Fanclub, Pavement and Death Cab For Cutie, and have toured with The Vines, Death Cab, Coldplay, and Kings of Leon.
Youth Group
By the time YG came on, the crowd had expanded to maybe 75 (I’m counting those at the stage area, not the people around the bar chatting away). Still a pathetic turnout, but I suppose impressive for Boston on a Sunday night (how sad is that?). They were unfortunately plagued with some technical problems during their set, but even so, I had that privileged feeling ones gets when seeing a band perform in a place that’s obviously smaller and more intimate than places they probably could be playing in. Toby Martin’s lovely voice draws you in, and although it’s difficult to make out lyrics in a club setting, I found myself making an effort to hear them all, fully involved in their performance.
On two tunes their drummer, Danny Lee Allen, played some sort of xylophone thing in a small briefcase, which added a unique sound and worked beautifully with the acoustic guitar on… well, I think it might have been “Sicily” from their album Casino Twilight Dogs. The xylophone made another appearance on one of the new songs from their just-released album, and I see in my hastily scribbled notes “beautiful interplay between guitar and vocals”. Toby spoke a little about their experience of recording on an abandoned ship in Sydney Harbour, and at least one of the songs performed from the new album included “ship sounds” that they brought along with them on tour to maintain the proper ambiance. Very cool.
They’ve been playing a few residencies here on the East Coast, and they have one more show at T.T.’s on Sunday night. Try to see them, if you possibly can. They finish up their NYC residency at Pianos on April 28, and at M Room in Philadelphia on April 29. From there it’s on to Pittsburgh, Columbus, Chicago, and elsewhere as they make their way west. For full tour dates, see their MySpace. “Your skin speaks in patterns, your eyes speak in codes…” – from “A Sign”, on The Night Is Ours.
I managed to get a Friday night off and headed to Toad again to catch a few bands. I’m hesitant to repeat what a nice, cozy place this is to see music in, because it gets packed enough as it is. But it is a cool little venue, and they have some really great performances – albeit some noisy and clueless patrons. But more about that in a minute [yes, it's going to be another one of Julie's rants, so buckle up.].
Opening was Boubacar Diabaté with someone, I’m not sure who, playing what looked like a giant half-pumpkin. I had to look up information about this guy (and purchase his CD), because he’s really wonderful – a lovely voice, and some very nice guitar playing. His percussionist was playing what were probably traditional African instruments, though of course I’m quite ignorant, hence my description above.
Boubacar Diabaté of SambaLolo
“Griot singer, guitarist, drummer, songwriter and storyteller Boubacar Diabate from Bamako, Mali comes from the Mande lineage and has combined traditional rhythms with modern influences to create his own style of contemporary Malian Griot music presenting his own compositions and arrangements, singing and playing guitar with his group, Samba Lolo. Singing in Bambara and Manding, Boubacar Diabate and SambaLolo create a performance that spans the full spectrum of Traditional to Contemporary Malian music from West Africa combined with Blues, Jazz, Reggae and Bluegrass – Bouba sings of our common shared experience of love, life and humanity, giving all an opportunity to hear the age-old West African tradition of Griot storytelling through song.” (from his MySpace page).
I was completely unfamiliar with this style of music, and it was quite a treat. His smooth, sensuous vocals draw you right in, with his fabulous guitar playing and just the right amount of traditional percussive accompaniment making for a truly beautiful performance. I felt myself swept away to a distant place, interested in learning more about this fascinating storyteller.
And here’s my rant: although it’s always nice to see a show like this in an intimate venue, it would have been far more enjoyable to be able to listen to his thoughtful storytelling song craft without the constant stream of mindless chatter by inebriated Toad patrons. This is an inherent problem with live music in bars. Yes, it’s the most common sort of place for artists to perform – people gathered together in a friendly, informal setting. But something happens when people start drinking: they become very stupid. Please understand. Though I don’t drink anymore, I do remember what it’s like to get completely shitfaced, so I’m not coming from a pious place of ignorance. Hardly. But I cannot understand why people go to an establishment where music is being performed, when all they really want to do is drink and talk to their friends. Wouldn’t it be better to go to a bar where there’s quieter piped-in tunes? Wouldn’t it be far more respectful to the musicians who are trying to introduce an audience to their work?
These people were not only talking through SabaLolo's entire set, but they were standing directly in front of the band and in front of everyone else - many of whom had come to Toad exclusively to see the band's performance.
Ending on a more pleasant note, I’m delighted to see that SambaLolo is based here in Boston, because this means I can see them again sometime! And I highly recommend that you see them too.
Don’t Kill Antz was an unexpected pleasure as well. A rootsy stomp with rocking guitar riffs and a highly engaging lead singer (Brendan Fitzgerald) provided for a very enjoyable evening. The rest of this talented band consists of: Donald Bakerian-guitar, Jimmy Trapella-bass, Will Szabo-drums, and Mike Weafer-guitar. Trapella and Weafer were previously in a reggae/dub band called The Well, and indeed they’ve brought that jamming sensibility to “Antz”, which has only been around since August 2008. Not even a year, and yet they have that cohesive sound of bands who’ve been together much longer. “[Singing] is like surfing. I wait to catch my wave… I feel [the song's] melody and fit the lyrics to it, let them rhyme, drop something funny or smart…” – Brendan Fitzgerald, from the band’s website on ReverbNation.
Hooray, this will be my last “couldn’t afford to go to Coachella” post. Yes, I do know it’s Monday and the festival is over and everyone has gone home. But I had an opportunity to go see some live bands last night at TT the Bear’s place in Cambridge, so I jumped on it, figuring Virtual Coachella could wait. Reviews of those sets (and another night out at the infamous Toad) coming up within a few days. Plus a profile of the very cool L.A. band Radars to the Sky. They’re all stomping their hooves impatiently, so I’d best get on with it.
Sunday, April 19
The Murder City Devils (Mohave Tent, 5:20-6:10 pm)
A garage rock band (not goth, despite what they say on MySpace) was active between 1996 and 2001. They’ve performed occasional shows since 2006. While signed to Sub Pop they released five albums: The Murder City Devils (1997), Empty Bottles, Broken Hearts (1998), In Name and Blood (2000), Thelema EP (2001) and a live album of their last show at Seattle’s Showbox, called R.I.P. (Oct. 31, 2001).
(from Wikipedia): “an American/Venezuelan folk rock singer-songwriter and musician. Banhart’s music has been classified as indie folk, psych folk, Naturalismo, and New Weird America; his lyrics are often surreal and naturalistic.” An interesting mix. “Shabop Shalom” is a crazy stomp, “Rosa” is meandering with a beautiful lead guitar riff winding through it. He has six albums released since 2002, the most recent one (as far as I can tell) was Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (2007).
Late of the Pier (Sahara Tent, 7:25-8:15 pm)
Latin / Glam / Thrash – Castle Donington – Nottingham, United Kingdom | MySpace | official site
“Latin, glam, and thrash” sounded pretty interesting… and it is. Listening to “The Bears Are Coming”, as crazy as it sounds, I’d have to agree with that assessment. Very unusual and unique, off-kilter pop. It’s tough to come up with something completely new, but I think they might have done it. Their debut album Fantasy Black Channel was released in 2008. I see their style has been compared to Gary Numan and Brian Eno. Gary Numan, yes, I do hear that. But Brian Eno?? They’re also compared to Metronomy and Klaxons, who I’m not familiar with, but I’m sure someone out there is.
Apparently quite (over)hyped in the U.K. after their debut single “Sheena Is A Parasite” in 2005, they were described then as punkish, but their new single “Sea Within a Sea” is somber, moody, and gothic, and I quite like it. If you like band such as The Psychedelic Furs, The Cure, and The Jesus & Mary Chain, definitely check them out. The new album, Primary Colours, will be out May 4. U.S., Canada, and European tour after Coachella.
Christopher Lawrence (Sahara Tent, 8:25-9:25 pm)
Trance / Progressive House / Psychedelic – Los Angeles, California | MySpace | official site
Highly regarded for his “progressive trance” mixes. Not really my thing, but I’ll include him, as he seems to have a large international audience (though I’d never heard of him, but that means nothing).
American vocalist and guitarist Alison Mosshart (”VV”) and British guitarist Jamie Hince (”Hotel”). They’ve released three albums: Keep On Your Mean Side, No Wow and Midnight Boom. U.S. and Canadian tour after Coachella.
“Etienne de Crécy (also known as Superdiscount, EDC, Minos Pour Main Basse and Mooloodjee) is a French DJ and producer who composes house music.” – Wikipedia. European tour after Coachella, but they will be at the All Points West Festival in New York on August 2.
That’s it. See you soon with a few reviews of local Boston-area shows.
Cassie Ramone, Kickball Katy, Ali Koehler are the Vivian Girls. A nicely dense musical racket with pretty punky vocal harmonies laid on top. Good stuff. At first I thought “surf” was a joke, but indeed, they have a 7″ single available called “Surf’s Up” (they also have 4 other 7″ers and an LP available). After Coachella they have a big U.S., Canada and European tour lined up.
Supermayer features Kompakt artists Michael Mayer and Superpitcher (real name Aksel Schaufler). Apparently they’re known for their melding of pop and synth/techno (they’ve covered Brian Eno’s “Baby’s on Fire” and Mayer has a song called “Love Is Stronger Than Pride” that incorporates Sade lyrics). I personally find their stuff very listenable (currently checking out “Rufus Wainwright Tiergarten Remix”), which I don’t always with techno. Highly regarded amongst aficionados of the genre. “Cocktails for two” is slow and hypnotic; quite nice.
No Age (Mohave Tent, 1:45-2:30 pm)
Experimental / Power Pop / Punk – Los Angeles, California | MySpace | official site
Thrashy, noisy, good, signed to Sub Pop. [can you tell these mini-profiles are wearing me a bit thin?]. Surprised to see they’re a duo (Randy Randall on guitar and Dean Spunt on drums) ’cause it sounds like way more people than that. I wonder what they sound like live? Guess I’ll have to wait to find out. They have two albums out (”Weirdo Rippers” and “Nouns”), are a regular fixture at The Smell, and have a strong connection with the L.A. underground community.
Not a band at all, Shepard Fairey is an artist, graphic designer, and illustrator, now world-reknown for his Barack Obama “HOPE” poster. Not exactly sure what he’ll be doing in the Sahara Tent, but he’ll be there.
Loud, noisy, abrasive, yup. Just so I can pass along these band member names… 10,000 Marbles (Mike Haliechuk) – Lead Guitar; Father Damian aka Pink Eyes (Damian Abraham) – Vocals; Slumpy aka Laundry aka Mustard Gas (Sandy Miranda) – Bass Guitar; Concentration Camp aka Gulag (Josh Zucker) – Rhythm Guitar; Guinea Beat aka Mr. Jo (Jonah Falco) – Drums; and Young Governor Aka Bad Kid Aka Lil’ Bitey (Ben Cook) – Third Guitar. Their MySpace page is actually fan-run; they don’t have an official one. Huge biography on there, if you’re interested. They’re in Europe after Coachella, and are playing the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago on July 18. So, a band name that most media outlets won’t be able to speak, and band members with multiple and confusing names. They really know how to do this, don’t they?
(from Wikipedia, because I’m feeling lazy today): “Sébastien Tellier (born 1975 in Paris) is a French singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is currently signed to Record Makers, a French independent record label. He sings in English, French and Italian.” It’s synth-pop with heavily produced-sounding vocals.
“Showtunes / Healing & EasyListening / Tropical”… uh no, not really. Techno/house remixes. Formed the Get Physical indie label around 2001 in Germany. Complete biography and band history here.
K’Naan (Gobi Tent, 4:35-5:25 pm)
Hip Hop / Folk / Afro-beat – Mogadisho, Toronto, Los Angeles | MySpace | official site
Hip-hop incorporating African percussion. Soon embarking on a U.S. tour with Snoop Dog.
Bob Rifo, originally from Italy, is the main force behind The Bloody Beetroots. He has a classical background and is influenced by punk and 80s New Wave. He mixes electro, punk, acid house, and hip hop. Live, he’s joined by Tommy Tea. Not for the faint-hearted. European tour after Coachella.
African “desert rock” strongly influenced by both traditional music of their own homeland and artists like Santana, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix. It’s a fascinating mix of blues, rock guitar riffs, and something uniquely African. It really works!
An English singer-songwriter with smooth, soulful vocals. Decent band too. Influenced by Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Van Morrison, and Al Green. After Coachella he continues a 4-month U.S. and European tour.
(from their MySpace page): “With two turntables and a full drum kit, drummer impresario TRAVIS BARKER and world class DJ AM expose music enthusiasts to a threatening new performance style.” They incorporate everything from hip-hop to rock to music from the 80’s. Pretty strange. They’re unique; I’ll give them that.
An electronic/pop duo from Canada (currently Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus), they’ve released three albums and one EP, most recently “Begone Dull Care” (2009). After Coachella, they’ll be touring the U.S., Canadian, and Europe through mid-June.
More metal sounding than punk, at least to my ears (from the first few tracks on MySpace). Not bad, but I haven’t really hit on anything I’d say is “special” – for me, anyway.
An electronic band formed in 1996 by Ida No (vocals) and Johnny Jewel (drums, programming; he also plays in the Chromatics). Influenced by freestyle music, Krautrock, hip-hop and New Wave. Some of it has a definite 80’s feel, and at times, the vocals are somewhat reminiscent of Nina Hagen and Lene Lovich).
An indie experimental band with interesting vocals and a rather unique sound. Some rap, some electronic. They’ve performed shows with Sonic Youth, Massive Attack, Animal Collective, and TV on the Radio. Their latest album is “Saint Dymphna”, released in 2008 by independent label The Social Registry.
Day 2 at Coachella. I managed about 2/3 of the “tent acts” yesterday. I’m going to pick and choose from my favorites today, but I’ll try to get to at least half.
Ida Maria Børli Sivertsen, known now as Ida Maria. Born in Norway; now lives in Sweden. Cool indie punk chick with a nice voice. Her song “Better When You’re Naked” has been getting a lot of airplay recently, but I prefer the hypnotic “Oh My God”. “Keep Me Warm” is pretty, too.
Again with the goofy MySpace music styles: “Melodramatic Popular Song”. There may be something to this one, though. On first listen, a psychedelic, theatrical, dramatic sound. (from Wikipedia): “Ariel Pink (born Ariel Marcus Rosenberg on June 24, 1978) is a Los Angeles based avant-garde musician who is sometimes associated with the Freak folk scene.” Avant-garde, yes, but quite listenable. Spacy, trippy, with a nice beat. I like these guys a lot. They head off on a big European tour after Coachella.
The core band is composed of Dhani Harrison (lead guitar, synthesizer, lead vocals) and Oliver Hecks (drums, synth). Amanda Butterworth also contributes vocals, and they have additional keyboards, guitar and bass when performing live. Moody, bluesy… “Another John Doe” is a standout track, for me. Lovely vocals and musically quite sensuous. If you’re wondering about their name, it’s a reference to the 1960s British television show, The Prisoner.
In the midst of some shows with The Fleet Foxes, Blitzen Trapper cite influences such as Nick Drake, Pavement, and Cary Grant. Definitely not “electro”, they have a fun, quirky folk rock/alt. country sound. Good, good stuff. Now signed to Sub Pop, their most recent album is called “Furr”, the title song having some tasty harmonica mixed in. “Texaco” – banjo, slide guitar… very nice!
Dr. Dog (Mohave Tent, 4:05-4:55 pm)
Indie / Psychedelic / Rock – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | MySpace | official site
On their Wikipedia page, it says that before My Morning Jacket brought them out on tour in 2004, a lot of people thought they were a Hip Hop band (due to their name). I have to say, I did too, and they’re really not! With obvious pop influences like The Beatles and The Band, they have some nice vocal harmonies and a sweet guitar and keyboards-based sound. Since 2004, they’ve played with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Stokes, The Raconteurs, The Black Keys, and Wilco. They have five albums out since 2001, the latest being “Fate” (2008).
Wow, she’s from Boston! Thrilling for me, as I’ve never heard of her before, and she’s absolutely wonderful. Beautiful and intense, with compelling vocals. “I have spent years of my life agonizing about the fires I’ve started when I thought that to be strong you must be flame retardant…” (”Ampersand”). Musically gorgeous as well, with the piano perfectly complimenting her voice. Highly recommend this. [I've just watched the video below on her MySpace page - completely different from the few tracks I listened to - crazy and really great. Seriously - check her out.]
Crystal Castles is a duo consisting of multi-instrumentalist Ethan Kath and vocalist Alice Glass. They have their style of music on MySpace as “thrash” (those “styles” are kinda silly sometimes, anyway), but no it’s not at all. They have a rather nice electronic sound with pretty vocals. “Courtship Dating” is softer, dreamy, and acoustic, and is quite lovely. After Coachella, they’re playing some other festivals in the U.S. and Europe.
(from ArtistDirect News: “Producer Squeak E. Clean, who is also the brother of director Spike Jonze, is set to release his collaborative effort with DJ Zegon under the moniker NASA (North America South America). The guest-star-heavy album has no title yet, but it will feature appearances by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, M.I.A., Tom Waits, David Byrne and the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA among many—and we mean “many”—others.”
(from Wikipedia): “Their music is difficult to classify, but has been described as a combination of electro, rock and funk by Allmusic, and “electro-dance soul rock” by Gothamist. The band describes their sound as “A robot making love to a tree!!” on their MySpace profile.”
Peanut Butter Wolf (Gobi Tent, 8:30-9:20 pm)
Hip Hop / Alternative / Indie (Los Angeles, California) | MySpace | official site
They’re currently touring around the U.S. as part of the “Stones Throw U.S. DJ Tour”.
Beirut (Mohave Tent, 8:30-9:20 pm)
Folk / Indie / Other – “Francylvannia, New York / Virgin Islands (U.S.)” | MySpace | official site
Very, very nice. (from their MySpace page): “a trumpet from Paris, farfisa organ, accordion, piano, ukelele, mandolin, glockenspiel, violin, cello, tambourine, The air powered organ I bought on twelth street, Congo drum donated from the neighbors….A broken microphone stolen from the university of new mexico….”
Ok, I’ll admit I’m falling behind already, and yes, I’ve cheated and quoted from others’ impressions… What can I say? It’s a rare warm day in the cold, cruel Northeast, and I wanna get out of the f*cking house. I may be able to catch up a bit later. Otherwise, I’ll be back sometime tomorrow with Saturday’s “tent people”. Peace.
