So I said in my review of Laura Lee’s Toad show that I would make up for not attending her Lizard Lounge performance by doing a write-up for her CD “tomorrow”, which is now seven days ago. That’s how it is sometimes.
Her debut CD, “A little something for Kerrville” is a delightful collection which highlights her introspective songwriting and luscious, meandering voice. Spare yet beautifully recorded, crisp and clear and intensely personal, her lovely old-timey, sultry vocals are perfectly accompanied by her “front-porch” guitar picking. This woman grew up in Lowell, Mass.? Are you kidding me?! She must have had a past-life in a homey little shack on the Mississippi Delta then, because her style is strongly reminiscent of a bygone era. She mentions Nora Jones, Joni Mitchell, and Ani DiFranco as influences, but blues/jazz greats like Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Bessie Smith come more to mind.
In “Boston to Austin”, she acknowledges her geographical misplacement – “Now I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got there just as fast as I could. Southern blood runs through my veins…”
“Texas where the tea is sweeter
Texas where the bourbon’s neater
I’m flying south
where the weather’s warmer
There’s no doubt
it’s Boston to Austin,
a little trip to San Antoine.
Texas is what I’m thinkin of calling home.” - Boston to Austin
Hard to believe the lovely little scat-sing-y “Out for Japanese” is really about Asian food, and yet… “I heard they have one hell of a California roll”. It even includes a bit of “trumpet vocalization” that is playful and fun, and highlights her considerable singing ability and how comfortable she is with herself.
The CD includes two “bonus tracks”. The first is a story of innocence and temptation:
“You taught me to be strong, the difference between right and wrong, happy and sad. But you neglected to tell me the sex appeal of the big and bad…”
“Mama, mama, that devil, he’s still outside my window. And you’re in the kitchen with your measuring cup. You’re pouring in guilt with a twist of fear with a pinch of salt, and you’re dripping it down my throat. And you told me, oh mama, you told me to trust. What do we do, when the devil is in each and every one of us?”
The final track is another great song called “Great Wall of China”, with the marvelous line, “You’re the great wall of China; I’m just a picket fence.”
If you’re a fan of bluesy and sensuous from-the-heart singing with sweet acoustic accompaniment, I highly recommend that you have a listen.
My daughter’s maniacal interest in the Airborne Toxic Event convinced me to join her at the Hartford Connecticut concert. I arrived there between sets and found her where I expected; front row. My first thought was “is this what it was like in the Globe theatre in Elizabethan times?” A sweating, raucous crowd standing in the pit waiting for Romeo and Juliet? No they were waiting for Jollett. The moat in front of us was clearly there to protect the band but perhaps they should have had a chicken wire screen ala Blues Brothers. All this apprehension soon vanished when the Airborne troop came on. It was a delight to see them live (particularly Anna) because no super-duper resolution TV screen could do them justice. But the sound? Oi!
With the amps cranked up to eleven, the sound was not unlike that of a jet engine. I concluded that what I was witnessing was purely a visual experience; you had to have a sound memory pre-planted in your cranium from a well recorded session to go along with the visual input. But that I had so it was well worth attending the spectacle. Hey guys, the next time you come to Hartford please consider doing your thing at the Hartt School’s Lincoln Theater or their Millard Auditorium – and bring along the Calder Quartet. Sight and sound would be glorious.
Victor’s encore presentation today was on Medical Marijuana, with two guests who use marijuana for medical purposes and are activists trying to get it more widely accepted for medical use. You can listen to this program by visiting the WZBC archives.
Victor Robert Venckus 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 on paranormal, holistic health, environmental, animal rights and occasionally human rights topics, with listener call-in participation. Victor has been on the air, in some guise or another, since 1975. Shows are now archived for two weeks.
Wow. Seriously… wow. Yes, it’s been four days since the show and much of this time has been spent fretting about my camera meltdown (more about that later), but I have to say something about this wonderful performer, before more time goes by, and just ahead of another show she’s doing tomorrow night at The Lizard Lounge.
Laura Lee Imhoff started out as a Massachusetts native (Lowell, to be precise), and has played at many area clubs, but is now based in Texas. Listening to her sultry, soulful, playful voice serenading us on Wednesday night at Toad, it seems as though she was born and bred right there in Austin. I felt myself being pulled slowly into her world, into another time and place, a ramshackle cabin in the backwaters of Mississippi perhaps, a kettle simmering over an open fire… – surely this wasn’t the 21st century, in a hipster-cum-yuppie Cambridge, Mass. club? Absolutely wonderful. Performing with her was Hugh McGowan on acoustic guitar, and he was brilliant. I’m afraid I wasn’t able to stay for his full band’s set, but judging from the guy’s playing, I’m sure it was fantasic.
Her CD, “A Little Something for Kerrville”, is just Laura Lee’s lovely vocals and acoustic guitar, very personal and intimate, and I highly, highly recommend it. You can purchase this directly from her MySpace page, or buy individual tracks. In addition to her music, Laura Lee is also a visual artist, and does commissioned work as well.
As for why I don’t have any photos in this article… well, I have this brand new camera. Problem is, at the end of her exquisite set (after I had taken a ton of pictures), suddenly I get this “card error” message, and subsequently wasn’t able to read anything off it. I’ll be sending the #$*@! card back to the company and they’ll see what they can do, but as it’s unlikely they’ll be able to retrieve those photos, here’s some pics of Laura Lee that others have taken. My apologies (and great frustration). So tell me, do I really want a replacement card from this company??
The good news: I’ll be at the ‘Open Mic Challenge’ at the Lizard Lounge (with yes, a different memory card), so I’ll have another chance, and I’ll be able to hear her lovely singing again. If anyone in the Boston area sees this today or tomorrow and can make it to the Lizard Lounge, you’ll be very glad you did! (disclaimer – I’ve never been to any of these open mic challenges, so I have no idea how long she’ll perform for).
[8/24 - As it happens, I ended up having to work until 1:45 a.m. last night (this morning) and it's only 8 p.m. and all I really feel like doing is curling up with a book and then crashing. So I won't be at the Lizard Lounge, but maybe you will, and I'm sure it'll be a good time. According to Laura Lee's MySpace, she'll be on around 11pm, though I'm not entirely sure how she knows that! In any case, I'll make up for my laziness with a review of her lovely CD which I just finished listening to again... tomorrow.]
Laura Lee’s Upcoming Shows
Aug 24 2009 11:00P | Lizard Lounge Open Mic Challenge | Cambridge, Massachusetts
Aug 29 2009 8:00P | Radio Zendo | Austin, Texas
Sep 3 2009 8:00P | House Concert | Austin, Texas
Well, yes, no guest today, so Victor is taking a poll – do you want on-air tarot card readings? Or do you want to hear an Alan Watts tape? Or do you want to hear more music? If you happen to see this immediately, call him at 617.552-4686, or listen in to see what’s decided. Come on, who doesn’t want a free tarot card reading??
Victor Robert Venckus 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 on paranormal, holistic health, environmental, animal rights and occasionally human rights topics, with listener call-in participation. Victor has been on the air, in some guise or another, since 1975. Shows are now archived for two weeks.
Continuing where I left off last time, here’s part II of my ‘band roundup’. If you’re in one of the bands I’m profiling and there’s new information, please let me know, and I’ll add it in.
Former Utopia is singer-songwriter/guitarist/vocalist George Gargan, with special guests Violeta García López and Chiara Meatelli. George formerly played bass in Lazarus Clamp (1999-2003), and formed Former Utopia in 2003. Lovely and very pretty folky acoustic guitar as on “A Love Like Infinity” and “Chilli Linguini Demo” (the latter adding violin and a female vocalist (not sure who it is, sorry), to great effect. Then there are truly quirky and odd things like an unrecognizable cover of “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” and the relationship ruminations of “Women X Possibilities”, with the line “but you’re impossible and I’m a rascal, I just want an easy life.”
He/they have one recording available: a limited edition (250) 3-track vinyl 7″ which includes a CD with two additional bonus tracks. It includes tracks from Former Utopia, Michael L. Clamp, The Philanthropists, and Stupidly For Blood.
Upcoming Shows:
9/23 – The Donkey, Leicester-with Julie Doiron & Construction and Destruction plus guests – Leicester, Midlands
9/24 – The Cluny2 Newcastle-with Julie Doiron & Construction and Destruction plus guests – Newcastle, Northeast
9/25 – The Bowery, Edinburgh-with Julie Doiron and Construction and Destruction – Edinburgh, Scotland
9/26 – Glasgow DIY Festival-with Julie Doiron, Construction and Destruction plus guests – Glasgow, Scotland
9/27 – Islington Mill, Salford-with Julie Doiron, Lazarus Clamp, Construction and Destruction – Manchester, Northwest
9/28 – The Buffalo Bar, Cardiff-with Julie Dorion, Construction and Destruction plus guests – Cardiff, Wales
9/30 – Julie Doiron @ Luminaire with Lazarus Clamp, Construction and Destruction, Former Utopia – London, London and South East
10/10 – World International John Peel Day @Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes – London, London and South East
10/29 – DJ Set (DJ Set) with We Vs Death (Holland) plus guests @ Bardens Boudair – London, London and South East
“I like your style, you dress like you’ve been crazy for a while” – Those trainers r fucking crazy
The Venetia Fair
When I first listened to The Venetia Fair, I jotted down “punkish, crazy shit. fun.” That assessment still stands. Based here in Boston, there’s Benny Santoro on (shrieking, snarling, nutty) vocals; Samuel Parsons, bass; Chaz Kang, guitar; Joe Brown, keyboards; and not quite sure who on drums (guess they’re looking for a drummer). I honestly don’t know why Sparks comes to mind when I listen to them. Maybe Sparks at the circus, while doing badly-manufactured amphetamines.
Their debut release, “The Venetia Fair Presents: The Circus was released on June 12 on Red Blue Records. As for tour dates, it’s rather cryptic on their MySpace, because they’ve listed all the places they want to play – which I think with most bands would be everywhere, right? So here’s the ones that are actually – I think – real shows happening at real venues in real cities. Check back with them for updates.
8/30 – Red Electric w/ Phone Calls From Home – Las Vegas, Nevada
9/4 – Jake’s Back Room w/ Phone Calls From Home – Lubbock, Texas
9/10 – The High Ground w/ Phone Calls from Home – Metairie, Louisiana
9/12 – Island Oasis w/ Phone Calls From Home – Winter Park, Florida
9/18 – New Brookland Tavern w/ Phone Calls From Home – West Columbia, South Carolina
9/19 – DRINK! w/ Phone Calls From Home – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
9/20 – The Canal Club w/ Phone Calls From Home – Richmond, Virginia
9/23 – Shawnee VFW w/Phone Calls From Home & The Paramedic – Louisville, KY
9/25 – The Cavern w/ Phone Calls From Home & The Paramedic- Xenia, Ohio
9/27 – Park Theatre w/ Phone Calls From Home – Holland, Michigan
10/1 – Bogies w/ Phone Calls From Home – Albany, New York
Your Favorite Ex
Just one year old as of this past August 1, this Boston-based band plan consists of Chris Mitchell, vocals and guitar; Anthony Sharamitaro, guitar; Joe Borge, bass; and Tim Ringwood, drums. Their debut EP, Seven Days ’til Spring, is set for release in late September, and you can listen to the three tracks and download “Caramel Thoughts; The Sweetest Dreams” from purevolume. It’s pretty decent stuff for their first recorded songs and considering how young these guys look. Age is not an issue, of course, but I’m always impressed when a bunch of kids (yeah, unfortunately I’m old enough that I can call them kids) have enough focus and savvy to jump right in and do it.
They have three shows currently planned, and it sounds like more on the way soon.
8/29 The West End Theater // ALL-AGES // Gloucester, Massachusetts
8/31 Harper’s Ferry // 18+ // w/ The Sophomore Beat, All Out – Allston, Massachusetts
9/18 The Sad Cafe // ALL-AGES // w/ Hollywood Lies, The Coming Weak, and more! – Plaistow, New Hampshire
From Nice in the south of France, Shudderwall (two brothers, Emmanuel and Christophe (drums and guitar/piano), and their sister Florence on bass, with all on vocals) have been recording and performing together since 2007. Their 11-track debut album is available from Believe Digital. It was recorded and produced by Scott Matthews, who has produced, recorded or performed with Mick Jagger, Barbra Streisand, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, John Lee Hooker, George Harrison, Joe Satriani, The Beach Boys and Neil Young. They’ve performed shows in France, Italy, and England, with radio, TV, and press coverage in Europe, Canada, the U.S., and even India.
An interesting sound – dark and gothic on songs like “Fairy Tale” and “The World Is So Gray”; quite hard-edged and even industrial in places, as on “Grudge”. Upcoming shows are just in Nice for now: Oct 6th at King’s pub, Oct 9th at Staccato with On The Edge, and Oct 14th at Nikaia 700 with Majda + Really addictive sound + The Nuances.
Grudge promo video
Fairy Tale
Godshills
Godshills first formed when Ewelina (lead vocals, guitar) moved to Baltimore from Poland and met Marc Canyon (bass) via a newspaper ad. Marc had previously played with Futureground in Los Angeles. John Tomakos rounds things out on drums and percussion. Influences include The Cure, The Strokes, Pearl Jam, early Modest Mouse – and they have a dreamy, atmospheric feel with lovely vocals from Ewelina.
After performing in Baltimore clubs for about a year, they released their debut album March (er, in April) on Rescue Records, which is available through iTunes, CD Baby, or Amazon.com.
Spider Webs
PAPA
PAPA (based in New York City), is Darren Weiss, Danny Presant, and Sean O’Brien. From what I can tell, they’ve been around for just under a year, and released their debut album back in April, available on iTunes. I like their sound; someone in their MySpace comments mentioned a Modest Mouse influence, so I’ll go with that until I hear/learn more. They also have a Facebook page, but not much on there yet. I don’t see any tour dates mentioned, so I’ll assume they’re ‘in the works’ and I’ll keep my eye out for them. I’d definitely go see these guys.
Apologies; I’ve missed Victor’s last two programs. But you can still catch both of them on the WZBC archive. Two Saturdays ago, he had on Marushka talking about holistic sex in relationships, and this past Saturday was Kirtan with Donna De Lory, including a live performance. Archives of past shows are saved for two weeks.
Victor Robert Venckus 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 on paranormal, holistic health, environmental, animal rights and occasionally human rights topics, with listener call-in participation. Victor has been on the air, in some guise or another, since 1975.
I’ve got some serious catching up to do. After my “mini-festival-weekend” now two weeks ago (which included Boston’s Best Music Poll and the WBRU/McFadden’s block party in Providence), it took me all the following week to assemble my plethora of notes, photos and video clips into a few reviews. Since then I’ve been trying to catch up with a backlog of MySpace requests, emails and bands I’ve been meaning to check out.
What I’ve decided to do, rather than have to choose (from a wide variety of some great or at least interesting music) which bands to do profiles on, is to have periodic “band roundups”, where I’ll write shorter profiles, much like I did during the Coachella Festival. Since I’ve got over 20 bands to get to here, I’ll do this in bite-size chunks, rather than assault you with yet another of my massive tomes.
I’ve only heard of these guys just recently but man, they’re awesome. LA-Underground wrote a nice piece on them back in February of last year. They cite influences as varied as Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Young, Wilco, Flaming Lips and Pink Floyd. Their delightful and unique sound mixes some very pretty and highly sophisticated musical arrangements with wonderfully quirky vocals and literate, emotionally complex lyrics. Beautiful guitar playing and lead vocals from Avi Buffalo, with Rebecca Coleman on backing vocals and keyboards, Sheridan Riley on drums, and Arin Fazio, bass.
A guitarist and songwriter from Long Beach, California, Avi performed with Monogram, JoeyJoel and The Blues Crusaders, before writing and recording his own music. There’s a depth to his lyrics and a sophistication to the band’s sound that would be impressive for seasoned musicians who had been together for many years. They’d be exciting enough with their adept musicianship and insightful lyrics, but to learn that they’re all around 18 years old is astonishing. Add to that the surreal fact that they’re not old enough to be in the places where they’re currently performing (including a month-long residency at The Echo), and that by all accounts, they’re completely blowing away audiences accustomed to extraordinarily good bands.
The band’s debut album (produced by Aaron Embry at Hunter’s Hollow Studio in Los Angeles, CA) is due for a late 2009 release.
Upcoming Shows
Sep 5 2009 – FYF Fest Presents: Save Our State Parks at LA Historic Park – Los Angeles, California
Sep 12 2009 – Monolith Music Festival (their first festival!) – Red Rock, Colorado
Sep 19 2009 – Musicfest Northwest Berbati’s Pan with John Vanderslice and Beach House – Portland, Oregon
Sep 20 2009 – Neumos with BEACH HOUSE – Seattle, Washington
Sep 22 2009 – Department of Safety with BEACH HOUSE – Anacortes, Washington
Sep 23 2009 – The Nightlight with BEACH HOUSE – Bellingham, Washington
Born into a musical family (his father is a producer and classical pianist; his two older sisters were both in various rock bands), he released his debut album, “One By One” (Aeronaut Records) in 2007 when he was 19, and played drums, banjo, bass, piano and mandolin in addition to guitar on that album. His music and lyrics are introspective and personal (he’s compared to a young Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle and Neil Young; rightly so, I’d say, at first listen – especially those first two). Very nice. The storytelling in “All of my Trains” especially really drew me in.
Performing with Robert are Graham Lathrop (pedal steel, guitar), Alex Kweskin (bass), Richard Gowen (drums), and Benji Lysaght (guitar).
They’re currently on tour with Priscilla Ahn and have a few shows of their own lined up:
8/18 The Ark w/Priscilla Ahn – Ann Arbor, MI
8/19 The Drake Hotel Underground w/Priscilla Ahn – Toronto, Canada
8/21 NYC – Bowery Ballroom w/Priscilla Ahn – New York, NY
8/22 World Cafe Live w/Priscilla Ahn – WXPN Studios, Philadelphia, PA
8/23 IOTA Club & Cafe w/Priscilla Ahn – Arlington, VA
8/24 Pianos – New York, NY
8/26 Case Western Reserve University – Cleveland, OH
8/27 Schuba’s – Chicago, IL
8/30 The Walnut Room – Denver, CO
Recently signed to Atlantic Records, his next release is due out this fall. The first two tracks, “Nightfall” and “Darkness”, can be heard on his MySpace or Facebook pages.
Based in the Buffalo, NY area, Colors In The Air have been performing together since summer 2005. The band features Brian Miller – vocals, piano, guitar, Ryan Cullinane – bass, Pat Williams – drums, Justin Walker – guitar. Walker and Miller had previously been in the Lockport-based band, Tears of Tomorrow. They went from performing around Buffalo to signing with indie label The Workshop Recording Group in 2006 and embarked on a regional tour to support their first EP, to releasing their second album, On The Inside and recently performing for a few weeks on the Warped Tour.
Official video for “Phetamine” (from On The Inside, 2007)
They’re currently booking more local and regional shows. See their MySpace for tour dates. So far:
Sat 8/29 Block Party @ SUNY Fredonia – Fredonia, NY
Thur 9/10 The Hairy Lemon (Muldoons) – Fredonia, NY
Mon 9/21 Croc Bar – Buffalo, NY
Fri 9/25 Gonzo’s – Lockport, NY
Sat 10/10 Mohawk Place – Buffalo, NY
Fri 10/30 Gonzo’s – Lockport, NY
additional cities mentioned: Rochester, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Long Island, NYC, and possibly Chicago.
This is Oscar Martimor, from Valencia, Spain. Very nice jazz/progressive guitar over unobtrusive, complimentary electronics and percussion (”Fase Terminal (Terminal Illness)” and “Nido De Culebras (Snakes Nest)”) and also solo guitar, quite lovely (as in “Expansion”, which also includes a really nice string section at the end).
Not sure if he has any releases available, but his Quartet will be performing at a venue called Acoustic Lives on October 1 – if you happen to be in Valencia, Spain at that time.
Trading Voices
Taylour Chanel & Dylan Fant of Trading Voices. Photo by Brandon Waterman.
Based in Woodinville (Seattle), Washington, Trading Voices is the musical project of Dylan Fant (who is also involved with J Minus (acoustic) and J Minus (rock). He’s a multi-instrumentalist inspired by various genres. For Trading Voices, Dylan plays various instruments with guest female vocalists. In the banjo-driven “Take Me With You”, the focus is on Taylour Chanel’s lovely singing, with a smattering of piano coming in as a nice complement. Other tracks like “I Will Erase You” and “Just Walk Away” are more rocking. Bee Simonds is another of Dylan’s guest vocalists, different from Taylour’s style, but also quite good.
As if all that weren’t enough to keep the guy busy, he also runs 1 Shot Studio. Trading Voices’ debut album is available as an mp3 download on amazon.com. J Minus has the following releases: Sun & Moon Double Album (2006) and Mr. Robotron on the Byway (2009), which are both available here.
As for live performances, his band J Minus has the following shows scheduled:
9/7 (2:00PM) – Alzheimers Benefit – WSU Chi Delta Sigma – Pullman, Washington
9/9 – Great Northern Bar & Grill (21+) – Whitefish, Montana
9/11 – Crusty’s Pizza (all ages) – McCall, Idaho
9/15 – The Black Nugget – Carbondale, Colorado
9/18 – Diablo’s Downtown Lounge – Eugene, Oregon
The Twees
Hailing from Long Island, New York, The Twees are Jason Abrishami, guitar and vocals; Will Mazzoli, bass; and Logan Sorrentino, drums. They’ve only been around since January of this year, and seem to be off to a good start. Citing influences such as The Strokes, Bloc Party and The Wombats, their sound is bouncy and pop-quirky on their newer songs; more punkish on earlier tracks (especially “I’m Not Saying” and “It’s Been So Long”).
Their new 4-song EP, Lessons To Connect, can be heard on gimmesound.com, along with four older tracks. If you sign up for a (free) membership, you can download the EP free of charge.
As of now, just two shows listed: 9/12 at The Wave w/ The Royal Chains in PATCHOGUE, New York (that’s on Long Island), and 9/27 at Arlene’s Grocery in NYC, New York.
After the Hartford madness (which actually turned out perfectly, considering) and the all-day (and night) outdoor bash at City Hall Plaza in Boston, I woke up Sunday feeling quite crispy. And this is without any alcohol consumption, mind you. As I tried to organize myself for the hour+ drive down to Providence, I felt a new understanding and appreciation of the daily mechanics of this constant touring schedule, and admiration of Airborne’s, well… stamina.
As I’ve done pretty exhaustive (and exhausting) reports of Hartford and Boston, I’ll try something a bit different for this last one, and will just touch on the salient points of the show. Or at least try to.
The Venue and The Occasion.WBRU Summer Concert Series/McFadden’s Block Party, downtown Providence. Tom Morello, Metric, Cage The Elephant, and The Airborne Toxic Event. It was something of a challenge trying to negotiate the city’s one-way streets (and I pulled some traffic moves one should never try at home), but once I was there, it was a perfectly relaxed, low-key affair with a wonderful audience… and amazingly, no rain!
Tom Morello – Wow. Major revelation, as I wasn’t very familiar with his bands, Audioslave and Rage Against The Machine (I know, I know). Suffice it to say, he completely blew me away. Powerful, political, great acoustic guitar and wonderful voice (really wonderful), and an absolutely commanding presence. He mentioned being at the Newport Folk Festival, and I think now that must have really been something. Someone like that can jolt people out of complacency and bring confrontation and directness back to folk music where it rightfully belongs.
I have in my notes “fucking AMAZING” (with a box drawn around it), and that pretty much sums up my reaction to him. He began his set with “One Man Revolution”, which I know I’ve heard before but I can’t recall where. Incredible. He played a mix of his own solo “Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman” material, plus a few tracks from Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave as well, I believe – much to the delight of some obviously hardcore fans of his up front who were really keyed-up to see him in such a “venue” (a block party in a downtown Providence parking lot; maybe 2,000 people at most). He also performed “Whatever It Takes”, “House Gone Up In Flames”, and this hilarious rap about a protest by Rage Against The Machine at one year’s Lollapalooza festival.
He closed his set with an audience sing-a-long to an amazing cover of the Woody Guthrie classic “This Land Is Your Land” (complete with two rarely-heard verses). His two upcoming shows are at the Epicenter Music Festival in Pomona CA, August 22, and Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco, August 29. His latest release is The Fabled City (2008).
Metric (acoustic). I had the great pleasure of seeing the duo of Emily Haines and James Shaw perform Metric songs acoustically at the Best Music Poll show in Boston the day before (drummer Joules Scott Key just had a baby daughter). They were once again marvelous, and as it was a smaller audience, the quiet acoustic songs seemed to go over much better.
They have shows coming up in Milwaukee, WI (The Rave/Eagles Club on August 18), Hasslet, Belgium (Pukkelpop Festival, August 21), Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands (August 23), Picture House in Edinburgh, Scotland (August 25), Leeds Festival (August 28) and Reading Festival (August 29). If you purchase their new album, Fantasies, from the ilovemetric.com store, it includes two exclusive acoustic bonus tracks (”Gimme Sympathy” and their wonderful cover of Pink Floyd’s “Nobody Home”).
Cage The Elephant – Crazy punk rock shit! Seriously, not a weak band on this bill, and these guys were out of control and fantastic. Quite a pendulum swing, now that I think of it, from the forceful, literary protest music of Tom Morello, to the sweet sounds of acoustic Metric, and then these guys… good heavens. I was only familiar with their radio hit, “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked”, which, while it’s a great tune, isn’t really indicative of their unleashed, unhinged punk sound. I mean hell, it’s a bluegrass number, complete with dobro! And it sounded amazing in that Providence parking lot, as did their out-of-control stuff. From Bowling Green Kentucky, there’s a Southern rock sound to them also, but hard-edged. Really fun, and perfectly suited to the partying crowd.
Uncaged Elephant
Lead singer Matt Shultz is riveting, whether he’s belting it out onstage, offstage in the arms of the audience, or perched on a speaker. He’s truly a force of nature – crazed, reeling, whirling and ricocheting around nonstop, and it’s amazing I was able to get any photos of him that are actually in focus. Great stuff.
Matt Schultz, vocals; Brad Shultz, guitar; Jared Champion, drums and percussion; Daniel Ticheor, bass and vocals; Lincoln Parish, lead guitar. Upcoming tour dates: lots of them. Schuba’s in Chicago on Aug 8, Lollapalooza on Aug. 9, Minneapolis, then Canada (Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver), Eugene Oregon… See their MySpace for full schedule. And check out their self-titled debut album.
Airborne: The Soundcheck. My guess is that they didn’t get one, or that things changed drastically during the afternoon. Because their guitar tech Justin was all over that stage, testing the guitars, adjusting microphones, etc. You could see how hard the guy works to get the sound as perfect as possible, despite what must be a ridiculously wide range of acoustical set-ups, from cavernous holes to, well, outdoor stages in parking lots. Just a word of appreciation after that lengthy sound check – which included checking Anna’s viola (that came last, and elicited one of the better crowd comments of the day – “Needs more rosin!”)
A Word about Wishing Well. I just wanted to say how much I love the introduction they’ve been doing for a while now – everyone in the band participating in the slow build up with Mikel on keyboards, slowly growing into a cacophony of sound with Mikel banging away maniacally in pure abandon, which then dissolves into the familiar opening. Absolutely gorgeous.
Goodbye Horses, written by William Garvey. I always thought this was a beautiful song, but recently learned of its true meaning (which is quite spiritual) due to the very sad passing of the man who wrote it, William Garvey. Mikel, being deeply affected by this news, as the song means a great deal to him and has become a staple of their set, wrote a beautiful eulogy.
All I Ever Wanted. Their most recent new song, and quite lovely. Apparently it’s based on a short story from a collection Mikel was reading during a rare break when they were in Germany back in April. Really looking forward to hearing this on their next album (and seeing the actual lyrics).
The Missy/Smiths Medley. Wonderful newish arrangement with snippets of two brilliant songs by The Smiths, “Ask” and “Panic”. Awesome.
“Shyness is nice and shyness can stop you
from doing all the things in life you’d like to
Shyness is nice and shyness can stop you
from doing all the things in life you’d like to.
So, if there’s something you’d like to try
If there’s something you’d like to try
Ask me, I won’t say ‘No’, how could I?”
Great audience reaction. This goes for the Hartford show as well, which was really powerful and exciting; everyone just adored them. And here too, in Providence. Hopefully this means more East Coast dates (in addition to Boston and NYC) on future tours!
All photos up on Flickr | Rest of video up on YouTube
After the billowing gray skies and torrential downpours of Friday, it was a joy to wake up to a perfect sunny day. Especially considering the next two Airborne shows were at City Hall Plaza in Boston, and some street in downtown Providence. My mom’s condition was improving but not enough to get her home, so I visited with her and my dad at the hospital for a while before I headed back to Boston.
The day before I received an email from two friends I had met at the Fratellis/Airborne show at Roseland in New York City back in March [shout out to Matt and Drew - yeah!!]. They’re from Pennsylvania (not Philly either, from the “god knows where” inland area), and had driven in for the show. Apart from us all losing about 5 lbs. from heat prostration at that steamy gig, they arrived as Fratellis fans and left as Airborne Tox devotees (this was happening a lot). The email read “we’re coming to the Boston show!”, and coordinating our journey via cell phones, we found ourselves at one point on different sections of the Mass Pike in a spacey “road race” towards downtown Boston. By some bizarre circumstance of perfect timing, we ended up by chance on the same Green Line train at Park Street station.
The day was magnificent, the mood happy and vibrant. Early arrivals had staked out places in front of the stage and on the plaza steps, making for a low-key outdoor theater (they often have free concerts here, with the historic buildings of Government Center as a dramatic backdrop).
We arrived late for Ra Ra Riot (from Syracuse NY), so unfortunately only caught the last few songs of their set, but they have a really nice dreamy sound, complete with cello and violin. They’ve been around since 2006, and the band consists of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, cellist Alexandra Lawn, violinist Rebecca Zeller, and drummer Gabriel Duquette. I will definitely be purchasing their CD (The Rhumb Line, 2008) and investigating further.
Hometown favorites Passion Pit were up next. They had just won Best Local Act, Best Local Album, Best Male Vocalist in Boston, and Best Song (”The Reeling”), so needless to say, people were looking forward to seeing them. (from Wikipedia): “Passion Pit is an American electronic band from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Formed in 2007, the group consists of Michael Angelakos (lead vocals/keyboards), Ian Hultquist (keyboards), Ayad Al Adhamy (synth/samples), Jeff Apruzzese (bass) and Nate Donmoyer (drums).” Um, yes. I happened to catch them on this excellent ABC News show called “Amplified” back in June, which included an interview and profile of the band. Who had any idea ABC News even did a show like this? They have some pretty awesome bands on there as well (Moby, St. Vincent, The Thermals, Phoenix – just to name a few), so you should definitely check it out.
So, Passion Pit. If you’re not familiar with them, I would describe their sound as electro-synth-soul-pop. Or something like that. Now here’s a situation that I find myself in sometimes. They’re great musicians, and it’s got that ’80s charm for the kids who were just being born then (or not even). And, though I tend to be quite nostalgic for decent electronic dance music, I guess these days I’m veering towards a more stripped down and basic sound with heavy lyrical focus. I did jot down “nice keyboards”, and indeed they were. Having said all that, the real problem I have with this band are the falsetto vocals (as good as Michael Angelakos’ vocals are). Just not my thing, I’m afraid. And yes, it is a personal problem, and should in no way affect anyone’s opinion of the band, and obviously won’t, since they’re hugely popular and have a massive tour of festivals here and in Europe lined up. Here’s a nice Rolling Stone review of their debut album “Manners”.
The next band up, Metric, were most certainly “my thing”, especially this acoustic incarnation of it (the drummer had just become a father and understandably wanted to be with his family). So performing today (and at the Providence block party the next day) were Emily Haines on piano, vocals and tambourine; and James Shaw on acoustic guitar (who also perform with Broken Social Scene). Gorgeous. A great first date and chance to get to know them; to really hear their music and lyrics. I was familiar only with one song, the massive radio hit “Help I’m Alive” (which happens to be fantastic and quite infectious). Emily’s sweet, pretty vocals blended so nicely with the piano and guitar.
I’m not suicidal, I just can’t get out of bed
I drift into a deep fog, lost where I forgot to
Hold it, I can feel you most when I’m alone
I can feel your ghost when I’m alone
- Satellite Mind
They also performed a wonderful cover of Pink Floyd’s shiver-inducing “Nobody Home”, which made me a little teary (an acoustic version of this is available as a bonus track with their most recent album “Fantasies”). The only downside to their performance was that since they were the third band on, people were by then pretty well lubricated. Lucky me, I happened to be next to some guy who said he was covering the show for a blog, and I won’t do him the honor of naming it, ’cause during an especially lovely part of their set, he yelled out something quite stupid and obscene. If you were at the show (and seriously, I mean if you were any one of the estimated 40,000 people there that day), you’ll know what he said so I don’t have to repeat it). Not the best venue for a quiet acoustic set. They were more politely and enthusiastically received in Providence the next day, probably due to a much smaller audience.
Next up was Gaslight Anthem, a perfect choice for the rapidly-growing-rowdy crowd. Completely unfamiliar with Gaslight Anthem (except that I’ve “heard of them”), they really impressed me with their driving, forceful rock – noisy and angry, but I sensed with a lyrical sophistication, though I’d have to sit down with words to the songs to confirm that. Kinda like some cool punkish Brit or Scottish band (though they’re from New Jersey) mixed with Bruce Springsteen (ok, so that makes sense). Ok, so I lied – I have heard “The ‘59 Sound” before. Decent track, from their second and most recent album of the same name. Brian Fallon – vocals and guitar, Alex Rosamilia – guitar, Alex Levine – bass, and Benny Horowitz – drums.
Also of note: record number of crowd surfers I’ve seen in a single show. Ever. I lost count, but it must have been at least 15 of ‘em. All of which were were carried up to the front barrier, pulled over by security guards, and then (I presume) escorted out. Why they didn’t insist people move them sideways instead of forward, seeing each preceding person get ejected… I don’t know. Maybe it was worth it, for those 15 seconds of fame? So um, yes, Gaslight Anthem was definitely a crowd favorite.
Drew & Matt getting *really keyed up* just before Airborne came on
Ahhh… Airborne. A much nicer “venue” than Hartford’s Webster Theatre and infinitely better sound, I was really looking forward to this, and I wasn’t disappointed.
To awesome audience response and a massive sustained sing-a-long, they performed a similar set to Hartford though I think a bit shorter, as Gaslight Anthem went a bit over their time limit. And I have no explanation of why I don’t have at least a frantically scribbled set list, except that I remember remarking to Matt and Drew afterward that I “went away somewhere”. Incredible.
I know I was swept up in emotion from the crowd’s reaction. WFNX has been so incredibly supportive of the band; one of the first radio stations in the country, I believe, to start playing their music. And because of that, they’ve developed an enormous following here, which is pretty wonderful. In addition to that, musically everything sounded so fantastic at City Hall Plaza. You don’t always get great sound quality at a club, so it’s often more just a chance to party with the band and dance and go crazy, rather than be able to attentively listen, clearly hear musical nuances and lyrics like you would at a theater performance. But this was different. And now I realize this was the first time I had ever seen them out of doors. A unique experience and one I would absolutely recommend, if at all possible.
The order of songs was a bit different, and I was a little surprised when “Does This Mean You’re Moving On?” appeared mid-set. As always, the audience erupted at the opening chords. Unlike as always, when Anna ventured out over the barrier, the crowd started by lifting her straight up in the air and I was thinking she was especially brave to go for her surf in that crowd, especially after witnessing the mayhem during Gaslight Anthem’s set. Mikel, meanwhile, decided he was going to personally inspect the soundness of the stage scaffolding, and climbed something like 30 feet in the air, to massive cheering. Coming down, he casually said, “I’m glad I didn’t die.” Uh… yeah. Us too.
From my video clips, I know they started with “Wishing Well”, that “Does This Mean You’re Moving On?” followed “Something New”, and that Mikel asked “Where are we going drinking after this?” just before they performed “This Losing”. “Sometime Around Midnight” followed just or soon after, and then (or soon after that), “All I Ever Wanted”. They must have played “Missy”, and I’m pretty certain they closed with “Innocence”. But if someone can enlighten me as to the complete set list, I’d be greatly appreciative.
The Bravery were the headliners, and as they set up for them, we noticed at least one of Airborne Tox’s amps still on stage, and a stage crew guy tuning up and testing Steven’s guitar, so we realized at least Steven would be joining them at some point. We stayed for the first part of their set (which sounded really great, and the audience absolutely loved them) before heading over to the F.Y.E. tent where Airborne would be doing a “meet & greet” and signing autographs, so we could say a quick hello.
I’m somewhat familiar with The Bravery’s music, especially the song “Believe”, which reached #4 in Billboard’s Modern Rock chart as the one of the singles from their 2007 release “The Sun and the Moon”. It was a situation of hearing them on the radio a few years ago, forgetting about them, and then looking them up again when I realized they’re managed by Pete Galli, who also manages Airborne. And then having that “oh yeah…” moment. So pretty cool that they would share a bill together.
Hailing from New York, there’s Sam Endicott on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Michael Zakarin on lead guitar, John Conway on keyboards, Mike Hindert on bass, and Anthony Burulcich on drums (and everyone on backing vocals). They’re currently working on their third album, due out in the fall.
Anna, Noah and Steven joined The Bravery onstage during their encore, for a surprise rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”. I wouldn’t have guessed that song in a million years! They were also joined by WFNX’s Paul Driscoll as “guest drummer”. I learned that night that they received their very first radio airplay on Paul’s ‘Alter Ego’ show. How cool! (you can read more about their story on their Wikipedia page).
Posing for photos. Nice hat.
Wow… what a day (and evening). *Thank you* to all the great bands for such a magnificent time!
Ouch! Daren shows off his twisted ankle from Tokyo - fortunately not his bass drum foot, but still, what a pain... literally!
Note: In my reviews, I’ll sometimes include photos with fans that I think are especially nice. If you see yourself in one of these and you’d like it removed, please let me know, and I’ll do so immediately. Alternately, I’d be happy to send you the much larger version.
