Thursday Music Miscellany
Posted on June 19, 2008 at 1:39 pm | No Comments
Well, last week’s string of 4 rock shows in 4 days took a toll, and I’ve been pretty much out of commission since. The ol’ constitution she ain’t what she used to be, so lack of sleep and exposure to hundreds of fellow music fans left me with a nasty virus that I’ve been trying hard to kick. And I’d better kick it soon, because tonight is the big Sleepyhead / Thalia Zedek Band / Retribution Gospel Choir show. And tomorrow night: the return of a reunited Polvo. With the added bonus of some New Radiant Storm King and Birds of Avalon. Boosh.
Tickets for a couple of gonna-be-great Boston-area autumn shows go on sale tomorrow morning, so prick up your ears:
Built to Spill will be performing the entirety of their “Perfect From Now On” album at the seated Orpheum Theatre on Saturday, September 27th (a week after I see them do that in the Catskills). And for openers? Howzabout Dinosaur Jr. and the Meat Puppets? A pre-sale is happening right now (password: owl, until 10pm 6/19), and the rest will be available here at 10am tomorrow. Billy Bragg has booked two nights at the Somerville Theatre on October 21st and 22nd, and tickets should be available here tomorrow morning as well.
And while you won’t need to buy tickets for this one, you’d do well to RSVP soon-ish for the just-announced free Hold Steady at the Paradise next week. On Thursday night the 26th the band will play one of those gratis Miller Lite-sponsored Going.com promo events, and joining them will be local gents Aberdeen City. Head here to sign up and add yourself to the guest list, and I’d show up early that night to make sure you get in. The H.S. could sell out the place on their own, but with free admission and A.C. on the bill, it’s gonna be super-crammed. Stop back here tomorrow when I’ll be doing a giveaway for some special passes to the thing as well.
As I mentioned, I’ll finally be seeing the now-active Sleepyhead tonight when they open for Alan Sparkhawk’s Retribution Gospel Choir, and sandwiched between ’em will be the excellent Thalia Zedek and her band. Check out a recent interview with Thalia on on Well-Rounded Radio (Mp3). Thalia & Co. are on a tour that stops at the Mercury Lounge in NYC tonight, hits our Middle East show tomorrow, and heads to Canada for a couple dates before ending in Chicago on Sunday. Word is that West coast shows and some European dates are also in the works, so keep an eye peeled here for updates.
Bottomless Pit comes back to Boston next month (with the Kadane Bros.) for the first time since their September 2006 set at the Middle East. The band will be bringing their new “Congress” EP, four songs on vinyl (with a CD included) that make a relatively quick follow-up to their debut full-length last year. You can get the EP tracks digitally right now at the Comedy Minus One label site, or pre-order the vinyl here or straight from the band. It ships in mid-July, but for an advance taste, grab the Mp3 of the track “Fish Eyes” right here. More BP goodness: Watch this video of the band performing the excellent “Cardinal Movements” at the 2008 Villette Sonique Festival in Paris.
Congrats to reader Jeff from Cambridge, who won the ‘Nac ticket giveaway for tomorrow night’s Shearwater show at TT the Bears. I’ll be next door at the Middle East, but I’m hoping to be able to skip over to TTs pre-Polvo. Hopefully the timing will work out. If you haven’t been fortunate enough to hear the gorgeous voice of Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg in person, this might do: NPR streamed the band’s recent appearance at the Black Cat in DC, and you can listen to the whole show here.
Another broadcast you should bookmark for later listening: Elbow will be performing at the Paradiso in Amsterdam next Wednesday night, June 25th, and Fabchannel will be delivering the whole show live. The site’s audio (and yes, video) quality is usually top-notch, so jot down that date.
Buffalo Tom‘s Bill Janovitz is in the middle of a weekly (and month-long) residency at the tiny Toad in Cambridge, MA. These free Thursday night shows are typically rollicking affairs (he calls it a “shambolic hootenanny”), with random cover songs scattered among Bill’s solo, Buffalo Tom, and Crown Victoria material, with random guests possibly partaking as well. The second installment of the residency is tonight from 9pm to close, the third next Thursday, and the last one on July 3rd.
Bill has also announced that he’ll be playing a set before a Regent Theatre screening of the locally produced film “On Broadway” (which I caught at the 2007 IFFB) on Friday night, June 27th. He provided the score for the film, and has shared one of the songs on his blog. If you recognize it, that’s because it’s a gorgeously slowed-down instrumental version of the Buffalo Tom song “You’ll Never Catch Him“, which was my favorite track off last year’s “Three Easy Pieces” album. Stream it here.
Here’s a bit of bittersweetness: While the release party for Sanguine Drone‘s debut album “Terrafracture” is tonight, it will also be their last show for the foreseeable future, and possibly forever. But at least they leave us with something to listen to, right? Check out some songs from the limited edition 8-track disc at their MySpace page, and if you can, pick up your own discounted copy at O’Briens in Allston tonight when they play with The Crushing Low, 28 Degrees Taurus, and Chris Pearson’s Ekranoplan.
Back in February I pre-ordered my own copy of Wheat‘s limited edition two-disc “Move=Move” mini-album, which was to include new tracks, instrumentals, and videos, but there’s been a bit of a delay that was explained by the Empyrean label thusly:
“In short, due to other opportunities for the band with the upcoming full length, “Move=Move” will never be released into stores – this was a mutual decision between Wheat and the label. The good news is that the record will be a very limited edition package and will be for fans that have already ordered it from the Empyrean site ONLY. To apologize for the delay we want to offer the record to you free of charge.“
Well, I’ll accept pretty much any apology that saves me twenty bucks, but I am still itching to hear some new Wheat songs. That message sounds to me like the band may have struck some kind of deal for the next album’s release (title: “White Ink, Black Ink”), a deal that might include songs from the EP? If so, that’s surely good news for them and for us fans, especially after the mess they went through playing with the majors for while.
Next week, Ontario band A Northern Chorus says farewell to the world with two final Canadian shows: Toronto on the 27th and Hamilton, ON on the 28th. I only wish I’d known that the most recent time I saw them would be the last, so I could thank them for making the trip down to the Boston area so many times. I was fortunate enough to catch them on least three or four occasions during their eight year existence, and even luckier to have shared the bill with them a couple of those times. I truly thought they’d hit a creative peak with their latest (and now final) album, “The Millions Too Many”, so for me they’re certainly going out on top. Thanks for the musical memories, ANC, especially that remarkable set you played at the Lizard Lounge while a torrential downpour soaked the streets outside. The open LL door let the cracking thunder be perfect accompaniment to your gorgeous set.
Ok, Almanac readers, face forward and pay close attention: I don’t ask you for much, but when I do, know that it matters much to me…
A longtime friend from my Vermont days, musician and recording engineer Daryl Rabidoux, was in a terrible car accident in his adopted home of Providence, Rhode Island last week. Just look at this list of injuries: Two punctured lungs, a bunch of broken ribs, a torn liver, fractured sternum, and head trauma. One thing’s for sure, in addition to being one of the nicest guys I know, Daryl is apparently one tough customah.
Now, if you know how these things usually are for working musicians, Daryl is without health insurance (thanks, country!), and a two-week stint in the hospital will leave him hurting financially along with physically. So I’m askin’, for no other reason than he needs and deserves it, that you consider sending a couple bucks his way via the paypal button below to help cover his medical costs. Because he shouldn’t have to deal with digging himself out of a monetary hole while he tries to get his health back.
And if you dug his excellent band The Cancer Conspiracy, then give a little bit extra. His friend and former Rocketsled bandmate Casey writes about Daryl, and shares information for musicians in need of insurance, here. Visit the Strangeways Recording MySpace page for updates from Daryl’s studio partner Mike, and keep an eye out for benefit shows in Providence, Boston, and Burlington.
Mp3s: R.E.M. live in Mansfield, MA
Posted on June 17, 2008 at 5:32 am | No Comments
It all comes back to The Big Four: The Cure, U2, R.E.M., and The Smiths. Sure, some lesser-known (and arguably more interesting) bands rounded out my teenage top ten, but as a Vermont high schooler in the late 80s, that was the quartet that truly helped shape my musical tastes. While the break-up of The Smiths set their legacy in stone, time and the ongoing musical output of the other three would wear away at my appreciation for each: First, U2 shook me loose after “Rattle & Hum”, R.E.M.’s “Monster” scared me away, and the departure of Boris and The Cure’s “Wild Mood Swings” left me cold. There were too many other bands demanding my attention for me to dig very hard for diamonds in their subsequent albums, although in the years since I’ve found a few.
Through a strange confluence of releases and events, the first half of 2008 has me thinking about The Big Four in a big way: Earlier this year I caught, and was surprisingly impressed by, U2’s 3D IMAX concert film. Still couldn’t warm me to their post-1990 output, but as an overall experience, it was a technological thrill. Two months later and I’m at a mind-blowing, 3-hour Cure show, loving the band as much as I ever did. That’s two down. And a few days ago I find myself standing 10 rows from R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr as they run through a couple songs that played major parts in my high school soundtrack. And that’s all four bands accounted for, 20-some odd years after each first won me over.
Before I get to the live Mp3s, here are some bullet-listed personal highlights and notes from Friday night’s R.E.M. show, with openers The National and Modest Mouse (which explains Johnny Marr’s presence) at Great Woods in Mansfield, MA. And yes, while it’s technically now called the Comcast Center, and before that the Tweeter Center, it’ll always be Great Woods to me. Corporate synergy be damned…
While “Accelerate” is surely R.E.M.’s most guitar-centric album in ages, it’s still only a “return to form” if you think that form was solidified in 1986 with “Life’s Rich Pageant” (Frank articulates that notion better here). The new songs held up very well alongside their 22-year old counterparts, as evidenced by set-starter “Living Well’s The Best Revenge” heading into “Begin The Begin“. That “LRP” opener still gets me going, because it usually means I have that whole album ahead to listen to. Glad we got another taste of it later in the set with “Cuyahoga“. Stipe dedicated “Cuyahoga“, and specifically the first couple lines, to Barack Obama: “Let’s put our heads together, and start a new country up“. Erasing the parts we don’t like sounds like a fine idea. Even though I’d seen REM a bunch of times in the late-80s/early-90s, I’d never caught site of Peter Buck’s traveling collection of on-stage dinosaur figures. Apparently his prehistoric mascots have been appearing atop his amps on-stage for ages, but only now was I close enough to notice. How’d you like to have “R.E.M. Dinosaur Wrangler” on your roadie resume? The entire band, including drummer Bill Rieflin on a guitar, gathered around Peter Buck at the piano for an excellent acoustic rendition of 1996’s “Let Me In“. Actually made me think I might want to revisit “Monster” again. After his years of work with Ministry, Pigface, and RevCo (all acts that were major parts of my own personal Industrial Revolution), I still find it slightly incongruous to type the phrase “R.E.M. drummer Bill Rieflin”. And knowing that he and guitarist Scott McCaughey are “unofficial” members of the band (neither appear in official promo photos), it still strikes me as odd that they sell t-shirts displaying “Mike, Michael, and Peter” in huge text. Rieflin and McCaughey seem to be far more than just hired guns at this point, but hey, it’s probably more as a tribute to drummer Bill Berry’s absence than a slight to their contributions, right? As Mike Mills donned his cowboy hat and took center stage to sing lead on “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville“, he explained that his voice was a little ragged after spending the previous night screaming at the first of the two Mission of Burma shows at the Paradise: “They were maybe the best and the loudest band I’ve ever seen.” Hearing him say that was a cool little moment for me, as R.E.M. was the reason I first got into Burma during the late-80s when they were covering “Academy Fight Song” on the Green tour. When I saw the R.E.M. tour schedule, and noticed they had a night off before the Mansfield show, I thought “I wonder if they know about those Burma shows, because they’d probably want to go”. And whaddya know, Mills did. As Colbert says: I called it. I wasn’t even 100% sure that Johnny Marr was still on tour with Modest Mouse, until I’d read earlier that day that he’d joined R.E.M. on stage during the encore of the previous show to add his Rickenbacker to “Fall On Me“. Fingers were obviously crossed that he’d do it again, and when he did, but kept his guitar on after the song was over, I knew we were in for something extra. Once Stipe said “We’ve got one more song”, and the negative crowd response essentially forced him to up that to two more songs, we got a treat: An impromptu and Marr-enhanced “Pretty Persuasion“, which he’d never rehearsed. Loved watching Buck guide him through the chord changes. Marr remained on guitar for another song he’d actually practiced, show closer “Man on the Moon“. I was never one of those fans who wondered or cared much about Stipe’s sexual proclivities, but I’m pretty sure he’s been out of the closet for a very long time (despite what some recent articles claimed). Still, I’ll admit it’s been cool to see him become more forthright about it recently. In Mansfield he introduced “Pretty Persuasion” with a simple “This is a beautiful song about growing up queer in the 1980s…“. Had Stipe written a song about that same struggle today, the subject matter would surely be easier to discern… his ultra-obtuse phase has certainly long-since passed. Sneak peeks at previous tour setlists clued me in to the fact that “Man On The Moon” would probably be the night-ender, and as I’ve never quite liked that song, I used the opportunity to make an early exit and avoid the post-show clusterf*ck that the Great Woods parking lot becomes. Still, I was nervous they’d kick into something special as I made my quick getaway. And I know what some of you are thinking: “You tape shows, and left early? What kind of completest are you?”. Have no fear, my back was covered, and I wouldn’t have left otherwise… I owe much gratitude to longtime ‘Nac reader and fellow taper Todd, who not only offered me that amazing fan-club acquired 10th-row seat, but has provided the Mp3 of “Man On The Moon” below (and if you think that one song sounds better than all the rest, hey, keep it to yourself ;)). He wrote his own extensive review of the show, including his thoughts on the National and Modest Mouse. The mix in our spots was pretty much perfect, and I’m looking forward to sharing up those other two sets as well. But considering I just saw 10 bands over a four-day stretch, they could be a little while longer in coming…
Live at at the Comcast Center
in Mansfield, MA
on Friday, June 13th, 2008
[Download all 31 tracks in a 162MB .zip file]
01. Living Well’s the Best Revenge
02. Begin the Begin
03. What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
04. Circus Envy
05. Man-Sized Wreath
06. banter 1
07. West Of The Fields
08. Ignoreland
09. Departure
10. Cuyahoga
11. Hollow Man
12. Driver 8
13. banter 2
14. Houston
15. Electrolite
16. Maps and Legends
17. Horse To Water
18. The One I Love
19. I’ve Been High
20. Let Me In (acoustic)
21. Bad Day
22. Get Up
23. Orange Crush
24. I’m Gonna DJ
encore…
25. Supernatural Superserious
26. Losing My Religion
27. (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville
28. Fall on Me (with Johnny Marr)
29. banter 3
30. Pretty Persuasion (with Johnny Marr)
31. Man on the Moon (with Johnny Marr)
Some R.E.M. links…
Their official site, MySpace page, Wikipedia entry, and Imeem page. For each show on the current tour, R.E.M. has a very cool page set up that gathers together custom-tagged YouTube, Flickr, and Twitter fan content. So very Web 2.0 of them. Here’s the page for the Mansfield show. Jerad from Drive Blind was at the show as well, and shares his thoughts here. Additional Audio: Along with songs on the MySpace page linked above, you can stream all of the “Accelerate” album here. The band played SxSW earlier this year, and NPR broadcasted the show, which you can listen to here. That performance was for the Austin City Limits program, and the video should appear on the show later this year. Fansite myREM.com has a forum thread that helps fans find non-commercial audio offerings. Video: The band has released two videos from “Accelerate”: One for “Supernatural Superserious“ and another for “Hollow Man“. A special site has been created by director Vincent Moon for the “Supernatural Superserious” video where you can put together your own version from different clips. For way more R.E.M. videos than you have time to watch, run an R.E.M. YouTube search, or head to the R.E.M. HQTV site. Photos: My many Flickr-hosted shots are here. Check out the full R.E.M. Flickr tag search. R.E.M. fan Tam has some excellent photos here as well. The REM Cover Studio site is a great resource for custom-designed artwork for any fan-made recordings, and it looks like they might use some of my shots for the Mansfield boot. Very, very cool. Naturally, the band supports any not-for-profit trading of their live shows. Upcoming tourdates: Only three shows left on their North American tour…
Wednesday, June 18th @ the Mann Center in Philadelphia
Thursday, June 19th at Madison Square Garden in NYC
Saturday, June 21st at Lakewood Amphitheater in AtlantaDates for their upcoming European tour (also with excellent openers, including Editors and Elbow) can be found here.
Easily stream any and all ‘Nac-hosted Mp3s at the Hype Machine.
the fine print… If anyone has an issue with these Mp3s being made available, just let me know (my contact info in the ‘nac faq). Live sets recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc (except for track #31 above), converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps Mp3s. Files are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed. (#remtweet)