Something like that, right? Is that what you want?
“Daddy, what’s stream of consciousness?”
My nine year old daughter was in the back seat of our minivan as we were heading home from summer day camp and laid yet another way beyond her age question on me. For a moment, my thoughts went back to when she was four years old and asked me if George Bush was a Christian. And if he was, why would he send people to kill other people if it was murder and breaking one of the Ten Commandments? I think Jean Piaget, developmental psychologist of the early and middle 20th Century, was rolling in his grave to hear a four year old express a question dripping with formal operational thought.
I actually could’ve used Piaget in answering not only the question from five years ago, but the current one that had piqued her curiosity.
“Why do want to know, hon?” I asked her.
“Well, we were talking about rap music today at camp and one of the counselors said that rap was cool because it was like stream of consciousness. So I want to know what that is.”
So, I spent the next few minutes explaining to her what it meant…how random thoughts can be strung together in a seemingly related way to express a thought or mood. Or both.
“Let’s listen to a song like that.”
I knew she’d make this request and I had the perfect one in mind…the Song of the Summer of 2009.
American Sam Spiegel (aka Squeak Spiegel) and Brazilian Ze Gonzales (aka Zegon) came together in 2007 to create a massively cool indie hip hop band called N.A.S.A. No, it’s not your father’s space agency but actually North America-South America…a sisterhood and brotherhood of unity that, quite frankly, our country could really use right now. All of their music reflects this mood quite wonderfully.
On February 17, 2009, the duo released The Spirit of Apollo. There are several great tracks on this record as well as a collection of guest stars like David Byrne, John Frusciante, Tom Waits, Santogold, George Clinton, and a wide variety of rappers and hip hop artists.
The track that really grabbed me, and officially became OCD (Obssesive Compulsive Disorder) song #1 of 2009 (review of OCD #2 to appear here soon) – and what I played for my daughter to illustrate the beauty of stream of consciousness – was “Strange Enough”, featuring the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard (Wu Tang Clan), Fatlip, and the seriously stunning on several levels Karen O (lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs). What an absolute fucking corker of a song!I think I have played this track every day at least once since it came out in February and, for whatever reason, it has become synonymous with this summer. Virtually everyone I have played it for has downloaded it. It’s rhythm is tight. The mood is intense and the lyrics are just plain cool. “Freak show pantie lover…but I’m getting too old for this like Danny Glover” or “Wild boy cowboy entertainer…insane…Purple Rainer”(special shout out to our Prince loving host of this site) are just two examples of how much fun this song is.
And Karen O’s bit is mega fucking cool. Towards the end of her rap, which is essentially the chorus of the song, she breaks down and giggles, asking Squeak and Zegon, who were presumably in the control room while she did her part…
“Something like that, right? Is that what you want?”
To which, the reply from Fatlip is:
“Perfect.”
No shit. Track of the Summer. Period. Heck, it might even be the Song of the Year but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still have five months left of 2009. And there is this track (serendipity!) on the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album…
Hear: Strange Enough (mp3)
Buy: Spirit of Apollo
Visit: N.A.S.A. Official Site | MySpace
North South East and West: The Church @ the Varsity in Minneapolis
The Church
Varsity Theater in Minneapolis
June 21st“I’m ready!” my friend Steve exclaimed loudly after taking a bong hit whilst standing on his head. It was the dead of winter in Minnesota in early 1988. Steve, my roommate Matt and I were about to listen to the new album by the Church entitled Starfish– purchased only hours earlier.
Steve had been into the Church way before I had. When I first met him in the fall of 1982, he had already worn out his copy of The Blurred Crusade…a drippingly wonderful psychedelic chestnut reminiscent of late 60s jangly guitar water colours. I’ll never forget the first time he played “You Took” for me. Talk about a shovel to the head stunner of a track.
As we sat blissfully stoned in the dead nut cold of 1988 and listened to what would be the biggest album the Church would ever make, we were in heaven. Starfish is a gorgeous piece of music that will always stand the test of time. A few months later, Steve and several of his friends went to see the Church when they came to town. For whatever reason, I didn’t go. It was probably a girl.
As the years went on, I followed the Church as they made album after album. I always dug every one. They came to Minneapolis many times and I just never got around to seeing them. That’s just how it is sometimes with bands. So when my friend Brian called me up and asked, “Hey, do you want to see the Church on Sunday?” I knew that God had sent me a message.
Still basking in my last trip to the Varsity for Doves, Brian and I walked in to the theater to find a very sparse crowd. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised given our state population’s reticence to go anywhere other than the cabin or the chair in front of the TV but…MAN…did many people in Minneapolis miss a great show.
They opened with “Tantalized” from Heyday -letting us know straight from the start that this was going to be seriously tight. Drifting between new and old material, focusing on their quite good new album Untitled #23, The Church brought us all on a galactic journey that soothed my mind and heart with cosmic dust. “You Took” was loud and amazing. I thought of Steve’s grinning face, of course, as he watched me dig it for the first time 27 years ago. “A Month of Sundays” was gorgeous. “After Everything” was quite sad but exceptional. “Deadman’s Hand” and “Pangea,” both from the new record, stood up against any song from Starfish.
They closed the set proper with “Under the Milky Way” and “Reptile” which sounded so lovely and beautiful that any regret I had had about never seeing them vanished in thin air. My mind drifted back to the Elm Street apartments in 1988 and without so much as a drop of alcohol or a puff of smoke, I felt marvelously high.
Check out The Church’s latest album, Untitled #23:
Web Site: The Church
The Church is playing next on…..
JUN 24 WED THE INTERSECTION * GRAND RAPIDS, MI
JUN 25 THU THE MAGIC BAG * FERNDALE, MI
JUN 26 FRI BEACHLAND BALLROOM * CLEVELAND, OH
JUN 27 SAT REX THEATRE * PITTSBURGH, PA
JUN 28 SUN THE STATE THEATRE * FALLS CHURCH, VA
JUN 30 TUE RAM’S HEAD ONSTAGE * ANNAPOLIS, MD
JUL 1 WED THE TROCADERO * PHILADELPHIA, PA
JUL 2 THU SHOWCASE LIVE * FOXBOROUGH, MA
JUL 3 FRI TUPELO MUSIC HALL * LONDONDERRY, NH
JUL 7 – TRALF MUSIC HALL *BUFFALO, NY
JUL 8 WED IRVING PLAZA * NEW YORK, NY
JUL 9 THU THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE * RIDGEFIELD, CT
JUL 10 FRI SWYER THEATRE * ALBANY, NY
JUL 11 SAT – CISCO OTTAWA BLUESFEST
JUL 12 SUN – IMPERIAL THEATRE, QUEBEC CITY.Back…Further Back
Towards the end of last summer, in my usual cock and balls shaft worship of each and every issue of NME, I downloaded the “Track of the Week” for August 4, 2008. More often than not, NME’s track of the week is a little clubbie, a lot indie avant garde emo shoe gazing and just alright. On that particular week, however, I knew I was beginning yet another sacred quest. Because the song I downloaded on that day, my friends, was absolutely spectacular.
I love following a UK band when they first start out. I’ve done it with so many groups and have a ton of fond memories. I recall the day back in 2000 when I purchased the “Yellow” single by Coldplay and then proceded to hyper frantically playing it for anyone who would listen. And then to watch them just blow up….so unbelievably cool! Hell, I think I was the first kid on my block to buy the “Supersonic” single by Oasis back in 1994. So when I first heard “Make This Work” by Magistrates, I felt that feeling…of nostalgia for a time that I had not yet experienced.
Though, I knew there was something remotely familiar about the song, and when I went to their MySpace site my deja vu was quite understandable. The Essex lads bill themselves as being a cross between Prince and The Talking Heads. First of all….what a combination. And second…they actually sound exactly like that! Quite a feat indeed.
They have spent the better part of the last nine months in the studio and last month released their second single, “Heartbreak”…also a corker. And, if you live in the UK, Magistrates are slated to open up for mother fucking Blur (!) at a series of shows this summer.
I am getting that same feeling that I got when I heard “Yellow.”
And When You Will Walk, You’ll Be Walking With Me…
Doves
Varsity Theater, Minneapolis
May 28th“Hey, George, where are you? You should be here man.”
I didn’t think it was possible after seeing Friendly Fires, White Lies, Travis, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, and Keane (my Brit Rock Love tour) for my musical taint to be more stimulated. I should’ve known better….it was Doves.
Four years ago, almost to the day, I went to the Vic Theater in Chicago with my friends George and Annette. George I had known for 26 years and Annette for just under one year. It didn’t really matter how long I knew them because it was the first time in a long time that I was seeing a show with two people who LOVED music…who felt its power in every fiber of their being…who knew, like I always have, that music is the daily (hourly) healing elixir for the soul. And it was in Chicago…a town whose tendrils latched onto me in a wonderful and parasitic way long ago. We were ready to soak in the aural salve that is the eternal bandage to all people. And we really fucking did that evening because…it was Doves.
I look back on that night now and realize in hindsight how significant it was for me. It was the genesis of a journey on a path filled with heart. Had I not gone down that path, I would not be the person I am today. And I thank God every day for each minute, hour, day, week and month of the past four year’s quest. It’s forged me into the man I am today and, in the best possible way, it’s still not over.
As with any bit of travel, be it physical, mental, emotional or spiritual (and in this special case, it was all four), the music you hear at that defining moment…the alpha, if you will…is to be fucking cherished. Doves were the soundtrack to that journey. This band is very, very close to my heart because they have been the underlying and terribly gorgeous hum ever since that moment four years ago.
So, I had my doubts that I could top that night back in Chicago. George was supposed to come up but couldn’t due to a conflict. Annette is living her life in Chicago. I thought of how much I missed both of them and wished they could be drinking up the magic musical potion with me. I have to admit that the melancholy for my friends was taking its toll on me as I walked up to the Varsity Theater in the Dinkytown area of Minneapolis. Dinkytown is a four square block commercial area located right next to the University of Minnesota campus. In my day, back in the 80s, it was really not all that great. Now, it is mega. The Loring Pasta Bar, the Kitty Kat Club (so cool), the Library ( a sports bar), several cafes with outdoor seating populate the small area giving it a very warm and Parisian/Florentine feel.
As I sauntered up to the Varsity, a movie house in my day, I checked the set times with the bouncer. 9pm for Doves and it was 8pm. So I had an hour to BS with my friends at the aformentioned Kitty Kat Club for a couple of pre show cocktails. I took a few steps down the street to where the Kitty was and turned to see…Jimi Goodwin, bass player and lead singer of Doves, having a smoke and taking in the sights. WOW!
Squelching the urge to be like one of those girls in the Ed Sullivan Theater when the Beatles played there in 1964, I said, “Hey, Jimi, how’s it going?”
“Good, man.”
“Take a pic with me?” I asked with the girl inside of me jumping around like a giddy cheerleader.
“Sure.”
“And could you say a little something on a quick vid to my buddy George who couldn’t make it.”
“Of course” I started the camera.
“Hey, George, where are you? You should be here man,” Jimi said with a smile to the lens.
Other folks happened by and noticed him. He signed all our tickets and I had one more thing to say to him.
“Winter Hill…amazing fucking song, dude.”
“Tough one, innit?” he said and he looked directly at me. I knew what he meant. And when he looked at me he smiled to see that I got it too. Any notion that this night would not live up to that night four years ago was fucking out of the mother fucking window at that point. I just had a conversation with Jimi Goodwin about the meaning of one of his songs…a meaning that had direct bearing on that night four years ago…a meaning that had direct bearing on me. I had not heard a single, live note yet and I was in heaven.
My friend Heather happened upon me during all of this exchange and was kind enough to take this picture at left. After me talking a mile a minute, at the Kitty, about how fucking top gear it was to meet Jimi, we boogied back to the Varsity and parked ourselves in the pit.They opened with “Jetstream”, the first track from their new album Kingdom of Rust. They wrote it to be an alternate soundtrack to the opening moments of the 1981 film, Blade Runner. How cool! After that was “Snowden,” with the twins, Andy Williams (drums) and Jez Williams (guitar) sounding magnificent. And then came “Winter Hill”. On first listen to this track, it might seem to the small minded that the lads from Wimslow are straying into “Every Breath You Take” territory. But no…no no. “Winter Hill” is about sacred love – the kind that you get from being on a journey filled with heart…the kind that stays with you forever.
The rest of their set was an excellent mix of tracks from all four of their albums. “Rise” was triumphant. “Pounding” kicked ass. “Words” was stunning. “The Greatest Denier” caused me to reflect very deeply. In so many ways, I am the greatest denier of the human condition. As the last song of the set proper began, “Caught by the River,” Jimi sang:
“Son
What have you done?
You’re caught by the river
You’re coming undoneLife
You know it can’t be so easy
But you can’t just leave it
Cause you’re not in control no moreAnd you give it all away
Would you give it all away now?
Don’t let it come apart
Don’t want to see you come apart”Can someone explain to me how melancholy, through music, can actually be a good thing?
Carrying this feeling further, the first song of the encore was the rarely played “Northenden” with only Jimi on acoustic guitar and their tour keyboard player Martin Rebelski providing accompaniment. As Andy and Jez came back on stage, Jimi went back to the drum kit. Andy had his harmonica with him and stepped up to the mic so we knew what was next…”Here It Comes.” Doves have always impressed me with their ability to swap around instruments and play whatever they need to play to suit the song.
“The Last Broadcast” was next which re-ignited my interest in that song. Finally came the ultimate exercise in self actualization, “There Goes The Fear,” and as this last song echoed into the night..the perfect song for the perfect moment…the realization swept over me that while this night wasn’t “better” or “worse” than that night four years ago, it was different…different in the most touching way. As Jimi had told me a couple of hours before,
“Tough one, innit?”
Doves will be playing Detroit, Toronto, Drummondsville East, Montreal, New York, Philly, DC, and Boston in the next few weeks before heading back to the UK.
Visit: Doves.net
Bedshaped and Legs of Stone: Keane @ Myth
“Everyone knows that the biggest wankers in any band are the drummer, the keyboard player, and the lead vocalist. And that’s their whole band, innit?” So sayeth Noel Gallagher on the subject of Keane. While there is a small grain of truth to what the elder of Brit Pop says, Keane is still a massively good band.
The first time I saw them, back in 2004 on their Hopes and Fears tour at Quest (formerly Glam Slam and home of the sound system that gargles old-man-in-a-rest-home-testicles), honestly, they didn’t need any more than those three instruments. Richard Hughes’s drums were explosive. Tim Rice-Oxley’s (could he HAVE a more Brit sounding name?) keyboards filled the full melodic and sonic spectrum. And Tom Chaplin?
The voice of a fucking angel.
I challenge any of you Ickmusic fans to listen to “Bedshaped” and not have your heart melt into a lysergic acid diethylamide–induced water colour of gut wrenching, broken hearted nostalgia. There is a man or woman out there – for all of you – who is the purest definition of this song. So with all due respect, Noel – you are incorrect.
Imagine my surprise when Keane took the stage last Friday night at Myth in Maplewood (see: essentially Wisconsin) with a bass player in tow and Tom sporting a…Fender guitar?
After three albums, Keane has decided to build upon their three piece arrangement and expand their width of vision. Their new album, Perfect Symmetry, gives a giant shout out to the entirety of the 1980s while sounding wonderfully modern at the same time. Their first track of the night, “The Lovers Are Leaving,” found me reminiscing of Roxy Music (Avalon era), ABC, and Spandau Ballet, yet remaining fully entrenched in a 00’s dream pop bliss. As their set progressed, remaining mainly with their current effort and Hopes and Fears, I was perfectly and willingly trapped in that bliss.
Snapping out of hypnosis and midway through their set proper, the band left the stage to leave only Tom and…an acoustic guitar. Knowing what the next song would be (because I peeked at setlist.fm), I was stunned. One of my two favorite Keane songs: “Your Eyes Open”. An absolute stunner played with quiet certitude. Perhaps it was the minor key.
The band then rejoined him for the obligatory “unplugged” moment at the front of the stage. The first song from their second album, Under the Iron Sea, was played: “Try Again.” And then, in an extremely touching moment, Tom said, “We put this song in the set list earlier this afternoon, when it was quite sunny here in Minnesota. And then it started pissing down in English style!” Thus, we heard “Sunshine” and our hearts were warmed.
As the set concluded with more songs from Perfect Symmetry and the very last song of the set – the triumphant “Crystal Ball” – I found myself hearkening back to the awkwardness of the 8th grade dance…the 80s rag back in full force…wondering if falling in love for the first or last time was ever worth it. They left the stage to exulting hand raises and the anticipation of…the encore…and…that song. THE song.
It was nice to hear a new song (“My Shadow”) at the start of the encore. It was even nicer to hear more from Iron Sea, the other hit from that second effort, Is It Any Wonder?. The anticipation was palatable. The crowd could taste it in the air. Their hearts were ready. Mine certainly was.
And then it came.
Starting with the warmth of gentle kiss, building to an orgasmic cascade of sonic love in its purest form, and then going back and forth between the two…mother fucking “Bedshaped”… played with all of the softness and terror that all things carnal bring. As the final notes echoed through the club and the band left the stage, I shuffled off the floor of the pit through the empty cups and bottles. And, as it always is with Keane…my heart warmed and broken at the same time.
Keane will be playing in DC, Philly, Boston, Toronto, Cleveland, Montclair, and NYC in the next two weeks.
Hear: Bedshaped (mp3)
Links: Keane’s Official Site | MySpace
All You Gods and Goddesses: Bloc Party @ First Avenue
Bloc Party
May 4th, 2009
First Avenue, Minneapolis
“Hello, Minneapolis! We almost didn’t make it.”
Kele Okereke shouted this from the stage last night from First Avenue right after they finished their opening number, “One Month Off” from their new album Intimacy. One month off indeed. Bloc Party was originally scheduled to play 1st Ave on March 30th in what was to be the kick off for my six date Brit Rock Spring Wank with gentle ball cupping (Keane and Doves still to come). When they canceled due to Kele losing his voice, I checked their tour schedule to see if they could swing back through at a later time. I saw several dates in Canada and since we are basically part of that country, I thought it still could happen.
It did.
And it was bloody marvelous.
Right off the bat one could see that the boys in the band felt bad for missing us on the original date. Kele promised a thunderous AND extended set. They fucking delivered playing nearly all of their new album and several tracks from their first two albums. Since I missed them the first and only other time they came through in 2005, it was great to hear them play “Blue Light”, “Like Eating Glass” and “Positive Tension” from Silent Alarm; and “Flux” from A Weekend in the City really got the pit swaying around.In addition to fantastic performances of “Mercury”, “Ares” and “The Prayer”, Kele and the rest of the lads charmed the crowd… carrying on conversations with people in the audience, flirting with girls (natch!) and chastising people for walking out during the encore which saw “She’s Hearing Voices” tacked on just for us Minneapolitans.
This last bit prompted Kele to say, “Alright, that’s it! I’m coming out there.” And he did…gloriously allowing all of us to body pass him around the pit and eventually to stage left where he proceeded to run up the steps to the upper level! He paused on the area of the steps that has always been known to elicit cries from staff saying, “You can’t stand here, dude!” Well, he not only stood there, but found a woman to dance with – continuing to run around all areas of the club with the roadie following behind him, frantically trying to give him more slack on the mic cable.
Sure I would’ve liked to hear “Biko” from the new record and my fave Bloc Party tune “Tulips” (a shiver and a sigh), but the energy from the band and the crowd more than made up for it. Sadly, this is the last North American show for Bloc Party. They are off to Europe though, so all you Ickmusic readers there should go to see them. It will be a corker!
Links: Bloc Party’s Official Site | MySpace
Buy their latest: Intimacy
Take Me Out!: Franz Ferdinand @ First Avenue
First Avenue was packed Tuesday night April 28th as the lads from Glasgow took the stage. Franz Ferdinand has always been a real pleasure to see live. I had only seen them one other time–at the Fine Line in 2004–on their first tour of the US. In addition to putting on a high energy show back then, I got to hang out with several burly local Scots who were wearing kilts…the way you are supposed to wear them:)
Alex, Nick, Bob, and Paul opened up their set last Tuesday with “Jacqueline,” a slow ballad that shifts into high energy about one quarter of the way through. Immediately, we all knew we were in a for a visual treat as the immense video screens kicked on in the back and proceeded to bombard us with high def images of such beauty and wonderment that I must admit I got a some late evening wood.As they went from song to song, the visuals changed…sometimes showing band members…other times showing certain images that reflected both the theme and the style of the song. This was not simply tech geeks getting off with their new Mac. This was ART. And it was not spoon fed to us.
They played songs from all three of their albums focusing primarily on their new record “Tonight” which has several great tunes. “No You Girls,” “Ulysses,” and “Turn it On” were all played and sounded magnificent. Of course, old chestnuts like “Tell Her Tonight” and “Michael” torqued up the crowd…the frenzy of which was reached when we all shouted take me out during….”Take Me Out.”
The encore contained a track called “Lucid Dreams” which brought even more stunning visuals on the back drop and propelled all of us into the year 1967 as the chaps summoned the spirit of Syd Barrett to downtown Minneapolis. I remarked to my friends in attendance with me that I never would’ve pegged Franz as going down the psychedelic road, but they did–and in their own femmy dork style.
They closed with “This Fire” and sent all out into the night to burn our city down–metaphorically of course. I know that I did and in the process have become a different man.
Thank God.
For the next two weeks they will be playing dates out east. Check their web site for more information.
Link: Official Site
All I Wanna Do is Rock: Travis at the Fine Line in Minneapolis
When Travis comes to town, it’s always a special show. The previous four times I have seen them have all been very entertaining. The first time was as a warm up to Oasis in 2000. Next was headline at the now defunct Glam Slam later that year. Then we had the big show at the State Theater in which the audience was invited up on stage to dance…the entire audience! Two years ago was the infamous 1st Avenue show in which the theme from Rocky was played at the opening as the lads ran in from the front door and through the crowd (!) to get to the stage. Fran, Dougie, Andy, and Neil are terribly charming and wonderfully fun to see live, so when I saw they were coming to the intimate setting of the Fine Line in downtown Minneapolis, I was quite amped.
Their new album, Ode to J Smith, has a much heavier sound than their previous five records. It’s nice to see them moving beyond their dream pop/Radioheadesque shoe gazing meme (which, of course, I love since I am a card carrying member of Emo Shoe Gazers Inc) and really evolving as a band. As they took the stage around 10pm last Saturday night, teasing us with the first bit of the soft “Three Times and You Lose” and then cutting right into “Chinese Blues” from J Smith, it was abundantly clear that they had been enjoying their stay in Heavyosity, USA.Playing songs from each of their six albums (and returning several times to that dream pop sound), Travis wowed and charmed the crowd with their witty banter and highly interactive performance. During “Falling Down,” lead singer Fran Healey came down into the audience to slow dance with a lass and sing amongst us sweaty ones. Not to be outdone, lead guitarist Andy Dunlap left the stage and went into the alley outside for a solo! It was fun to watch the guitar tech try to get the chord for his Les Paul to give as much slack as it could. At one point, I though he might make it all the way to First Avenue.
Highlights for me were “All I Wanna Do Is Rock” (played with balls to labia ferocity)…”Driftwood” (which, after 10 years, I finally truly understand since someone in my life has become the living example of this song)…”Turn” (with Dougie taking the second verse as usual and always a treat) and a bonus, Minneapolis only “Flowers in The Window” played in unplugged style as the very last song.
They are playing dates out East for the remainder of the tour…Cleveland, Toronto, Washington, Philly, New York and Boston….and it looks to be all more intimate venues….a rare treat for yet another UK band that sells out 10K + venues across the pond. Check them out and don’t forget to stare dreamily at your trainers. 🙂
Check out Ode to J. Smith
on Amazon.
Links: Official Site | MySpace
…and I took the sword from the Lady in the Lake
Resident Anglophile Mark returns to Ickmusic with a review of the recent White Lies / Friendly Fires show in Minneapolis. I need to add a “Tell Us How You REALLY Feel” category just for Mark’s colorful posts… – Pete
Friendly Fires / White Lies / The Soft Pack
April 4th @ the Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis
Friendly Fires Beginning last Saturday night, the next six weeks of my life will be filled with music from the Holy Land (aka the United Kingdom). This cavalcade of music was actually supposed to begin on March 30th with Bloc Party at 1st Avenue. But sadly, Kele (lead singer and guitarist) was sick, so the show has been postponed until May 4th, which is fine because it fits nicely between Franz Ferdinand and Keane. So, my first review of the series of shows I will see in April and May (which Pete has graciously agreed to let me write about) begins with the White Lies/Friendly Fires show at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis.
It had been way too long since I had seen a show, let alone a sacred band from the Empire. The last one was Oasis in Chicago last December and, like a man with heavy balls that have not been fully drained in quite some time, I was ready on Saturday to spray my musical love all over the pit of a fucking club. Both White Lies and Friendly Fires sell out much larger venues in the UK, so getting to see them in a place with a max cap of 500 was highly appealing. I was jumping out of my skin in anticipation.
My buddy Ross and I got to the Triple Rock around 9:30pm. I had heard a little about the place trying to be a competitor of First Ave and the Fine Line, but not much. They really have a nice set up which reminded me a lot of the Urban, a popular musician’s club back in the day, because it had a bar that is separate from the music room. So you could chill out on the bar side and wait for the bands to come on, take a break from the noise, or just hang out all night where the music is playing. Ross and I chilled out in the bar and as soon as we heard the music start, we went into the other room.
The first band up was The Soft Pack. They’re a very cool band from San Diego who sound much like early Jam. The drummer plays standing up which is always tons of fun. How lucky are they to be out with two big Brit bands! I was immediately struck by how great the sound system was sounding. Yep, a musician’s club.
Next up was White Lies who really got the party started. They have a very 80’s Smiths sound to them. As they ripped through their set, I scanned the crowd to see many boy couples there. Honestly, I hadn’t seen as many men dancing since an 8th grade dance back in my Prairie School days. In fact, a girl standing next to me thought that Ross and I were a couple – asking me where “my guy” was when he went to take a piss. I politely informed her that we were not that cool. Best songs of the White Lies set were “Unfinished Business” and “Death.” Lead singer Harry McVeigh was his typical emo intense glory filled self.
White Lies Then Friendly Fires took the stage and the place turned into a bloody rager. I first heard their song “Paris” back in late 2007. They essentialy recorded this lush, shoegazing melody in lead singer/keyboardist/loop demon Ed McFarlane’s dad’s garage. It quickly became for me one of those tracks that creates nostalgia for a time that never was or hasn’t happened yet – a key ingredient in all the best music and a typical one in the sounds that comes from the Holy Land (in this case, St. Albans Hertfordshire).
They opened with “Lovesick” a hard bass dance floor corker of a track followed quickly by “Jump in the Pool”- it’s pounding effervescence shimmering over all of us. As the set progressed, the frenetic intensity of the pit grew exponentially-the band running all over the stage playing a wide variety of instruments backed with Prodigy-esque loop tracks- until the song “Paris” came and a nuclear device was summarily detonated. Everyone was screaming out the chorus, “They’ll be out for us!” at the top of their lungs. Arms, bodies, and legs were flailing all around me as I felt comforted and warm in one of the many places I like to call home.
This tour still has dates left in Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, SF, LA and SD…so basically out west. I highly recommend seeing this show in such small venues – a rare treat and one that should be honored. So go forth, take the sword from the Lady in the Lake, and buy thyself a ticket to see White Lies/Friendly Fires!
Links:
White Lies: Official | MySpace
Friendly Fires: Official | MySpace
The Soft Pack: MySpaceA Tortured And Wonderful Howl From The Heart
In April of 2006, Billy Lunn, guitarist, singer, and songwriter for the Welwyn Garden City, Hertforshire, England trio The Subways, was diagnosed with nodules on his vocal chords. They canceled several appearances in support of their wonderful first album Young For Eternity, including one that I had tickets for here in Minneapolis. Doctors said that years of intense screaming during his songs may have damaged his voice permanently and it was entirely possible that he would never sing again. His scream, in many ways, is one of the best in the history of rock and roll. It epitomizes that Janovian wail that only true disciples of the medium can capture and convey. An excellent example of its supremacy can be heard in the song “Rock & Roll Queen“, from Young For Eternity, a high-octane, balls-to-labia shag tune that is a must for any playlist. Shortly after the diagnosis, Lunn and his girlfriend (and bass player in the band), Charlotte Cooper, broke up. The question of whether the band would even continue weighed pretty heavily on the band. With the future of the band in doubt, Billy started writing.
And what we wrote has become the album of 2008.
In fact, it may be the album of the decade and is, without a doubt, in my top 25 records of all time. To borrow from the late Heath Ledger from Brokeback Mountain, I can’t quit this album. It is absolutely infectious on just about every level. As I listened to it the first few times, I could smell the beer, the smoke (if not illegal in your city), the vodka-Red Bulls, the sweat, the women, and the absolute human glory that is the CLUB. Every time I listen to it I get the urge to be body passed in a slimy, hoard of humanity…my Chucks flailing uncontrollably…as I revel in the majestic splendor of the pit.
Much of this feeling is due to the stellar production work of Butch Vig (of Garbage and Nirvana fame), and one really gets the sense that this is the next logical progression from Nevermind… Brit-Style. The first four songs are like Ali’s fucking fist (“Girls and Boys”, “Kalifornia”, “Alright”, and “Shake Shake”), pummeling you with such might that you are immediately brought to your knees in gratitude for hearing such great music. The next track, “Move to Newlyn”, is a wonderful travelogue that brings you on a journey of self discovery around the United Kingdom. We get back into the power with the title track “I Won’t Let You Down” (his scream at the end…OMG!), “Turnaround”, and “Obsession”, the latter of which has a terribly haunting harmony vocal by Charlotte.
Then we get to the track of the album: “Strawberry Blonde”. To say that this song is gorgeous is the understatement of… history. It is three levels above gorgeous and there hasn’t been a word yet invented to define the truth and beauty of this instant top ten love song. The album finishes with “Always Tomorrow” and “Lost Boy”, another shovel-to-the-head stunner of a track.
All or Nothing was finally released in the US a couple of weeks ago. It has been available since June in the UK. I bought it a few weeks after the UK release date when I saw no US date on the horizon. The fact that it has taken this long to release it is proof positive that American record company execs have their heads firmly up their arses regarding what is and what is not good music. I have listened to it pretty much every day since I bought it and still have not grown tired of it. You won’t either. No one will.
Because Billy approaches life like I do…fucking mega or fuck you…All or Nothing….and it is magnificent. Thank God.
Subways Links: Official Site | MySpace | Last.fm
