• Rock

    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 diethylamideinduced 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

  • Funk,  Prince

    The Truth About Funk

    Behind the scenes, I have quite a cool little network of like-minded folks when it comes to the music of Prince. We have a soft spot for that golden era in Prince music – the 80’s – when he was as prolific as ever. We also have fond memories of his side projects and off-shoots from that era – the Time (of course), The Family, Madhouse… So how cool is it to see that some members of these groups – St. Paul Peterson, Jellybean Johnson, Jerry Hubbard, and the great Eric Leeds – have come together to form The Truth.

    Their mission? Keep the Minneapolis Sound alive! And throw in some old school funk from the likes of Funkadelic, Cameo, and the Ohio Players while they’re at it. The guys are tight and funky as hell live, very true to the originals, and boy can they play the sheeet out of some Prince jams… “Erotic City”, “DMSR”, and even “America”.

    The kicker? A new live album recorded at Minneapolis’s Fine Line that showcases their conglomerate of Prince-inspired talent. Who knows how they feel personally about their old boss, but make no mistake that they’re paying tribute to him, and to an era very important to a lot of us – an era that will never be matched.

    This live album comes highly recommended… here’s a taste:

    The Truth High Fashion (mp3)

    Buy It on iTunes or CD Baby.

    Visit the band on MySpace.

    The Truth is:

    • St. Paul Peterson (The Time, The Family) on bass, vocals, guitar and keyboards
    • Jellybean Johnson (The Time, The Family) on guitar
    • Odell (Mint Condition) on guitar and vocals
    • Jerry Hubbard (The Time, Jesse Johnson) on bass, keyboards, guitar and vocals
    • Chance Howard (Prince, The Time) on bass guitar, bass synth and vocals
    • Kip Blackshire (Prince) on vocals, keyboards and guitar
    • Kirk Johnson (Prince) on drums and vocals
    • Eric Leeds (Prince) on saxophones, keyboards and vocals
    • Donnie Lamarca (Johny Lang, Mick Sterling) on keyboards.
  • Punk,  Rock

    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

  • Rock

    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