Autumnal Delights (Richard Hawley)
With only a few weeks left until the official end to autumn, I thought it appropriate to return to the that magic mix of music and this time of the year. It seems like kismet for today considering it hit 52 degrees in the Twin Cities with London like fog covering the area for the last 48 hours. There have been quite a number of songs released this year that have captured that feel of autumn that I speak so often to anyone who will listen so let’s get to them!
First up is a song that has been seared into my mind and heart. Richard Hawley’s haunting “Don’t Stare At The Sun” is so ridiculously wonderful that I have to play it every single day. The echo-y guitars produce that magical autumnal shimmer that takes me back to my high school years and solders an immediate connection with The Unforgettable Fire.
Hawley’s voice on this track reminds me of the very underappreciated Tonight LP (released in October of 1984 and to be highlighted here soon) by David Bowie. Folks, this track is simply amazing and must be downloaded immediately for long walks under the Harvest Moon.
Check it out below!
We Take Care Of Our Own
Yeah, that’s right, Bruce. We sure do. Fuckin’-A right we do. That’s why you just helped us elect the right guy for president a week ago. You are amazing. You are wonderful.
You are a fucking monster.
And it was great to see you again after 25 years.
The last time I saw you was at the now giant parking lot next to the Mall of America but then the Met Center on the Tunnel of Love Tour. You played for four and a half hours and I loved every minute of it. Two days ago you played for just over three hours but I didn’t care because your set list was redonkulous.
You opened with “We Take Care Of Our Own” which was a nice exclamation point on the election. You had the house singing along early to “Out in the Street.” You delivered a powerful one-two punch with “Death To My Hometown” and “My City of Ruins,” the latter of which made me well up at not only the theme but how fucking beautiful your voice was…
Each song seemed to give you more energy just like it was 25 years ago when you were a young lad of 37. Body surfing for fuck’s sake to “Hungry Heart”…the unbridled energy of “Open All Night,” which was my wife’s fave…and I still can’t believe you were able to pull “Savin’ Up” out of your ass and play it perfectly. “Shackled and Drawn” reminded the crowd of just how good your new record is.
My personal fave was “Rosalita.” Same intensity. Same high energy. Same amount of sweat and multiple gallons of water.
The memories of the 88 year old dancing with Stevie to “Dancing in the Dark” and the various kids you pulled up on stage will be with me forever, dude. You are more than a boss. More than an icon.
You are….
For the rest of my photos, click here.
A Salve For All That Ails
It had been far too long since I’d seen a show. That’s the way it is sometimes when you have kids, school and a myriad of other things that need your attention. I have to confess that sometimes music takes a back seat in my life. Awful, I know, but it’s true.
In fact, I’d begun to notice that something was very wrong with my soul these last few months. My life just didn’t seem right. Even though I listen to music every day (especially when I run), I wasn’t letting it fully envelop me as I usually do…comfort me more in those times that are extra stressful…and remembering that this is exactly what music should be…a salve for all that ails in totality.
Of course, I knew several months ago when I bought the tickets for the Noel Gallagher-Snow Patrol show last Wednesday night that my musical spirit would be uplifted enormously. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the double bill. A Brit Rock Double Feature…what a treat! Neither band disappointed.
The evening began with Jake Bugg, a very young lad hailing from Nottingham, whose short acoustic set was reminiscient of Lee Mavers. I’d recommend picking up his disc and giving it a chance.
Noel was up next and it was an absolute corker of a set. Mixing Oasis songs with his wonderful new material, Noel showed his god like genius through 14 musical chestnuts. His first solo record, which I reviewed a while back, is so good he could have honestly played the whole thing (as his brother did when he was in town with his new band, Beady Eye) and I wouldn’t have cared. A key ingredient for me in good music is what kind of stories does the artist tell and what is their perception of the world? Noel’s lines up just about perfectly with mine and it is very evident in tracks like “Dream On” and “If I Had A Gun,” both of which were performed flawlessly with that Mancuian magic.
The real treat of the night, in terms of his new record, was “(I Wanna Live In A Dream In My) Record Machine.” As the lyrics washed over me, the irony became very apparent. I was living in a dream about living in dream…The Oasis tracks were great, of course. The one that really stood out was “Talk Tonight,” originally an acoustic only song, and now a full band number that sounded marvelous. Noel’s set ended with “Don’t Look Back in Anger” (of course), my soul was reset to where it should be and all was well and good with the world again.
But that wasn’t the end!
Throughout Noel’s set i kept thinking about how awesome this was that there was ANOTHER great band going on right after this. Snow Patrol did not disappoint in their 14 song set, mixing old and new songs as lead singer Gary Lightbody darted around the stage like a lanky firefly (man, is he hard to photograph!). They opened with “Hands Open” and it was obvious from the start that the band (as they always go) were going to pour their hearts into every single track.
“Crack the Shutters” was ridiculously awesome. “Run” had everyone singing along with every single word in soft and haunting, almost church like, tone. “Dark Roman Wine” was subbed in for “Make This Go On Forever” which bummed me out at first but the former is a really cool tune. “Chasing Cars” brought me to that romantic place where I can’t tell the difference between loving music and loving love. They closed the night out with “Just Say Yes,” the stand alone single from their 2009 greatest hits package.As I filed out of the Roy Wilkins Auditorium (a perfect place to see a show, b to the w), I quietly made two promises to myself. First, to never again let music take a back seat to my daily life…allowing it always to continually heal me. Second, never let this long of time go by until my next show. This second promise was easily kept as I am going to see (ahem) BRUCE FUCKING SPRINGSTEEN (general admission tix) in eight days!
For tour info on Noel Gallagher-Snow Patrol, click here.
Recap: Band of Horses at the Marquee Theater in Tempe
It was starting to feel like Band of Horses may never actually make it back to Phoenix. Last year, they were scheduled to open for Kings of Leon at Ashley Home Store Pavilion, but that got axed. Then this year, they were scheduled to play downtown Tempe as part of the second installment of the Railroad Revival Tour with Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson, and actor/musician John C. Reilly, but that fell apart a few weeks prior to the October 26th date.
Luckily, Band of Horses wasted no time and promptly booked gigs in the cancelled tour towns, including an October 26th stop at the Marquee Theater in Tempe. For fans like me, it was a big win, now getting a full headlining gig versus an abbreviated festival-like set.
And so deliver they did, playing a roughly two hour set for (what had to be) a sold out crowd – the set list drawing from all four studio albums. In fact, at the end of the night, only four songs showed up from their latest release, Mirage Rock.
Some friends and I got to spend about fifteen minutes chatting with lead singer Ben Bridwell after the show, and he talked about the fun they’re having with these last minute headlining dates. They’re giving themselves the freedom to relax, have some fun, and play outside of the box a little.
It showed with the 23-song set list that included a couple of rarely seen covers: keyboardist/guitarist Ryan Monroe took to the organ for “Ain’t No Good To Cry,” a late 60’s tune by Hour Glass – the L.A. band that Gregg and Duane Allman were a part of before forming the Allman Brothers Band. How’s that for obscure? (Thanks to Ryan Monroe for the Twitter reply confirming the song name). The other cover was the encore finale, an old deep soul track called “Am I A Good Man?”, originally by a group called Them Two. They’ve pulled that one out quite a bit in the past.
We got a song premiere too, “A Little Biblical” from Mirage Rock, a tune they had never performed live.
But by and large, the band delivered lots of familiar Band of Horses favorites:
- The night opener, “The First Song,” with Ben sitting down with this pedal steel.
- “Marry Song,” with Ryan and Ben synched up perfectly with that gorgeous harmony.
- “No One’s Gonna Love You,” a night highlight, with only Tyler Ramsey on guitar and Ben on vocals – a very intimate few minutes and clearly a crowd favorite.
- Another slow burning highlight: “Detlef Schrempf,” where Ben came down to the crowd to share the mic during the chorus, letting crowd members sing “My eyes can’t look at you any other way…”- and by the way, I asked Ben after the show if former NBA star Detlef Schrempf knows there’s a song named after him. The answer is yes – Detlef and Ben keep still keep in touch, and try to hang out when Ben stops through Seattle.
- “The Funeral” was the regular set closer, and since Ben’s amp blew out during the prior tune, it didn’t feature the familiar guitar riff from his Les Paul Standard. Instead, Ryan worked the riff on the organ. They may have stumbled on something there… very cool to see an oft-played tune done in a different style.
Just an amazing night overall – for the super fans like me on down. And to be able to chat it up with Ben after the show was the icing on the cake – such a genuinely nice guy.
Back in October 2008, on the morning after their Austin City Limits Festival set, I saw Ben in the Austin airport, so I went up and said hi. When I mentioned that encounter last night, unbelievably to me, he remembered meeting me on that bleary-eyed morning. So naturally, I asked him to reenact the photo we took in the airport. Kudos to Ben for removing his ball cap to style his hair a la 2008…
2012
2008
Ben promised the crowd that it wouldn’t take so long for the band to make it back to the Phoenix area. From what I can find, the last time they were in Phoenix was a June 2006 stop at the Rhythm Room. That is a long time.
Here’s hopin’ and beggin’ and prayin’ they stop through again soon. Special band. Special night.
Set List
Marquee Theater
Tempe, AZ
Oct 26, 2012The First Song
Laredo
Great Salt Lake
Islands on the Coast
NW Apartment
Electric Music
Ain’t No Good To Cry (Hour Glass cover)
Blue Beard
Cigarettes Wedding Bands
On My Way Back Home
Marry Song
Everything’s Gonna Be Undone
Older
Knock Knock
A Little Biblical
No One’s Gonna Love You
Is There a Ghost
Weed Party
Ode to LRC
The Funeral~ Encore ~
The General Specific
Detlef Schrempf
Am I A Good Man? (Them Two cover)Christopher Owens announces ‘Lysandre’
Christopher Owens, the heart, mind, body and soul behind San Francisco’s Girls, decided to leave (and effectively disssolve) the group back in July with an announcement on Twitter (One, Two, and Three).
Thankfully, the creative juices are still flowing, and he’s been busy in L.A. recording his first solo album. The word is now out that Chris will be releasing Lysandre on January 15th, 2013 on the Fat Possum label.
There’s a really nice piece here on Fader where Chris talks about the backstory behind Lysandre. In a nutshell, Lysandre is a French girl he met on Girls’ first tour back in 2008 (supporting their debut, Album). A long distance romance evolved and eventually ended. The album tells the story of the journey.
I feel like this is the most focused effort I’ve ever made musically; telling a story from one song to the next in order of occurrence, making the album almost like one long song. A little bit like a musical. I’m very proud of it and happy it worked so well. I’m pleased to be able to share it with the world; its story, its music, its universal and classic themes. It’s a coming of age story, a road trip story, a love story. It’s a moment in time that has been captured and brought to life through art. For you, for me, for us. For what it’s worth. – Christopher Owens
I am so locked into this guy and the music he makes, so count me among those who are very excited about this new record. The first two tracks have been offered up on Soundcloud: “Lysandre’s Theme” (a short instrumental intro) and “Here We Go,” featuring soft acoustic guitar, flute, fuzzed out electric… Time for another listen.
Here’s the track listing for Lysandre. Pre-Order the album here.
1: Lysandre’s Theme
2: Here We Go
3: New York City
4: A Broken Heart
5: Here We Go Again
6: Riviera Rock
7: Love Is In The Ear Of The Listener
8: Lysandre
9: Everywhere You Knew
10: Closing Theme
11: Part Of Me (Lysandre’s Epilogue)Keep up with all things Christopher on his web site, his Facebook, and Twitter.
New Titus Andronicus: ‘Local Business’
High expectations – they’re dangerous.
I first heard Titus Andronicus on a jog around the neighborhood in March 2011, a few months after they released their 2nd full length, The Monitor. Halfway through the opener, “A More Perfect Union,” I was all systems go, hair standing on end. It was exhilarating (as was their live show a month later). The album was rich with imagery, rage, a continuity and flow from song to song, an abundance of fist-to-the-air-moments, and a full production sound.
So maybe I can be partly blamed for the high expectations I brought to the table today when I tapped ‘Play’ on T.A.’s new release, Local Business. I strapped on the earbuds and the running shoes and embarked on that familiar jog around the neighborhood, ready for that feeling, that Red Bull-will-give-you-Wings rush that music can provide…
Wasn’t happening.
Granted, the opening trio of songs – “Ecce Homo,” “Still Life With Hot Deuce on Silver Platter,” and “Upon Viewing Oregon’s Landscape With Flood of Detritus” – are solid rockers with that familiar angst and anger, a specialty of frontman Patrick Stickles. They’re good, and they very well may grow on me, but where The Monitor had that epic, fulfilling feel to it, Local Business has a garage-y, rushed quality to it. And, a lot like the (disappointing) album cover, the record’s production sound seems a lot more Do It Yourself and lower quality than the two previous releases.
I know it’s not really fair of me to rush to the web on the first day of its release to spit out my less than favorable judgment. But dammit, I was expecting more! They captured lightning in a bottle on The Monitor, and I know Stickles has it in him to go to that level again. On first listen, Local Business doesn’t come close.
→ Local Business on Amazon.
Here’s “Still Life with Hot Deuce on Silver Platter” at Shayz Lounge in Brooklyn. See all Local Business Sessions at locations around Brooklyn here on Pitchfork.
Joan Osborne – Shake Your Hips
Shake it Joan…
Fred Eaglesmith – “Betty”
One thing I’ve quickly found about Canadian singer/songwriter Fred Eaglesmith is that he has a hell of a lot of great songs. As I skip around his catalog on Spotify (sorry Rdio, you ain’t stocked on your Fred), I’m constantly floored by another knockout tune. The latest to catch my ear is “Betty,” from Fred’s latest album 6 Volts.
It’s not only the hard luck story of Fred’s lady, who has skipped town with Fred’s gun, leaving him to wonder what it is she’s running from: “Is it the money / Is it the drugs / Is it somebody that you used to love”; but it’s also the bad ass rhythm and cadence of his vocal delivery. It just sounds so…COOL (for lack of a better word).
Fred. He’s bad ass.
Buy 6 Volts on Amazon.
Grandaddy live at the Independent in San Francisco (8-12-2012)
One of may favorite bands from the 90’s and early 2000’s days of yore is Grandaddy. I consider The Sophtware Slump to be a masterpiece with its futuristic space-pop, bleepy, bloopy and utterly beautiful vibe.
After a 6 year hiatus, Jason Lytle and the band have reformed for a small tour around California and Europe. As is usually the case, there is no Phoenix date scheduled, so I must live vicariously through the magic of the interwebs.
This past Sunday, the band followed up their festival appearance at Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park by playing a late night gig at the Independent in San Francisco. A kind person, “cuthere,” recorded the performance (with the blessing of the band). I thank cuthere, and you will too…
Check out this Stereogum link for pictures from the night.
Grandaddy
The Independent
San Francisco, CA
August 12, 201201 Intro
02 El Caminos In The West
03 Now It’s On
04 Yeah Is What We Had
05 Summer Here Kids
06 Fare Thee Not Well Mutineer
07 The Crystal Lake
08 My Small Love>
09 Levitz>
10 Chartsengrafs
11 The Go In The Go-For-It
12 AM 180
13 Lost On Yer Merry Way
14 Jed’s Other Poem (Beautiful Ground)
15 Laughing Stock
16 Stray Dog And The Chocolate Shake
17 Hewlett’s Daughter
18 Here (Pavement Cover)
19 (break)
20 He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s The PilotFred Eaglesmith – “Shoulder to the Plow”
Fred Eaglesmith continues to wind his way into my musical psyche. His 2008 album, Tinderbox, is getting repeated spins in my corner of the world. Here’s a standout track, “Shoulder to the Plow.”
