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
The Friday Five: May 8, 2009
For those who have not joined in the Friday Five here is all you need to know; each Friday I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me.
The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments. The more the merrier!
The Five:
“Winter Hill” (mp3) by Doves (from Kingdom of Rust)
I’ve listened to this record quite a few times and it’s yet to leave any lasting impression on me beyond “the lead singer (Jimi Goodwin) sounds like a cross between Chris Martin of Coldplay and Kele Okereke of Bloc Party.” Overall it’s a solid indie rock record that I’m sure will grow on me, it’s just not there yet.
“Oh! Darling” by The Beatles (from Abbey Road)
Wringing every bit of soul his slight British frame could muster, “Oh! Darling” is as close to 50’s Rhythm & Blues (à la Fats Domino) as Paul McCartney and The Beatles could manage. In a 1980 Playboy interview John Lennon said of the song “‘Oh! Darling’ was a great one of Paul’s that he didn’t sing too well. I always thought I could have done it better – it was more my style than his. He wrote it, so what the hell, he’s going to sing it.” It’s hard not to agree as John clearly had the more soulful voice.
“To ‘B’ or Not to ‘B’” (mp3) by Chet Atkins & Tommy Emmanuel (from The Day Finger Pickers Took Over the World)
The mentor and the apprentice, though to call Tommy Emmanuel an apprentice is like calling Kobe Bryant an ‘okay’ basketball player. This entire record is a celebration of the style that the legendary Chet Atkins loved and championed his entire career. It’s fitting that this would be his final recording before passing in 2001. This specific tune has a ‘club jazz’ feel and is beautifully orchestrated.
“Soul Clappin'” by Sly & The Family Stone (from Dance to the Music)
Come on… ya’ll know how to ‘soul clap’… on the one!
“Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution” (mp3) by Afro Fiesta (from Playing for Change: Songs Around the World)
By now I’m sure that you’ve all seen the video produced by the group of filmmakers who compiled buskers, street performers, choirs and the odd (and frankly out of place) superstar (yes, I’m looking at you Bono) from around the world and worked them into a single performance of “Stand by Me” (Pete posted it a while back). The group has released a record, the proceeds of which will go to the Playing for Change Foundation (Official Site) whose mission is simply “building and connecting music/art schools around the world” which is certainly a worthwhile cause. The album itself falls a little flat in places without the visual aspect to support it, but not to worry as there is a DVD included capturing the performances. This particular performance stood out to me and is one of my favorites from the record.
That’s it for me, what’s next on your shuffle?
You Say You Want a Revolution?
Shh. Be very quiet. If you listen closely you can hear the sound of good music coming from across the pond. Its tough to hear, I know, over the American Music Industrys insistence at flooding our ears with the drivel of Jessica Simpson, Clay Aiken, and the latest plastic pop icon. But if you really want to hear something great, check out the UK music scene.
Most people think that Brit Pop is over. Done. Blur vs. Oasis. Who cares? It all ended in 1997 when Oasis released Be Here Now. The truth is that for the last 4 years there have been dozens of bands that have been churning out music in the UK that is nothing short of spectacular. Sure, American record companies let through some bands occasionally like Coldplay or Franz Ferdinand.
For the most part, however, these nitwits feel that you and I and the American listening public wouldn’t like Doves, The Stereophonics, Starsailor, The Coral, or Snow Patrol. Their support of these bands when they come to America is minimal and many of you probably haven’t even heard of them. And yet, they have made some of my favorite music over the last decade. So how do I learn of this music awash in a land of mediocrity?
I read the UK music magazine NME (New Musical Express). They have been around since Elvis and are very plugged in to what is cool and what is not. Their writers actually go to underground gigs, get to know the bands and their fans, and write about the music that is still making the land of the Beatles radiate sonic waves of grooviness. It is from NME (www.nme.com) that I get most of my information about the latest and greatest UK bands.
The biggest band in the UK right now is The Arctic Monkeys. They have two singles out, Fake Tales of San Francisco and I Bet That You Look Good On The Dance Floor and they are stunning. They sound like a cross between early Who and kick ass funk. They have tons of energy, youth and irreverence, everything a good band should have.
I would also check out The Subways (good power pop trio), Babyshambles (ex-Libertine Pete Doherty, produced by Mick Jones of The Clash), and The Kooks (jangly guitar pop). These are just a few of the many great bands that are jamming away in the UK, making great music unbeknownst to most Americans. I urge you to get plugged in to the UK music scene through NME or staying in contact with me (solidbond@mn.rr.com) to hear about what’s new and cool.
And for the record, I am a fan of some American bands like the Strokes, The White Stripes, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Of course, I read about them first in NME.
Arctic Monkeys:
Fake Tales of San Francisco(mp3)The Kooks:
California(mp3)All you readers in the U.K., what do you think? Any other recommendations?
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