Michael Jackson

Some of my first media memories include the Challenger shuttle explosion and the premier of the video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller.  It probably didn’t hurt that we recorded the video on VHS–at the behest of my sister, I’m sure, who was ten at the time–and for years I kept going back to it.  And during the years following the LP’s cover is one that always stood out in my mind when I would flip through my family’s record collection.  I finally rediscovered and began to appreciate the album in college when the LP, transferred to tape, kept me company during many hours in the dark room during Intro to Photography.

Michael Jackson’s death upsets me more than I expect.  Maybe I had been holding out hope that there would be some sort of late career redemption from the slow, sad, steady decline of the last couple of decades.  I have a friend who just wanted answers about his enigmatic life.  The assumption also seems to be that he was incredibly unhappy and tortured, which I expect is right.  In the end this last part is the greatest tragedy.  Fifty shows in London or revelatory autobiography would have satisfied something in his fan base.  It is certainly possible that Jackson would have preferred this to his own happiness but unfortunately we are left with neither the comeback, the explanation, or the fulfillment.

Nouvelle Vague at The Fillmore at Irving Plaza – June 17th 2009

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Todd Snider at The Bowery Ballroom – June 11th 2009

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The Decemberists at Radio City Music Hall – June 10th 2009

For someone who consistently writes songs focusing on dark subject matter, Colin Meloy is a upbeat and at times whimsical performer.  Both his intensity and whimsy were on view last night when Alison and I saw the Decemberists at Radio City Music Hall.  

My understanding is that tickets for the concert, which Alison and I originally thought was too buttoned-down of an environment in which to truly enjoy the Decemberists, were offered at a flat rate regardless of location.  I appreciate this not only because it signals a commitment to fairness (the richest fan is not necessarily the most avid fan) but also because we ended up with fantastic location for a reasonable price.   On her own whim, Alison decided to look for tickets a week or two ago.  We ended up with two seats in the fifth official row (there seemed to be a VIP area in the orchestra pit) maybe fifteen feet off center on stage left.

The show was in two parts.  The first consisted of the band, with the addition of two performers – Becky Stark and Shara Worden, playing the entirety of the Hazards of Love album without even a break between songs.  The effect was dramatic.  The band was clearly focused, coming out on stage and beginning the album without an introduction.  This focus remained for the entire show.   If there wasn’t an instrument in hand there were efficient motions to the next instrument fo rth enext song.  The only break in pure focus, perhaps, came from Stark and Worden who never missed a beat, but so obviously enjoyed their characters in the album that occasionally an unscripted smile broke through.  Hardly a crime.

Radio City Music Hall and the size of it’s stage is enough to inspire awe on its own, and for the right performers and performances it can serve as a wonderful complement rather than an imposing figure.  It was perfect for the performance of the Hazards of Love.  The songs and story are large enough to fill the space so the audience can never think of losing focus.  The incredible height of the room was used to wonderful effect as the cross lighting on the stage would often create fifty foot silhouettes of the performers on the walls.  It was incredible. 

Stark and Worden were both wonderful.  Stark played the character of Margaret and dressed in a virginal white robe. Her first feature was just amazing.  Not only did she look the part but her voice was pristine.   However, she danced in a calm manner but one which was unmistakably seductive.  Worden on the other hand, dressed in black from the waist up and silver tights had more of a manic element to her dancing in the role of the Forest Queen.  They melded in with the Decemberists wonderfully as they should have, bringing a similar intensity.

After the intermission, the second (and more whimsical) set consisted of the following:

1. Crane Wife 3 
2. July! July! –  I love this song.  A smart #2 as well.  Whether or not you know the words, it’s the simplest of choruses and everyone sings.
3. Billy Liar 
4. Sleepless (from Dark Was the Night)
5. The Bachelor and the Bride 
6. Daughter of Dracula – Meloy introduced this song by noting that most artists choose to perform their best material at Radio City.  He was going to break with that tradition by playing the worst song he ever wrote.  ”I started it with a G major 7 and then, what’s worse is that I went to a C major 7.  In layman’s terms the douchiest of chord progressions.”  He only played a few lines from the song. 
7.  O Valencia! 
8. The Chimbley Sweep 
9. Heart’s Crazy on You – Stark and Warden came back out for this song and just went to town on it.  Everyone was going nuts except for the two middle schoolers in front of us.  Too distant from the 70’s I suppose

Encore

1. REM’s Peter Buck joined the band for the first song of the encore.  I don’t recall what it was. 
2. Sons and Daughters – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  If every concert ended with a song for world peace it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

A few other notes:

At one point Meloy kept the song going and divided the audience by left, right, and balcony tiers and had us sing different parts. Feist did the same thing when I saw her at the Roseland Ballroom.  It’s a winner every time.

During one song when Meloy and Chris Funk engaged in a mock guitar duel, Meloy and Funk invited audience members on stage to take their places and Meloy then proceeded to launch himself off the stage and was climbing over the seats through the crowd.   The audience went wild for it.  Among other things I really appreciated that if he did it for us it showed that he wasn’t afraid of how the experience of being pawed at is, I’m sure, uncomfortable and if he did it for himself he was liberated enough to take the time out to experience that and see what the stage looked like with his band on it.

Deer Tick and Jenny Lewis at Music Hall of Williamsburg – June 9th 2009

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The Hold Steady at the Bowery Ballroom – June 8th 2009

It All Started With a Positive Jam

Before heading over to the Bowery Ballroom to catch the Hold Steady on Monday evening Brent and I met up for the burger and beer special at Irving Mill.  The last I heard the deal was the burger, a shot of rye, and a Sixpoint Rightous Rye – quite the combo at $15.  As it turned out when we went the rye had been replaced by a dark rum which we took in the form of a riff on the traditional daquiri with a little strawberry puree and the Righteous Rye had been replaced with the Six Point Sweet Action – the predominating beer of my new neighborhood of Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

Over our incredibly juicy – but nicely charred – burgers Brent and I discussed my new theory of why the Hold Steady are so appealing.  For a long time I had thought it was because they so purely embody rock and roll, meditate on a number of significant themes such as religion and the angst of coming of age with potent combination of earnestness and irony.  But earlier in the day when listening to what the French call their “work,” I realized that the mediations on these themes didn’t just operate through thematic exploration but also through the heavy repetition of specific phrases.  Phrases such as “holding steady,” “staying positive,” or “positive jam” or others like them are used so often that there is an addition to the natural lyrical depths of the Hold Steady’s songs.  On top of the explorations interior to each song, these repetitions allow for actual examination of what are otherwise stock phrases.   The greatness of the song writing is that when all of the songs are listened to as a whole, an exploration of the meaning of these concepts starts to come through.  It’s an exploration that begins with the content of the lyrics but ultimately leads to the reflection of the listener. 

At the Heart on a Stick blog I found this post which has a paragraph, the first sentence of which also touches on these ideas:

If you wanted to get overly analytical, you could say that what the Hold Steady is doing is establishing an iconography, relying on recurrent phrasing, names and imagery to define its world.  It seems more likely, though, that Finn’s simply doomed to continually repaint the same canvas, to include every last bit of brainstorm that flashes across his synapses  (Lord help us should we ever hear him sing, “My name is William, people call me Bill.”).

Regardless, the concert–the first of four nights in New York –was truly excellent.  The front few rows near the center were populated by what looked like by a bunch of people wearing softball shirts with the name “Stayin’ Posi,” some of whom had traveled a great distance (one even from the U.K.) to be at the show.  They were an online fan community  apparently.

The opener Right on Dynamite were competent songwriters, had good stage banter and were very tight rhythmically though a few harmonies seemed to miss the mark.  Definitely a solid opener. 

The Hold Steady came out one by one, each to great applause, with Craig Finn last.  I was too caught up in the show to even think about keeping a set list.  The music just demands that you jump and dance and shake your arms.  I didn’t high-five anyone during the show and I regret it.

As I recall, they did “Positive Jam,” “Squestered in Memphis,” “Lord, I’m Discouraged,” “Stay Positive,” “Stuck Between Stations,” “Chips Ahoy!” “Southtown Girls,” “The Swish,” “Killer Parties,” and “Most People are DJs” among other.  And I’ve been listening to “Both Crosses” so much I can’t remember if they played it since it’s constantly bouncing around in my head.

These guys rock out, have fun on stage, and establish a relationship with the audience.  It’s tremendous.  Craig Finn was just as great as I remembered at Terminal 5 back in November.  He’s animated but not quite manic.  He knows he’s performing, but it seems so earnest.  He just picks this channel and communicates to the audience.  He’ll often repeat lyrics or just say things off the microphone and suddenly the energy that’s not capable of being communicated in words comes through—an overwhelming excitement or emotion that resonates and feels like it might just come pouring out of you—when Finn intentionally delivers his words with the specific aim of having them not be heard.  He shows the incommunicable.  It’s amazing. 

[In  In the move to Brooklyn I’m not sure where my card reader is.  Pictures and video to follow, I hope.]

Andy Friedman, Jack Grace Band, and Wayne “the Train” Hancock at Jalopy – May 21st 2009

A Night with the Viper of Melody

Andy Friedman

Last night Alison and I went to the Jalopy in Red Hook for the Andy Friedman, Jack Grace Band, and Wayne Hancock show.  Andy had informed us about the show when we saw him with Jeffrey Foucault at Joe’s pub a little while back.  We were on the early side and as Andy left the stage from his set-up he remembered me which I thought was some serious points.  Whether it was due to his memory for faces from his portraits or the fact that Alison thinks I was wearing the same shirt as last time is unclear.   

This time Andy played with his band, the Other Failures.  Overall their sound was good.  The lead guitar had some nice, varied solos and the bassist put down a nice groove.  The drummer, however, seemed to have something of a heavy hand and laid down beats that seemed a little sluggish at times–in one instance the song definitely called for a delicate touch or brushes and neither were there.  As the set went on she improved and established a stronger, more confident rhythm.  Drumming aside, I still prefer Andy solo in the format I saw him in with Foucault.  Essentially, I want as little detracting from his seriously quality lyrics. He also emotes so well with his voice that it would difficult the other instruments and vocals to really mesh with him in a truly compatible way.  Andy and his guitar do achieve this though.   

Jack and Daria Grace

Andy Friedman was followed by the Jack Grace Band that consisted of Jack, his wife Daria Grace on bass, a drummer, pianist, and lap steel player.  Even if they hadn’t been excellent and if Jack hadn’t had a standout voice, I would have been happy to have had a particular mystery somewhat solved.  At the beginning of the show Andy Friedman was basically performing for me, Alsion, and the Jack Grace Band, but I hadn’t known who Jack Grace was.  He looked incredibly familiar and now I can suppose it’s possible I’ve seen him perform before at shows like the Johnny Cash Birthday Bash or other Brooklyn Country music events (Jan Bell and Sean Kershaw were in the house at least for Wayne Hancock’s set).  

The band was nice and tight and had a lot of fun on stage.  One song commemorated, or at least included a line about the night his grandfather lost a bar in a poker game and won it back by morning (”That time,” Dalia noted.  ”He had to drive a cab for a while once,” Jack added).  They also had the song title of the night I think, “What I Drink and What I Do at the Track Are My Business.”   

Wayne "the Train" Hancock

During a brief run to the bar for a Tecate I saw Wayne Hancock preparing for his set. His music channels the old soul of an amped up Hank Williams and adds a touch more swing.  It’s hard to explain how much the man visually fits the part.  The great thing about it is that it doesn’t come through with paraphernalia like boots or a cowboy hat.  Instead it’s in his face and body language.  He just naturally has this face with the expression of a mid-century longshoreman that, as the night went on, became filled with sideways glances,  knowing smiles that bordered on smirks, and the general love of making musi

The band was excellent.  Bob Hoffnar played a classic swing pedal steel.  He traded solos back and forth with (if I have the name write) James Honeycut while Huck Johnson slapped a serious stand-up bass.  Hancock’s style of country-swing is classic–built, as far as I could tell from just a few chords and followed the format of a few verses and choruses with a large number of solos back and forth between Hoffnar and Honeycut to fill out the mood and make for dancing time.  And dance people did.  In front of the stage, in the aisles there was a swirl of tattooed limbs and vintage dresses.  It reminded me of a Brooklyn country music version of the more buttoned-down Red Stick Ramblers shows I’ve seen where there just wasn’t enough space to dance.

Another thing was notable.  When people started shouting out the songs they wanted to hear, Hancock didn’t ignore them or snipe at them (except for one instance where someone kept insisting on “Lonesome Highway”) but instead said, “You want to hear ‘Big City Good Time Gal?’ Alright, boys this is in E as in ‘effort.”  And away they went.  Sadly, it was a school night and Alison had to work the next day so we took off around 12:15 — an hour and a half into the set which I’m told ran to 1:15 (about two-and-a-half hours) which apparently was nothing compared to last year’s four-and-a-half hour show that ran until 2 last year.  I’m just excited for next year when I can plan appropriately.  Set list for Wayne is below up to 12:15.

1) California Blues

2) Viper  - Hancock does a solid version of this Fats Waller tune.  I was happy he broke it out.

3) No Loving Tonight

4) I thought I heard him say this was the Milk Cow Blues, or Moo Cow Blues but I’m guessing it was actually Cow Cow Boogie.  Hoffnar made the pedal steel moo before the song.

5) Working at Working

6) Tulsa – WH [to the newer guys in the band]: It’s basically the same song.  But not really.

7) Freight Line Blues

8) Juke Joint Jumping

9) Johnny Law – Guy in audience:  Johnny Law.  WH: Aw!  But we’re all having such a good time.  Why do you have to bring up Johnny Law.  Guy:  ’Cause he sucks.  WH: Yeah, well we all know that.  Luckily I haven’t had a run in with him in a while.  Last time I said that I was in jail 24 hours later.  . . . that’s a joke.  Well, not really.

10) Miller, Jack, and Mad Dog – “Do yourself a favor and don’t go driving while you’re high.”

11) Viper of Melody

12) Big City Good Time Gal 

13) Freight Train Boogie

14) Drinkin’ Blues

15) Your Love and His Blood – This is a solid track off the new album, Viper of Melody.

16) 87 Southbound – Solid been done wrong and walking out song.  

17) Thunder Storms and Neon Signs – This song is just incredible.  Maybe none better on the draw to the lonely life of the road.  I kind of sensed Hancock might have been on autopilot for this one though.

18) Louisana Blues – WH: You gotta go to Louisiana before you go to Oklahoma.

19) Oklahoma Stomp – Instrumental – Bob Hoffnar on lead.

20) Drikin’ Wine Spo Dee O Dee – Very energetic version.  Only time I’ve heard it live since I saw the Killer do it at Town Hall.

21) Double A Daddy – The singer lauds his attractive quality of always being able to drive a lady around because he’ll always be sober.

And then he played for another hour.

Leonard Cohen at Radio City Music Hall – May 17th 2009

Last Night He Took Manhattan

My Sunday morning began with me lamenting to Alison that maybe I should have bought one of the very expensive tickets to see Leonard Cohen at Radio City Music Hall that night.  Not ten minutes later I received an email from a friend whose mother couldn’t go to the show and was looking to give away the ticket.  I jumped on it and Alison jumped on Craigslist and managed to snatch up a ticket at face value.  I had intended to do more of a formal write-up but if past behavior is any indication, if one doesn’t go up in 24 hours, it usually doesn’t.  Fortunately, I just fired off a note to my parents recounting the concert.  I’m including it below.  Also, the full set list along with photo and video is available at Brooklynvegan.

The concert was amazing.  My ticket put me a little bit to the left of the center in orchestra in row K, about 35 rows back which was actually pretty far.  Radio City is beautiful and the sound was absolutely the best I’ve ever heard in my entire life.  I’m not sure if it was the acoustics of the room or the sound people for Leonard Cohen, but there was a separation or space between he instruments that allowed them to come through so purely and in tremendous detail.  Totally pristine – better than the live recording done in London on this tour which I’d bet was recorded directly from the soundboard (which incidentally is how some “new” good recordings of Dylan at Newport were done so no big booing sounds).  

The band was incredible and big but not huge – bass, lead guitar, flamenco guitar, keyboard, woodwinds, backup singers.  Look at the track listings for his Live in London album.  That’s pretty much what he played with a few subtractions but also Chelsea Hotel.  The audience was reverential.  Cohen was commanding and full of energy, running on and off stage between sets and the 3 or 4 encores.  Hallelujah brought tears to my eyes (I heard a woman behind me crying and others I’m sure others did too).  He had this affect of holding his left hand up by the microphone and gesturing.  He would also often go down on one knee and focus, coming back up to standing on the swells.  He also would often sing directly to a musician (most often the flamenco player) when he wanted their soft soloing over the band to be in a dialogue with or be especially tailored to his singing. It worked.

The main back up singer, Sharon Robinson, a collaborator on some of his songs, did their “Boogie Street” which was very good.  The next to last song was essentially a duet by the other two – the Webb Sisters – and was one of the most pure, beautiful things I’ve ever heard.  He does it with them on the live album but this really showed just how great they were.  All three were incredible.

One moment made clear just how much of the power of the show came from the music itself – as opposed to the “stage energy” or “putting on a good show” or enthusiasm not directed at the music iteself.  During one of the encores, Cohen had each musician solo for a few bars and they were all totally focused on being virtuosic but the drummer totally mugged to great effect – winking at the camera (there were giant monitors on either side of the stage), throwing his drum stick in the air timed to come down for a big crescendo, among other things.  That this moment was uniquene really illustrated how focused the whole show was and how all of the energy was either in the musical product or a byproduct of creating it.  The intense effort resulted in an emotionally powerful and musically perfect product.

Other standouts aside from Hallelujah and Chelsea Hotel were, well almost everything, but especially Everybody Knows, Tower of Song, Suzanne, So Long Marianne, First We Take Manhattan, I’m Your Man, and Bird on a Wire.  But this is almost quibbling.  The highs were Everest but the show as a whole was the Himalayan range. 

One other thing struck me.  When I saw Bruce Robison a while back and he sang all of these songs he had written that other performers had hits with I thought of how odd it was that these were his but these other performers seemed to own them.  Now just about everyone knows that the Leonard Cohen songs that are covered from here to eternity are his and know his recordings of them, but I wondered if he would still own them in live performance after so many versions.  There was no question.  He owned every moment of every song.

Ben Harper and Relentless 7 at Music Hall of Williamsburg – May 8, 2009

Shimmering and Shining in Brooklyn  

Ben Harper, Jesse Ingalls (bass), and Jordan Richardson (drums)

After a nice outdoor dinner at Dumon Burger in Williamsburg, Alison and I headed over to the Music Hall of Williamsburg for the Ben Harper and Relentless 7 show.  This was the group’s 2nd official show this week (they also played Tuesday at Webster Hall and Ben played the Pete Seeger 90th birthday show at MSG) and the one at the smallest venue I believe.  Apparently Ben views this as a group rather than a backing band and refers to the collective entity I hadn’t seen Ben since he played the 2001 Spring Fling at Yale and I remembered a somewhat sedate show, not just because he was still firmly ensconced in a folk style back then but also because I felt like his lap style of playing prevented him from connecting with the crowd.  At the same time I’ve grown to love his music, especially his more recent projects including the album he recorded with the Blind Boys of Alabama and his foray into rock with Both Sides of the Gun which was at least partially recorded with the same musicians in Relentless 7.  The band is just 4 including Harper, Jason Mozersky as a seriously rocking lead guitar, Jordan Richardson pounding out some seriously driving drums, and Jesse Ingalls on bass.

We arrived just before the Henry Clay People went on — a pair of brothers from LA on guitars backed by a drummer and bassist.  Apparently the brothers got a call on Monday saying they might be picked for the Relentless 7 tour, quit their jobs, and then luckily got confirmation that they were a go on Wednesday or Thursday before driving out to DC to begin the tour.  At first I felt that the band was channeling an angry Rhett Miller but they were definitely more on the rock than pop side of things.  They brought a good deal of energy to the stage.  As they ended their set I got the distinct impression that I would be pleased to walk into a bar or club with these guys playing.  I’m curious to see where they go.

 

Joey and Andy

Joey or Andy

Relentless 7 came on around 10:30 and played a solid hour and a half with the musicianship spot on from the start and the energy increasing as the show went on, especially the last half of the set.   They opened with “Number With No Name,” the first track of White Lies for Dark Times which featured Ben sitting.  The second song I didn’t recognize, but the third was”Shimmer & Shine” which appears to be the first single off of White Lies.  

 

Ben during Boots Like These

The show also featured several extended versions of songs from White Lies including a good amount of crowd participation during “Boots Like These,” some serious guitar solos for “Lay There & Hate Me” and “Why Must You Always Dress in Black.”

 

Jason Mozersky . . . Jamming

When the first ballad on White Lies, “Skin Thin” came on I wasn’t sure that they would succeed in the album, but they demonstrate that Ben hasn’t lost the softness of his touch touch from his earlier folk days.  The ballads also mesh in beautifully, often building to powerful, emotionally charged solos.  ”Skin Thin” live was no exception.  I was surprised though, that a good number in the crowd were talking during the song.  The venue is extremely small (the venue holds 550), the ticket limit was 2 when they show went on sale, and a number in the crowd seemed extremely devoted fans so I didn’t expect this given how the band commanded their attention during the rest of the show.  I believe the main set concluded with “The Word Suicide” another solid ballad from the album and then “Boots Like These” – but I wasn’t keeping notes.

They played almost the entire album in the main set.  The band came back out for the encore set, opening with the classic Harper tune “Another Lonely Day” from Fight for Your Mind.  The crowd loved it and sang along.  Next came “Faithfully Remain.”  The biggest surprise of the night might have been when Jesse Ingalls started laying down the bass line to David Bowie’s “Under Pressure.”  There’s a little video below so you can get a taste, but the energy was high and Ben was just pouring a 110% into it. They closed down the encore with another track from the new album, “Up To You Now” I think.

Overall the concert was excellent.  The energy that Harper brought to the stage was definitely up there with the best performers I’ve seen in the past year or two since Springsteen (who shall never be bested) including Feist, the Waco Brothers, and Wilco.  But his energy had to build.  I couldn’t tell if he was shy or just intensely focused on his songs, but for the first half of the show Ben just seemed to be concentrating on emoting through his vocals and guitar playing.  He often had his eyes closed and the other performers didn’t seem to make eye contact with the audience.  While the songs were strong the connection with the audience wasn’t.  As the energy of the songs continued to build it seemed to help Ben open up to the point where he was leaping around the stage during the songs where he wasn’t playing guitar and at one point slapping the hands of audience members in the front row.  After the encore, Ben did something I had only seen Springsteen do before.  He remained on stage, acknowledged some audience members with pointed fingers and just seemed to soak up the love and appreciation that was being directed at him.  His face during this showed earnest appreciation which, I think, is one of the greatest gifts that a musician can give in addition to the music itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today in Anthony Da Costa

A couple of weekends ago Matt, Alison and I went to see Anthony Da Costa at the Postcrypt Folk Festival.  Matt provides a nice recap of the day and a little history of the even here.  It was well worth the trip uptown.  One thing that I can’t figure out though, is the title of the cover (I think) that Abbie Gardner joined him for (see Matt’s review).  I’m pretty sure that the lyric “I am not afraid to love you” came up several times and I could swear it was a Ryan Adams song but my internet searching is proving futile.  Is this an ADC original I’m forgetting?  Any insight would be most appreciated.  [Update:  The lyric is "I am not afraid of nothing."]

But his recent NYC appearance is not all.  Anthony informs us via his email list that his new album  ”Not Afraid of Nothing” which he is co-producing with John Elliott a.k.a The Hereafter on July 18th with a CD release show at the Living Room to celebrate. Also, Anthony also brings us some good news for his frequent collaborator and Red Molly member, Abbie Gardner:

Abbie Gardner of Red Molly, just won the Lennon Award for the Folk Category of the 2009 John Lennon Songwriting Competition! http://www.jlsc.com/winners/2008b/lennon_awards.php.  I’m super psyched for her!  She won for her song “Mind of A Soldier”, which can be found on her myspace www.myspace.com/abbiegardner, as well as on Red Molly’s “Love and Other Tragedies” album.  Among the prizes was a 1,000 disc package from DiscMakers, which will help her make her next solo record!

Red Molly also has a show May 12th at the Living Room.  It’s good times for Folk, people.

 

[Update:  The missing song was "I Am Way Too Much."  Video below.  The familiarity with the song was definitely from the several times I've seen Anthony and Abbie over the past year or two.  Thanks to Dennis da Costa for the info in the comment section.]