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Monday, June 23, 2008
Stars Shine Brightly Stars w/ Curtis Santiago and My!Gay!Husband! at Malkin Bowl
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Well, if you've seen Stars before, you know how hard they hit it in their live show - I probably don't even need to blog about them.
This was an all-ages show so the crowd was all kinds of crazy. There was everything from drunken cougars dancing as if they were at a Bon Jovi concert to wee babies with giant headphones on to protect their ears. At one point, even a bald eagle also showed up for the festivities.
My!Gay!Husband! opened the show, spinning a wide range of songs for those of us who stood in line from 4:30 pm. Curtis Santiago was up next - I don't even know if I can accurately describe his set. Mix equal parts kooky stage presence and slightly off-putting lyrics about robots (?), underage love affairs and crystal meth-like love and you've got Curtis Santiago. It was truly bizarre.
Stars [http://www.arts-crafts.ca/stars/] were great as usual. They had the stage decorated with roses again, which they tossed out to the crowd over the course of the night. I really like the way Torq and Amy interact on stage, her shy presence is balanced out nicely by his theatrics - also, they both have gorgeous voices. Unfortunately, Amy was unable to crowd-surf this time as a barrier was set up between the crowd and the stage - too bad!! No suit of light either.
The set list covered their three albums -"Heart", "Set Yourself on Fire", and "In Our Bedroom After the War". I was hoping to hear "Barricade" off "In Our Bedroom After the War" but I think the song is probably too intimate for the large, open space that is Malkin Bowl. Stars always put on a good show, it's impossible to leave them without a spring in your step.
Next up - Tilly and the Wall!
Your new BFF,
Marlon
NP: (nothing)
posted by Marlon Bookcase |
8:02 PM
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Blinded by Awesomeness Shout Out Out Out Out w/ Ravens & Chimes
Commodore Ballroom
Shout Out Out Out Out played the Commodore last night as part of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival and my ears are still ringing from the sheer awesomeness of it!
The night started off with the lovely and charming Ravens & Chimes from Brooklyn, New York [http://www.ravensandchimes.com/]. They are a fine indie rock band and I feel bad for them that the crowd was kind of crappy. Hardly anyone paid attention to them except for those of us in the front row and even then there were people being loud and talky. Anyway, R & C played a good mix of upbeat and quieter songs and they even did a cover of "Say It Ain't So", that really got the crowd going. The lead singer looked like a younger, more awkward Conor Oberst!
After Ravens & Chimes, it was time to have our minds blown by Shout Out Out Out Out!! [http://www.shoutoutoutoutout.com] Two drummers + four bass players + two samplers + five synthesizers+ two vocoders + high kicks = pure awesome! The dance floor filled up the instant the Shout Out guys came on stage, everyone seemed to be having a great time. There was a surprising amount of room to dance which was great, I expected it to be the same as the last time I saw them (meaning, I would be covered in sweat that was not my own by the end of the night). We were treated to some new songs as well as old favourites like "Chicken Soup for the Fuck You", "Forever Indebted" and, "Dude You Feel Electrical". One of their new songs that I really like was "In the End, It's Your Friends That Will Fuck You Over" - Hanson got the beer-soaked play list from the stage so maybe he'll post it later.
Next up - Stars at the Malkin Bowl!
Yours,
Marlon
NP: (nothing)
posted by Marlon Bookcase |
3:18 PM
Monday, June 02, 2008
A Healthy Appreciation for Punctuation Marks! Parenthetical Girls, You Say Party! We Say Die!, and Los Campesinos! at the Plaza.
I would never say that I'm too old to enjoy music and going to shows but I think I'm too old for some kinds of music (Parenthetical Girls I'm looking at you!). I don't want to come down too hard on them, I guess I'm just not that into shoe-gazing songs with whispery, warble-y vocals but I'm sure there are plenty of young hipsters out there that are.
You Say Party! was great as always. They're nothing if not consistently entertaining performers. The sound seemed wonky and the vocals were hard to hear but I think that's the Plaza's fault and not theirs.
Los Campesinos! were lots of fun too. They seem to have good chemistry on stage and were having a good time - I've never seen such enthusiastic xylophone playing. The crowd was having just as much fun as the band, there was much dancing, singing, and fist pumping. There were sound problems during this part of the show too, so it was definitely the Plaza and not the bands. Over all, charming kids, these Los Campesinos!, so if you have the chance to see them live do so, it'll be a crazy fun party.
Next up - Stars at the Malkin Bowl.
Yours,
Marlon
NP: (nothing)
posted by Marlon Bookcase |
10:23 PM
Sunday, June 01, 2008
A Thought I'm sitting in a Starbucks at the corner of Yonge and College right now, taking in the pedestrian traffic of Toronto while catching up on some work and interwebs time. If it all goes according to plan, I'll get checking out No Gold tonight at Wavelength. It's funny that I have to go all the way across the country to see a Vancouver band that I've already heard read a good deal about. I guess that speaks to how few shows I've been to recently, especially local acts.
Perhaps in my overly-caffeinated and sleep-deprived state, I'm a bit too reflectively for my own good. But it seems to me that over the last year or so, I've had much less time for keeping up with the music scene. The volume of music I've acquired recently has declined dramatically, as have the number of new acts that I've been able to check out. Not surprisingly, these downward trends have also been correlated with a massive drop off in my blogging as well. (Massive thanks to Marlon Bookcase for picking up the slack recently!)
The reasons could probably all be grouped under the umbrella of my ascending/descending into oldness. The considerable time and money I used to devote to my musical pursuits have been slowly slipping away. In their place, I now have increased increasing responsibilities and a mortgage to keep me company. I suppose most hardcore music geeks reach this stage at one point or another in their lives; I just thought I wouldn't hit it until I'm at least 30.
So how do I cross this chasm, this earlier-than-expected sea change in my life? In the words of Buffy, I just have to deal. Human beings have an innate ability to adapt, and there's no reason why I can't make this work for me. Maybe I could explicitly schedule time in my calender to scour the internet for new music, sampling one track at a time from new artists instead of always insisting on getting the full album so as to not make a rash and uninformed judgment. And instead of writing long-ass reviews that go into the minutia of a show or a record, I could simply thrown down a couple hundred words and leave it at that. There's more than one way to butter my toast!
Yes, I can deal. If Mariah Carey can pull a comeback from her increasingly-exposed ass, so can I. Metaphorically speaking, of course -- there's no way I can rock those booty-shorts.
NP: (ambient chattering)
posted by Hanson |
5:21 AM
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Hobo raincoats, Colin Meloy, and Death Cab = a weekend in Bend, Oregon! Hahaha! First! I post first on the show!!
To begin with, I'd like to offer a postscript to my earlier post about Beirut. I feel that I didn't show enough love for the band, saving all my praise for Zach himself. Today, we ran into three members of Beirut at Jackpot Records in Portland and I was my typical calm and collected self (and by that I mean gasping loudly and then announcing in a loud whisper to Hanson that "Beirut's band is here!!", so uncool Marlon!). Later on I realized that I should have just gone up to them and thanked them for the awesome show they did in Vancouver because they are all amazing musicians. So, to all members of Beirut - you guys are amazing, please come back to Vancouver soon!
Now, onto the post. This weekend, Death Cab for Cutie played the amphitheatre in Bend, Oregon with Mates of State and the Decemberists opening. It was a mind-blowing show! Mates of State aren't one of my favourite bands but they are very adorable the way they make goo-goo eyes at each other while they play. They have a new record out and I think they mainly played songs from that - don't take my word for it since I'm not familiar with their catalogue. They had their kids with them so it was a family affair.
The Decemberists brought the house down, then built it back up and then brought it down again! It's been about a year since I last saw them and they had plenty of new songs mixed in with old favourites (including "Billy Liar", "O Valencia", "Culling of the Fold", "The Crane Wife 1", "The Perfect Crime 2", and "A Cautionary Tale"). Colin Meloy seemed in an especially charming mood and played with a lot of energy, as did Jenny, John, Chris, and Nate. At one point during "Culling of the Fold" Colin jumped into the crowd, took a lap around the amphitheatre and then crowd-surfed back to the stage! There was also more audience participation later on when they performed "A Cautionary Tale" and John Moen and Chris Funk came out into the crowd with drums and cymbals to re-enact the founding of Bend, Oregon. Their set was short but sweet and I would let Colin Meloy lick my face any day. That is all.
Death Cab for Cutie were the night's headliners and they transported the crowd to another dimension with their songs of adoration. It was the kick-off show of their new tour and Ben Gibbard and Co. were in fine form. They played songs off their new album "Narrow Stairs" including "I Will Possess Your Heart", "No Sunlight", "Long Division", "Cath", and "Bixby Canyon Bridge" and a good mix of older tracks from "Plans" and "Transatlanticism". It had been pouring rain (hence the hobo raincoats) for most of the afternoon and, during one of their more epic songs, the clouds broke and we saw a gorgeous sunset, it was pretty mind-blowing. I had tears in my eyes twice when they played "I Will Follow You Into the Dark". The crowd was also pretty good, once we moved back from the stage a little, and pretty much everyone sang along to every song. With the night sky full of stars they closed the show with "Crooked Teeth" and "Transatlanticism". All in all, it was a solid show from start to finish and a great way to spend a weekend - hopefully Death Cab and the Decemberists will be back for shows in Vancouver before too long.
Next up - Los Campesinos! at the Plaza.
Marlon out.
NP: (nothing)
posted by Marlon Bookcase |
11:27 PM
Friday, May 23, 2008
Do you like joy, or Beirut at the Commodore Marlon Bookcase here, long time reader, first time blogger on myindieworld.com.
Let me ask you a question - do you like joy? If you like joy, do yourself a favour and go see Zach Condon and his wonderful band.
Tonight I took in Beirut at the Commodore and it was easily the best show I've seen in a long time. They must be one of the happiest bands around (and their fans are pretty cheerful as well). This was the band's Vancouver debut and they did not disappoint. Opening the show with the glorious "Nantes" the night had no where to go but up. Highlights for me included "Postcards from Italy", "A Sunday Smile", and "Brandenburg" - they also played the title track from 2005's (2006 ?) Gulag Orkestar.
After playing for at least an hour, Beirut came back for not one, not two, but three encores!!! I think they would have played all night if they could. The band was clearly enjoying themselves and when the bottle of Jameson's made an appearance on stage I knew it was going to be a good night.
If you can, try and catch their performance at the Sasquatch festival this weekend. Apparently, the European leg of the tour has been cancelled and Beirut may or may not undergo some changes. See Beirut's website for more details, www.beirutband.com.
Next up, Death Cab for Cutie with the Decemberists and Mates of State (or Rogue Wave, it seems to change daily) this weekend in Bend, Oregon. Should be a great show!
Marlon out.
posted by Marlon Bookcase |
12:50 AM
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Live Junos Blogging I haven't seen the Junos for years, but since Russell Peters is hosting, I thought I'd give it a go again. While I'm at it, I figure I'll do some live blogging too. There can't be that many people doing that, eh? This ain't no Oscars.
So I got home late after dinner, walking in while little Avril Lavigne is playing that terrible first single off her latest album. I'll pick it up from there...
8:30pm: The Reminder wins Best Pop Album! Yay Feist! And Belly? I thought that was a mid-90s band fronted by Tanya Donnelly? Who's this chunkier version Sean Paul handing Feist her award?
8:38pm: Russell Peters isn't really scratching... is he?
8:57pm: Feist is performing with a person swapping in overheads on a projector. Looks like Owen Pallet has started a trend!
9:00pm: I guess teen girls like Bublé more than Avril. And way to plug that Doritos. Who do you think you are, Stephen Colbert?
9:02pm: A special tribute to TRIUMF?
9:08pm: Anne Murray + Jann Arden = checking my fantasy baseball results
9:12pm: The Junos -- the only award show where Tom Cochrane gets any air time.
9:17pm: Oh. Triumph...
9:27pm: When it's all said and done, Jacob Hoggard will probably be the most successful Canadian Idol contestant ever. Take that to mean whatever you want.
9:52pm: At this rate, Feist will win the Best Male Artist award too. Wow. Best Album. Move over Bublé, Celine, and Avril: prepared to be crushed by Hurricane Leslie.
9:59pm: Wah? That's it? Ending with Jully "Who?" Black? A bit anti-climatic. Well, that's the Junos for ya...
NP: Junos
posted by Hanson |
8:35 PM
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Brave New World I've been doing this blog on my own for over five years now. Over the the past year, my output has significantly declined, due primarily to an increasingly busy schedule. It seems like I have two choices: keep the status quo and accept the fact that it will be infrequently updated, or bring in some help; I have chosen the latter.
Yes sir, My Indie World is turning into Our Indie World. My smart and funny friends will start joining the fray in the coming weeks to make this a group blog. The content won't change much; this blog will still keep its music-heavy, pop-culture savvy focus. But you'll start seeing more viewpoints, different writing styles, and an overall increase in classiness (just by virtue of my contribution dropping below 100%). And most importantly, you'll start seeing more content. Woo!
This is not my withdrawal from the blogosphere by any stretch of the imagination -- I'll still be around. The fact that I've got Tift Merritt, the Blow, Colin Meloy, and Sarah Slean coming up in the next month almost guarantees it. And I do very much enjoy ranting, raving, and expressing my often ill-informed opinions, so I ain't going anywhere.
But yeah, other people. Cheers to that!
NP: (basketball)
posted by Hanson |
7:04 PM
Friday, March 28, 2008
Douchebaggary on High, or What Happened at Vampire Weekend So there I was, at the hotly anticipated Vampire Weekend show tonight, wondering why I was throwing elbows to keep ass-monkeys at bay.
Let me start from the beginning. Usually, I head into a show with an idea of the kind of crowd I'd be expecting. The people at a Be Your Own Pet gig will generally give off a different vibe than, say, people at a Sarah Slean show. While I'd be prepared for a goodly amount of ruckus at the former, anything more than enthused sing-alongs and loud hooting and hollering at the latter would take me completely by surprise. For Vampire Weekend, lets just say I was expecting more Slean and less BYOP.
Tonight, four guys from Columbia University descended upon Richard's on Richards, playing a unique brand of African-inspired rock and calling themselves Vampire Weekend. They comprise one of the most-blogged-about bands of this past year, continuing on the trail blazed by such bands as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (remember those guys?). In fact, they've gotten so big, they've even hit Studio 8H for some SNL action a few week back. If you're reading this, chances are good that you know who they are.
This band, featuring a sweater-clad lead-singer and three other equally polite-looking guys, appears about as wild as mayonnaise and white bread. Their music, while upbeat, does not inspire one to throw caution to the wind and dance as if one were at an LCD Soundsystem show. And even their live show, while musically competent and interesting, does not bring to the table anything more than what was on their records. In other words, I'd be hard-pressed to imagine the crowd reacting to these guys any differently than they would to any other indie band du jour.
But good god was I wrong. Oh so wrong.
You know that at some shows, you expect a fight to keep your spot up front. If you're at the Commodore and there's a fence, expect a fight. If you see massive jock-types ready to pounce before the bands start, expect a fight. If it's a band that gets airplay on local "rock" radio, expect a fight. But Vampire Weekend? Never did I expect to bust a move and throw down some Ho-fu to beat off drunken dude-bros who looked like they were at a casting for serial date-rapists.
The night started off nice enough, with a newly dual-ified YACHT exercising and singing to canned beats on and off stage. The new girl Jona Bechtolt had in tow had on these constricting high-waist shorts, elf-boots, and Sally Jessy Raphael glasses, looking like she just step out of a fierce hipster modeling photo shoot. Jona, sans nautical sweater, did his usual song and dance, working the crowd with his sheer enthusiasm. Their half-hour set was short and sweet.
Vampire Weekend then took the stage. The first few songs were fine, with the usual amount of swaying and dancing from a rather eclectic looking crowd for a show like this. What I mean is that it's not just the scarf-and-tight-jeans wearing, horizontal-strips-rocking hipster types. It's a lot of people who look a lot different, like a freeze frame at a local Starbucks or something. For the first bit, people were enjoying themselves but respecting each others' spaces too, just like what you'd expect from a night of Pitchfork-approved music at Richards.
But then, as they got into the more up-tempo songs like "A-Punk", a small crowd of what I can only describe as ginormous douchebags pushed their way to the front of the stage. They shoved aside the poor people who were in their path, elbowing, kneeing, and pushing their way up and pinning my friends and I to the front of the stage. They even formed a mini mosh pit, a small circle in which even smaller dicks pushed each other around like they were at a Kid Rock show. They stayed until the band's short set was over, effectively ruining it for my friends and me for the rest of the night. I mean, it's hard to enjoy yourself when you're under constant assault from behind from sweaty, aggressive, ape-like wankers. I only took a fraction of what came at my friends, but even I was pissed as fuck.
Now, these are the same type of assholes you'd find drunk and "rocking out" at, say, an Arctic Monkeys show. No offense to the Arctic Monkeys, but their music tends to bring out that type of "devil-horns" throwing frat boys who like to "party hard" and "mosh" because they're "hardcore." But at a Vampire Weekend show? Really, guys? This ain't Nickelback. This ain't even Les Savy Fav. Why the fuck would you want to do that at VAMPIRE FUCKING WEEKEND? Shouldn't you be at home drinking shitty beer, smoking shitty weed, and playing Madden instead? Fucking fucknuts.
And if things weren't bad enough, my friends reported a bad case of BO on these shitheads. Imaging being constantly bombarded physically, and then be assaulted olfactorally by putrid sweat because some assholes forgot their deodorant. Talk about a double whammy.
Suffice it to say, it was not a night of all thumbs up for me. The band was tight, but the douchebags made full enjoyment difficult. It's like someone took a steaming dump on your plate of food: even if you took away all the feces, someone still shat on your food.
Fuck you douchebags. I hope you all get syphilis from your next drunken rendezvous.
End of rant.
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
12:30 AM
Thursday, January 31, 2008
2007 in 20 Songs One final touch to end off 2007: my annual year-end mix CD is available here. As usual, it doesn't comprise my 20 favourite songs of the year; it's merely my way of trying to summarize a year in under 80 minutes, trying hard not to pick too many obvious songs while staying true to my tastes and being somewhat representative. For the first time in a long time, I don't have a secret track. Perhaps I'm growing a bit immune to the out-of-left-field covers that I've adored in years past.
Here's the tracklist for those of you interested in finding out what's on it without the 100-meg download:
01 Au Revoir Simone - Night Majestic
02 Voxtrot - Kid Gloves
03 Eisley - Many Funerals
04 Bright Eyes - Four Winds
05 New Buffalo - City And Sea (Lady Nameless)
06 Feist - I Feel It All
07 The National - Mistaken For Strangers
08 Maria Taylor - Clean Getaway
09 Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling Into Place
10 Mirah and Spectratone International - Song of Psyche
11 Spoon - The Underdog
12 Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining
13 Immaculate Machine - Dear Confessor
14 Sally Shapiro - He Keeps Me Alive
15 Earlimart - Answers & Questions
16 Laura Veirs - Don't Lose Yourself
17 Elliott Smith - High Times
18 Bella - No One Will Know
19 The Weakerthans - Tournament Of Hearts
20 Stars - Personal
NP: Cat Power - I Feel
posted by Hanson |
11:22 PM
Friday, January 25, 2008
Top 37 of 2007 For the fifth year in a row, I'm plopping down my Top 37 full-lengths of the year on this here blog (excluding live records and re-releases -- sorry the Blow). And for the second year in a row, this list is a month after the fact and unannotated. Ah well. At least I can look back on this in five years and go waaaah?
For those that know me (or have read this blog semi-consistently these last five years), this list isn't surprising: chick and pop-heavy. Yup, that's how I roll. And if you're a two-fer, well, then come on it. On the list, you'll find a lot of popular blogger choices, but of course, you'll find plenty of WTF's sprinkled in there too (hello Eisley!)
So you can stop bugging me, Dan. Here they are. And that Justice record isn't that good!
1. Elliott Smith - New Moon
2. Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War
3. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
4. Rilo Kiley - Under The Blacklight
5. Eisley - Combinations
6. Radiohead - In Rainbows
7. The National - Boxer
8. M.I.A. - Kala
9. The New Pornographers - Challengers
10. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
11. Feist - The Reminder
12. Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
13. John Vanderslice - Emerald City
14. New Buffalo - Somewhere, Anywhere.
15. Mirah And Spectratone International - Share This Place: Stories and Observations
16. Immaculate Machine - Fables
17. Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers
18. Au Revoir Simone - The Bird Of Music
19. The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
20. Basia Bulat - Oh, My Darling
21. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
22. Sally Shapiro - Disco Romance
23. St. Vincent - Marry Me
24. Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position
25. LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
26. Voxtrot - Voxtrot
27. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
28. Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
29. Tegan & Sara - The Con
30. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Living With the Living
31. Maria Taylor - Lynn Teeter Flower
32. Rocky Votolato - The Brag & Cuss
33. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
34. Earlimart - Mentor Tormentor
35. You Say Party! We Say Die! - Lose All Time
36. Bella - No One Will Know
37. The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour
2007 Year End CD coming up real soon...
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
12:10 AM
Hello Blogosphere Wow. Has it been 7 months already? No use dwelling on the past; lets see how long this grand re-opening lasts, eh?
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
12:04 AM
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Under Disco Lights My near-total devotion to "chick music" during my formative years has been well document in this blog. Among the group of musicians I closely followed, few had gotten more attention from me than Emm Gryner.
My personal love affair with her music began when I saw a brief clip of her they ran on MuchMusic's The New Music. It featured a few seconds of the video of "Hello Aquarius" off her first LP, The Original Leap Leap. I believe it was around the time when her major label debut, Public, was coming out, so she was getting some national press exposure.
From the few seconds of the song I heard, I knew I had to hear more. I memorized the name. Emm Gryner. Emm Gryner. Emm. Gryner. I'm pretty sure I wrote it down too. And sure enough, I was able to find "Public" eventually when it was released, in the suburban chain store. Here's one for major label distribution, eh? Almost immediately, I dug the record to bits. "Wisdom Bus", "Phonecall 45", "89 Days Of Alcatraz", and a re-recorded version of the aforementioned "Hello Aquarius" were standouts. Well, actually, they were all standouts, which made none of them standout really. But because I dug them all so much. If I made silly Top N lists back then, "Public" could've very well ended up in the top spot (not that I bought many albums back then).
So when I heard that she was back in town on June 21st at the Railway Club, over 4 years since I saw her last, opening for Holly McNarland, I was uber excited. And this time, she was even headlining! Total sweetness.
The show opened auspiciously with an entertaining set by Winston. To sum him up in one line, I'd have to go with "tuneful Railway Club dude-with-guitar pop." I would've enjoyed his set even more had I not been holding back a couple of beers and a couple of cans of coke in my poor little bladder.
Yes folks, I just alluded to my peeing. Now which other blog would you see that in, huh? How 'bout, like, no other? Yeah. You know it. Jealous?
Um. Hmm. So. Music. Emm took to the stage around 10:45am. Unfortunately, she was suffering from a pretty bad case of delayed jet-lag (coming back from Ireland), which pretty much killed her voice. As she struggled through a set comprising mostly of material from her last couple of releases, the album of Irish covers Songs of Love and Death as well as last year's record of originals, The Summer of High Hopes, you can tell she was pushing herself to put on a show for us. She especially had trouble hitting the high-notes, most noticeably on "Northern Holiday", a track off 2003's excellent (and Juno-nominated) Asianblue. But a staple of Emm's live show, a bass-only version of "Disco Lights", was awesome as usual. (Though sadly, I can't say the same about her take on "Revolution" by that one Scouse band.)
Vocal struggles aside, it was really great to see her again. Although she wasn't in top form, she gets full marks for braving the stage despite knowing that her voice was running on empty. She even came back to do an encore after her short 50-minute set -- although she didn't do the singing. Saying that she had nothing left in her voice (which was obvious by the last song), she solicited an audience member to come and sing one of her songs. Bravely, this girl when up and did a respectable version of "Symphonic". A couple of us in the audience helped her a bit during some parts, but she was fine up there singing on her own, Emm backing her on piano. I told Stacey and Dan after the show that I could've probably done in 5 years ago too, when I knew her lyrics much better than I did now, but of course, that's so easy to say since I didn't have to actually do it.
But like I said, it was nice to see Emm again. And it's not just a nostalgia thing. I still genuinely like her music a heck of a lot, and I'd wish she'd come back more often. Next up, Tara MacLean. The last time I saw her play solo was well over 6 years ago, playing 5 songs at Rock for Choice. Now there's someone I'd like to see again.
NP: (Cute Band Alert podcast)
posted by Hanson |
1:43 AM
Monday, June 18, 2007
They Are the Pipettes 
I was telling my friends before the The Pipettes show that there wasn't a single touring band I'd rather see than them. And that's true. I have bands and artists that I like more, but I've seen the vast majority of them. And out of the ones I haven't seen, their show would probably be the most entertaining. (The fact that they are [among] the prettiest girls [I've] ever seen [in music] doesn't hurt either.) So I don't care if Maria Taylor were playing next door, or if Laura Cantrell were opening the Gwen/Akon/LadySov show that night (but wouldn't that be a sight), I'd still be lining up early at the Plaza to get a good spot to see Gwenno, RiotBecki, and Rosay (my favourite).
Opener and Pipettes/Cassette member Monster Bobby came on at the ungodly time of 7:15. I know it's an early show, but damn -- that's crazy early! As a result, he started playing his brand of jangly, Ben Lee-esque guitar-pop over canned beats when there was like 30 people in the room. He played a solid, entertaining set full of witty banter. Too bad there weren't more people there.
Smoosh was up next, around 8:00 I think. Again, crazy early, and again, they deserved a bigger crowd. This was at least the fourth time I've seen them, and they've gotten better each time. (I guess you can grow a lot when transitioning from pre-teen to teen.) Like their other shows of this tour, they treated us with a Smoosh-ed up version of "This Modern Love" by the Bloc Party. Like Smoosh as a band, this wasn't just a novelty act -- it was actually a really good take on the song, comparable to that of ex-tourmate Final Fantasy's.
And then there were these three British lasses in polka dot dresses. Gwenno, the smoking blonde. RiotBecki, the sexy librarian with legs that can get away with murder. And Rosay, a dead-ringer for Rory Gilmore. (Now you know why she's my favourite!) The three of them up there was a sight to see -- there's something for every straight guy and lesbian.
And oh boy were they awesome. Hotness: check. Cuteness: check. Dance moves: check. Great catchy pop songs: double check. I can't say I danced more than I did at CSS (the crowd there was much more dance-friendly), but I certainly had just as much fun. Their set contained a goodly portion of b-sides, only a few of them I knew before hand ("Really That Bad", "Guess Who Ran Off With the Milkman?", and "The Burning Ambition Of Early Diuretics"), and of course, they played all their hits too. The finger-wagging "Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me" was especially a highlight for me, as they got the audience to stick a finger up to wag along.
For the encore, they did "ABC", as well as a truncated version of "We Are The Pipettes" featuring Smoosh. During the song, members of Smoosh (including their duo's younger sister), jumped around on stage with the energy of, um, teenagers. They also modified the chorus of the song by appending "AND SMOOSH" to the titular line. While it could've been lame had it been done by other people, the way Smoosh did it was totally cute.
So looking back, yeah, I still stand by the statement of there not being any other band I'd rather seen -- with the exception of a re-animated Elliott Smith. But then that could get really awkward. I mean, what are you supposed to do when a zombie version of one of your favourite artists tries to eat your brains? I'd rather not think about that.
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
1:09 AM
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Singing to Ben Last Friday, one of my ridiculous dreams came true -- at a karaoke place, I selected from their book and did a song that was written by Ben Gibbard. That's right folks: Death Cab karaoke. You haven't heard "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" until you've heard the Ho do it.
Needless to say, I was pretty surprised when I got there and was told by my friends that they had a Death Cab song. I just told them to put it on and I'll do it. I didn't even want to know what it was before it came up, and when the guitar intro came on, I just about peed my pants. Initially, I thought it was going to be "Soul Meets Body", perhaps "Crooked Teeth," but when it became apparent that I was going to be singing (probably) my favourite song of 2005, I knew it was something I had to blog about.
The next time, I want me some Elliott Smith.
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
12:48 AM
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