built to spill 07/07/07 - in which the author learns a little lesson about livenation and acquires some serious saddles sores

prepare for an epic story of unanticipated heartbreak and unforeseen kindness.

the evening began with a bike trip down to and across the brooklyn bridge to catch a glimpse of the boredoms BOADRUM performance with 77 drummers. i was seriously unimpressed. i only stuck around until 7.30, but it seemed to me to be pretty lame. here's a picture of the boredoms proper through a gap in the steel of the bridge.

then i biked as fast as i could up to mccarren pool to catch bob mould, cat power, and built to spill. i was feeling confident, because the mccarren website said that they show began at 7.30, and i figured i would only have missed a bit of bob mould's set. however, when i arrived, cat power was basically finishing up her set, at 8.05. the people around me said that mould had gone on at 6 and doors had opened at 5, and i was absolutely perplexed, disappointed, and upset. fortunately, cat power's last song was "willie," my favorite off last year's excellent the greatest, so that was some small consolation. however, i still felt robbed of at least 20 bucks, and, after cat power finished, i went to make a nuisance of myself with the live nation people. after roaming all over the pool, inside and out, i found a promoter, who said that, while he couldn't help me personally, he would try to find someone who could, and, in the meantime, i could have a free beer. so i drank my free beer (delicious brooklyn lager) and waited for built to spill, with instructions to come back in 20 minutes. in those 20 minutes, built to spill started their set, so i got a medium-good spot (i didn't want to wade in and then have to wade out) and enjoyed the first few songs before returning to the side of the stage (where the promoter hung out). there i met a lovely woman from live nation, who practically personally apologized for the confusing door times, and promised me two tickets to any live nation show at irving, warsaw, or luna lounge. i can't really express how significant this was without feeling like i'm being overly dramatic. i've always had the same perspective on live nation as i do on clear channel - that they're bloodsucking money grubbing corporate pig bastards - and this promoter's kind offer really threw me for a loop. i'm not going to retract my bloodsucking, etc. position, but, like everything else, i've learned that live nation is nuanced, and good people might actually be working for a "bad" company. it was a valuable lesson.

as for built to spill; seeing them always begs the question: why doesn't anyone use distortion anymore? built to spill, yo la tengo, dinosaur jr. - these are the bands we still have that write rock songs with great fucking distortion. sleater-kinney's last work, the amazing the woods, was blissfully heavy and grungy, and then they quit. is there no more audience for 90s esque rock? well, even if the only people who still make it are leftovers from the 80s and 90s, plenty of people still want to listen to it, as the large crowd last night indicated. built to spill played a lot of songs from you in reverse, unexpectedly. to be fair, this is the first time i've seen them since they had a recent CD out (i saw them in 2004 and 2006), so maybe they were more excited about playing new stuff than older songs. not that that prevented them from playing some golden oldies like "made up dreams, "nowhere nothing fuckup," a gorgeous, virtually doug martsch solo version of "car," and the two hits from keep it like a secret, "time trap" and "carry the zero," which ended the show.

built to spill has never really been one to do much interacting with their audience, and doug's comments were limited to saying "thanks" after every other song, and introducing an eno cover (i'm not sure of which song though...watch the video below, and if you know, leave it in the comments section). their songs, as always, were never quite the same live as they are on albums; though they played "in the morning," they left off the last verse, and "the source" was similarly squelched. however, they did a nice jam on "carry the zero" - there were 10 minutes left before the pool had to shut down, so they filled the time that way (which meant there was no encore, jackasses) - and on several other songs. however, the whole show had a rather stifled or expected feel to it - by which i mean, built to spill seemed to be going through the motions and the crowd just stood there and took it. their technical skill was high, as always, and (also as always), built to spill's ranks were bolstered by some unnamed guests on guitars, whose work on the fretboards merged perfectly with doug's own melodies to the point that you couldn't tell who was playing what. i'm not sure what i had been expecting - built to spill is one of my favorite bands, and i wouldn't pass up a chance to see them, but i think the big outdoor arena space isn't really the right one to see them in. i've seen them in two small venues (the paradise in boston and irving plaza), and it was perfect. in their quiet way, they fed on the crowd's energy and played two great sets. in mccarren, somehow lost onstage, some of the magic was missing.

i took several videos, which i'll be posting to youtube tonight and tomorrow, but check out the brian eno cover and "time trap" below the photo.

the polyphonic spree, warsaw, 7/1/07

there is nothing like the polyphonic spree to restore one's faith in...well, whatever one doesn't have faith in. ok, so the spree didn't restore my faith in america, but that's a tall order anyway. they did, however, make me astonishingly happy for near two and a half hours. yes, that was all concert time. and that's not counting the opener, jesca hoop. i made the "mistake" of arriving at 9.45 for a 9 show, not realizing that warsaw actually starts its shows when the ticket says, but i still caught three hoop songs, which were really good. some mp3s have been making the rounds lately, especially "intelligentactile101," which i heard, and "seed of wonder." "intelligentactile101" is on the upcoming kismet, hoop's first album, due to be released later this year. without even listening to her music, this quote will assure you that it's worth your while:

"jesca hoop's music is like a four sided coin. she is an old soul, like a black pearl, a good witch or a red moon. her music is like going swimming in a lake at night." - tom waits.

indeed, though i wasn't expecting much from a no name opener for one of indiedom's most well-known bands, jesca hoop pleasantly surprised and engaged me. i've reposted "intelligentactile101" below. you should definitely check her out, and wait with bated breath for kismet.

i sorta cheated in preparation for the 'spree, because i listened to part of the npr taping of their show the night before in washington and checked out the tracklist, but that didn't even begin to prepare me for the two solid hours of joy that tim delaughter and co. brought to brooklyn that night. it seemed a wonder in and of itself that 24 people could fit onto such a small stage, but fit they did, with room to rock.


they opened with "running away" and "get up and go!," the first two songs off their new album the fragile army, and then took a trip back in time to the beginning stages of... for "it's the sun," bringing the crowd to a level of excitement that didn't flag for the rest of the show. tim was the obvious focal point for the whole show, and was the only spree member to speak to the audience, but that was to be expected. clad in their new black uniforms, the spree did seem more vulnerable, as the title of their new album suggests.

mixing the old with the new, the polyphonic spree lightened hearts and minds with their rousing 50 minute set...i know a smile didn't leave my face for one minute the whole time. unfortunately, time blunts the details, so i can't remember which song they ended with, but it was long and slow, and the whole band filed out, bit by bit, until only tim was left onstage, serenading the crowd that sang along with him.

after tim had left the stage, the crowd kept singing the last lyrics of the song over and over, waiting, begging for an encore. there was no movement on stage, but the crowd didn't give up hope. and, indeed, the spree entered from the back of the auditorium, resplendent in their old white robes. the crowd went apeshit, cheering, smiling, giving everyone high-fives and handshakes. the band finally made it back to the stage, and played for another hour and a half. i swear to god, it was amazing. tim kept saying that he didn't want to stop playing yet, and no one argued with him. they played "lithium," "sonic bloom," "la la," "hanging around the day (pt. 2)," everything that you could possibly hope for.
"everything starts at the seams" into "when the fool becomes the king," when tim made the whole band stand still for least 10 minutes as he chatted up the crowd and teased the other 23 people on stage as much as he wanted. the night ended with a birthday celebration for mark pirro, originally a member of tripping daisy. we were told a story about a ship on the great lakes, whose name i can't remember now, for some reason, but the last song was tripping daisy's "ride captain ride," which the whole crowd sang along to, despite the fact that i'm sure only four or five people knew the words (it's an easy chorus). prompted by tim's exhortations that the polyphonic spree needs all the money we could spend on them, the crowd mobbed the merch table, and everyone else left in a glow of good cheer and happiness. a perfect night.


jesca hoop - "intelligentactile 101" look for kismet later this year.
the polyphonic spree - "get up and go" buy the fragile army here.

boy with a coin single

ah, the joys of qtfairuse. why, with this simple program, it is so easy for a mostly scrupulous (but firmly anti-drm) blogger like yours truly to purchase songs from the itunes store (bought with a gift certificate, no less), free them from their constraining drm bonds, and give them for all to share.


iron & wine has gotten a good amount of press lately, considering the fact that his third full-length, the shepherd's dog, isn't due until september 25 on sub pop. the album's first single, "boy with a coin," has been making the rounds, but i haven't seen its accompanying b-side, "carried home," so i'm offering both of those up for download (along with the cover art, reproduced above. as sam beam has matured, his songsmithing has changed, from the dusky verses of "lion's mane" to the cleaner, fleshed-out sounds on woman king, his 2005 ep. "boy with a coin" picks up almost directly from where woman king left off, with beam's lilting melodies buttressed by muffled rhythmic handclaps, while "carried home" is an epic, more like his endless numbered days material. in any event, this album will definitely be a treat, especially after this long dry spell.

"carried home"
"boy with a coin"

the shepherd's dog tracklist

1. Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car
2. White Tooth Man
3. Lovesong of the Buzzard
4. Carousel
5. House by the Sea
6. Innocent Bones
7. Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)
8. Resurrection Fern
9. Boy with a Coin
10. The Devil Never Sleeps
11. Peace Beneath the City
12. Flightless Bird, American Mouth

buy all your favorite iron & wine merchandise here.

for some bonus live previews, the rawking refuses to stop still has nine tracks recorded at the pabst theater in february.

fujiya & miyagi, south street seaport, 7/6/07

as even the most casual reader of this site (or resident of new york city) will know, the number one thing that makes new york habitable over the summer (list of grievances begins with the stifling humidity and tourists with a fourth grade reading level) is its inestimably awesome collection of free live music. the list of artists runs the gamut from battles and dan deacon (and similarly new/unheard names) to old standards like joan armatrading. but, as awesome as all this free live music is (and it's pretty awesome), it's not my favorite thing about new york in the summertime. my favorite thing is being able to bike to and from these shows, as i did tonight for the fujiya & miyagi/black moth super rainbow show at south street seaport. biking, even on the specially designated bike path on the hudson river, has become the most dangerous activity in new york, having claimed the lives of at least 18 people last year, so now i always wear a helmet and miss the feeling of wind in my hair, but i still love it. the knowledge that i get to ride home at the end of the night, no matter whether the show was good or bad, is always a great feeling, and keeps me in a good mood, even when a bunch of prepubescent chain smokers burn me with their cigarettes and hoist each other onto their shoulders during the concert (not that i'm bitter or anything). anyway, enough of my drivel. here's the dirt on fujiya & miyagi and black moth super rainbow.

black moth super rainbow. i was automatically prejudiced against this band because of their absurdly unnecessarily stupid name, and the fact that pitchfork likes them. and, to be honest, i think my preordained shoulder chip was justified. here's a photo of the band:


i kid you not. i got off my bike, waded through the crowd, and realized that it seemed the band was missing. either that, or that bass player had some strange shit coming through his amp. well, shiver me timbers, but the whole band was sitting on the stage. what were they doing? i have no idea. why couldn't they get tables? who knows. i'm okay with the fact that i missed the first half of their set, and, while the last song wasn't too bad, rivertoriver's claim that they sound like an early pink floyd is way off the mark. the sound was heavily layered, with occasional vocals coming through, though i couldn't see anyone singing (to be fair, i couldn't see three-quarters of the band). with standard crescendos and climaxes, glitchy electronic swells and sinks, and the occasional too-loud sounds (that were also the best part of their set), black moth super rainbow is definitely NOT worth spending money on, in any context. what kind of band can't stay vertical for their set? further proof of their sedentary laziness ->

dude couldn't even stand up for half an hour.

fujiya & miyagi, on the other hand, delivered everything that was expected of them. i'm not a huge lover of electronic music, but their songs (both the studio and live versions) have the thoughtfulness and precision that makes the genre (occasionally) listenable. i'd played transparent things through once or twice, in preparation for the show, and, as far as i could tell, their live set was virtually indistinguishable from the studio. just to clarify, that's not a bad thing. the measured rhythms and whispered onomatopoeias got the crowd to sway, but not to dance outright, which wouldn't have suited the music anyway. their stage presence was calm and professional, with only "thank yous" being spoken - i liked their reticence. i was also impressed with the abundance of "real" instruments in a electronic band - the only programmed sounds were that of the drum machine. and with the exception of the encore, the 6 minute instrumental "cassettesingle," where all three members rocked out and imbued the song with a rawness unheard on the album, the band's physical presence spoke to the simultaneous activity and stillness of their work, the duality of the songs that can make a crowd of new yorkers dance and make me want to go to sleep as i write this post. the gentle repetition of the vocals and melody soothes and calms, while the bass and drums keep up the beat and inspire booty-shaking (albeit subdued). my favorite part of the show were the multiple times that frontman david best (alias miyagi) sputtered, clicked, or made sounds that wouldn't be out of place at a rahzel show into the mic, best heard on tracks like "collarbone," posted below. now that i re-listen to transparent things, it is obvious that the studio and live tracks are not identical...for one thing, the live versions were significantly longer, though just as meticulously rehearsed, so that not one iota of the performance seemed improvised or unexpected. also, in the live version of "collarbone,"
fujiya & miyagi whisper-sung "the foot bone is connected to the anklebone" etc. in the middle of the song, which i was disappointed to find out is not on the album. all in all, i was soothed by fujiya & miyagi - i wouldn't have paid to see them, nor for the album, but as a free show, it was really good. the whole time i couldn't stop thinking about how much it reminded me of massive attack - another band that i can't really justify spending money on, but whom i enjoy nonetheless. i hope you like the photos.


black moth super rainbow - "forever heavy" if you need to, buy dandelion gum here.
fukiya & miyagi - "collarbone" purchase transparent things here.

radio is only dying in america.

conventional radio sucks, stateside. as idolator reported yesterday, some economists are proposing to axe it - not for the compelling "it sucks" reason, but to encourage consumers to buy more CDs. idolator takes stan liebowitz to task for pandering his absurd notion, thankfully, but there's no denying that a cancer has taken over our airwaves. i toiled diligently for my college radio station, and love and cherish community radio, and only listen to three radio stations in new york - wnyc, wkcr (columbia university radio), and wfuv (fordham university radio). you know the disgusting statistics about clear channel, and how they own some absurd percentage of america's airwaves, and the payola scandal that elliot spitzer rode to new york's governorship, and the mandated playlists, and how radio is dying a long and painful death, especially with soundexchange's enthusiasm for collecting ginormous royalties from mom-and-pop net radio stations.

anyway, enough of my diatribes. the point of the matter is, this is endemic primarily in america. radio THRIVES in the uk and europe, and plays new and exciting music - blogging doesn't have to be as popular in britain, because they hear the new art brut single on the radio, when it seems likely that no one at clear channel has even heard of the artistic art brut, much less the musical variety. but i'm not here today to talk about art brut. i'm here to talk about the long blondes and france. seemingly unrelated, the long blondes (someone to drive you home, their debut, is definitely WSMO) in fact took a trip to paris on december 4 of last year to play a set on France Inter radio, which often broadcasts performances live on the air (the closest we get to that is bob boilen). these performances are black sessions, and the long blondes' was made available on dime a dozen not too long ago. i've been meaning to post the whole set, but my computer died and my file hosting server is taking forever, so, sadly, i've put up all the tracks on zshare, where you'll have to open their window first. the french announcer translates kate jackson's comments from time to time, which is neither irritating nor intrusive, so they have been left in the mix.

i was also able to pick up an art brut black session, and i'll be posting that when i get my computer back.

the long blondes - maison de la radio, paris, france - december 4, 2006

1. lust in the movies
2. weekend without makeup
3. company of women
4. madame ray
5. fulwood babylon
6. giddy stratospheres
7. only lovers left alive
8. you could have both
9. once and never again
10. five ways to end it
11. separated by motorways

you can purchase the excellent someone to drive you home directly from rough trade here.


this just in: waves and wires has converted a long blondes show from june 16 into mp3 format, and is available here.

man man @ mccarren pool, 7/1/07

after a week of sweltering heat and the more-than-occasional thunderstorm, i was REALLY happy to see the sun shining brightly on sunday, with only a few clouds in the sky, because i had a date with man man that afternoon. to sweeten the already-sweet deal (i.e., free show), illinois was opening for the cabaret-stomp sextet, and i was all hot and bothered to see them live, having been (mostly) impressed with their debut ep, what the hell do i know?


it seems that blog-world success doesn't really translate into the real-world variety, for, despite the eps' critical success, the crowd was thin and most people were playing dodgeball (awesome!) or slip-and-sliding (awesomer!). still, illinois rocked pretty steadily, opening their set with two new songs (one of which was "oh asia," which you can download at their daytrotter session) before slipping into the familiar "nosebleed." i was pleased to see that the banjo in the press photo is real, though not the coolest trick illinois had up their sleeve. for "nosebleed," chris archibald (lead singer/ songwriter) pulled out a phone headset that seemed to have been reconfigured into a mic, and wailed into that for the whole song. the fact that i've been too busy the past few days to post this means that i can't remember exactly which songs where played and which weren't, but i'm pretty sure that all three daytrotter songs were played in the 8- or 9-song set, and we can hopefully expect a long playing illinois album by 2009. i was very pleased with their set, and the crowd especially liked "headphones" and "bad day" (i took a video; you can watch it here), though they seemed a little daunted by the big stage, and i don't think they're ready to headline any tours quite yet. despite that, i maintain that illinois is going to be producing some solid straight rock for a while, so keep your ears open.

dengue fever, a world-fusion sextet for los angeles, was next up, and i, having never heard of them, had no expectations, and i was not unhappy with their set. the singer was cambodian, and sang in that language, and the music was very much like most other world artists - slightly jam-like, jazzy, and a bit repetitive after about half an hour. despite that, dengue fever will now always hold a special place in my heart, because of these guys ->

(there's nothing better than a pair of big beards.)

the white guy on the right spoke some cambodian (one would assume), as he sang backup vocals more than once, and dengue fever's stage presence was really strong. they were obviously very comfortable and visibly enjoyed their set, and while that doesn't mean the music was outstanding (it wasn't), there are several worse things i could've been doing than listening to some decent world jams.

there are not a lot of dengue fever mp3s floating around, but motel de moka has three; if you're located in brooklyn, they did an in-store at soundfix right after the set, and they'll definitely have albums for sale.

and now, man man. there's pretty much nothing i can add to what the comments section of brooklyn vegan's report on this show hasn't said (about 3/4s of all the posts are about either band of horses and darren mabee, the fat semi-nude guy who is at every man man show in new york), so i'm going to pretend like that page doesn't exist and tell you about how much i enjoyed their show. it was the second time i've seen them, after their january 5 show at bowery ballroom, and, while the crowd was not as gung-ho this time as it was then, there were probably more spectators and fewer fans.

clad in their trademark white head-to-toe and face makeup (except for honus honus's white daisy dukes), man man took the stage to epic applause and started right in with "black mission goggles" off last year's six demon bag. i was surprised to see six guys onstage, as they only had five in january, but their performance was seamless. the fluidity of their show always impresses me, because they pack so many things in; six drummers, a marimba, a saxophone, two keyboards, a bowl of spoons, a trumpet, guitar, bass, two air keyboards (you know, the ones you breathe into), some kazoos, and who the hell knows what else. yet they never seem to waver or be overwhelmed by the sheer absurdity of their own actions, which are pretty fucking absurd. honus honus was in fine voice, bellowing at the microphone like some diseased gypsy and thrashing his feet around, when he wasn't walking around on stage, twitching spastically. i'm not 100% familiar with the man man catalog, but i'm sure they played a bunch of new songs from the album they started recording in february (pitchfork has a "special feature" video on it). their set was practically crackling with energy as they stomped, clattered, and generally insanely rocked through much of the man in the blue turban with a face and six demon bag, playing "english bwudd," "10 lb. mustache," "young einstein on the beach," "zebra," and a moving, tender version of "van helsing boombox," along with several other songs. they encored with "hot bat," featuring the ever-popular synchronized jumping. their rigs, bedecked in hard-to-see christmas lights, shuddered with their fanatic energy, and assured their spot (in my mind) as one of the best live bands around today.

you need to ask yourself why, if you live in new york, you weren't there last sunday for illinois, dengue fever, and man man. one of the more promising bands in the indie canon, and one of its live heavyweights put on an excellent show. i took a couple man man movies, including one of their six-person drum-off, which i've posted below. you can see the other one here (honus honus dons some black fabric and a gold crown for this marimba-heavy jam). my excellent day didn't end here, fortunately; i saw the polyphonic spree later that night at warsaw, which i'll be posting on later today (nothing like the 4th of july to give you an excuse to catch up on blogging). and now, some mp3s, a photo, and a movie. enjoy.





illinois - "bad day" buy what the hell do i know? here.
man man - "van helsing boombox" "i, manface" buy all your man man stuff here.

i feel like a curmudgeon today; damn the subway

because of stupid stupid subway delays, i only saw two malajube songs at celebrate brooklyn yesterday, so im unhappy about that. but to be fair, who actually starts concerts at the time listed? im grumpy about that. but here are some pretty pictures:




malajube rocked way harder than i was expecting, and both the songs were new and awesome. they're playing tonight at maxwell's, which i'd normally go to, except for the fact that i'm seeing polyphonic spree after the man man show this afternoon. too much good music. for more new malajube, check out their daytrotter session.


while i was despairing about missing so much of the malajube show, some music truths became self-evident to me, and i'd like to share them with you:
1. sigur ros will never put out a bad album.
2. your old favorite band's new album will never be as good as your old favorite's band old album.
3. one out of every six british bands has an original sound.
4. why can't anyone be honest about how disappointing the reminder was?

i'm just feeling a little lost in the blogosphere, with such a lack of serious criticism - i feel like everything i read is just about the new "big" thing, be it pissed jeans or s-s-s-spectres or whatever, and not really considering the fact that the fragile army doesn't make you want to praise the sun or fill you with the same exultation in being alive as the beginning stages of... or together we're heavy, which is, for me, the best thing about the spree. i can't listen to music dispassionately, it's all about how it makes me feel. and it doesn't make me feel as good. but this isn't just about the polyphonic spree, or how pitchfork can't say a bad word about anything anymore, i just wish every new band wasn't greeted as amazing and wonderful, because a lot of them aren't. i liked the blow a hell of a lot more than i like YACHT, but he's new news, and they're old news, so who cares? i'm just feeling a little bummed today. i hope man man rocks. check back for updates on that tomorrow.