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Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Live Music: Reykjavik Blues Festival, 4/6/09

by Ann Logue

spaceballIn Icelandic, it’s a klubbar blueshatidar — a blues club — at least for the week of the Reykjavik Blues Festival. The rest of the year, the Cafe Rosenberg is a 100-seat cafe serving fresh food and Viking beer. It has a tiny stage mostly showing local musicians, although it is thrilled to showcase international musicians as well. Jonathan Richman played there last week.

The festival has two main venues, the Cafe Rosenberg for Icelandic acts and the Hilton Nordica for the international musicians. In a country with just 300,000 people, though, there aren’t enough blues bands to fill the bill for five nights of shows. Hence, the programmers have to be creative. On Sunday, the klubbar featured rimur chant musicians, who sang some of the sagas of the complicated conquests and struggles of people living in a desolate country. In a way, it’s Iceland’s own version of the blues.

Last night, the cafe drew a good crowd for jazz blues music. The first act was the Budget Blues Band, a five-piece jazz combo. They took the stage shortly after 9:00, although the keyboard player, Arni Karlsson, ran up after the music started. The trumpeter, Birkir Matthiasson, was fabulous. They were joined by Olaf Stolztenwald on bass, Asgeir Asgeirsson on guitar, and Magnus Tryggvasson Eliasen on drums. And here’s the thing: they group formed two weeks ago just to play at the blues fest. Arni told me that they musicians had played together in different permutations over the last ten years. “In Reykjavik, everyone kind of plays with everyone else,” he said.

After there set was over at about 10:00 pm, the Budget Blues Band cleared the stage and went into oblivion. In no time, Tomas R. Einarsson was up with his combo, playing a mostly acoustic set, complete with a bongo player. The musicians were strong, but they weren’t playing the blues.

Fewer musicians play the blues these days, whether in Chicago or in Reykjavik. As great as it can be, it’s a genre of a time and a place and a people. Rimur chants aren’t being written about the decline in the krona, nor are there new blues songs about the struggles of General Motors. Tonight, Pinetop Perkins is playing; he’s 95. Is he the beginning of the end?

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Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

NXNE: Reykjavik Blues Festival, Part 1

by Ann Logue


I’m a Chicagoan on a working vacation in Iceland, writing about the financial crisis for a hedge fund trade magazine and taking in geysers. When I realized that my trip would overlap the annual Reykjavik Blues Festival, running from April 4-9, well, I had to cover it, too. After all, the only people who love the blues more than white people from the north side of Chicago are white people in Europe. Pinetop Perkins, darker than any Inuit, took the redeye here to sing the blues.

No matter what we look like or where we live, we have all been downhearted, baby, ever since the day that someone left. Right? And the Icelandic people have a lot to be downhearted about these days, between their heavy debt load, their deflated economy, and their stint on the U.K.’s list of terrorist nations, an attempt by the British government to recover British deposits in Icelandic banks. Throw in the fact that the British blue band Led Zeppelin wrote one of its big hits, “The Immigrant Song,” about Iceland, and you have a festival setting that Memphis and St. Louis would envy.

Only some of the musicians and fun this week are imported, but it started with the cars. Saturday’s kickoff event involved the Reykjavik Cruiser Club members driving their classic American cars down the narrow Bankastræti. The lead car was fixed up like Jake and Elwood’s Bluesmobile. Every driver was on a mission from God: to have some fun at the end of a long winter, in the midst of a recession, by showing off their much-loved vehicles.

The Sevar Karl Gallery had a display of classic guitars. Gallery is a loose term here; it’s in the basement of the Sevar Karl boutique. Upstairs, the racks of Dolce & Gabbana sweaters were all 60% off, and the merchandise wasn’t picked over; there simply aren’t buyers for fancy imported sweaters in a country known for its knitting. Downstairs, everyone admired Andy Summers’ guitar.

But here was the best part: local musicians were playing blues in the street. They added life, which was sadly lacking inside the shops. Some of the players seemed professional, but most appeared to be groups of friends who thought it would be a goof to get together and play some blues standards for all the folks walking around outside. The musicians and their audience were having a great time, especially considering that the temperature was in the thirties and rainy. And isn’t that was the blues should do?

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Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

Live Music: Glasvegas @ Webster Hall, 3/30/09

by Taylor Long

glasvegasThey may only have an album and a Christmas EP behind them, but Glasgow’s Glasvegas are already performing like a big-time rock band.

Grabbing the attention of the US late last year with the release of their debut, self-titled album, Glasvegas have packed New York City venues of increasing sizes, including their most recent stop at Webster Hall last Monday.

Entering the stage amid blue strobe lights and fog machines, they opened with their hit, “Geraldine,” about a social worker, “I’ll be the angel on your shoulder / my name is Geraldine, I’m your social worker.”

Glasvegas, “Geraldine” (download)

The drenched guitars of their dream pop meets ’60s pop fell on the ears of a crowd that skewed older and more predominantly male than the average New York City indie rock audience. Both anthemic and cathartic, songs like “Fuck You It’s Over” and “Go Square Go” saw many fists (and beers) in the air. The band was equally enthusiastic, throwing themselves around the entire stage, and keeping in-between song banter to short appreciative statements, like “Thank you so fucking much” and “What can I say, man, I fucking love you.”

In a live setting, front man James Allan’s lyrics were particularly difficult to decipher through his thick accent, but this may have worked to the band’s advantage, since the lyrics tend to be the stuff of teenage LiveJournal entries. “I’m feeling so guilty about the things I said to my mum when I was ten years old,” he laments in mope jam, “It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry.”

The set was short – they don’t have much material to choose from yet — but they managed an encore, and walked off stage with handshakes and gifts from fans. It’d be a safe bet that the next time Glasvegas come to New York City, the venue will be even bigger. (more…)

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Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

Live Music: Akron/Family @ Union Pool, 3/29/09

by Taylor Long

Akron/Family @ Union Pool“Everyone is guilty,” Akron/Family sang at their second gig at Union Pool, but if their performance was any indication, that fact isn’t getting to them.

The bi-city band, based in New York as well as Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was full of whimsical energy Sunday night as they surged through an 11-song set without so much as a pause. Song bled into song, the transitions carried by any combination of the nine people on stage. Of those nine, three drive the madness that is Akron/Family – Seth Olinksy (guitar), Miles Seaton (bass) and Dana Janssen (drums). They have their primary roles, but much like a freak-folk version of Broken Social Scene, they’re all multi-instrumentalists, and vocal duties shift, with Olinksy usually taking the lead.

The set list focused on material from the band’s upcoming album, Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free, due in May. But while music nerds often get stereotyped as creating highly conceptual and not always accessible music, Akron/Family found a place for it all. Shifting from lilting folk tunes like “The Alps & Their Orange Evergreen” and unexpected dance tune, “Ed Is A Portal,” Akron/Family interjected short, stylized jams in transitions, proving themselves adept at funk, prog, hardcore, whatever rock offshoot you can name. Olinksy would get an almost painful look on his face, as if he couldn’t stand it any longer, as though he had to play that next note or he might die.

Akron/Family, “Ed is a Portal” (download)

But as unafraid to fly their freak flag as they are, Akron/Family do so without alienating – quite the opposite, in fact, as they envelop the audience as often as possible, encouraging participation in a variety of ways. Olinsky ran into the audience to hand someone a drum. Seaton would rile up the crowd with exclamations like, “Move your ass!” Hand claps and sing-alongs were encouraged at every opportune moment. (more…)

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Monday, March 30th, 2009

Live Music: Morrissey @ Webster Hall; the Grates and Micachu & the Shapes @ Pianos, 3/25/09

by Taylor Long

MorrisseyNew York City living, with its ever-expanding list of options, presents a reoccurring problem: What to do when you need or want to be in two places at once? Given the opportunity to see both legendary crooner Morrissey at Webster Hall for free and up-and-coming hype bands the Grates and Micachu & the Shapes for free, what does one do? Well, if you have experience covering festivals like CMJ, and enough money for cab fare, you do both.

Starting out at Webster Hall, the end of the set by openers the Courteeners was unsurprisingly Smiths-ish. At any other time and place, that might be perfectly fine, but as an opener for Morrissey? Who wants processed cheese when you can have cheddar?

Morrissey warmed the crowd up, once again, with a series of old video clips before his set. When the curtain dropped and the pompadoured singer took the stage, he asked, “I just have one soul searching question to ask you: Where the hell am I?” before jumping into Brooklyn bar dance hit, “This Charming Man.”

But, sadly enough, the same people that will likely bust a move to the song when it comes on at their local bar were noticeably less rapturous than the average Morrissey fanboy crowd. Were people there to say they saw Morrissey at a smaller venue than he usually plays, or where they simply there to see him?

Morrissey, however, was up to his normal tricks, casting shirts into the audience, whipping the mic around, brushing back his hair, and interjecting an air of mystery between songs with statements like, “I am a myth.” The set list was full of standard fare – “How Soon Is Now?” “Irish Blood, English Heart” “Billy Budd” – all of which were as aggressive as Morrissey has ever been, with the help of his current backing band. But lest we forget his reputation as the International Man of Misery, there was “Let Me Kiss You,” and “Seasick, Yet Still Docked” to tug at the heartstrings. (See below for a video of “Seasick, Yet Still Docked” from this show.)

Unfortunately, as he began mid-set standard “The Loop,” a cab and Piano’s were beckoning… (more…)

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Friday, March 20th, 2009

Live Music: Charles Spearin’s Happiness Project @ Le Poisson Rouge, 3/15/09

by Taylor Long

Charles Spearin's Happiness ProjectOne of many highlights of Broken Social Scene’s performance at CMJ last fall was the presentation of “Mrs. Morris,” the first song from Charles Spearin’s Happiness Project. Spearin, fascinated by the musical qualities of speech, interviewed his neighbors, friends and family members about happiness, then set those interviews to song. Though Spearin says he never expected the Happiness Project to go beyond his living room, he released an album of material on February 14, put together a band and took the record on the road, stopping at New York City’s swanky Le Poisson Rouge on Sunday night.

Spearin and his eight-piece band began with “Mrs. Morris,” the most straight-forward format of speech to song. As he did at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple in October, he played just the recording of her voice, then played it with a saxophone accompaniment.

Charles Spearin, “Mrs. Morris” (download)

With the rest of the pieces, the band experimented. In some cases, one sentence would be repeated in a sort of minimalist style, as with “Vanessa,” an interview with a woman who was born deaf, then at the age of 30 got a cochlear implant. Describing what it was like to hear, Vanessa said, “All of a sudden I found my body moving inside,” and the band repeated the notes of this phrase, then turned it into a sort of chant, singing the words over and over and clapping. For “Marisa” and “Mr. Gowrie,” just a few short snippets were played, then the band drew from those tones to create instrumental jams, not unlike those of Spearin’s main projects, Broken Social Scene and Do Make Say Think.

Charles Spearin, “Marisa” (download)

Taking a page from the Broken Social Scene concert format of everyone shares the spotlight, two of the Happiness Project band members got a chance to play their own projects. Ohad Benchetrit played “Don’t Let The Blind Go Deaf,” from his solo project Years, which will be released on Arts & Crafts (also the label of Broken Social Scene and the Happiness Project) in May, and Michael Barth, who plays the flugelhorn and trumpet, performed a piece by Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi. Each band member was noticeably talented, though, as they were all multi-instrumentalists. (more…)

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Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

Live Music: Cursive @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, 3/9/09

by Taylor Long

Tim KasherAppearances, as they say, can be deceiving. Looking at Cursive frontman Tim Kasher’s slim stature on stage at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last Monday night, one unfamiliar with his songwriting might have never guessed the hostilities that lurk within.

Shaking his head and his fist, Kasher pointed his rage at lovers, religion and critics, pulling out a career spanning set list with a heavy emphasis on recent material. Ugly Organ, Happy Hollow and last week’s newly released Mama, I’m Swollen consumed most of the set.

The crowd was tame but appreciative, and so was the band. Cursive can be known for Kasher’s booze-besotted outbursts, but he was quiet and polite in-between songs. Though he claimed, at one point that, “I have a threshold of about 15 songs and then I get really bored,” they chugged through a 13-song set and six-song encore with not so much as a hiccup.

Brand new jams “From the Hips,” “Mama, I’m Satan” and “I Couldn’t Love You” fit in comfortably between fan favorites like “Some Red-Handed Slight of Hand” and “The Casualty,” though it’ll take some time before the new tunes rile fans up as much as the older ones.

Cursive, “From the Hips” (download)

Supporting Kasher were founding bassist Matt Maginn and long-time guitarist Ted Stevens, who thrashed around with ease, as well as a yet to be identified keyboardist and trumpeter. But it appears that the most recent addition, drummer Cornbread Compton — who replaced founding drummer Clint Schnase, who left in ‘07 — was absent at both the Music Hall of Williamsburg show, as well as the show at Bowery Ballroom the following night, and we’re not the only ones to notice. If anyone can confirm or deny, please do. (Drummers, sheesh!) (more…)

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Monday, March 16th, 2009

Live Music: Les Savy Fav @ the Mezzanine, 3/1/09

by Taylor Long

Tim HarringtonBy now, most people who’ve heard (of) Les Savy Fav know their live show is more spectacle than concert. This is due in large part to front-man Tim Harrington, whose no-holds-barred antics could probably attract the same crowd sizes on their own. This isn’t to knock Les Savy Fav’s music, or their ability to play it in a live setting – there’d be nothing wrong with watching them stand or dance around like any other band. But with songs as sexually charged and defiant as theirs, the baccanalian atmosphere just drives the point home.

Their Noise Pop closing show at San Francisco’s the Mezzanine was no exception, with Harrington in top form from the moment he walked on stage. He arrived covered in toilet paper, claiming it was a cask from a biking accident, before he quipped that it reminded him of a tampon, then doused himself in water and shook toilet-paper-mache over an already rapt crowd. The only way to make an entrance like that even better? By opening with “What Would Wolves Do?,” “In time we will show the world why the world made us.”

Les Savy Fav, “What Would Wolves Do?” (download)

Since Harrington just handles vocal duties, his theatrics still leave guitarists Seth Jabour and Andrew Reuland, drummer Harrison Haynes and bassist Syd Butler free to concentrate on the technical aspects of the performance, delivering a tight series of pounding noise-dance-rage tunes. Harrington’s actions are pure spur of the moment, though, so the other band members were often as wide-eyed or slack-jawed as the audience. (more…)

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Monday, February 9th, 2009

Live Music: Jukebox the Ghost, Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, 2/6/09

by Allen Lulu

Last year I had the good fortune to discover a band before almost anyone else and before they blew up. In the case of Jukebox the Ghost, however, there’s still time; if you listen and love them now, you will be in that special crowd of musical geekdom: the “I knew them when” crowd.

For me, unearthing a gem of a band is a bi-polar experience. I want to shout to the rafters about the band — and I do, anywhere I can. And then, after they have been embraced by masses, there is usually a twinge of loss, that they aren’t “mine” anymore.

When I was a teen, this was because the music I loved helped me define myself. And since the band was different, unique, special, then it would follow that I must be as well. At the same time, though, while experiencing the loss of my secret, self-clarifying touchstone, I am buoyed and elated by their success and thrilled when it happens for them — mostly because it means there will be more music from the group and better concerts and also because it vindicates my taste and proves that, well, why not say it? I was right.

All of this brings me to Jukebox the Ghost and their live performance at The Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles.  But, first, a little history.

(more…)

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Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Live Music: Frightened Rabbit @ Le Poisson Rouge, 2/2/09

by Taylor Long

scott hutchinson of frightened rabbitFrightened Rabbit could not have been more different from the setting for their acoustic, all-request set at Le Poisson Rouge on Monday night. Le Poisson Rouge’s pricey beverages and bottle service attracted an audience more interested in being seen there than being there, as the sound of chatter rose above both openers, Joe Pug and Gregory & the Hawk. The scene was a stark contrast to the hairy, earnest Scots who took to the stage with plaid shirts and holes in their jeans. But try as they might have, a band as raw and emotional as Frightened Rabbit can’t be talked over.

Front man/songwriter Scott Hutchinson and crew were cheery from the start, which was a request for fan-favorite, “Backwards Walk,” from their second and most recent album, The Midnight Organ Fight. “That’s a poor choice,” Hutchinson jokingly chided before launching into the tune about the inability to stop returning to an ex. The song closes with one of their more memorable lyrics, “You’re the shit / and I’m knee deep in it.” That was all it took for the audience to stop talking.

Jokingly holding up blank set lists, Hutchinson explained that the idea for the all-request show came along because after 10 months of touring, “We just wanted to do something that was going to be enjoyable.” And enjoy it he did, telling stories about the songs between swigs from a bottle of whiskey. “Everyone thinks it’s about my penis, but it’s not,” he remarked after playing “Snake,” which he elaborated is actually about his plans to surprise a woman in New York City by showing up with nothing but the clothes on his back and a draft snake he’d been keeping for her. As it happened, the girl was “less than thrilled,” so he wrote “I Feel Better” as a sequel, reusing the music from the chorus. (more…)

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