(photo cred: Mike McDougal)

We all have that one friend who always manages to pull out a guitar at get-togethers, as semi-circles of friends form around them for a mini performance of old cover songs, inviting sing-a-longs, or something new and unique. But not all of us are lucky enough to be able to be a part of a semi circle around someone as talented as the scruffy Mr. David Bazan.  After all, it isn’t every day that the mastermind behind Pedro the Lion does a tour of solely intimate house shows, with only forty tickets sold per house. I was one of the lucky few that got a ticket after hovering over my computer mouse until the tickets went on sale, only to be sold out twenty minutes later.

He sat at the edge of a long couch in the cement-floored loft, embracing his acoustic guitar, as the city lights of downtown Los Angeles glowed through the window behind him. Bazan opened by saying that he’d mostly be playing new material from his anticipated album, Curse Your Branches, coming out August 25th.  Having never seen Bazan live before, I was slightly disappointed that he only played a couple of Pedro the Lion songs, but it was refreshing to hear something fresh and new without a band behind him. With a raspy voice and a squint in his left eye, he sang in the acoustically accommodating loft, as everyone sat staring and listening, as young children would sit around an elder, gazing upward in awe and astonishment.

What really made this performance unique was the way David Bazan paused between each song to ask if anyone had any questions.  At first it seemed as though he wanted people to ask about his music, but when he asked the group what their favorite movies were, it was obvious he was just a down to earth dude wanting to get to know his fans. He even told a story about paying for some program that taught him sweet dance moves, and how his wife walked in on him attempting the moves and failing miserably.  The echoing laughter brought such fantastic energy that added to the already radiant loft.  While playing a bit of a downer song, the host’s Dachshund interrupted the performance, and as Bazan laughed he said how difficult it was to sing about death when a cute dog is chilling next to you. His last song was the cover “Hallelujah,” initially written by Leonard Cohen, but covered by many, including Bob Dylan and Jeff Buckley. Bazan’s brutal and honest songwriting makes him one of most well rounded artists of today, and being able to see him perform his trade with his overwhelming raw emotion in such a setting allowed for a truly exceptional musical experience.

The legal and ethical questions around downloading music often lie in the murky gray zone between right and wrong; however, an exclusively recorded charity album for AIDS awareness is a clear cut decision.

Dark Was The Night is a collaborative music project created by members of The National and John Carlin (founder of Red Hot Organization).  Instead of just curating an album of pre-existing songs, these guys approached the biggest talents in independent music and recorded an exclusive track for the compilation.  The result is an astonishing 29 track exploration of the artists who will define this era of music.  It sounds silly to say that in the present, but who can deny that Andrew Bird, Arcade Fire, Beirut, Bon Iver, Conor Oberst, Feist, Sufjan Stevens, Yo La Tengo, Dirty Projectors, Kevin Drew and a host of others will be the musicians that embody the 00’s.

Go buy the compilation, support a worthy cause and enjoy some great music!

Randolph Chabot’s career is starting to look a lot like that of Conor Oberst.  There are the obvious connections with their early musical starts (Randolph is 22), and midwest background; however, it’s more their approach to the creation of music as a solitary experiment.  Chabot says that by 17 he’d written hundreds of songs, trying to find his sound.  Maybe one day we’ll hear those early demos like we did with Bright Eyes.

I first discovered Keepers as an eMusic exclusive, and couldn’t believe how varied and flexible Deastro was in songwriting.  You can grab a couple free tracks on his label site here.  I didn’t hear much chatter online, but it felt like only time before this home recording blossomed into a musical career.  Deastro’s first official LP, Moondagger, might be the release that does just that.

The first single “Parallelogram” does a good job of expanding on the concepts and sounds of his home recordings.  When asked about the new record, Chabot references “a dream about a prince, a kingdom, an evil King of Darkness, and a search for the mythical “Moondagger,” the bearer of which wields ultimate power.”  Sounds about right.  You can grab this first song here, but you’ll have to wait until June before you hear the rest of the album.

The Vivian Girls = Cassie Ramone (guitar/vocals), Kickball Katy (bass/drums/vocals) and Ali Koehler (drums/bass/vocals). They’re an all female Brooklyn, NY based punk/shoegaze/surf trio… and they rock.  Their 2008, 22-minute self-titled debut album landed them on just about every “to watch” list last year.  Pretty amazing for a band that formed in 2007.

Cassie Ramone took some time before their almost 20 SXSW shows in Austin to answer some pretty straight forward, meat and potato questions via email.

Q: Are you guys looking forward to anything in Austin or at SXSW?

A: We are looking forward to hanging out with all our friends and seeing their shows, drinking avocado margaritas, and eating Mag Mud at Magnolia every day.

Q: Are you looking forward to playing with anyone? Or reconnecting with any other bands?

A: Thee Oh Sees! They are one of the best live bands around today, we can’t wait to see ‘em again.

Q: After SXSW, you have a pretty intense touring schedule.  What’s life on the road like? How’s it different from life at home—better, worse… just different?

A: It’s like a really long slumber party. We all get along well and make a lot of jokes. Touring is fun because you get to see a lot of places and meet up with a lot of people, but it can also wear you out, kind of the way going to a party every single night would wear you out. Also missing people back at home can be a bummer.

Q: Pitchfork described you guys as an “overnight sensation.”  First, how did it feel to get such an amazing review?

A: It felt, well, amazing! We weren’t expecting anything even close to that. We weren’t even expecting Pitchfork to write about us once.

Q: Why do you think your sound resonates with so many fans/critics? What do you think it taps into?

A: I think it could be because our songs are really relatable, both musically and lyrically. We just put ourselves out there and I think that comes through in the music.

(more…)

South by Southwest (March 18th– 22nd) is one of the largest musical festivals in the U.S. and features what seems like a bazillion musical acts from around the globe.  The bands perform on over eighty stages in downtown Austin, Texas, all hoping to generate buzz and make it big in the coming year… unless of course they’ve already made it.

Here is the official 2009 schedule

To call is overwhelming is an understatement. I counted about 100 bands JUST listed under the letter A.  To help wade through all that madness, here are a couple of links with great pre-festival coverage.

SXSW official site:

In addition to news updates and interviews, they’ve got a great music player that streams artists all day long.

NPR’s Austin 100:

NPR listened to more than 1,000 SXSW bands.  Then they whittled those acts down to their favorite 100 songs. You can stream or view that list here. You can also download a 10-song sampler.

Austin Chronicle:

This is a fantastic site.  I love their pick/sleeper choices for each day of the festival.

Austin 360:

Tons of great SXSW blog links.

“It’s hot in here,” Cursive front man Tim Kasher said as he worked the mic in front of a sold out crowd Friday. “It’s getting very sexy up here.”

The girl at the base of the stage fondling her man friend nodded in agreement.

This was the Omaha band’s second performance in Los Angeles this week.  The Troubadour and Spaceland shows were part of the promotional tour for their sixth album -Mama, I’m Swollen-, which hit the shelves March 10th.

“This is the week our album came out, so we’re really happy to be here,” said the pretty damn charming Kasher, who sported a plaid shirt and scruffy beard.

While Pitchfork.com said Cursive fans are “likely to be divided” over the new album, I didn’t pick up any “I miss the old stuff” vibes at the show.  I’ll admit it, I’m not a die hard fan and couldn’t always distinguish between the new and the old material, but the audience seemed to be singing, fist pumping and crying during every song the Omaha kings had to offer. OK… Maybe not crying.

One of the old iones I’m certain they played was “The Recluse.”  It’s a song off their Ugly Organ album that every Cursive fan knows by heart. (Well, not every fan. I have no idea what the guy next to me was singing during that number.)  When the choir of fans belted out the chorus of “I’m not that desperate. Oh no. Oh God… I am,” it was pretty amazing.

At one point during the set, it looked like all the energy in the room was going to channel itself into a mini mosh pit, but two girls in the front put the kibosh on that one.  “Chill out,” I saw them mouth as they shoved a guy in back of them.

Kasher made time to thank the two Saddle Creek bands that opened the show, Little Brazil and Ladyfinger.  He said their albums were two of his favorite records this year.  “If you don’t have our record, I’d prefer you have their records instead. They’re great. Check them out.” He insisted this wasn’t a fake sales pitch.

Cursive’s performance ended around the same time their late night television debut aired on David Letterman.   They played “From the Hips” off the new album.  It was much hotter live.

I just noticed that Madvillainy came out over four years ago.  That makes me feel old, so I can’t imagine how it makes MF DOOM feel.  No one seems to really know where the masked rapper disappeared to over the past five years.  He released a somewhat boring Danger Doom w/ Danger Mouse, and did a little touring (rumored to be awful and potentially not even him), but nothing to compare to the grandeur of Madvillain.

None of that matters anymore, because DOOM is back (minus the MF) with a new LP titled Born Like This, and potentially a return to form.  From the two tracks floating around the web, “That’s That” and “Ballskin,” it’s definitely the DOOM we all know and love - full of inside pop and culture references, short blasts of raps and no regard for chorus.  The album will drop on March 23rd.  Pitchfork just reported that Thom Yorke will be remixing “Gazillion Ear” as a bonus track on the album.  Sweet.

[mp3] DOOM - Ballskin

tracklist:

01 Supervillain Intro
02 Gazillion Ear
03 Ballskin
04 Yessir [ft. Raekwon]
05 Absolutely
06 Rap Ambush
07 Lightworks
08 Batty-Boys
09 Angelz [ft. Tony Starks]
09 Cellz
10 Still Dope [ft. Empress Sharhh]
11 Microwave Mayo
12 More Rhymin’ [ft. Kurious]
13 That’s That
14 Suppervillainz
15 Bump’s Message
16 Thank Ya

My night at the Troubadour started with a band called Fake Problems.  They brought together the overlapping vocals and fantastic sound combination of old Modest Mouse, the twang of Lucero, and at times the intensity of Explosions in the Sky.  The Builders and the Butchers were up next, with a heavy acoustic southern sound and a plethora of interesting instrument additions, including a keyboard played with a straw sounding like a harmonica, a mandolin, a banjo, a trumpet, and a vocal enhancement that looked like an old fashioned hearing aid.  With a heavy rhythmic and sometimes ethnic sound of double drums, and influence of Dylan in the vocals, they fully enthralled the audience by eventually passing out percussion instruments to them to help finish off their last song.

After two great opening acts, it was time for Murder by Death, and they were absolutely phenomenal.  The band has never played two albums in order from front to back, but they did just that at the Troubadour.  Their choices were impeccable. With a projection of clips of old-fashioned dark films behind them, they opened with their most recent album, Red of Tooth and Claw, and closed with Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them, easily one of my top favorite albums.

This show was definitely reminiscent of the In Bucca al Lupo show they did at the Troubadour a few years back, with projections of old horror movie clips, and the band in old-fashioned attire.  Having already been to over two dozen Murder By Death shows over the years, I have found that the use of a keyboard is what brings that band completely together again, and I haven’t seen them with one since 2004.  But it wasn’t just that mandatory addition that managed to drop the jaws of the audience. A few different participants came on stage throughout the show, adding a saw player and a trumpet.  As the intensity built, the energy of each member of the band permeated the audience, especially during the song “The Black Spot,” where the whole audience consisted of fists in the air pounding to the beats of the rhythm and lyrics.  By playing the predicted song, “Those Who Stayed,” off of  Like the Exorcist but More Breakdancing, Murder by Death concluded their most perfected performance as of yet.

A few years ago I made friends with a French band called Toy Fight, and actually got to meet them in Paris during a trip I was taking.  David (from Toy Fight) introduced me to the great world of independent French music.  Some of the bands I discovered along the way were (Please) Don’t Blame Mexico, and more recently Orouni.  The common thread running through these bands are English lyrics, a love for folk music and the ability to craft playful pop melodies.

Orouni’s latest LP Jump Out the Window is a perfect example of all three of these qualities. Orouni’s accented delivery adds to the fun and adventurous storytelling inside the album.  The music comes off with the childlike feel of a Wes Anderson film, hand drawn album cover art and all; however, instead of 60’s Brit rock, Orouni’s soundtrack brings together stripped down folk and nursery melodies.

Standout tracks are opener “Panic At the Beehive (feat. Milie),” “The Perfume Conspiracy (feat. Mina Tindle)” and “Open it in May (feat. Milie)”  The female accompaniment on these tracks helps to accentuate the melody’s playful narrative.  The instrumentation throughout the album is held together mostly by guitar and sprinkles of violin, xylophone and shakers.  This sparseness brings the production farther forward, and adds to the intimate delivery.

If you’re ever in Paris be sure to get out to one of their show!  For more music and tour dates click here.

[mp3] Orouni - Panic At the Beehive (feat. Milie)

After failing to get tickets for Animal Collective at the Henry Fonda (I did still see a great show at Spaceland - review coming soon), I decided to give the much smaller Troubadour show a shot.  Judging from the climate outside the club, and prices from the scalpers ($150 a ticket - wtf), you would have thought Tom Waits had finally come back to LA.  In reality, the fever pitch was for the once niched out, often alienating collective from Baltimore, who has deservedly grown a larger following over the past year or so.  All it took was a decade of making innovative and constantly evolving music that always sounds definitively AC.

So after two hours of asking every person in sight, I finally found the one person with a ticket (and a heart) to sell me their extra for only a modest mark up.  Finally in, I gave a few new friends from outside a high five, and made my way to the center of the floor.

One of the most dynamic elements of an Animal Collective show is their ability to play a seamless set.  So for 90 minutes there is always music coming at you.  During past tours, the interim between songs consisted of loose percussion and tonal experiments that could grow a bit thin; however, given their evolved electro approach, the show has more of a club experience (in all the best ways).

All great dance and noise musicians shape their music into a series of builds and releases.  Through loops or static a tension is built that slowly swells, until an audience is wound up so tight they are teetering on collapse, and at that moment the flood gates are opened - releasing the built up pressure as euphoria.  While Animal Collective is based in melody and song structure, they are uniquely positioned to also capture this build and release approach in how they transition in and out of songs.  Towards the end, a track disintegrates into a kind of sonic ooze,  which eventually emerges as the pieces to another song.  This cycle continues for the entire set.

The band was in perfect sync all night and of course the sound at the Troub was full and warm per usual. I’ve written out the setlist below.  It’s definitely Merryweather heavy, but there were some older treats in their as well.  This was the warm-up part of the tour, so look for Animal Collective to be in your backyard from now until May.

Setlist:

#1

Also Frightened

Leaf House

Guy Eyes

Summertime Clothes

Daily Routine

Blue Sky

My Girls

Fireworks

Brothersport

Encore…

Winter Love

Lion in a Coma

Slippi