Jens Lekman @ the Corner Hotel

Great gigs seem to have a few things in common for me.

a.) they come when I least expect it,

b.) the tickets get given to me by someone who can’t make the show and doesn’t want them wasted

and c.) they are at the corner hotel.

I’ve been to a few gigs that meet this criteria. Dear old kentucky gave me tickets to see broken social scene and I was blown away. My girlfriend couldn’t make it to M. Ward and he was spectacular. And now tonight,I get an SMS from friends to see if I wanted to make sure their tickets to Jens Lekman weren’t wasted.

I didn’t know a whole lot going in, other than Kentucky waxed lyrical about his lateast album a few months back, and I’d heard a few tracks on seeqpod as a result. But he was disarmingly charming. The six piece band (including a few local string players) sounded lush and full, playing beautifully along with some backing track embelishment. I don’t know a whole lot of the song titles, but the set was a mix of quieter introspective songs about hairdressers and more upbeat numbers. I was happy to hear ‘black cab’, one of only a few tracks I recognised, especially after his introduction about a Turkish man humming it to him after a show.

In many ways I prefer going into a show not knowing the tunes. It stops me getting bored when I don’t recognise songs and makes me concentrate more on the ones I hear. I’m thinking of implementing this as a policy, only going to see new artists who I don’t own an album by. This shouldn’t narrow my options much with the amount of music I’ve bought over the last few months.

I was also pleased to see the Ladybug Transistor. Even though by the time I made it in I only caught the tail end of their set, what I heard was wonderful. I got to hear ‘like a summer rain’, a song that will take me back to winter nights when I first got to Melbourne.

Whilst I’m here, I’d like to say bonvoyage to old Kentucky, as it will save me sending her an email later. She is sadly leaving our shores for more hospitable climes. Farewell friend, It shall be colder in Melbourne without you. Hope you enjoy yourself, don’t stop writing and I’ll catch up with you soon.

And before I go a very special thanks to Alex and Jane for the tickets, I owe you two dinner.

 

Laneways Festival ’08

Just thought I’d mention how good the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival is looking this year.

The Melbourne date is 24th of February and features a bill including Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Okkervil River, Gotye, Feist, The Panics and more.

Not to mention the fact that the festival is finally overflowing onto Lonsdale Street which will hopefully allow a bit more breathing space. (There’s only so much garbage smell you can take).

Tickets are on sale now so get a move on!

 

The Heat is On

When the weather heats up, as it’s doing now, there are always a few old staples that I pull out of my collection. A lot of them I should have grown out of by now, but there are a few, more current potentials as well.

So I thought I’d do a warm weather recommendation list for Spring/ Summer:

1. Who among us can go pass Beck. Since ’97 he’s been my go to guy for all things summer music. There’s just something about the great samples and hispanic references that do it for me. For summer, I think Odelay is where it’s at.

2. Keeping in the vein of nostalgia, I’m gonna say a bit of Pavement– in particular Slanted and Enchanted. I mean, it has a song on it called “Summer Babe”. Need I say more?

3. For something slightly newisher, I’m going to say Matisyahu. Probably the Live at Stubbs album. You just get a feeling of warmth from listening to that, I’m not sure how.

4. The Avalanches are no stranger to good times, and I always find this album puts me in a better mood when I’m walking to work.

5. The Hives. It’s not just that they have a new album out (which perfectly coincides with good weather) but I always feel like listening to a bit of Ven Vidi Vicious when things heat up.

6. The Unicorns, great great band. Not sure what really happened there but as far as I know they are kaput. It’s a real shame though cause Who will Cut our Hair When We’re Gone is a great album.

7. A bit of a favourite in all weather, but for me, The Shins’ Oh Inverted World is definitely a summer album. I think Wincing the Night Away is also a fair contender this year.

8. When it’s really stinking hot and I kind of want to feel sorry for myself, I tend to put on a bit of Wilco. Probably Being There due to the more country slant, but last year I was really into Kicking Television. It’s a good one for a lazy afternoon. 

9. It’s a shame about Pete Doherty, but The Libertines were awesome weren’t they? Like everyone else, I stopped paying too much attention after PD left, but Up The Bracket is a great album.

10. I don’t tend to listen to this album much in the cooler months,probably to avoid depression, but The Magnetic Fields’ 60 Love Songs is always a good summer listen.

11. Pinback, in particular Summer in Abbadon is a good one to listen to around about now, but since their new album, Autumn of the Seraphs is equally good, I would recommend that.

12. Back to a bit of nostalgia, summer wouldn’t be complete with a bit of the Blue Album. Weezer before they went a bit off the wall is always a treat.

13. Iron & Wine are always good, really no matter what temperature, but in particular the album they did with Calexico, In the Reins, is a winner.

14. You’ll forgive me, but I can’t help but gush more about Jens Lekman.  Currently, Night Falls Over Kortedala  is my spring album.

15. Finally, I’m gonna go with a bit of The Beta Band. Though I think the Best of Album is good for an overview, their self titled album is probably my favourite.

Also, as an afterthough, Andrew Bird‘s The Mysterious Production of Eggs is definitely a good one for around about now, possibly because I saw him last summer, or possibly just cause it’s a good album.

Take it or leave it, they’re just a few suggestions that I have found myself already thinking about for potential sountracks.

Any other suggestions?

 

Live Gig:Klaxons:20.10.07

With an overabundance of day glo hipsters converging on the Forum Theatre on Saturday night, I have to admit I was dubious. Though I have been singing the praises of the Klaxons for months to anyone willing to listen, there is still an niggling feeling that at 25 I am too old for them. And seeing the crowd on Saturday night didn’t help.

Nevertheless, as I settled in between two flock of seagulls haircuts I felt the usual usual excitement and anticipation welling up. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait around too long after the easily forgettable support band.

From the moment they came onstage to the moment they departed the show was indeed entertaining. There were typical moments of vocal weakness, but all in all they sounded really tight and succinct , which was a nice surprise after reading so much about how bad they are live. (In particular Noel Gallagher’s comments describing them as “F*cking shocking”, not that I really take advice from Noel Gallagher, though if it was a toss up between him & Liam, it would be him. But I digress…)

The crowd seemed sufficiently pleased. Playing most of their songs off their debut album ‘Myths of the Near Future’, the band gave them plenty of opportunity for crowd singalong. The overall length of the show was a little on the short side, with the band clocking in an hour tops, including encore, but that could probably come down to a lack of songs.

All in all, it was great fun, and I would highly recommend checking them out if you get the chance.

 

Ok Consumer

The hot topic of the music world at the moment is that Radiohead have decided to release their seventh studio album In Rainbows on the internet.  The general idea is that in order to download the album, people will pay the band what they deem reasonable, even if that’s nothing at all.So far, by today, approximately 1.2 million copies of the album have been downloaded, with the average payment being around 4 pounds, or $9.00.

So what is the deal with this arrangement?  Is it going to work, and will the band come out of it with a decent amount of money?  I admit I don’t really know how much profit a band sees at the end of the day once eveyone has their cut, but anecdotally, I’ve heard it’s around $1 or $2.  Therefore, you would think they’re on to a good thing, even if a lot of people don’t pay for the album.

Radiohead are by no means a small band, they have a huge fanbase of some extremely loyal fans.  So although a lot of people will jump at paying nothing, there will probably be enough who will fork over a few pounds out of guilt.  In addition, they have struck a goldmine of publicity.  Leading up to the launch of the album, I must have read at least three articles anticipating the public’s reactions to the band’s plans.

I do wonder though if this stunt will in any way overshadow the musical side of things.  I can’t say that I’ve read anything that has talked about the quality of the album itself.  This album has been a long time coming, and although I did enjoy parts of Thom Yorke’s solo effort The Eraser, I admit I’m a bit sceptical that Radiohead are still relevant.

I better get downloading and find out..To get in on the action, go here.

 

Once

As I can, I shall hijack dear Kentuckys blog for a moment to urge, nay, hmm… yes, urge, you to go and see Once. Its a dear little Irish film starring Glen Hasard of the Frames and Marketa Irglova of… Well, they released an album called “The Swell Season” together last year. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this film, made by former Frames bass player John Carney, and think you should go and see it. Its dimly lit, and very arty, but just a fantastic little little boy meets girl film. It’s not a traditional musical but follows the song-writing journey of a coupe of musicians who meet on the street, fix a vacuum cleaner and then record a demo. Brilliant musical performances, such as the impassioned rendition of ‘Say it to me Now’ whilst busking in front of an alley, or a the demoing of ‘When your minds made up’ in a recording studio make this a sensation little film. I like it even more every time I think about it.

 

No Saint

St Vincent has been getting  a lot of attention lately, presumably for her ties to critic’s darling Sufjan Stevens.  While it’s true St Vincent’s Annie Clark does share some qualities with Sufjan Stevens, namely creating songs that are whimsical & sweet and singing in a range slighly too high for her, she definitely stands on her own two feet.

Introduced to St Vincent through my housemate recently, I am quite enjoying her debut album, Marry Me. Her voice seems at times a little too doe-eyed, which is something that has always irked me (such as Isobel from Belle & Sebastian– or lets just say Belle & Sebastian in general) but she does it in a way that seems very fresh and a little dark.

From Tulsa, Oklahoma, St Vincent is already a seasoned performer, having also played with the Polyphonic Spree. Worth a listen.

 

Not just a city in Lebanon

If, like me, you were a big fan of Beirut‘s 2006 album Gulag Orkestar (see this post for more) then you’ll be overjoyed to hear that just over a year later, Zach Condon aka Beirut, is releasing his second album.

Due to come out October 9, The Flying Club Cup is Beirut’s second full length album.

Condon & band are currently touring North America & Europe.

 

Cry me a Comic

In addition to my emo rage splurted on previous post, “Do Emo Punks Deserve Respect” I must express significant eye-rolling upon hearing that Gerad Way has released a comic book.

And guess what? It’s about gifted/ special kids who are opressed by authority. It’s called ‘Umbrella Academy‘.

Jesus Mary and Joseph.

 

Tom Waits – Hoist That Rag (live in Amsterdam)

I don’t know what it is, but every winter I seem to go through a Tom Waits phase. It might be all the dusty hot farm imagery, but I can’t say for sure.
Here he sings “Hoist” from Real Gone. Enjoy.