Scuttle Buttin – Live From Japan

Before I get evil man, and I go and do somethin wrong…”

It took me a few times through Arcade Fire’s new album The Suburbs to really latch on to it, but now that I have, it’s easily emerged as one of my favorite albums of the year so far, and I’ll be shocked if it’s not in my top five come the end of the year. The Canadian ensemble hit The Daily Show With Jon Stewart promoting the album, and here they are performing “Ready to Start” and “Month of May.” I wish they’d done one with Regine on lead vocals, but hey, can’t have everything. There’s some cute interaction between Stewart and Win Butler at the beginning of “Month of May,” too.

via Pitchfork

I am stranded at a Dunn Bros. in Uptown Minneapolis. It’s pouring rain and I seem to have contrived the conundrum of technology vs. nature. I am not able to put my laptop back in it’s bag as it filled with water when I removed said laptop, and not able to walk outside with the lappy naked to the aqueous air…alas, here I sit, so I write…about what? Then a chord strikes, tired in the din of executive voices deciding how to best boost employee morale after having to “let go” the ones that matter, but don’t.

Annoyed, damp and too short of change to purchase anything adequately jolting, I find this tentative guitar strumming and my diet cola acutely distant from my current desire for Segovia and hot, spicy chai. Ah well, at this point I figure novel, live background sound is preferable to the iPod default and take a moment to listen. The guitarist is soon joined by a pianist and my perception of them as accompaniment to mundane chatter transitions quickly to hearing creative composition, complete with vocals and inspired jazz progressions.

There are a few interruptions; noise complaints from unsuspecting, sipping patrons, but they are unwarranted as these two local musicians need to be heard. Eric Mayson (piano) and Jeff Rolfzen (guitar), both self-taught, play on passionately, while maintaining a sense of clarity and sincerity for the music. I find these sensibilities harder and harder to come by in the mist of the hipster schlock that seems to be inundating the local music scene.

So, I recline in the refreshing realization that random, good, live music experiences do still exist and make a mental note to “accidentally” get stuck here more often in the hopes of catching the pair again.

It appears a Thirtieth Anniversary celebration is in order. Roger Waters will be staging a few performances of “The Wall” in 2010-2011. Rumors are starting to surface that there will be some US and international performances of the masterpiece, and the group will consist of Roger Waters touring band. No word yet of any special guests like in Berlin a few years ago, but this is quite thrilling news for Pink Floyd fans and I hope there will be a local performance. An official announcement is coming tomorrow on Rogers official site. For now, enjoy Roger and Van Morrison doing “Comfortably Numb”.

I used to enjoy Mr. Bean but I never felt it really showed how smart and funny Rowan Atkinson actually is. Since it is Friday and my mind isn’t on work I present to you some Rowan Atkinson.

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A little something wild for which to get ye jig on…

a bit’o wicked whistling…

and some shenanigans with strings.

Cheers to the legend of the dude who banished the snakes from the Emerald Island! (Although, some reckon Ireland may not have even had snakes at the time, but Cheers all around anyway!)

One of my favorite bands of the last couple of years is slated to release their newest LP, High Violet on May 11th. If you don’t already own a copy of any of The National’s previous efforts (particularly Boxer or Cherry Tree), do yourself and get familiar with the warm tones, catchy tunes and crisp sounds in anticipation for the new record.

Or just as good, check out the performance displayed last night on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on which the Brooklyn Quintet rocked out to their new record with the opening track entitled “Terrible Love:”

Over the past 18 months or so I’ve become increasingly tired of lyrics. That sounds like an over generalization and a bit melodramatic, but I love just spacing out and getting into the groove with a strictly instrumental group these days. Call me a shoe-gazer if you want, but these types of band (think Explosions in the Sky) are right up my alley when taking in live musical soundage.

Red Sparowes are among some of my current favorite bands. I was sad to see Josh Graham go, but more thrilled about them bringing in a chick to fill the void in Emma Ruth Rundle – I’ve also been partial to chick bands as of late. They still have their same great sound and it might even be more listenable – time will tell. The trailer for the latest album is wicked awesome. Gut-pounding, melodic riffs that build and sustain before taking it down a notch into a sliding “Darkside of the Moon” sounding musical soliloquy. Take a listen below and maybe I’ll see you at the Minneapolis leg of the tour (full schedule dates are under the seats).

Enjoy!

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Febuary 19th, Duluth MN

Picture by Clint Austin/caustin@duluthnews.com

Back in 2001, Wilco brought their special blend of Americana Alt rock to First Avenue and treated the enraptured audience to a thrilling set of fan favorites and some less known treats while filmmaker Sam Jones was filming a little known documentary entitled “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart”. At the time, I didn’t realize these shows were being filmed, but it was a thrill nonetheless to know you were at a brilliant show that was captured for a celebrated documentary about one of your favorite bands at that moment in time. In recent years, as Jay Bennett “left” the band, and others after him, Wilco had become to me in modern days something of a curio. Something to look at for a couple minutes, and put back down while being reminded that they were once a group capable of writing interesting, melodic songs with fantastic arrangements. As the music went a simpler route (Sky Blue Sky), and I recognized fewer band members, I fell out of love with the band.

On Friday, February 19, 2010 I was reminded why Wilco matters, and why they keep getting more popular. Ripping through a two and a half hour set pulling from all points of their career, this is a band clearly happy and excited about where they stand in todays challenging musical climate. On a personal level, I loved the Jeff Tweedy/Jay Bennett version of Wilco to the point where once Jay was gone, I went a little bit ignorant on the bands music from “A Ghost Is Born” on. I never thought I would see how the group could be better than that group I saw at First Avenue back in 2001. I couldn’t have been more wrong. From the guitar work of Nels Cline to the drumming of Glenn Kotchke and all the way across the board, this is a group at the absolute peak of their powers and career arc, live and in the studio. The new songs work so well in a live setting, and it has made me re-discover “Sky Blue Sky” gems such as “Walken” and “Hate It Here”. Early on in the show, Tweedy joked that some teenager (Fresh faced Duluth Mayor Don Ness) had come up to see the band and made them an honorary Duluth band (a deserved honor as some of their swag purchases were being used to support Duluth area charities). Throughout the night, Tweedy would hold up the folder he was given by the mayor to cheers from the audience, bringing laughs from everyone in the house, every time.

One of the highlights of the night of highlights was Nels Clines guitar work on “Impossible Germany” now a staple of most recent Wilco shows. “Bull Black Nova” from last years Wilco (The Album) was another standout, a dark song on record, it felt even more ominous in a live setting. The fans carried “Jesus, etc” singing the songs first few verses and choruses, with Tweedy conducting frome the stage. They even dusted off rarity “Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard” and played a superb “Handshake Drugs” from the “More Like The Moon” EP.

The encore was a ridiculous joyride starting with “Via Chicago” (which at points devolved in to a complete noise freakout only to come out on the other side right on key and in time), “Kingpin” was played for some laughs as Tweedy tried rhyming “Living in… Duluth”, and ended with a guitar duel between Nels Cline and the understated sideman Pat Sansone on “Hoodoo Voodo” pushing the solos to a new level. This was a top notch concert, by a top notch band with a rabidly intense fanbase hanging on every note and I can’t wait for the next swing through Minnesota, wherever they want to play, I’ll be there.

Setlist:
Wilco (the Song) / A Shot in the Arm / I Am Trying to Break Your Heart / Bull Black Nova / You Are My Face / One Wing / Kamera / Ashes of American Flags / Wishful Thinking / Nothingsevergonnastandinmyway (again) / Sonny Feeling / Impossible Germany / California Stars / Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard / Handshake Drugs / You Never Know / Jesus, Etc. / Walken / I’m the Man Who Loves You / Hummingbird

ENCORE: Via Chicago / Airline to Heaven / Hate It Here / Heavy Metal Drummer / Kingpin / Casino Queen / Hoodoo Voodoo

French music site La Blogothèque has several video series of intimate concerts with hot artists, and they got Vampire Weekend (fresh off huge opening sales for their latest album Contra) for “Soirée de Poche,” which looks like a series of live shows in a small cafe. They perform five or six songs from both Contra and their debut self-titled album. Looks like a good time was had by all! The original Blogothèque post is here, but it’s in French and I can’t read it. Good thing music is universal!

Since Phoenix’s infectious Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix ended up on several of our top ten lists this year, I finally succumbed to the hype and listened to the album, and I’m really glad I did. If I’d done that earlier, it would likely have been on my top ten. Ah well. In any case, the last artist you might expect the bright and poppy Phoenix to cover would be Bob Dylan, but they did just that recently for German magazine Musikexpress. Here is Phoenix’s shortened version of Dylan’s “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” (from his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde).

Phoenix – Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands

(via Pitchfork)

A recent addition to some of our iPods, The Big Pink has popped out of nowhere, it seems like, with some incredibly catchy tunes. Pitchfork.tv’s Don’t Look Down segment caught up with them and got a couple of live New York City rooftop performances.

Dominoes:

Velvet:

I haven’t listened to Sara Bareilles much, and I don’t watch Jersey Shore, but I have enough friends and coworkers who do one or the other that this one-off comic song she recently performed live (and posted on her site yesterday) cracked me up. I might actually take time today to listen to some more of her stuff, because she’s funny, has a good voice, and plays guitar, and I find that combination of traits fairly attractive in a musician.

via Sean Loyless, via Sara Bareilles

The first bit is a nice cover of Roy Orbison’s “Cryin’”; which I haven’t heard in years. So that was nice. The second is a new song entitled “Hotel Plaster” with Jef Plate on the assist. Take a listen and enjoy…