Getting Misty In L.A.

FATHER JOHN MISTY

WILTERN THEATER, LA

02 NOVEMBER, 2013

Father John Misty put the finishing touches on his solo acoustic expedition at the Wiltern Theater, so named for its location of the corner of Wilshire and Western in Koreatown. Since September's warmup date in Big Sur as a benefit for the Henry Miller Library, the Misty juggurnaut has travelled across the country. Net changes in the set amount to few, other than natural tightening that occurs over the course of dates. It was impressive to note the packed upper corners of the Wiltern, his biggest sole-appearing LA appearance to date, and staging for the most part was spartan, but well-used. Throughout the show, a lady in a black bikini with thigh high leather boots and a giant rabbit head perched on a chair behind him, motionless but for shifting position every few songs. As an unsettling counterpoint, it was second to none, and midway through the set, the already-fabled I-Phone cutout swung down from the rafters to occupy pride of place onstage.
Charging right in, he opened with "I'm Writing A Novel", pushing traditional opener "Fun Times In Babylon" to midway through. After "Only Son Of A Ladies Man", he worked into the new with a rousing "I Love You Honeybear", and what we'll guess is called "Funny Girls", a bitter crowd-pleaser that addressed misuse of the word "literally" to pleasing effect. Another new song was rolled out after "Fun Times In Babylon", a slow charmer that we'll know for now as "Chateau Lobby #9". The Dory Previn cover  that he played in Big Sur reappeared here, and one of the evening's high points was yet another new song, (provisionally we'll call it "Awful Things"), that underlined the energy that Misty brought to the table, underscoring the difference with the intimate, more probing versions of songs heard in Big Sur. It was a harrowing tune, and adds another facet to the emotional spectrum of the forthcoming LP. For Mistyologists, the inclusion of a spoken word father-son talk in "How I Learned To Love The War" was something new and entertaining, and for his encore, he backed up "Tee Pees 1-12" with the new "The Atom Bomb and Me" (our title...), that had a philosophical rumination on the cultural phenomenon of opportunistically invoking "Free Bird". Tillman finished off the night with a bang, concluding with the rarely played, "O I Long To Feel Your Arms Around Me", the only song from Fear Fun I'd yet to hear him play live. Speculation on why he never played it live seems to range from 'too personal' to 'too Fleet Foxes-like'. Hell, likely none of the above for what we've seen of Misty. The song itself is but a brief heartfelt interlude in the middle of the insanity of the album, and with repeated listenings, takes on the weight of a hymn, akin to Son Volt's "Windfall". Tonight's take missed the lonesome organ lines of the studio version, but was more than made up for by the sheer power of his delivery. And with that, Misty waved to the crowd, and arm in arm, strolled off the stage with his bunny.

Covenant Of Noise: Soundgarden At The Wiltern

SOUNDGARDEN

WILTERN THEATER, LA

16 FEBRUARY, 2013

In the middle night of a sold-out three night run at the Wiltern Theater in LA's Koreatown district, Seattle's 90's guitar colossus Soundgarden pulled one out of their hat and gave back to the faithful for a solid set running two hours and change.  Kicking things off with "Nothing To Say" from the Screaming Life EP was a clear signal, and it wasn't until the sixth song in that they moved beyond 1991, and there didn't seem to be a complaint to be heard. Lead singer Chris Cornell was in fine form, both vocally and verbally, as evidenced by his intro to "Outshined", noting that, (paraphrased), 'most of the shows they played in LA were full of industry people, and now that the industy was dead, it was good to see the fans again.' Not necessarily the nicest way to thank people who worked hard to make one's career, but if you've ever been in the middle of a blase industry crowd chattering in the good seats and otherwise sucking all the oxygen out of the room, you could see where he was going with his point.
Once they broke the ice with "By Crooked Steps" from last year's King Animal, their first salvo since 1996, they were more than generous with new songs, seeding in just over half of the new LP into a set that contained only two songs apiece from what was considered their commercial heyday, Superunknown and Down On The Upside. The rest of the set was weighted heavily to Louder Than Love, Ultramega OK, and of course, the mighty Badmotorfinger, from which was pulled nearly as many songs as the new LP.
A nice surprise towards the end of the set found the band bringing out drummer Matt Cameron's son to take over guitar on the Cameron penned "Eyelids Mouth", after Cornell offered a modest assessment of his own guitar skills. Cameron the younger held his own, and the band reached back for "Loud Love", before finishing off the main set with the new "Rowing".
The crowd turned into a thrashing mess by the end, an encore that offered up "Searching With My Good Eye Closed", and a ferocious "Rusty Cage", before ending with Ultramega OK's "Beyond The Wheel", culminating in drummer Matt Cameron and Chris Cornell exiting the stage, leaving bassist Ben Sheperd and guitarist Kim Thayil to create a mini-My Bloody Valentine feedback coda to end the evening on the sweetest of noisy notes.
For a look at some super photos courtesy of Mike Rosati/The Owl Mag from the mid-week show at the Fox Theater, Oakland: click here

SETLIST: 

NOTHING TO SAY (B)

FLOWER (A)

OUTSHINED (D)

GUN (C)

JESUS CHRIST POSE (D)

BY CROOKED STEPS (G)

ROOM A THOUSAND YEARS WIDE (D)

ATTRITION (G)

THE DAY I TRIED TO LIVE (E)

BEEN AWAY TOO LONG (G)

WORSE DREAMS (G)

GET ON THE SNAKE (C)

UGLY TRUTH (C)

NON-STATE ACTOR (G)

TY COBB (F)

DRAWING FLIES (D)

BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD (F)

FELL ON BLACK DAYS (E)

EYELIDS MOUTH (G)

LOUD LOVE (C)

ROWING (G)

----------

SEARCHING WITH MY GOOD EYE CLOSED (D)

RUSTY CAGE (D)

BEYOND THE WHEEL (A)

(setlist courtesy of: Debi Del Grande)

LP INDEX:

A) ULTRAMEGA OK

B) SCREAMING LIFE EP

C) LOUDER THAN LOVE

D) BADMOTORFINGER

E) SUPERUNKNOWN

F) DOWN ON THE UPSIDE

G) KING ANIMAL 

Kim Thayil, Soundgarden

Subversion Is The Move: Dirty Projectors/Wye Oak Live

DIRTY PROJECTORS

WYE OAK

WILTERN THEATER, LA

28 JULY, 2012

Dirty Projectors and Wye Oak teamed up for one of the year's more satisfying shows, certainly in the value per dollar department.  Wye Oak, the duo of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack, led off the proceedings by fearlessly plunging into a brand new song.  And that pretty much encapsulates everything you need to know about the band in one quick nutshell.  Over the past few years they've developed into one of the leading lights of whatever we call this Indie Rock Thing, ignoring fashion and flash, simply putting their heads down and working, keeping their own counsel, and always moving forward.

They swung quickly back into a double shot from last year's Civilian, before letting loose another new song, this one not a complete surprise, as it recently appeared online as part of the Adult Swim Singles Program.  "Spiral" found themselves moving towards Portishead territory, as Andy Stack stepped out from behind the drum kit to wield a bass.  Even after a lengthy set by opening band standards, Wye Oak left them wanting more.

Wye Oak

Dirty Projectors

Some bands might have wilted slightly following up a set like that, but it's a measure of how far the Dirty Projectors have come that they didn't miss a beat.  Opening up with the bucolic title track of their latest LP Swing Lo Magellan, they sequed into the album's opening track, "Offspring Are Blank", and when they hit the solo, it was a perfect Brian May fuzz tone that suggested the Dirty Projectors are hunting much bigger game these days.
The band is tighter, and more volitale these days, and the songs on the new LP are stripped down...well, songs!  What used to meander is now polished and gleaming, and the sheer power of "Gun Has No Trigger" suggested an alternate world James Bond theme.  "Maybe That Was It" was essayed in a stark and bluesy fashion, and one of the evening's highlights was the vocal showcase of "Beautiful Mother", from Mount Wittenberg Orca, their collaborative suite with Bjork, and it was rewarded with some of the strongest audience reaction to that point.
At this point, the Dirty Projectors sound has gelled to the point where they can cop just about anything, and remake it in their own image, suggesting that maybe the band and the Old Mainstream might not be so far apart after all.

Dirty Projectors Set List:

Swing Lo Magellan

Offspring Are Blank

About to Die

See What She Seeing

The Socialites

Cannibal Resource

Gun Has No Trigger

No Intention

Beautiful Mother

Maybe That Was It

Just From Chevron

Useful Chamber

Unto Caesar

Dance for You

Stillness Is the Move

Impregnable Question

Bonus: Make sure you follow the link to the Dirty Projector's website, to answer the question: "What's next..." in the form of a trailer for a short film directed by David Longstreth entitled: Hi Custodian.

newmuzik: Okkervil River/Kills

"Wake Up & Be Fine" is the first taste of I Am Very Far, Okkervil River's new LP that is slated for a 10 May release on Jagjaguwar. They will be on the road this summer with opener Titus Andronicus, in what might be one of the better dollar for dollar values in touring this summer. Look for a report here from their late June show at the Wiltern Theater in LA.

Also, Alison Mosshart has finished with her Dead Weather dabbling and rejoined the fold (partner Jamie Hince)...Domino Records is kindly providing The Kills: 'DNA' ,from their forthcoming LP, Blood Pressures, due in April.

Decemberists: Wiltern Theater 12 Feb 11

Saturday night heralded a sold out Wiltern Theater for the return of the Decemberists. Aided by Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), they opened with the perhaps predictable, but always satisfying "Los Angeles, I'm Yours", and once the crowd was safely in the palm of their hands, never looked back through an engaging set weighted heavily on the new LP, The King Is Dead, stripped down and tailor made for live shows.

Colin Meloy was a lively host, funning on his intros, and rueing the perception of The Hazards Of Love being too overwrought.

They capped the set with an extended 'Sixteen Military Wives' that started with Meloy grabbing an audience member's camera, and taking some shots they'll surely never forget, then devolved into a glorious singalong.

Highlights below were a beautiful take on "Grace Cathedral Hill", and a rousing version of "This Is Why We Fight".



Opening the show was the enchanting Mountain Man, three young ladies from Vermont who offered an acapella mountain music feast, occasionally adding some guitar for more color. Made The Harbor is their debut on Partisan Records.