As a precursor to their tour promoting the brand new LP, Fade, on Matador Records, Yo La Tengo has booked in a short series of in store celebrations to kick things off, including Fingerprints in Long Beach, Easy Street Records in Seattle, and Amoeba stores in San Francisco and Los Angeles. I went in-depth on the album for The Owl Magazine, and positively drooled at the prospect of hearing these songs live.
The Amoeba Music superstore on Sunset bucked the trend of the decaying industry to survive and thrive by appealing across the board to people who love music. Still amused by my last encounter there with an old Japanese woman in the jazz section who spoke no english, but by pointing at the albums in her pile and watching her face light up, we were speaking the same language.
Hoboken's own Yo La Tengo alternately softly charmed, and rocked the faces off of the all ages crowd at Amoeba. They were lined deep, and the huge Sunset Strip building was filled to capacity. Ostensibly to promote their new LP, Fade, the band went off script as usual, making room for covers and whatever they wanted to do.
After clearing the air with a kickoff rocker, they went mid-tempo for "Is That Enough", took it all the way down for a hushed "I'll Be Around" that brought the store to as close to a dead silence as I've ever heard, as the boisterous crowd grew reverent. Drummer Georgia Hubley provided very subtle shadings. Another from their seemingly inexhaustable bag of covers featured bassist James McNew on lead vocals, and served to set up the set-piece, so to speak. Moving back into volume dealer mode, the band locked into a bracing run through album opener "Ohm", Ira Kaplan ending the song in a hail of feedback that continued over the applause at the end of the song. He cut the feedback to one droning noise that the band used to instantly segue into album closer "Before We Run", with Georgia taking the vocal lead, and ending the show on a triumphant note.
At the artist's request, there was no video shooting, but here's a related little gem, and a taste of the new album...
In the midst of a brief co-headlining West Coast tour, Jennifer O'Connor and Chris Brokaw landed in LA, setting up shop at Eagle Rock's Permanent Records for an afternoon in store before the evening's main event at the Bootleg Theater. The diversity of the day pretty much encapsulated the run of dates, which included the Olympia Library and the previous evening's gig in a Merced living room, (which was pronounced by O'Connor as one of the best gigs thus far).
The in store was fun and intimate, with a handful of toddlers rocking out down in front to enliven the proceedings. O'Connor led off, and a few songs, including a sublime "Hidden Hills" from her latest, I Want What You Want, was joined by Brokaw. After a short break, Brokaw took center stage, starting acoustically, then switching to electric, (sending the toddlers scurrying), stilling the room with "The Apetites", the centerpiece from last year's Gambler's Ecstasy. O'Connor returned to help finish off the proceedings. A perfect taster for the evening ahead-many thanks to Permanent LA for hosting.
Jennifer O'Connor, NYC based singer/songwriter, is currently working on her fifth album. She made a splash with The Color and the Light on Red Panda in 2005. Subsequent LP's Over The Mountain, Across The Valley, and Back To The Stars, (2006), and Here With Me, (2008), saw her deepening her sound, and 2011's I Want What You Want was released on her own Kiam Records.
Chris Brokaw cut his teeth in the Boston scene, drumming with Codeine, then moving to guitar with Come for four albums in the 90's. Afterwards he became a go-to sideman for countless musicians, and branched out into soundtracks and collaborations, also making time for solo albums Incredible Love and, most recently, Gambler's Ecstasy. Having recently relocated to Seattle, hopefully we'll be seeing more of him. Interestingly, both artists spent time at Matador Records, although in different decades.
The action shifted over to the Bootleg, with Brokaw opening and once again splitting his set between acoustic and electric, and there upon managing to drown out a particularly conversational crowd. "Danny Borracho" more than did the job, and O'Connor lent evocative harmonies to "Into The Woods." Casting aside brute objectivity, Brokaw's dipping into the back pages for his Come song "Recidivist" reduced me to a tiny puddle of Wayne. Starker and even more menacing done solo, if that could be possible.
O'Connor took the closing spot for the evening and ran with it, sticking heavily with the latest album, and also previewing a new song from an album due in the fall. In the middle of her set, she brought out Brokaw, and he spun ghostly twangy lines that made her "Always In Your Mind", from Here With Me, one of the high points of the evening. Finishing up on her own, she negotiated audience requests, diplomatically settling on one in her comfort zone. With her final pair of songs, she let the audience have the tempo choice: slow/fast or fast/slow. The audience went with the latter, and it was on a haunting note that the night ended. It was a fulfilling night from two artists executing their own visions, and striking sparks when they played together. It would be interesting to see where an album together would take them...
Christopher Owen of Girls announced his departure from that outfit today, bringing to close a chapter of one of the more interesting groups in the last five years. Their recorded output consisted of a much buzzed about debut entitled Album, followed up by an EP, Broken Dreams Club, that neatly sidestepped the dreaded 'Sophomore Slump', and then further upped the ante with Father, Son, , one of last year's best. All the albums were on True Panther. It was fun to watch the growth of the group. As Owen matured as a writer, so did JR White's musical settings, and it can be said that they're going out at the top of their game.
On the second swing of touring for last year's Mirror Traffic, Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks ventured further afoot, landing in Santa Barbara for a return visit to the intimate Soho. He was in rare form, loose and playful, perhaps given the presence of his sister at the show, whom he nearly outed both her address and phone. He also made time to parry the obligatory 'Pavement' shout out by launching into a monologue about doing Whippets w/said person's mother. Vintage Malkmus.
The setlist, pictured after video, was adhered to in spirit, rather than by the letter, and a high point was a rousing segue from the new album's "Asking Price" into "Stick Figures In Love" without missing a beat. Not new anymore drummer Jake Morris seems much more in place with the
band, seamlessly locking in with long standing bassist Joanna Bolme.
The encore was the Malkmus tradition of a jangled mix of covers, and this was no exception. Starting out with Boston's "Peace Of Mind", it gave way to the Velvet Underground's "When She Comes", before straying through Joy Division, and finishing fittingly with The Doors' "The End". I will update video of that in the future, for those interested morbidly or otherwise. It was the perfect capper to the evening.
Portland trio Nurses filled the opening bill, winning the restless audience over. Their tunes were ghostly psychadelic tinged animals that ran loose in a live setting. Lead guitarist Aaron Chapman was sporting a beautiful 1964 national Barracuda. Their last two LP's: Apple's Acre, from a few years back, and last year's Dracula, are both out on Dead Oceans.
Editor's Note: Previous blog post was a resurrected unpublished draft of a Malkmus/Jicks show from last fall, which, for consistency's sake, seemed to work best here...
Energized from last years Pavement reunion, Stephen Malkmus is back to his own devices with The Jicks. Nearing the end of a US tour to support new LP Mirror Traffic, the band has covered the loss of powerhouse Janet Weiss by adding a new drummer and scaling back on the jams.
The set was concise and fluid, weaving all around the Jicks albums, and then some, working in an ace cover of The Wipers. Malkmus was his usual elliptical self, stage patter wise, managing to work in a dedication to the late GG Allin midset.
The encore was a generous helping of Blind Faith, dropping into "Eight Miles High", and finishing with Chicago's "Make Me Smile". Their last LA appearance was an instore at Amoeba Records on Sunset, and the short set there was the perfect setup for the multi-course meal that was this evening's show.
Opener Ty Segall represented the Bay Area with pure garage rock heaven. His band was high energy and razor sharp, following his every move, with Emily standing out on drums. The set focused on the recent release Goodbye Bread, and "The Floor" was the highlight of the night. A band I'd had on my list to see anyway, it was a treat to get them as an opener, and I'll certainly follow up with them on their own.
Come 2012, Segall is looking to release not one, but two new albums, one of which will be recorded with this touring unit.
New Steven Malkmus & Jicks record Mirror Traffic is due out in August, and Matador Records is hosting a neat contest to help Steven find a more appropriate resolution to the line 'What the Senator wants is a blowjob' for the first single 'Senator'... Put your mind to work, & help Steven find a more FCC appropriate version of the Senator's object of desire. Grand prize is a one-off 7" with your version on the B side!
Zombie was the watchword for day three of Matador 21, at least for those who had anything left in the tank at all...
Kicking off the day was a matinee of bands in the ballroom during the afternoon. While lesser in name power than many of their colleagues of the weekend, the matinee bands used the smaller setting to their benefit, delivering sets that matched, and in some cases exceeded their peers.
Kurt Vile started it off, his droning rhythms sucking in the crowd, and by sets end, he seemed to have them pretty well in hand. Looking forward to his next album...if the set was any indication, he continues to grow.
Times New Viking hit it next, delivering a blistering 19 songs in just over half an hour. The Ohio trio made nods to Yo La Tengo and Guided By Voices (the evening's headliners), but their sound was undoubtedly their own.
The Clean, (from New Zealand), put an exclamation point on the matinee, delivering their brand of surf informed noisy goodness, joined at one point by Ira & Georgia from Yo La Tengo for a tune. (Hamish Kilgour would appear in their set later in the evening.)
The Clean pinned me to the wall, and forced dinner break considerations to override Shearwater, whom I'd quite been looking forward to seeing. File under 'future considerations'. Also wiped out a chunk of Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, but having just seen him in March made it a little more bearable.
Did hit the floor fully recharged, and in time for Ted's last few tunes, including a dandy Matador tribute, a cover of Nick Lowe's 'I Love My Label', done with Leo's customary gusto & zeal.
New Pornographers held court with a full contingent, including Neko Case, sitting in on this most special occasion. They played an engaging set, song after song reminding me of the sheer depth of their catalogue.
Maybe the biggest question mark of the weekend was the block penciled in for Liz Phair, and all the question marks that entailed. Liz bounced out in good form, accompanied by a guitarist on 'Supernova' from the LP Whipsmart, and it was off to the races...
She cited her legendary stage fright, (remembering the Roseland showcase in NYC that was actually at Irving Plaza, but close enough), and proceeded to rip through a handful songs from her first two records, culminating with an appearance by the now ubiquitous Ted Leo, for a duet on 'Fuck and Run'.
Yo La Tengo opened with a hushed version of 'Our Way To Fall', bringing an unimaginable silence to the theater.
They proceeded to pull every trick out of their bag, from the noise epic, 'The Story Of Yo La Tengo', to their pseudo-Supremes choreography on 'You Can Have It All', to reworking their cover of Sun Ra's 'No Nuclear War' into a lengthy tribute to Matador, that might have ended up naming every person who ever worked there.
Luminescent version of "Autumn Sweater" (above). Odd note: a person, (who was later identified as Guided By Voices Mitch Mitchell), dashed across the stage during YLT's set, jumped in the audience, then dashed back and was threatened by security. Hamish Kilgour, (The Clean), later returned the gift by dashing across the stage during the GBV set, high-fiving the band, and diving into the crowd.
Of the four times I've seen them this year, that was the one.It was breathtaking in its streamlined potency. Whether it was the slot before Guided By Voices, or merely the challenge of a big stage, Yo La Tengo rose to the occasion.
That really seemed to be the theme of the weekend, rising to the occasion, and Guided By Voices did not let down the diehards, who had seemingly been drinking all day to prepare for the occasion. This was one set that needed to be witnessed from the floor, and i abandoned my cozy balcony for the free for all. From the time the neon sign pronouncing 'The Club Is Open', lit and descended, it was on. GBV stayed true to their older catalogue, and Mr Pollard was in fine form, managing to fulfill his quota of cigarettes, alchohol, and high kicks during the proceedings, stopping to observe at one point, "We Won!"
And he was spot on...The prospect of seeing many of the bands this weekend at this point in time was farfetched, and seeing them in Vegas, of all places? Too much for the brain to ponder.
The final word on the blowout would be community. There is just no way to state the impact of being among so many like minded souls for a whole crazy weekend. At most festivals, one feels like a spectator, but this felt like family.
Saturday saw a brief intersection with the great outdoors...Truly no better place to commune with a thunder & lightning frenzy than the outdoors balcony on the 16th floor. After that particular slice of entertainment concluded, it was time to submerge once again in the concrete innards of the Palms.
Let's take a quick moment to thank not only the Matador folks, but The Palms (!), & mention that it was more of a photo shoot for an interiors magazine than a room. Very impressive...
Grogginess did not recede until the first notes were struck from Girls, (hailing from San Francisco). Their woozy psych pop decorated with lashings of feedback was the perfect tonic for one struggling to get their brains and motor skills in order.
Everyone has their biases, and my awaited moment of the weekend was the infrequent resuscitation of Come, from Boston. Fresh off a warmup gig at the Middle East in Cambridge, this would be the second and final performance of their 2010 outing, and they left nothing behind. Considering the interlocking guitar weaves of their songs, (think heavier/darker Television), it's really a testament that they can appear out of nowhere and be as tight as they are. For me, they were always more a force of nature than a band.
Suddenly, it was time for the one and only Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, which, for the uninitiated, is a trio that throws the basic James Brown stomp into a punk blender, led by a howling madman who will manage to namecheck the band hundreds of times within the set. Pure entertainment. Interesting that Mr. Spencer hasn't gotten his due for an advanced recognition of the Power of Branding way back in the '90's...
Supper was a tough call, and it was made at the expense of Perfume Genius, whom i had been looking forward to very much...
Cat Power hit the stage with only an electric guitar, kicking off with her take on the Rolling Stones "Satisfaction", before ceding the stage to the Dirty Delta Blues Band, and rolling into a more familiar set. (PS: West Coasters, if you've never seen Cat Power, look up her date at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur at the end of October. Should be a magical show...)
Superchunk, like Sonic Youth the previous evening, raised a flag for the oldsters, hitting the stage running and never looking back in a short set that mixed in some new stuff, but relied on their classics at opportune moments, including a slam/bang closing of "Slack Motherfucker" and "Precision Auto". Looking forward to seeing their whole set at the Wiltern Theater in L.A. later this month.
Spoon's set left me with mixed feelings...the music was razor sharp, the band was in form, and Britt Daniels was in his element. What held this back from being a weekend defining set, (for me), was the lighting setup. On the plus side, it seemed like they scavenged what was left of Pavement's overhead string lights for decorative purposes...on the not so plus side, the spotlights behind the band members shining directly into the audience were so overbearing I gave up after a handful of songs and watched the proceedings from the bar. After so many shows in a row, perhaps I was oversensitive, but it felt like my brain was being drilled into, and i could not discern what impact they hoped to achieve. In the vindication department, several times between songs, audience members could be heard screaming "lose the lights". And, quite frankly, this is a band with such a deep catalogue that they could have played with the house lights up, and it wouldn't have mattered. Notable high point of the set was a cover of the late Jay Reatard's 'No Time', that made up for the lighting shenanigans.
Capping off a lovely evening, and showcasing their newest album, were the inimitable Belle & Sebastian, who swelled the stage to almost 'Lyle Lovettl-esque' proportions. Any questions about their stature as a headliner were answered by a charming set delivered to an audience of devotees. If there will ever be another Smiths, in terms of audience adoration, this unit could be it. At one point in the set, Stuart Murdoch unleashed some autographed footballs into the audience, (rivalling the prowess he would demonstrate later in the evening at drunken hoops in the Hardwood Suite). The topper was bringing up random audience members onstage for their moment of glory, and then presenting them with medals...A classy, (and humorous), act all the way.
The post festivities featured brand new act Esben and The Witch leading off, with a powerfully hypnotic set. Cold Cave and Dead Meadow followed to run things into the wee hours, but alas, without me...
With just a few hours respite to pack and (ahem) sleep, the weekend continued. After rolling north to home from the Hollywood Bowl, the new day started by tacking eastward across the state, through the mountains toward the desert. Destination: Las Vegas! Mission: 3 days of bands and love to celebrate the 21st birthday of Matador Records, a.k.a. 'The Lost Weekend'. (Insert your favorite Ray Milland riff here).
Due to the sheer hell of driving into Vegas on a Friday, needless to say our arrival was somewhat delayed, missing the Opening Ceremonies, and sets by Guitar Wolf and Chavez. Word of mouth was that Chavez did a killer set. File under d'ohh! After finally getting lodging squared away, it was a seamless jaunt through registration, then double back to hit the floor.
Action time started with Fucked Up (from Toronto), fittingly named to meld perfectly with the day. They unleashed a hellish storm of their own particular brand of noise, spurred on by the antics of lead instigator Pink Eyes (Damian), who took every cue to leave the stage and walk the earth like Cain, dispensing sweaty bro hugs, continuing to sing, and generally having a good old time.
Highly enjoyable, and the high point of the set was bringing out his toddler son Holden, complete w/ear protection, to hang out with dad for a song.
A band that made an impact, and it would not be the last we heard of Fucked Up over the course of the weekend. The remainder of the evening in some ways mirrored the previous, and in some ways not...
The final two acts of the regular schedule were: Sonic Youth and Pavement, reprising the previous night's entertainment, but with slightly different results.
Sonic Youth, if it were at all possible, came off even heavier, staying in the same songbook parameters of the previous eve, (i.e. before 1994, for the most part), but spreading the love across albums more evenly, rather than focusing on any one.
Their set culminated with Thurston in the audience with Lee and Kim piling on to trigger feedback the ravaged the hall. Truly memorable.
Pavement also, it can be said, was truly memorable, but not the kind that inspires postcards back home. Standoffishness and seeming sniping amongst the troops could not salvage the periodic outbreaks of enthusiasm, and the show, (and the U.S. tour), fell apart at the end, with Spiral Stairs (Scott Kannberg), stalking off stage due to what was reportedly 'monitor issues'. This reunion was always a gambling proposition, and the cool part is that whatever internal issues still exist, they held it together until the very end. Aside from this show, the previous three I saw ranged from good to great...a testament to a band that historically was never noted for its live consistency. All one can say is 'Thanks for the memories', and when i dwell on the group, I shall surely be thinking of the first US show of the tour, a brilliant gambol through their history at the Fox Theater in Pomona, Ca in April. The stuff of which dreams are made...
There was still more to come, with a special ballroom performance of Ted Leo V. Fucked Up, wherein the bands traded cover versions, as well as a quieter afterparty with James McNew from Yo La Tengo manning the decks. Peeked into both, but at that point my body was in shutdown mode, and it was time to retire semi.gracefully.
