Spotted at The Dials' MySpace Page
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Live Review: My Bloody Valentine @ The Aragon Ballroom (9/27/08, Chicago, IL)
(My Bloody Valentine - "I Only Said" - Live at the Aragon Ballroom - 9/27/08)
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Cigarette In Your Bed"
At Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom, a legendary group took the stage after being away from both live and recorded music for 17 years. The quartet, My Bloody Valentine, a British band who helped re-define psychedelic music by wholly inventing a subgenre that continues to shape and influence independent music today, demonstrated to an enraptured audience how it was possible for songs that were 20 years old to remain vital, contemporary, and awe-inspiring. Using a Berlin-Wall-of-Sound, My Bloody Valentine played songs from a masterpiece in sound that still resonates greatly today.
And the songs from Loveless didn’t sound half bad either.
The biggest surprise from My Bloody Valentine’s 13-song set wasn’t that the band gave what many regarded as an incredible, ear-shattering live performance. Rather, it was the fact that the material from 1988’s Isn’t Anything was what ultimately held up best in the context of that live performance. After opening with two Loveless tracks—the mid-tempo “I Only Said” and “When You Sleep”--, the band absolutely tore into “(When You Sleep) You’re Still In A Dream”, a deep cut from the aforementioned Anything. It was on these upbeat tracks that the band was at its most tight rhythmically. Bassist Debbie Googe and Drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig were in absolute lockstep, creating a thrilling foundation on which guitarists Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher could create their vast tapestry of sound.
The minor problem, then, was when the band tried to create some semblance of dynamics on Loveless tracks like “Come In Alone”. On that track, the night’s only real disappointment, the sheer density of the wall-of-sound dropped out when Kevin Shields solely played the whirring main melody on his guitar. That resulted in a lot of empty sonic space, which is a killer in momentum for songs that are so clearly based on epic soundscapes. This is probably why the Isn’t Anything tracks were the best, because they were closer to traditional (but still forward-thinking) rock sounds, rather than the fever-dream sound collages of Loveless.
That said, one highlight came in the form of You Made Me Realize EP track “Cigarette In Your Bed”, during which the band regained an impressive command of dynamics that had eluded them during “Alone”. To see a band that was playing as loudly as MBV was don an acoustic guitar to successfully play what was, in the context of the set, a straightforward ballad was impressive.
In a set loaded with highlights, it was on Loveless’ more upbeat songs, such as “Only Shallow” and “Soon”, as well as on Anything tracks like “Feed Me With Your Kiss”, that the grandiose guitar shined brightest, and were the main causes of the band’s pulse-pounding live show. Part of the reason for the live show’s success was due to the increased presence of the drums. In mixing Loveless, Shields and his engineers buried both the drums and vocals to create an air of ethereality. Live, the drums were much higher in the mix, which allowed some songs—namely, the material from Anything—to get a greater “oomph”.
Lastly, but certainly not least, was the infamous “You Made Me Realize”, with it’s the 15-20 minute white-noise section in between. Basically, hearing this section live was like experiencing the end of Eraserhead and 2001 simultaneously. I’m still not entirely sure that’s a compliment, but it did make for a memorable concert moment—particularly after watching dozens of people walk out after minute 10.
While My Bloody Valentine gave a performance that surely be remembered by everyone who experienced it, the show also presented an opportunity for fans to re-evaluate MBV’s debut album, Isn’t Anything, insofar as that was the material that shone brightest amongst a set heavy with highlights. Truly, it was a show not to have been missed.
MBV MySpace Page
(Jonathan Graef)
chicagoismildlyinteresting@gmail.com
Cross-published on MFR.
Video: My Bloody Valentine - "I Only Said" (Live at the Aragon Ballroom - 9/27/08)
Expect a review later today.
Shearwater Announce New Digital EP, MP3, Tour Dates
Download: Shearwater - "The Snow Leopard"
Of all the majestic tracks of Shearwater's masterful fifth album, Rook, the one that's most impressive, in terms of song dynamics and building to an unforgettable crescendo, is "The Snow Leopard". One of the closing tracks off of Rook, "Leopard" features a band at its creative peak. So it's fitting, then, that the song is the focal point of a new, digital-only, EP the band plays an releasing in just a few short weeks time. The new EP will include "The Snow Leopard", two covers ("So Bad" by Baby Dee and "Henry Lee", an American traditional), and a whole slew of tracks from radio sessions (including a pair recorded at a certain beloved Minnesotan institution). Check out the tracklisting below:
Shearwater
The Snow Leopard digital EP
(available from all digital stores October 14):
1. The Snow Leopard (album version)
2. So Bad (iTunes bonus track)
3. North Col (vinyl and iTunes bonus track)
4. Henry Lee (live from KUT)
5. Rooks (live from Radio K)
6. I Was A Cloud (live from Radio K)
7. South Col / The Snow Leopard (live from Florence Gould Hall, NYC)
And Tour Dates Via Matablog:
Mon, Oct 13 Chicago IL - Lakeshore Theater - with Hospital Ships
Tue, Oct 14 Cleveland OH - Beachland Tavern - with Hospital Ships
Wed, Oct 15 Washington DC - Kennedy Ctr — Millennium Stage, 7 PM, FREE
Fri, Oct 17 Annandale NY - Bard College
Sun, Oct 19 Boston MA - Cafe 939 at Berklee - with Hospital Ships
Mon, Oct 20 New York NY - Le Poisson Rouge
Fri, Oct 24 Asheville NC - Grey Eagle (stripped-down set)
Sat, Oct 25 Durham NC - Duke Coffee House (stripped-down set)
Sun, Oct 26 Atlanta GA - Drunken Unicorn (stripped-down set)
Fri, Nov 7 Brussels BE - Botanique
Sat, Nov 8 Antwerp BE De Nachten
Sun, Nov 9 Utrecht NL - Tivoli
Mon, Nov 10 Rouen FR - Club 106 - with Silver Mt. Zion
Tue, Nov 11 Paris FR - Le Bataclan with Silver Mt. Zion
Wed, Nov 12 Feyzin FR - L’Epicerie Moderne
Thu, Nov 13 St-Gallen CH - Palace
Fri, Nov 14 Lausanne CH - Le Romandie
Sun, Nov 16 Schorndorf DE - Manufaktur
Mon, Nov 17 Berlin DE - Postbahnhof with Okkervil River
Tue, Nov 18 Dresden DE - Beatpol
Wed, Nov 19 Hamburg DE - Nachtasyl
Thu, Nov 20 Ghent BE - Vooruit
Fri, Nov 21 The Hague NL - Crossing Borders Festival
Sat, Nov 22 London UK - St. Giles in the Fields Church
Sun, Nov 23 Coventry UK - Taylor John’s House
Mon, Nov 24 Brighton UK - Komedia
Rook is out now.
The Snow Leopard is out October 16th.
Shearwater MySpace Page
(Jonathan Graef)
chicagoismildlyinteresting@gmail.com
Cross-published on MFR
Friday, September 26, 2008
New Music Playlist: The Gentle Guest, Lambchop, Shawn Hewitt, Kid Sister, Jeremy Messersmith, and more!
(Kid Sister)
Download: The Gentle Guest - "Down At The Still"
Download: Shawn Hewitt - "Keep Them At Bay"
Download: La Rocca - "Sing Her Song"
Download: Jeremy Messersmith - "Skyway" (Speaking of The Replacements)
Download: Kid Sister - "Family Reunion"
Download: Vince P - "Walking Down The Block"
Download: Lambchop - "National Talk Like a Pirated Day"
Download: White/Light - "Monadnock"
I've decided to compile a collection of new MP3s that have come my way in the last couple of days. Here now is a brief rundown of the artists: The Gentile Guest, a raucous, whiskey-soaked throwback Americana group from Eau Claire, Wis; Canadian electro-soulster Shawn Hewitt, with the first track off of his upcoming Spare Hearts disc; Vanilla Irish indie-folk-pop group La Rocca, whose music has been featured on One Tree Hill; Chicago hip-hop artist and Kanye West collaborator Kid Sister; Eccentric electro-hip-hop artist Vince P; Minneapolis singer-songwriter Jeremy Messersmith covering The Replacements on The Current; Lambchop's first single from their upcoming album; and finally, Chicago dronemeisters White/Light.
Listen to all the songs at the top of the post.
(Jonathan Graef)
chicagoismildlyinteresting@gmail.com
A version of this post has been cross-published on MFR.
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