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This Week in Great Music: 10/11 – 10/17

Sarah — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:33:56 +0000

This is basically the worst week in the world for concerts. And by worst, I mean full of too many choices. I’ll be at the Brandi Carlile show at SPACE on Wednesday, and at DeVotchKa at Lincoln Hall on Saturday. The rest of the week is up in the air. I’ll probably be sobbing under my desk rather than making any real decisions.

Monday, October 11
Robbie Fulks, Hideout. 7 pm, $10 suggested donation
Belle and Sebastian, Smith Westerns; Chicago Theatre. 7:30 pm, $42.50
AA Bondy, Schubas. 8 pm, $12-14
Miike Snow, Riviera Theatre. 8 pm, $25
Jennifer Knapp, Lincoln Hall. 8 pm, $20
Neon Indian, Metro. 9 pm, $18

Tuesday, October 12
Alejandro Escovedo and the Sensitive Boys, Lincoln Hall. 8 pm, $20-25

Wednesday, October 13
Guided by Voices, Times New Viking; Riviera Theatre. 8 pm, sold out
Kevin O’Donnell’s Fall Spectacular; Martyrs. 8 pm, $8
Brandi Carlile, Katie Herzig; SPACE. 8 pm, sold out
Marc Cohn, Park West. 8 pm, $35
The Walkmen, Japandroids, Miniature Tigers; Metro. 9 pm, $21
Jukebox the Ghost, Elizabeth and the Catapult, Ruby Coast; Schubas. 9 pm, $10-12

Thursday, October 14
The New Pornographers, Tokyo Police Club; the Vic. 8 pm, $30
Edie Carey, Rose Cousins; SPACE. 8 pm, $12-22
Four Tet, Matthew Dear, Jon Hopkins; Metro. 9 pm, $19
Bell X1, James Vincent McMorrow; Schubas. 9 pm, sold out

Friday, October 15
Patty Loveless; Old Town School of Folk Music. 7 pm & 10 pm, $34-38
Sufjan Stevens, Chicago Theatre. 8 pm, sold out
K’Naan; Park West. 8:30 pm, $22.50-25
Massive Attack, Martina Topley Bird; Riviera Theatre. 8:30 pm, $40
DeVotchKa, Angus and Julia Stone, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir; Lincoln Hall. 8:30 pm, $25
Robbie Fulks, Dave Gonzalez and the Stone River Boys; FitzGerald’s. 9 pm, $15
Rocky Votolato, Ha Ha Tonka; Beat Kitchen. 9:30 pm, $12-14
The Felice Brothers, Adam Haworth Stephens; Empty Bottle. 10 pm, $15
Califone; Hideout. 10 pm, $12
Jon Drake; Uncommon Ground on Clark. 10 pm, $5 suggested donation

Saturday, October 16
Meshell Ndegeocello, Helen Money; Old Town School of Folk Music. 7 pm & 10 pm, $34-38
Gorillaz; UIC Pavillion. 7:30 pm, $49.50-95
DeVotchKa, Angus and Julia Stone, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir; Lincoln Hall. 8:30 pm, $25
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Langhorne Slim, Jesse Skyes and Phil Wandscher, Mimicking Birds; Double Door. 9 pm, $15-18
Old Devil’s Ball, ft. Jon Langford’s Skull Orchard, Andre Williams and Sally Timms; Martyrs. 9 pm, $12
Joe Pug, The Changes, Vandaveer; Metro. 9 pm, $11

Sunday, October 17
Catie Curtis and Terri Hendrix; Old Town School of Folk Music. 4 pm, $16-20
Lissie, Dylan LeBlanc; Lincoln Hall. 8 pm, $14
The Wildbirds, The Black Atlantic, The Lighthouse and the Whaler, Kevin Andrew Prchal; Beat Kitchen. 8:30 pm, $7
Eli Paperboy Reed; Bottom Lounge. 9 pm, $12

Newport Folk Festival: July 30 – August 1

Sarah — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:50:36 +0000

You can tell that summer is rapidly approaching, given the number of festival line-ups that are tumbling in. The Newport Folk Festival, in (where else) Newport, Rhode Island, has announced its lineup for its 2010 festival.

Artists appearing include:

AA Bondy, Andrew Bird (in his only summer appearance in the US), Ben Solle and Daniel Martin Moore, Brandi Carlile, Calexico, Corey Chisel & the Wandering Sons, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, John Prine, Justin Townes Earle, Nneka, O’Death, Punch Brothers (with Chris Thile), Richie Havens, Sarah Jarosz, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers, Tao Seeger, The Avett Brothers, The Felice Brothers, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Swell Season, and Yim Yames, among others.

Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday.

BRB, trying to figure out how to get to Rhode Island! WTF, summer, you are not helping me tame my desire to travel long distances for music.

News & Links – January 27

Sarah — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:24:16 +0000

I’ll admit that I’m not much of a Joanna Newsom fan. I didn’t like either of her previous releases, The Milk-Eyed Mender or Ys. I wanted to like her music, because she oftentimes gets lumped in with musicians whose work I do enjoy, but I just couldn’t get into her whole sound. Regardless of my own personal twitchyness over the anti-folk harpist’s style, she’s got the internet all abuzz with her forthcoming triple-disc (!!!) release, Have One on Me. Consequence of Sound has the latest news on the new release, and Fan Made Recordingshas a recording of a recent show in Australia where Newsom performed many of the songs which will appear on the new album. Her label, Drag City, is streaming “’81″, a track from the new album (look in the right hand column, under “Free Music”). As for me, I think I may have to revisit Newsom’s past releases. My musical world has expanded since the 2006 release of Ys, so maybe this time, I’ll like what I hear.

The entire internet seems to be talking about the benefit show on Saturday at the Music Hall of Williamsburg… and with good reason, as I have it on authority that the show was pretty awesome. Performers included St. Vincent, Justin Vernon, Britt Daniel (of Spoon), My Brightest Diamond, and comedians Zach Galifianakis and Janeane Garofalo (whose names are impossible to spell). Stereogum has video of Justin Vernon and Annie Clark performing Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon”. Brooklyn Vegan, who helped put the show together, has a recap, videos, and a ton of fantastic photos of the show. Pitchfork has more videos, including a cover of Prince’s “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore” by Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond). And So This is What the Volume Knob’s For has their own in-person coverage, including photos and video.

Stereogum reports on the apparently epic Radiohead showon Sunday, which raised over $500,000 for relief efforts in Haiti. Setlist and photos are included at the site

Loud Loop Press has a list of ways that local Chicago artists have been getting involved in raising money for Haiti. And if hip-hop is your thing, Reggie’s Rock Club in the South Loop is having a benefit show on the 31st, with proceeds going to Every Drop Counts (a newly formed grassroots organization that unfortunately picked a name already used by a non-profit trying to protect Lake Michigan, so boy was I confused when trying to find a link).

A.A. Bondy and band stopped by Hear Ya to record an acoustic session. Video and MP3s are available. I don’t think I need to tell you how fantastic this guy is.

While we’re at it with free music for your listening pleasure, Fan Made Recordings has The Decemberists’ January 19th set from Sydney, Australia. And Web in Front has a Coachella-inspired mixtape, featuring 20 songs by artists slated to perform at this year’s festival.

Popdose provides an extensive look at the music and career of Patty Griffin. Her new album, Downtown Church, is available now.

Local Chicago punk-rock-ish quintet Bully in the Hallway is profiled by Consequence of Sound. You can catch the band this Thursday at the Double Door, for free.

My Old Kentucky Blog reviews Saturday’s show by Alejandro Escovedo in Louisville, KY. Looks like the show was pretty intense (in a good way). You can catch Escovedo in Chicago on April 3, when he does two shows at the Old Town School of Folk Music (although I think both shows are sold out).

Canadian band Woodpigeon share their cover of “The Log Driver’s Waltz”,a song made famous by Kate and Anna McGarrigle.

And in the “this can’t possibly end well” department, the Department of Justice approved the Ticketmaster/Livenation/All Your Fees Are Belong to Us merger, with a couple of conditions (including selling off a division which handles college sports ticketing — to Comcast, prohibiting against retaliation for venues who choose to use competitors, and licensing its proprietary software to a main competitor). These conditions do not, of course, include changing the system so that fans have a better shot at getting tickets than brokers, getting rid of those “convenience fees” which jack up the price of a ticket, or ceasing to charge people for the privilege of printing their own tickets using their own printers. See Rolling Stone, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, BusinessWeek, or TicketDisaster.org for information.

2009 Favorites: Part Three

Sarah — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:25:45 +0000

Here are some more albums which have seen some pretty heavy play around here this year. In case you’ve missed it, check out albums 11 through 15 and 16 through 20 on my list of favorites from the past year.

A.A. Bondy, When the Devil’s Loose.

I had waited and waited and waited for this album to come out, as I had loved American Hearts, and I absolutely wasn’t disappointed. Bondy’s returned here with his own brand of Americana; if it weren’t for his intense live show, you’d hardly know that he got his start in grunge rock band Verbena. I find it easy to get lost into this album. I’ve put it on a bunch of times and just found myself listening to it over and over again. Even better than the album, though, is Bondy’s live show, which is what cemented this album as one of my favorites of the year. While the album at time is gentle, Bondy holds nothing back in performance. If you ever have the chance to see him (and oh, you will; he tours relentlessly), do go see him.

When the Devil’s Loose was released September 1 by Fat Possum.
MySpace
Buy the album here.

The Mountain Goats, The Life of the World to Come.

Over the past couple of months, I’ve come to realize that for the most part, I appreciate this album best as a whole, rather than individual songs. When listening on my Not iPod, I find that I skip a lot of songs when they come up on shuffle. As a whole, though, I love the album. John Darnielle really is one of the best songwriters out there today. Reading his lyrics can mess you up, to put it simply. The songs may be named after Bible passages, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that The Mountain Goats aren’t going to be running off and recording hymns any time soon. With lyrics like “And I won’t get better but someday I’ll be free, ’cause I am not this body that imprisons me,” The Life of the World to Come isn’t a happy little album, but it sure is beautiful.

The Life of the World to Come was released on October 6 by 4AD.
Official Website | MySpace
Buy the album here.

Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.

This is the perfect summer pop album which turned into the perfect pop album for the whole year. The lyrics are smart, the songs are catchy, and the band is French. What’s not to love? Phoenix flew under my radar (and under the radar of pretty much everyone else outside of France, I guess) until I saw them on some late-night show earlier this year. Impressed with the performance, I sought out the album and loved it at first listen. It’s one of those feel good albums that you stick back into rotation every so often just to put a smile on your face.

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix was released May 26 by V2.
Official Website | MySpace | Twitter
Buy the album here.

St. Vincent, Actor.

Annie Clark is so, so deceptive. I mean, just look at her. She’s this tiny little lady, all pale skin and cute curly hair. Her voice sounds just as delicate as she looks, but underneath it is something much, much harder, maybe even a little dangerous. ”Save me from what I want,” Clark sings, and you get the feeling that you probably should step in to intervene. Things might get a little messy otherwise. Clark is a musician not afraid to play with sound, inserting messy feedback and distortion into songs which could otherwise be seen as cute little pop songs. Her live show is what won me over, if only because the visual of Clark creating her ruckus on stage is just so incredibly striking.

Actor was released on May 5 by 4AD.
Official Website | MySpace | Twitter
Buy the album here.

The xx, xx.

I didn’t want to like The xx. I really didn’t. Every other blogger and hipster kid was going on about how awesome this album was. What can I say, I’ve been burned one too many times by buzz bands that ended up sucking. I finally gave in, though, and man, now I wish I hadn’t ignored them for so long. I don’t know that there’s anything particularly innovative about their brand of electronic pop, but it’s good, catchy material, delivered in a laid-back, almost disinterested manner which is intriguing in its own right. Time will tell whether or not The xx will be able to follow this up with something great, but I’m pretty sure the entire internet will be waiting to see what’s next.

xx was released August 17/October 20 by Young Turks.
Official Website | MySpace
Buy the album here.

Concert Review: AA Bondy and Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Lincoln Hall, 11/21

Sarah — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:45:56 +0000

AA Bondy and Elvis Perkins made for a perfect lineup, with both of their music fitting into a similar country-rock sort of feel. I’m terrible with genres, so there’s probably something better than that, but I don’t know what it is. Both of these men make everything sound so easy, with lyrics delivered in a laid-back, perhaps lazy fashion and the music itself sounding stripped down — despite the drums and the horns and the strings that pop up sometimes, you can easily imagine it all falling away, leaving just a man and a guitar.

Based on their recorded work, it would be easy to slot both men into that sensitive-guy-with-guitar category. Not being familiar with the live shows of either Bondy or Perkins, I’ve got to say that I’m guilty of coming in with expectations of it being a sort of sedate night.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Not only do they make everything sound easy, but they make it easy and loud in a live show. Though the music clearly has roots in folk and country and Americana, there is nothing traditional about the show that I saw last night. Bondy brought noise to his set, and Perkins fleshed out his sound with trombone and string bass and one completely awesome drummer/one-man-band. There was an intensity to the show that kicked in with the very first notes and didn’t let up until the very end.

Saturday night’s show was the end of the current leg of the tour, so it had an almost bittersweet feeling. This was a group of guys who obviously had grown close during their time on the road, so the show felt more like a gathering of friends who happened to be playing music more so than anything else. Performing with Ben Leister on drums and Macey Taylor on bass, Bondy’s set drew from both of his records (the new release, When the Devil’s Loose, and his first album, American Hearts), and he even threw in the most depressing cover of “My Funny Valentine” that I’ve ever heard in my life. “Watch, I’m going to fuck this one up,” he said before starting. Just a few measures in, he botched a cord, making it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Anyhow, there are very few people who can make me like that song, but I think I could listen to his take on it again. I’m not sure why he threw it in, but it was interesting nonetheless. ”It is February, right?” he asked afterwards. Other songs in the set were “Mightiest of Guns”, “Slow Parade” (which some poor drunk soul called out for as a request… several songs after Bondy had already played it. ”Thanks for letting me know you weren’t here for the beginning,” Bondy pointed out.), “There’s a Reason”, “I Can See the Pines are Dancing”, “When the Devil’s Loose”, and an incredible take on “Killed Myself When I Was Young”. Elvis Perkins and Dearland came out and joined Bondy for part of his set, bringing the noise up to new levels. You haven’t heard anything until you hear Bondy tearing it up on guitar while a trombone and soprano sax come in and begin the destruction of the entire song.

Perkins’ set started out with his three-man band (trombone, soprano saxophone, and drum) traipsing throughout Lincoln Hall, playing as they strolled across the balcony, then back down through the main floor to make their way back up to the stage. Quite an entrance — definitely not something that I’ve seen before. It also tested out the great acoustics of the venue, with the band being heard loud and clear as they walked about.

A few years ago, when I first heard Ash Wednesday, Perkins’ first CD, I thought it was a simply devastating piece of work. It truly is one of the most gorgeous albums I’ve ever heard. Perkins’ own past certainly informs his songwriting; his father, actor Anthony Perkins, died of AIDS in 1992, and his mother, photographer Berry Berenson, died in the September 11th attacks. There certainly is an element of heartbreak in his music that can’t be wiped away. Even his new album, the self-titled Elvis Perkins in Dearland, while perhaps sounding more upbeat, has an underlying sense of sadness that you just can’t shake.

Perkins’ set drew largely from the new album, as well as the recently released Doomsday EP, and much like Bondy’s set, despite there being some low-key moments on the albums, even the low-key moments live were absolutely electric. He played a lot of the show on a 12-string guitar which absolutely fascinated me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one up close before, so I spent a good amount of time watching just how you play one of those things. It was pretty cool, but then again, I’m a pretty big music nerd like that.

Here’s where I take a moment to give Elvis Perkins and his band a huge compliment, which will sound like no big deal to everyone else: I actually clapped along with several songs. In a huge side tangent, for various reasons, I hate clapping along with songs. I don’t mind that other people do it, but I can never bring myself to do the whole rhythmic clapping thing. Not this night. The enthusiasm of the band and the crowd was infectious, and I found myself gladly clapping along. So, congratulations, Elvis Perkins, your depressing-yet-perky music made me clap.

Perkins was joined by AA Bondy on guitar for what I think was “Doomsday”, where he pulled off some absolutely intense solo work. Macey Taylor came out for another song, joining the band on bass; Taylor had to be summoned from backstage with the audience shouting his name. He said that the only reason he remembered to come back was because he heard the audience calling for him. (I was just glad to see that Lincoln Hall actually has a backstage; no more awkward standing about by backing bands when they’re not playing, as it is at Schubas.) The setlist also included “While You Were Sleeping” (just as beautiful as I’d hoped it would be), “It’s Only Me” (solo by Perkins, by audience request), “Stay Zombie Stay” (a zombie love song, just awesome), “Stop Drop Rock and Roll”, “Shampoo”, “123 Goodbye”, and “Weeping Mary”, an extraordinary gospel-influenced track that gave me goosebumps. Go look it up, it’s amazing.

The moral of this here story is to never underestimate a man with a guitar and a harmonica. You’ll be glad that you’ve given it a chance.

–

Check out my photos from the show here at Flickr.

AA Bondy: Myspace | Shop
Elvis Perkins: Official Site | Myspace | Shop

This Week in Great Music – 11/16 – 11/22

Sarah — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:07:25 +0000

A quiet week, but some solid shows nonetheless. I’ll be at the Elvis Perkins/AA Bondy show on Saturdy, finally able to catch the both of them in Chicago. It’ll be my first time at Lincoln Hall (although I walked past it the other night and it looks way swanky on the outside), but I’ve got to admit, the 10:30 start time means that I’m probably going to have to take a nap beforehand. I suddenly feel very old. I’m considering heading over to Empty Bottle on Tuesday to see Nana Grizol. I’m unfamiliar with their music, but I’ve been seeing a lot of buzz about them lately and for $5, I don’t know if I can pass that up.

Monday, November 16
Dir En Grey, Metro. 7 pm, $22.50-25
Devendra Banhart, The Vic. 7:30 pm, $28.50

Tuesday, November 17
Marissa Nadler with Alela Diane and the Singleman Affair, Schubas. 8 pm, 412
Nana Grizol, Empty Bottle. 9:30 pm, $3-5

Wednesday, November 18
Maroon 5, Peoria Civic Center (201 SW Jefferson, Peoria). 8 pm, $35

Thursday, November 19
Old Crow Medicine Show, The Vic. 7:30 pm, $30
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Lincoln Hall. 9 pm, $17

Friday, November 20
Willy Porter and His Band with Luke Doucet, SPACE. 8 pm, $22-28
Deadmau5, Congress Theater. 8 pm, $22
Blue Rodeo, Martyrs. 9 pm, $16.50
Brendan Benson, Lincoln Hall. 10 pm, $20

Saturday, November 21
Julian Plenti, Metro. 7:30 pm, $16
Elvis Perkins in Dearland with AA Bondy, Lincoln Hall. 10:30 pm, $16

Sunday, November 22
Harper Simon with Brighton, MA, Lincoln Hall. 8 pm, $12-15