Givers (EP) - Givers

Just heard this song on the radio this morning - Up Up Up by Givers.  They're working on the full length album now, but in the meantime you can groove and dance to this EP.  Its upbeat, it will draw you in, and you will dance, I guarantee it.  You think you like Vampire Weekend?  These guys are better.  Instead of bashing the former, I will just say that its refreshing that poppy and repetitive now has a better representative.  I listened to Up Up Up going on 10 times this morning and the only thing that stopped me from number 11 was my rhapsody player quickly switching to their song Meantime, now I'm hooked on that.  So thank you Givers for my latest obsession.  I'm sure you'll thank them too.  Here's a video that suggests they might even be better live from their performance at SXSW. 

Irish Session at Lillie's in NYC

Exactly a week ago now, I was in New York City.  After lunch at a Cuban restaurant, we headed across the street to Lillie's, an Irish-Victorian bar and recommended for its Saturday afternoon Irish seisiún.  The bar itself is impressive - the detailing, the decorations, the sheer size of the insides, which you wouldn't guess from looking at the outsides from across the street.  The seisiún was equally good.  Initially there was a harp, maybe a fiddle or two, and a small accordion.  It began small although still larger than some of the gatherings that I've happened to see here in Louisville or even Buffalo, NY.  I know I've become a little weary of checking out a new session since so many have been disappointing in size or the atmosphere of the bar.  Luckily, we weren't the only ones there specifically to scope out the vent.  The number of instrumentalists nearly tripled in size by the time it was 4pm "Irish time" (closer to 5 or 5:30) and now included banjos, multiple flutes, and a bodhrán.  A good variety of tunes, but maybe a little lacking in harmony or counter-melodies, or perhaps the acoustics aren't quite good enough to really hear what the flutes were doing.  A definite must to visit if this sort of music interests you and you happen to be in the area. 

Check out these pictures as more musicians showed up and a video for a little aural taste.

  

 

Forecastle July 11, 2010 - Minus the Bear, She & Him, Company of Thieves, Spoon

Another beautiful, but HOT, day at Forecastle.  We didn't get there until later because of the World Cup game (yay for Spain!).  Minus the Bear played a good set, but I'll have to listen to their albums before I give much of a review.  The music didn't leave much of an impression on me.

We headed down towards the stage near the end of their set to get a spot close to see Zooey Deschanel and M.Ward as She & Him.  I love her acting but so far I'm not sold on the music.  This performance didn't sell me either.  Her voice was way off, especially in the beginning.  M. Ward's voice was barely audible.  Each song was the same 4 chords and a bland melody.  She gets a little credit for switching between multiple instruments (a keyboard, an electric ukulele, and tambourine), but aside from a few jumping jacks, there was no involvement with the crowd and barely a smile on her face.  Very boring like I was expecting.  We left early and gave up our front row spot to fans more interested in her pretty blue dress and bright red lips (she did look cute, although a little bit bummed)

Eager to get away, stay awake, and hear some better music, we made our way over to the North Stage, only to catch the last song from Paper Route, which I really enjoyed.  I'll definitely have to check them out again at some point.  Then we hung around until Company of Thieves came on.

This was absolutely the find of the festival.  These guys are real musicians.  I'd never heard of them or any of their music although WPFK had been circulating them quite a bit the week before.  A lot of reviews compare her voice to Fiona Apple, and I can see where they get that from, but trust me you need to hear it yourself.  For such a tiny girl, there's a lot of power there and a lot of skill.  She slides and pulls on each word as she belts them out.  Then when the song is quiet, her voice gets a bit jazzier.  I enjoyed the band here too.  Not a jam band, by any means, they still are able to draw out the details of each song and explore them in depth as a nice compliment to Schatz's vocals. 

Althought their first album, Ordinary Riches, has been out, reissued, since 2009, everything I heard was new to me, including a few songs which Schatz introduced as forthcoming on their album to be released later this year.  She seemed excited to play them and the crows was very receptive, making this one of the few performances at the festival from not only a musicians, but an entertainer.  This is far too often lacking in real shows.  Here's a few videos of my new favorite band.

So engrossed was I in Company of Thieves, that we were late to the Spoon set. It was too crowded to get anywhere near the stage, but it was easy enough to hear everything from the back of the field.  They played a decent show with lots of sound experimentation and plenty of their better known songs and a few new ones.

Forecastle July 10, 2010 - Umphrey's McGee, Grace Potter & the Nocturals, CAKE

Day 2 of Forecastle was gorgeous.  We got there in time to see Umphrey's McGee, but watched them from the CokeZero party bus.  I don't know if it was the extreme heat (close to 100), but they seemed a little bland.  This is a video earlier in their set.

I was fine watching from the back of the field, taking in the whole scene and the nice view of the bridges that head to Indiana.  It was good background music while we had some more BBC beer.  When the band started a cover of the Beatles' "Dear Prudence," there was a rush down towards the stage.  It woke me up and was a nice break in the drone of their typical jam music.

Luckily for us, and not so lucky for them, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals are still relatively unknown so the crowd wasn't very large at the front of the stage for their set.  We got a great spot near the front, right behind the VIP section, close enough to see all the red flowers decorating the stage.

They are great live, fantastic stage presence.  Its her voice that really carries the music, but the blend of funk, soul, rock, and blues that gives the performance character.  They just released a new album last month, which I'm dying to listen to.  In the past, their produced albums have been lacking compared to their live shows.  I'm hoping this new album has finally captured that something, but still I never mind seeing them live.  This video is of their signature song which they sing at every show, "Nothing But the Water."  Grace is singing it a capella which really showcases her vocal abilities.

By the time Grace Potter's set was down, it was pretty crowded up front.  Everyone was ready for CAKE.  I've been a big fan since high school and was excited to finally see them live for the first time.  Their albums sound so produced and detailed and John McCrea's voice is so unique that I couldn't picture how it would transpose to a stage.

Ultimately, I was a little disappointed with CAKE's set.  He seemed a little condescending and unwilling to relate to the crowd.  With a body of work that large and already well-known and liked by so many fans, I thought he was just resting on it, expecting a good set to happen by just playing crowd pleasing songs exactly as they sounded on the albums without any excitement or creativity.  Ho hum.  To top it off, they didn't really play any of my absolute favorites, but with CAKE I honestly like all their stuff anyway.  So I'm glad I saw them and put a face to their music, but it's not something I would do again.  This is and excerpt from their song "Short Skirt, Long Jacket."  The quality is really bad since we were so close to the speakers.  Just listen to the album version anyway, the live show added nothing.

We stuck around enough to see Devo perform "Whip It" and a few covers. What else have they written themselves?

Forecastle July 9, 2010 - Widespread Panic, The New Deal

Well after some plane delays and lots of driving back and forth between my house and the airport, we finally made it to Waterfront park for Widespread Panic on the Main Stage.  They had quite a following, lots of glowsticks, lots of dancing, lots of lights, and lots of guitars.  They were a fun band to see live with lots of talent.  These guys really know their instruments.  The vibe at the park at night is always really good.  It felt like a party.  The beer was from BBC, which made me happy.  It's delicious.  There was a slight problem with them not believing my NYS drivers license was real (they thought it was made of paper) because it's different then the KY license, but I'm used to arguing for common sense in KY by now.  I got the beer (they want me to think they're doing me a favor by giving it to me even though I'm 25) and we headed over to the right side of the stage to watch Widespread Panic groove to some great guitar solos.  I would see them again live, but I'm not sure if I'd buy the album just yet.  WPFK had been playing their single "Shut Up and Drive" all week in anticipation.  That was the only song that really stood out.  I would expect that from a jam band though.  This video doesn't do it justice, visually or aurally, but it's a good taste.

Then we headed over to the Ocean Stage to hear The New Deal from Toronto.  This stage was tucked back in the woods with a hill on either side and in the middle valley was a dance party.

Every second of their set, the music got more interesting.  The lighting reinforced this, syncing to each new sound.  They played their hooks long enough to get stuck in your head, then they changed them, always leaving me wanting more and waiting to see what happened next.  At one point the drummer was beatboxing.  The next he was beatboxing and playing the drum set with his other hand.  I couldn't stop moving despite being completely exhausted.  There's a lot of talent here and I was pretty happy to hear them.  Not what I was expecting at all.  A trance, electronica, jam mix could go really wrong, but to get me excited about music and dancing at midnight after a full day, you know these guys have got something.

Banjolele

The Banjolele - a musical instrument I've never heard of!  I recently finished cataloging a collection of sheet music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries either published in Kentucky or dealing with a subject related to Kentucky.  Hopefully they will be digitized and online soon.  Anyway, one of the songs had tabs for ukulele or...banjolele.  It's exactly what it sounds like - a hybrid between a banjo and a ukulele.  It's exciting to find a new sound.  Here's a video of Pete Moss playing one.  He seems pretty good.

Waterfront Independence Festival

Louisville celebrated the 4th with a free two day festival down by the water (http://www.waterfrontindependencefestival.com/).  I made it the second day to see Bettye LaVette, Arrested Development, and Michael Franti & Spearhead.

Bettye LaVette was the big draw for me.  I love her track "Joy" originally written by Lucinda Williams from her album I've Got My Own Hell to Raise, and album solely of covers of songs written by women.  She didn't perform this song, but I wasn't disappointed.  Some of my favorites were "Take Me As I Am," "You Don't Know Me At All," "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," "Reign O'er Me," and, excerpt below, "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad."

She's a great entertainer with a great voice and a lot of personality.  Its modern standards she's creating with her soulful voice and reputation for putting a new personality into new favorites.  Unfortunately my camera died in the middle of her set, but here's a shot of the stage and her band during the day.

Arrested Development was a new band for me.  They were billed as hip hop, but it was more soulful vocals with a hip hop beat and a few rap solos.  I like the song "Tennessee" and that seemed to be a crowd favorite too.  It was a little cheesy or trite, but I suppose that is bound to happen with the messages they put forward like peace, love, etc. and the fact that their heyday was the 90s.    I may not buy the music, but they put on a good show.  It was fun to dance to and an entertaining hour and fifteen minutes.


Michael Franti & Spearhead was a real surprise for me.  I think like everyone else I love "Say Hey" so much that it didn't take much to convince me to see them for free, even for just one song.  He is an amazing time though.  I found my self sad when his set was over despite the fact that he went way over on time.  His messages of love and friendship didn't rub me as anything but genuine.  He was happy and he wanted to share that too.  Each song was catchy, but beware he loves to trick the audience into thinking the song is over...only to start the chorus back up after applause.  After two or three songs though, you know its coming, but he still waits for the applause.  Franti was also all over the crowd.  At one point he set up his guitar way back in the field to perform a song out there, inviting everyone in the back to crowd around him while he did.  On other songs he just ran around through the crowd, making a difficult time for the spotlight guy to do his job.  Some songs he let some of the audience on stage to dance and play his guitars.  Everyone looked like they were having a blast.  Then for the grand finale, he called all the little kids on stage to jump, dance, and sing with him while the band played "Say Hey" and the fireworks went off behind the stage.

I highly recommend a Michael Franti show whenever he's in your area.  Its just feel good, sunshine and summer music.  I couldn't help but dance through the entire set despite the heat and already sitting through 3 hours of the opening bands.  Most of the songs I enjoyed are on his latest release All Rebel Rockers, but a few were from his other albums with Spearhead.  They might all be worth checking out.  I was impressed.

Heartbeat (Kodo 25th Anniversary) - Kodo

I always thought of Africa when I thought of drumming.  This included products of the African diaspora like Brazil (Olodum), Cuban rhythms, etc.  This is a stereotype most people hold I would guess.  I was watching OvationTV, a station I only recently discovered and they had a special on Kodo.  This album is kind of a best of and contains many of the pieces performed by Kodo in that particular show.  I would say this group is much more of an act to see live.  There is a very important visual aspect to it including the movements and positions of the drummers, the size of the drums and how they are attacked, and additional dancers.  Some of that is lost in an audio recording, but the rhythms and melodies (played on on the fue and shamisen) are enough.

Kodo is a taiko drumming troupe.  Members begin as apprentices living within the Kodo village community until they are full time members.  This makes Kodo a very large, very tight knit, and very serious group.  They play traditional Japanese rhythms and melodies combined with compositions by contemporary composers and their own members.

Dual - Éamonn Doorley, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Julie Fowlis, and Ross Martin

This album is in the vein of my recent (and not so recent) love of Celtic music, specifically from Ireland.  It is unique in that is contains a mix of both Irish and Scottish musicians and traditions, highlighting the differences and similarities between them.  These four musicians (Éamonn Doorley, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Julie Fowlis, and Ross Martin) have been playing together since 2003, two of them from Danú, another traditional Irish band I really like.  Amhlaoibh grew up on the smallest of the Aran Island, where Irish is the first language (a Gaeltacht), and Fowlis grew up in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, where Scottish Gaelic is the main language.  Both are primarily singers and as a result, the album is comprised of twelve songs, all with vocals sung in one of their native languages.

The album plays on many common threads the two cultures share, entwining characteristics from both traditions within many of the songs.  Track 6 and the beginning of track 7, are based on traditional tunes surrounding the life of a Scottish Irish soldier, centered in the middle of the album, perhaps to symbolize the meeting or overlap of the two cultures.  These traditional tunes, and many other on the album have been recorded by numerous Scottish and Irish groups alike.

As expected, this album features a traditional instrumental lineup - small pipes, flute, tin whistle, fiddle, guitar, bodhrán, keys.  All four musicians are skilled and very proficient on one, and most often multiple instruments. The instrumentals do not simply accompany the vocalists, and in fact both vocalists play instruments in addition to singing, but they are of equal importance and often mirror the vocal melody, follow it exactly, or one of the two and then continue the vocal idea in many only instrumental sections.  The voice is used as an instrument in the purest sense in these traditions. 

This is a video of the four performing the fourth track: