Dancing About Architecture 08.28.07
Posted by Ian Wright on 08.28.2007
Dave Gahan’s solo album, Kevin Drew, Ban Of Horses, Battles Live, The Smiths, R.E.M., Spain, Charity and more.
The bit at the start
This whole blog lark … I'm finding it hard to figure out if I should keep it separate from what I write here or if I should cross-post content from one into the other. I'm leaning towards thinking that I should just cross post away and not make a big deal about it. Anyway here's something I wrote about Battles on it that ordinarily would have gone here. By the way, Beirut fans might want to check it out.
I didn't have much fun at Primavera. The first couple of days in Barcelona were enjoyable enough but from day 3 (which was day 2 of the festival itself) on the weekend descended into a mixture of what I'll over-simplistically describe as long sulks and short tantrums (I am 27 years old) which eventually led to me being unable to connect with anything, except for Alan Sparhawk's voice, on any sort of emotional level and for the remainder of the weekend anything that required me to engage with anything on those term; be it the amount of himself Issac Brock puts into his performance, the fury of Isis, the power of Beirut's brass arrangements, Jeff Tweedy's lyrics, anything, I absolutely hated.
That didn't leave much for me to like; Saturday got off to an okish start with Sonic Youth performing Daydream Nation in full. It's not my favourite album of theirs by a long way but I found watching them perform intriguing due to the amount of noise/feedback that they employed. But the only thing that really did it for me that night was Battles. I'd previously been a bit iffy about them having only heard them on record but given the state of mind that I was in on that night in Barcelona they were probably the perfect band for me to see. It didn't matter that I was unable to feel anything about Battles because what I was able to do was stand back and just be astounded by how brilliant they are as musicians, and to try (and ,with the exception of John Stanier who was obviously hitting things with pieces of wood and doing it phenomenally well, fail) to figure out who was making what sounds. I caught the Metro home to the apartment off Ramblas convinced that I had just seen one of the most astonishing bands that I'd ever come across.
Cut to a few months later and I'm in a much better mood. I've been unwell of late and the sense of feeling healthy and strong that I've had in the past few days has resulted in me being really (unusually) chipper. It's in that mood that I went to see Battles last night. And much about them was the same as in Barcelona, the music was still wondrously complex and with my closer vantage point than before I could appreciate the standard of musicianship even more (I'm both amazed and sickened by the fact that two of them were able to PLAY KEYBOARDS AND GUITAR AT THE SAME TIME). But it wasn't enough. In a scenario where I was capable of feeling "stuff" Battles elicited very little from me in terms of a visceral reaction, which is what my favourite live bands have always managed to do. There's no denying their brilliance but, for me, in much the same way as there's very little dance music that I love there's one key element missing which means they'll never be a band I'm crazy about.
All that being said "Atlas" live is a fucking monster.
Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album.
Battles – EP C/B
As good as anything on Mirored that's not "Atlas".
The Dancing About Architecture MySpace band artist of the week.
Johnny Cash probably would've probably sung the songs better.
Details emerged last week about Dave Gahan's upcoming second solo album entitled Hourglass. The album is to be preceded with a digital single, "Kingdom", which was released yesterday and will itself come out on October 23rd via Mute/Virgin.
Tracklisting:
01 Saw Something
02 Kingdom
03 Deeper and Deeper
04 21 Days
05 Miracles
06 Use You
07 Insoluble
08 Endless
09 A Little Lie
10 Down
November is too late for a festival.
It is, it's just against the laws of God and nature (unless you're in the Southern Hemisphere I guess) but those crazy Spanish bastards are gonna do just that when the Tanned Tin festival runs from October 31st to November 4th in numerous venues around the city of Castellon (oh, it's indoors, that's ok then).
Already confirmed to perform are Deerhunter, Xiu Xiu, the Sea and Cake, Acid Mothers Temple, Frog Eyes, Dirty Projectors, the Ex, Wolf Eyes, David Thomas Broughton, Grouper, Papercuts, Bracken, Mia Doi Todd, Thee More Shallows, Dolorean, Laura Gibson, For Against, Tarentel, Lisabö, Boy Omega, and Raccoo-oo-oon which means that Castellon will probably be overrun with poseur assholes for a week.
I think I'll probably prefer the Brendan Canning album I love his bass lines.
I've not actually listened to Spirit If since it somewhat underwhelmed me on first listen a few weeks back so I've no idea if the record is a grower or not but today sees the release of the first single off Kevin Drew's solo album on limited edition white vinyl.
"TBTF" comes with "One Night Man" on the b-side and the cover art (below) was designed by Drew himself.
He must really hate his ex bandmates.
There was a press release issued last week announcing the dates for Morrissey's upcoming North American tour (he's still not playing Canada over the seal cull thing, that reminds me, my favourite joke in the world goes "a baby seal walks into a club") which, unsurprisingly listed the dates on the tour. It also contained this more interesting titbit, "In an effort to stop the speculation and kill off the rumor mongers who seem to use these things to take advantage of committed fans, we can tell you that one thing the future will not bring is a Smiths' reunion tour."
That statement is in relation to rumours that Mozza has been offered $75 million for a reformation tour payable on completion of at least 50 worldwide dates provided that Johnny Marr was in the band (obviously Andy and Mike don't count).
Apparently this is the second time that Mozza has turned down stupid fucking money for a Smith's reunion as he claimed a while back that he turned down $5million from Coachella previously.
I wish I was in great band 20 years ago.
A good cause.
You may have heard of the sad death of Trevor Butler of the band Bottom Of The Hudson who died in a tour van crash late last month.
The band were signed to the Absolutely Kosher label and at Philadelphia's First Unitarian Church on September 20th there will be a benefit concert for Butler's family by lablemates Man Man and The Wrens (who are coming out of touring hiatus for the gig as they had been planning on spending the immediate future working on the follow up to The Meadowlands) as well as Philly band The A-Sides.
The generosity of The A-Sides seemingly knows no bounds as the band are donating the proceeds of their August 30th album launch to Butler's family and to help pay the medical bills of Bottom Of The Hudson's Greg Lyttle who has been making encouraging progress from serious injuries sustained in the crash.
The Wrens are always worth seeing being as they are the greatest live band in the world so if you're in the area then I'd strongly suggest that you mosey on down to the gig but if you're unable to but would still like to contribute you can donate via Paypal by sending money to both@absolutelykosher.com
This sounds cool.
Yo La tengo are going out on tour, but it's not just any old sort of tour, oh no.
Their "Freewheeling Tour" is set to see the band not only perform material from their 23 year long career to date but will also see them tell stories about the songs and the band during the sets.
The full dates have not yet been announced but I'm sure more will filter out in the coming weeks.
I wonder if it'd freak people out to learn that Autumn Sweater is about how much the band loves the Mets.
09-16 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
09-17 Austin, TX - The Parish
10-10 Bloomington, IN - Buskirk-Chumley Theater
10-11 Chicago, IL - Lakeshore Theater (two shows)
10-13 Grand Rapids, MI - Calvin College Fine Arts Center
10-19 Port Washington, NY - Jeanne Rimsky Theater at Landmark on Main Street
10-22 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
10-23 Alexandria, VA - Birchmere
10-27 Mexico City, Mexico - Festival Manifest 2007
11-10 North Adams, MA - Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
To R.E.M. sleep, perchance to dream.
R.E.M. LIVE CD/DVD is the pretty obviously titled live R.E.M. CD/DVD package that, well guess who, are releasing on October 16th. Filmed by director Blue Leech the DVD documents the band's February 27th 2005 performance in Dublin's Point Theatre (which is an awful barn of a place).
The band must be fond of Ireland and they're currently recording their latest album in Westmeath's (which is like West Virginia but with more cousin fucking but less lynching) Grouse Lodge Studios with Jacknife Lee and have launched remdublin.com to chronicle their time in the country.
Tracklisting:
01 I Took Your Name
02 So Fast, So Numb
03 Boy in the Well
04 Cuyahoga
05 Everybody Hurts
06 Electron Blue
07 Bad Day
08 Ascent of Man
09 Great Beyond
10 Leaving New York
11 Orange Crush
12 I Wanted to Be Wrong
13 Final Straw
14 Imitation of Life
15 The One I Love
16 Walk Unafraid
17 Losing My Religion
18 What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
19 Drive
20 (Don't Go Back to) Rockville
21 I'm Gonna DJ [previously unreleased]
22 Man on the Moon
10-17 Cologne, Germany - Tsunami
10-18 Munich, Germany - Feierwerk
10-19 Leipzig, Germany - UT Connewitz
10-21 Moscow, Russia - Ikra Club
10-26 St. Gallen, Switzerland - Palace
10-27 Fribourg, Switzerland - Le Transformateur
10-29 Darmstadt, Germany - 603QM
10-31 Luxembourg, Luxembourg - D:Cliq
11-01 Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli
11-02 Castellon, Spain - Tinned Tan Festival
11-05 Brest, France - Vaubanne
11-06 Le Havre, France - Cabaret Electrique
11-07 Paris, France - Flech d'Or
11-08 Blois, France - Le Cateau
11-14 Osnabrück, Germany - Kleine Freiheit
11-15 Dresden, Germany - Scheune
11-16 Malmö, Sweden - Debaser
11-17 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
11-18 Oslo, Norway – Monoa
Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew
08-26 New York, NY - The Beacon Theater (Revenge of the Book Eaters) *
08-28 Boston, MA - T.T. the Bear's Place
08-29 Brooklyn, NY - McCarren Park Pool *
09-05 London, England - Scala
09-29 Halifax, Nova Scotia - The Marquee Club
10-01 Hamburg, Germany - Fabrik
10-02 Frankfurt, Germany - Brotfabrik
10-03 Heidelberg, Germany - Karlstorbahnhof
10-04 Munich, Germany - Feierwerk
10-05 Vienna, Austria - Flex
10-06 Berlin, Germany - Lido
10-08 Paris, France - La Cigale
10-09 Paris, France - La Cigale
10-11 Leuven, Belgium - Het Depot
10-12 Cologne, Germany - Prime Club
10-15 Glasgow, Scotland - Arches
10-16 Manchester, England - Academy
10-17 Birmingham, England - Academy 2
10-18 Bristol, England - Thekla
10-19 London, England - KOKO
* with Feist, Grizzly Bear
Bright Eyes
09-13 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre *
09-14 Boise, ID - Big Easy Concert House *
09-15 Spokane, WA - Big Easy Concert House *
09-16 Olympia, WA - Capital Theatre *
09-18 Fairbanks, AK - University of Alaska - Fairbanks *
09-19 Anchorage, AK - University of Alaska - Anchorage *
09-20 Anchorage, AK - University of Alaska - Anchorage *
09-22 Seattle, WA - Quest Field (End Fest)
09-23 Eugene, OR - McDonald Theatre #
09-24 Chico, CA - Senator Theatre #
09-29 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl ^
10-03 Mexico City, Mexico - Vive Cuervo Salon
10-19 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
10-20 Kalamazoo, MI - State Theatre
10-21 Champaign, IL - Foellinger Auditorium at University of Illinois
10-22 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater
10-23 Lawrence, KS - Lied Center at University of Kansas
10-24 Omaha, NE - Waiting Room
10-25 Sioux Falls, SD - Ramkota Exhibit Hall
10-27 Billings, MT - Shrine Auditorium
10-28 Missoula, MT - University Theatre
10-30 Edmonton, Alberta - Events Center
10-31 Calgary, Alberta - MacEwan Hall
11-02 Winnipeg, Manitoba - Burton Cummings Theatre
11-03 Fargo, ND - The Venue at Playmakers
11-04 Iowa City, IA - Main Lounge at University of Iowa
11-06 Memphis, TN - Orpheum Theatre
11-07 Birmingham, AL - Alabama Theatre
11-08 Charleston, SC - The Plex
11-09 Winston Salem, NC - Millennium Center
11-10 Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
11-11 Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall
11-12 Wilmington, DE - Grand Opera House
11-14 Binghamton, NY - Magic City Music Hall
11-15 Rochester, NY - Main Street Armory
11-16 Portsmouth, NH - The Music Hall
11-17 Providence, RI - Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
11-18 Worcester, MA - Palladium
11-19 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
* with Nik Freitas
# with Port O'Brien
^ with Los Angeles Philharmonic, M. Ward
Deerhunter
08-26 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex (Fuck Yeah Fest IV)
08-30 Washington, DC - Black Cat Backstage
08-31 New York, NY - Seaport Music Festival *
09-01 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
09-06 Seattle, WA - Neumos !
09-08 Portland, OR - Doug Fir (Musicfest NW)
09-27 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn #
09-28 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge #
09-29 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle (The Wire's Adventures in Modern Music festival) #$
10-01 Urbana, IL - Canopy Club's Club Void
10-02 Newport, KY - Southgate House
10-25 Graz, Austria - Dom im Berg (Elevate Festival)
10-26 Düdingen, Switzerland - Bad Bonn
10-27 St. Gallen, Switzerland - Palace
10-28 Geneva, Switzerland - L'Usine
10-30 Brussels, Belgium - Recyclart
10-31 Paris, France - La Maroquinerie
11-01 Castellón de la Plana, Spain - Auditori / Palau de Congressos (Tanned Tin Festival)
11-02 London, England - The Forum (ATP Presents Release the Bats)
11-03 Leeds, England - The Faversham (Nasty Fest VIII)
11-04 Glasgow, Scotland - ABC2
11-05 Dublin, Ireland - The Village
11-06 Nottingham, England - Liars Club
11-07 Manchester, England - Cafe Saki
11-09 Groningen, Netherlands - Vera
11-10 Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli &
11-13 Malmo, Sweden - Debaser
11-14 Oslo, Norway - Garage
11-15 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser Slussen
* with Battles
! with Grizzly Bear
# with No Age
$ with Daniel Carter and Michael Reed, Sin Ropas with the films of Brent Green
& with Dirty Projectors
Animal Collective
09-05 Boston, MA - Avalon *
09-06 Montreal, Quebec - Le National *
09-07 Ottawa, Ontario - Bronson Centre Theater *
09-08 Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix *
09-09 Oberlin, OH - Oberlin College *
09-10 Chicago, IL - Vic *
09-11 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *
09-14 Seattle, WA - Neumos *#
09-15 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom *#
09-16 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater *#
09-17 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore *#
09-18 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater *#
09-20 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater #$
09-21 El Paso, TX - Club 101 $
09-22 Austin, TX - Emo's $
09-23 Norman, OK - Bricktown Ballroom $
09-24 St. Louis, MO - Gargoyle Club $
09-25 Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom $
09-26 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse $
09-27 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle $
09-28 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club $
09-29 Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom $
09-30 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10-01 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10-28 Bracknell, England - Wilde Theatre
10-29 Brighton, England - St George's Church
10-30 Bristol, England - Trinity
11-01 London, England - Astoria
11-03 Manchester, England - New Century Hall
11-04 Dublin, Ireland - Tripod
11-05 Leeds, England - Irish Centre
11-06 Glasgow, Scotland - Ora Mor
* with Eric Copeland
# with Wizard Prison
$ with Tickley Feather
Writing under the influence
Without which this column would not have been possible:
Talk radio
Beirut – The Flying Club Cup
The bit at the end
I'm going to a festival this weekend so I'll be taking next week off. Enjoy it.
