Dancing About Architecture 1.08.08
Posted by Ian Wright on 01.08.2008
Los Campesinos album thoughts, Man Man, Dude from the Shins vs. dude from the Shins ex, The Wrens, Beck, New Yourk guitar fest and more.
The bit at the start
I'm rubbish with dates. Faces and names I'm good at; obscure football factoids, I've got that shit coming out of my ears but dates ... nah. Especially dates of gigs, which isn't all that surprising considering how many I go to. I remember the first time I saw Radiohead, 21st June 1997, but that's only because that shindig was advertised as falling on the solstice.
That being said I do remember that Los Campesinos! played Whelan's on October 2nd last year. Not really because of the gig itself but rather because I remember jamming my back against the sound booth for support in an attempt to stay comfortable. The reason for the spinal manipulations was a car crash I'd been in a few days earlier which resulted in the writing off of the car I'd been driving. It's also the reason I remember the date of the gig, you tend to remember that sort of stuff.
As for the gig, they were pretty good, a whole bunch of ideas lifted from other indie-rock bands from way back when, apart from R.E.M. and Sonic Youth, being an indie-rock band meant that that you were on an independent label. Remember that? Me neither as it happens, before my time.
Los Campesinos! had hooks all over the shop and their songs contained no end of talky bits, shouty bits and singalongy bits, mainly about what it's like being young and really, really into music. I'm not really that much older than they are but I should have hated it, what with being all jaded and cynical about kids singing about how great it is to be young. I saw Radiohead on the OK Computer tour dude, my time is gone and I'm jealous as shit. Yet despite all that I was utterly charmed by them. Los Campesinos! (that's it I'm not typing that "!" again) live are enthusiastic and fun and if they've got enough about them to win me over when the slightest wrong twist of my neck made my knees buckle a bit then I guess they really deserve to have a little bit of slack cut for them even if they have songs with titles as ludicrous as 'This Is How You Spell. "HAHAHA, We Destroyed the Hopes and Dreams of a Generation of Faux-Romantics".'
The band's debut album leaked last week (and as such probably has the dubious honour of being the first significant indie leak of 2008) and much of the same criticisms that you can level at their live show are applicable to their music on record, it's not terribly original, it's occasionally silly and it feels a bit disposable. Yet once again the band have a genuine likability about them that somehow manages shine through even when reduced to a series of 1's and 0's. It's an exuberant album, full of life and piss and vinegar and while it's one that I may not be listening to regularly in a year it should keep me occupied for the next few months.
Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album.
Man Man Six Demon Bag
Waits like experimentalism from Philadelphian four-piece.
You news, you lose
Joy, oh joy, oh joy joy joy.
On the band's message board last week Wrens guitarist/songwriter/singer/producer Charles Bissell wrote:
There will
absolutely
be new muzak in the new year.
Whoo hoo. The only worrying thing is that Bissell wrote that in 2008, knowing the pace those guys work he could mean 2009.
In other Wrens related news on Thursday Bissell will be joining Jon Langford and Sally Timms of the Mekons, Patrick Hallahan of My Morning Jacket, Kimya Dawson, Janet Bean of Freakwater, Timothy Bracy (ex-Mendoza Line), and a bunch of others in the Parish Room of the New Orleans House Of Blues at an event sponsored by the Future of Music Coalition and Air Traffic Control in aid of Sweet Home New Orleans, which is an organisation dedicated to returning musicians native to the city who were displaced after Hurricane Katrina.
The following night (the 11th) in Tipitina's Bonerrama and OK GO will perform again in aid of Sweet Home New Orleans and Al "Carnival Time" Johnson, author of the unofficial Mardi Gras theme.
Ohhhhh, bad buzz. Not good at all.
Sacramento police arrested Shins multi-instrumentalist Marty Crandall and his (now ex I guess) girlfriend Elyse Sewell after an alleged domestic dispute in a hotel in the city last Friday. Crandall faces charges of domestic assault and as of the time of writing is currently being held* on $25,000 bail. Sewell, who is a former "America's Next Top Model" contestant was also herself arrested but made bail the following day. Representatives of The Shins have yet to make a statement about the incident* though Sewell has been a bit more forthcoming and has recounted her side of the story on her blog writing (she's since set the relevant entry to friends only, too late I guess) ...
Think you had a shitty weekend? Nah. Why not compare it to mine?
1.) On the drive home (home?) from Albuquerque to Portland, my ex-boyfriend got shitfaced and roughed me up in a Sacramento hotel. I escaped from the room through a blitzkrieg of violence and talked to hotel security, who called the fuzz.
2.) Because he had a bite mark, inflicted in self-defense, on his arm, Marty told the police to PRESS CHARGES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST ME. Now I am a felon.
3.) I spent the night in jail. Dig the hilarous monetary contents of my wallet as described by the pig who booked me:
4.) Jailors. America's Next Top Model fans, all. As the warden took pics of my bloody knuckles for evidence (!!!! evidence!), he quipped, "So there goes that hand modeling job, huh? What's Tyra going to say about this?" And here is how I was summoned from the holding cell for a strip-search, complete with a thorough plumbing of the boodissy: "Hey, Supermodel! Git over here!"
4.) A bail bondsman (!!! I have a bail bondsman!) got me out of the hoosegow this morning and took me to a hotel room where I now await my court date. Martin Lesley Crandall is still incarcerated. You can follow his saga by searching for his name on sacsheriff.com (click on "inmate information").
So I'm stuck in Sac-town, alone and lonely, for 4-5 days until court. Court! OMFG.
On the flip side, I'm single and um, ready to mingle. Blind date, anyone?
ETA: Breakfast in jail is served at 4:00am. Meat-stuffed croissant. And, you should already know what a "kite" is if you've been studying your 50 Cent lyrics. But "toilet talk"? That was a new one for me. Apparently, if you bail all the water out of the toilet, you can use the pipes to talk to inmates on different floors. And, girl, you can tell who do it 'cause they got like a big rash or whatever on they face from puttin' it down in the toilet and shit. Damn..
Obviously with charges pending (Crandall goes in front of a judge today) and all it'd be wrong to editorialise about this but I'll just say in general terms, hitting girls, not cool. Not saying he did it, but in general, not cool.
Also, this lady
Is pretty funny.
* Just before I posted Sub Pop released the following:
Marty Crandall and his ex-girlfriend Elyse Sewell were both arrested over the weekend following an argument at a Sacramento hotel which resulted in hotel staff calling the police.
They were both taken into police custody and released over the weekend.
There will be no further comment at this time and we would appreciate their privacy being respected.
Where it's at!
It seems that eventually every significant album of the 90's will be given the special deluxe reissue treatment (though probably none of the Radiohead catalogue thanks to their recent spat with EMI) and the next one up for the reduxe treatment is a genre defying slacker classic Beck put out in 1996.
Odelay Deluxe Edition will be released on January 29th via Geffen/UMe. The new version will be on a double CD featuring 19 tracks not available on the original release including a number of songs dating from the original album sessions (including "Deadweight", a long time contender for the title of "Ian's favourite Beck track"), a number of remixes as well as the usual collection of b-sides, alt-takes, covers and curios.
Tracklisting:
Disc One:
Original album:
01 Devil's Haircut
02 Hotwax
03 Lord Only Knows
04 The New Pollution
05 Derelict
06 Novacane
07 Jack-Ass
08 Where It's At
09 Minus
10 Sissyneck
11 Readymade
12 High 5 (Rock the Catskills)
13 Ramshackle
14 Hidden Track
Bonus tracks:
15 Deadweight
16 Inferno
17 Gold Chains
Disc Two:
01 Where It's At (UNKLE remix)
02 Richard's Hairpiece (Aphex Twin remix of "Devil's Haircut")
03 American Wasteland (Mickey P. remix of "Devil's Haircut")
04 Clock
05 Thunder Peel
06 Electric Music and the Summer People
07 Lemonade
08 SA-5
09 Feather in Your Cap
10 Erase the Sun
11 000.000
12 Brother
13 Devil Got My Woman
14 Trouble All My Days
15 Strange Invitation
16 Burro
Man (man) that's so cool.
Hey guys, if you've never heard this weeks "Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album" album, Man Man's Six Demon Bag you really should check it out (that's kinda the whole point of the section I guess), if you have then I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. But there's more to come from the Philly band, and soon. The band's third album Rabbit Habits is due out on April 8th on Anti. The tracklisting is as follows:
01 Mister Jung Stuffed
02 Hurly / Burly
03 The Ballad of Butter Beans
04 Big Trouble
05 Mysteries of the Universe Unraveled
06 Doo Right
07 Easy Eats or Dirty Doctor Galapagos
08 Harpoon Fever (Queequeg's Playhouse)
09 El Azteca
10 Rabbit Habits
11 Top Drawer
12 Poor Jackie
13 Whalebones
One for serious geeks.
Starting on Saturday and lasting for 3 weeks or so the 7th New York Guitar Festival recently announced it's full programme of events and in some cases (a Brazilian guitar marathon) you'd want to really, really love guitars (I do, but live in Ireland unfortunately) featuring appearances from Pepe Romero, The Assad Duo, Vernon Reid, Andy Summers, Daniel Lanois, Jorma Kaukonen, Bill Frisell, Sonny Landreth, Cindy Cashdollar, Taj Mahal, Leo Kottke, and surprise guests Bruce Springsteen + Emmylou Harris as well as tributes to Bob Dylan, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Lefty Frizzell, and Hank Williams, Sr.
The Dylan tribute in particular is an interesting one as it's a free opening night recreation of the Big Zim's famous 1966 concert at London's Royal Albert Hall at the World Financial Center Winter Garden which will see the set played in sequence by the likes of Laura Cantrell, Kelly Joe Phelps, Stevie Jackson (Belle & Sebastian), Marshall Crenshaw, Oakley Hall, Lenny Kaye & Katrina Kiedis (Sufjan Stevens Band), Jason Isbell (Drive By Truckers), Jim Lauderdale, Toshi Reagon, Freeman & Vernon Reid, Harry Manx & Kevin Breit, The Last Town Chorus/Megan Hickey, Jesse Harris, Richard Julian & Jim Campilongo, Chocolate Genius Inc. and others. There is no word yet as to who will be shouting "Judas" at the stage.
The YouTube video of the week
Sometime all you need is 3 strings.
If you can you should go to these gigs.
Bill Callahan
02-16 Baton Rouge, LA - Chelsea Café
02-19 Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder
02-20 Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds
02-22 St. Augustine, FL - Café Eleven
02-23 Charleston, SC - Village Tavern
02-25 Atlanta, GA - Red Light Café
02-26 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree
02-28 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone
03-01 Lawrence, KS - Jackpot
03-04 Albuquerque, NM - Launch Pad
03-06 Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room
03-07 Tucson, AZ Plush
Battles
01-18 Auckland, New Zealand - Mt. Smart Stadium (Big Day Out)
01-20 Gold Coast, Australia - Parklands (Big Day Out)
01-21 Brisbane, Australia - The Zoo
01-23 Sydney, Australia - Beck's Festival Bar (Sydney Festival) *
01-25 Sydney, Australia - Sydney Showgrounds (Big Day Out)
01-28 Melbourne, Australia - Flemington Racecourse (Big Day Out)
01-29 Melbourne, Australia - Billboard *
01-30 Tasmania, Australia - Republic Bar
02-01 Adelaide, Australia - Adelaide Showground (Big Day Out)
02-03 Perth, Australia - Claremont Showgrounds (Big Day Out)
* with Pivot
Caribou
01-13 Tokyo, Japan - Unit
01-16 Perth, Australia - The Bakery
01-17 Sydney, Australia - Hyde Park Barracks Museum (Sydney Festival)
01-18 Brisbane, Australia - Gallery of Modern Art
01-19 Melbourne, Australia - East Brunswick Club
02-16 Cambridge, England - Barfly
02-17 Coventry, England - The Tin Angel
02-18 Glasgow, Scotland - The New Stereo
02-19 Aberdeen, Scotland - The Tunnels
02-20 Edinburgh, Scotland - Cabaret Voltaire
02-21 Liverpool, England - Barfly
02-23 St. Malo, France - La Route du Rock Festival, Winter Edition
02-24 Paris, France - Cigale *
02-25 Reims, France - La Cartonnerie #
02-26 Dijon, France - Generiq Festival
02-27 Freiburg, Germany - Café Atlantik (Generiq Festival)
02-28 Athens, Greece - Gagarin205
02-29 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg (Oude Zaal)
03-01 Moscow, Russia - IKRA Club
03-02 Leipzig, Germany - UT Connewitz $
03-03 Prague, Czech Republic - Lucerna Music Bar
03-04 Salzburg, Austria - Rockhouse
03-05 Zagreb, Croatia - KSET
03-07 Brescia, Italy - Centro Lucia di Botticino
03-08 Rimini, Italy - Velvet Venue 2
03-09 Lausanne, Switzerland - Le Romandie
03-11 Istanbul, Turkey - Babylon
03-12 Lisbon, Portugal - Santiago Alquimista
03-18 Hamilton, Ontario - The Casbah
03-19 Waterloo, Ontario - Starlight Lounge
03-20 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
03-21 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
03-22 Ottawa, Ontario - Babylon
03-23 Montreal, Quebec - La Tulipe
03-24 Durham, NH - Strafford Room %
03-25 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse %
03-26 Boston, MA - Paradise %
03-27 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg %
03-28 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom %
03-29 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's %
03-30 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel %
03-31 Charlottesville, VA - Satellite Ballroom %
04-01 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle %
04-02 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club %
04-03 Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds %
04-04 Orlando, FL - The Social %
04-05 Fort Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room %
04-06 Tampa, FL - Crowbar %
04-07 Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder %
04-08 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge %
04-09 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center %
04-10 Urbana, IL - Illini Union Courtyard Café %
04-11 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle %
04-12 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Club %
04-13 Winnipeg, Manitoba - Royal Albert Arms
04-14 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Amigos
04-15 Edmonton, Alberta - Starlite Room
04-16 Calgary, Alberta - Grand Theatre
04-18 Vancouver, British Columbia - Biltmore Cabaret
04-19 Victoria, British Columbia - Sugar
04-20 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey %
04-21 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge %
04-23 San Francisco, CA - The Independent %
04-24 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre %
04-25 Tucson, AZ - Plush %
04-26 El Paso, TX - Club 101 %
04-27 Austin, TX - Emo's %
04-28 Dallas, TX - Palladium Loft %
04-29 Tulsa, OK - The Continental %
04-30 Kansas City, MO - The Record Bar %
05-01 St. Louis, MO - The Billiken Club %
05-02 Bloomington, IN - Waldron Auditorium %
05-03 Oberlin, OH - Oberlin College %
05-04 Buffalo, NY - Big Orbit's Soundlab %
05-09-11 Rye, England - Camber Sands Holiday Centre (ATP vs. Pitchfork Festival) %!
* with Jose Gonzalez
# with Buck 65
$ with Black Dice
% with Fuck Buttons
! with the Hold Steady, Black Lips, Jens Lekman, Hot Chip, Les Savy Fav, No Age, Of Montreal, Man Man, Los Campesinos!, Glass Candy, Dirty Projectors, Redd Kross, Marissa Nadler, Meat Puppets, the Black Angels, Wooden Shjips, Shit and Shine, Sebadoh, Ween, A Place to Bury Strangers, Deerhunter, Pissed Jeans, Yeasayer, Apse
Cat Power
01-21 Paris, France - Bataclan
01-27 London, England Shepherd's Bush Empire
02-06 New York, NY - Terminal 5
02-07 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
02-08 Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom
02-09 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus
02-10 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
02-11 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
Man Man
03-04 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar ^
03-05 Greensboro, NC - Greene St. Club ^
03-06 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle ^
03-07 Mt. Pleasant, SC - Village Tavern ^
03-08 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club ^
03-09 St. Augustine, FL - Café Eleven ^
03-10 St. Augustine, FL - Café Eleven ^
03-11 Pensacola, FL - Sluggo's ^
03-12 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon ^
03-13 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-14 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-15 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-17 Lawrence, KS - Jackpot Saloon ^
03-18 Columbia, MO - Blue Note ^
03-19 Bloomington, IN - John Waldrom Arts Center ^
03-20 Louisville, KY - Headliner's Music Hall ^
03-21 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig ^
03-22 Millvale, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre ^
05-09-11 Rye, England Camber Sand Holiday Park (ATP vs. Pitchfork) *
^ with the Extraordinairies
* with Hot Chip, Les Savy Fav, Of Montreal, Los Campesinos!, No Age, Meat Puppets, the Black Angels, Shit and Shine, Sebadoh, Caribou, Glass Candy, Dirty Projectors, Ween, Pissed Jeans, Fuck Buttons, Apse
Writing under the influence
Without which this column would not have been possible:
Talk Radio
MGMT Oracular Spectacular
The bit at the end
It has been decided, once Liars, The National and Sunset Rubdown signed up there was really no choice to be made. E.I.T.S. curated ATP here I come.
Best bit of news of the past week is this New Wolf Parade album, entitled Pardon My Blues, out in June.
