The Heart is a Bloom

i AM IRRITATED WITH MYSELF.

I haven't been to any shows in a long time.  I went to LBLB with Roo (of course) a couple weeks ago in an attempt to see Leugo, but was so distracted by actually being out and about that i forgot to watch the shows (of course). Not so soon after, I wandered up to King's to see some low-fi deepthrashmetal band I have actually never even heard of, but i got in for free, so i went. and everyone was wearing black. and i was wearing a bright white U2 WAR shirt (of course). so I felt slightly out of place before suddenly realizing it was after midnight and i had to be up for work the next morning and bolting.
then i was sitting here on a Saturday night with $7 in my checking account and listening to my morrissey pandora station, feeling slightly sorry for myself, re-reading past entries and being frustrated with myself for not going to more shows. i miss shows.

then i had this crazy revelation. Imagine...! imagine if i had been writing reviews since the beginning; I was 15 years old the first time i saw U2 in 1992 when the Pixies were the opening act. And you know, in a weird way, i almost did. I have been a writer my whole life, to be honest. I made a list the moment we got home and stuck it inside the $25 ZOOtv program i bought that night in Hampton, VA and entitled it "THINGS I WILL NEVER FORGET ABOUT TONIGHT" ... there were things like "the screaming pixies guy" and "the guys with the big papier-mache heads wandering through the crowd before the show" and "BP Fallon in the Trabant before the show" and "the guy on the bus on the way home that kept softly calling out the "woo-woooooo"'s from BAD". I don't know why i felt it necessary to write that list, i apparently have a memory like a steel trap. i could tell you pretty much 99% of the occurrences, start to finish, of that whole evening despite the fact that, yes, it was 20 years ago.

and i'm suddenly realizing I've been a super duper mega-ultra U2 superfan for 20 years.... NICE. *self-high-five*

SO... I'm listening to the Moz Pandora, and we got a little "disappointed" popping up right now and I start thinking about wow... what if i had known what to do back then? If i had known that i could have written this sort of thing instead of hoarding NMEs and Selects and Spin magazines? I saw moz for the first time in 1995 at the Ritz (now Disco Rodeo) in Raleigh. he played three or so songs before storming off stage because of his discontent with the security at the show. (he said "Gently, Gently... It's not World War Three" before walking off stage. le sigh!) I was not disappointed. I was a weepy mess. I am a morrissey-cryer. He comes out, I sob like a baby until he walks away. that's how it goes. I have seen him several times since, including Dublin, Ireland, and the same thing happened... weepy mess.

So If i start listing it all out, from the early onsets of Raleigh's own Johnny Quest, to Elbow, or Moz, or James, or Tricky, or Beck, or Moby... If I really let myself think about it; i may not have the world's most impressive resume, you know? I don't have a degree from a super prestigious school and I've been in mostly administrative accounting positions for the majority of my adult career... but, man oh man, if you start listing out the shows... the bands... the amazing shows I have seen... the incredible musics that have gone in these slowly failing ear-holes, I do not know many who can top it, except my baby boomer friend at work who went to Woodstock... The ORIGINAL Woodstock. bad-ass.

So here is my idea. I am going to list out a few shows. Some real goodun's that I've had the absolute privilege to see, and let you guys vote, via comments as to which 'blast from the past' review i shall write for my next review. bearing in mind however, unless i find shit online, there will be no pics or proof of my attendance. it will be strictly a first person narrative and you will have to assume i really went. I am promising you now... I did.

here are the choices:

Midnight oil and Ziggy Marley - 1992
Johnny Quest - 1991
Hopscotch fest year one
Hopscotch fest year two
El Ten Eleven - 2011
Lollapalooza - circa 1995/1996
YES - 1992
OK GO - 2010
The Who - 1993
Major Lazer/Rusko - 2010
U2 - 1992, 2005, 2009 - (will probably be a MEGA post, whichever one, if not all. which i would happily do, btw)
Celine Dion - 2009 (HA!! FOR REAL!!)
David Byrne - 2001, 2009 and like, a few other times i can't think of right now.
Vienna Teng - 2010
Ozomatli - 2010 (includes real good heartbreak story and awesome video)
Muse - 2010
Any others you're thinking of you know I went to and I'm forgetting right now... bring it on... mama loves a challenge.


(ps - re-watching all kinds of U2 vids from shows i went to on the youtubes, getting all kinda sentimental... so if i can sway any sort of "vote", imma tell you right now; you want real me/all passion... pick the U2sers.... http://youtu.be/87Xl5GAzuBo - YOU GUISE.)

Jessica Long and Stella Lively - LBLB - Tir na Nog - 06/02/11

In the immortal words of Dory, "Hey there, Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down do you wanna know what you've gotta do? ...Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!" ...This goofy shit has basically been in my head nonstop for weeks. I'm not sure of anything in the world right now other than the fact that I just have to wake up, do shit I don't want to have to do and just survive. in between all that I get to see some bands, and that's always nice.

And the really nice thing is when you see A) a band you already know you are going to love the shit out of and B) discovering a band you suddenly love the shit out of.

I'll start with A, regardless of the fact this order of operations is actually incorrect. You lucky so and so's: you get to hear me rave about Stella Lively two posts in a row! I don't think any band has gotta a two-fer with me. That's how much I love them/her. This was an entirely different experience, as the entire band was in tow. I like that every time i get to see Ashley sing there are more and more people playing with her. Next time I get to see them play, I am only assuming a full orchestra will be in tow.... Starting with just her at the Love Hangover, then Last Thursday with Dave, then this past LBLB with Dave and the twins (I joke that they were twins. both the drummer and the bassist, Scott and Chris, were wearing practically identical outfits. silly!) They kicked off the set with my heart's delight: the acoustic-ish version of PJ's Rid of Me. And I love how deeply intensely personally soul wrenching i know this song is for both Ashley and I at the moment. It makes it all the world much better! One should never attempt a cover song, much less a PJ Harvey song, without having some intensely passionate connection to it. don't worry, Stella Lively got that shit covered. Angerrrr! Heartbreaaaak!

As I said, I have now seen several different incarnations of this band. I have a little bit of true love for all versions. I loved the intimacy of last week's Pourhouse performance. And I really loved the intense sound of the full band. The same songs took on a whole other level with the amplitude of this sound. First of all, Ashley could unabashedly sing her god damned heart out as loud as she wanted. (oh hell yes) and the energy of the guys all playing together seemed to climb and climb! I had every intention giving my full attention, which i feel i did to an extent, but i must make a personal apology for disappearing through part of the set... It was a close friend's birthday. (you know the drunk guy smashing glasses on the dancefloor? yeah, that guy.) After receiving texts from he and another friend around 4pm that they were already drunk/drinking and for me to meet them at Landmark, I knew it was going to be a wild evening. I didn't meet up with them until around 8 and they were already pretty smashed. Part of my evening was spent running interference and checking in on these two. Somewhere in the middle of Stella's set, one of these friends actually got kicked out of tir na nog. we are classy people.


Despite the distractions and setbacks, I must reiterate how much I absolutely adore and respect Stella Lively and how much I am madly in love with Ashley C Carter's voice. I had band practice last week after seeing them at Pourhouse and I swear I could feel myself trying to channel her a little. love you, girl. Can't wait until next time!

Next, who was actually first, Was Jessica Long. Now, this was unexpected. Somewhere in between leaving Times to head down to the show, waiting for the rest of my crew, wandering over to stand in front of the Pourhouse windows and listen to some kinda amazing Jimi Hendrix cover band (who sounded pretty effing good, btw. I'll have to scout them out sometime soon. what is with me and cover bands lately?) I could hear Jessica Long warming up. I heard lots of problems and a sound i was fully prepared to tune out. Oh i love it when i am so so wrong! I don't remember how or why I did it, but I was intent on giving these guys my full attention as well. i think it had a lot to do with being a little embarrassed by the behaviour of my friends in tow. And from the very first song, I had that moment that I love so well. Having little to no expectations of hearing anything worth hearing and then having my mind blown. I call it my "OH HOLD UP" moment. I only recently realized that was what this moment was called, as whenever it happens, I hear myself saying it out loud. First song in from Jessica Long.... OH HOLD UP.

Every song seemed to get a little better and better. And every song I heard a little more influence from some of the bands I love best... mostly U2. I think for literally every song i clutched Roo's forearm and said "I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH U2 I AM HEARING IN THIS!" to the point where i think he was annoyed with me because we were both kinda annoyed by our friends. Then as the set went on, I hear more I love; rolling stones, Dylan maybe, Coldplay. A good mix of a classic rock influence and maybe a little Springsteen filled in with an almost country drawl in her sweet little voice. Think a little Ingrid Michaelson/Regina Spektor playing in front of Remy Zero (and if you remember them, then you remember they rock and you also get some bonus points from me.) a little research (aka google) tells me she's a local durham-ite who did schoolin' in Tennessee, so that explains that adorable twang a little. Also that she was a musical theater major (REPRESENT!) so that explains to me, personally, the intonation that i need and appreciate in girly singers. The more I listen, the more I hear the Ingrid Michaelson in her voice, which people, trust me, is a good thing. I flipping love Ingrid Michaelson. So if you like Ingrid, you'll like Jessica. The bassist's, Mike's, voice blended only too perfectly. my ears appreciated.

On to the background. These boys. The majority of the info I'm seeing online is about Jessica, hey. the "band" is her, that's totally understandable and acceptable. But i have to tell you; I like these guys. Definitely she needs to keep these boys with her at all times. I literaly had to hold myself back in between songs to keep from grabbing Calin, the lead guitar dude, and being all like "OMG TELL ME HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THE EDGE AND LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT A LOT." (ps, that completely happened after the set.) Literally it was the first thing I asked when i met up with the group later, "So, tell me how much you love U2." and Jessica and the band all pointed to Calin and said "This guuuuuuuuuy!" I shook his hand. I had a brief chat with the band and swiftly got out of the way to allow for load out. But then spent a good minute or two speaking with (flirting with) Drew, the drummer. (WHAT is with me and drummers? I swear. I think I have a problem.) however, these guys are young. YOUNG young, which means they have time and energy to make some serious waves. And from what I'm reading on the webs, it would appear that is what appears to be happening! congrats, guys! I'm certainly a fan.

OH HOLD UP

Jessica's album, Painted, was released in February of this year. From what I can tell, she is as yet unsigned and it was independently released. you can order it online from her site or you can join me August 15 at Slim's and pick up a copy there.

An unexpectedly perfect girl-powered rock night. I needed that... Still swimming!

Rebuilding Raleigh Red Cross Benefit - Pourhouse - 05/26/11

So the problem hasn't been lack of inspiration or motivation (okay maybe a little motivation), mostly a overall feeling of exasperation with life in general. One of my best friends, Shawn, and I have been on this same weird cycle of "Oh god dammit life, gimme a break" where nothing seems to be going right. I got dumped, State screwed him over with his student loans, I'm having a financial crisis, He got in a car wreck. I mean... COME ON CAN WE NOT GET A BREAK. I had this kinda light bulb moment, that I've actually already had about 400 times in my life at different times, where i decided that I am going to force myself to be happy.

SO - I let one piece of me spiral and then it all goes downhill. I don't understand people who have coping skills. I have none. I only know how to ride it out and wait for the clouds to break. Which is what I did, which is kinda what happened. I had a good idea that seeing someone I had seen perform in the past that I knew gave me the shivers would certainly help... I have recently "discovered" (because I'm a little slow on the uptake people) that you can track bands and shows on reverbnation by creating a fan page and basically stalking favorite bands' shows. My show calendar is now out the yinyang with shows by bands like Gray Young, Birds & Arrows, and the band I knew would give me that last little push to get me out of the rubbish bin... Stella Lively.

I first saw Ashley C Carter performing with Jeff Crawford at this year's Love Hangover and it was pretty much a love at first trill situation with me. I am smitten with her voice. It's as if, in my mind, I sound just like that when I sing but i know I don't because she is so good and I am dog food, comparatively. Ashley has some pipes, man. She ranks really, really high on my WHY NOT ME-o-meter. It's a kind of Stevie Nicks/Nina Simone/Patti Smith/PJ Harvey/Bonnie Raitt hybrid, but better, if that's possible. Definite soul, definite pain, definitely a lot of living and pain and love behind that voice. It's one of those things where you have to have lived it to see it. Maybe like the Pestrals in Harry Potter; you can only see them if you've seen death. You can only hear what I hear in Ashley's voice if you've lived that kinda of hurt. (PS I just nerded it up.)

 

This performance, a part of the Rebuilding Raleigh benefit for the tornado victims, started early. But I was on time, by God. I wasn't going to miss my girl! I was there at 7:30 and made it in plenty of time for this set. Ashley and Dave played about 45 minutes of an incredible acoustic set. Several songs I hadn't heard before that I loved indiscriminately and instantly. Then ending on the song that sold me the first time around, PJ Harvey's "Rid of Me" ... a song I would never dare to try and cover because I know I don't have the chops, but again, She killed it. I was so excited that I just had to make a video.

After their set, I made sure to tell Ashley how much I loved it, and I truly did. It was pretty incredible for a set played to a handful of people in a virtually empty venue in broad daylight, but the power and perfection of her voice and Dave's wailing guitar more than filled the space with enough energy to make up for any insufficiency of ears or ambiance. I was charmed and riled and I can't wait to see the whole band play at next week's Local Beer/Local Band! I am telling you all now, do me a solid and come to Tir na Nog next week to see them play. It's a free show and may be one of the best new things you've seen in a while.

Next up was a band called Bitter Resolve. Not really my style, but i kinda liked it. Sounded like, the Deftones song "Change" underwater. Psychedelic metal. New to me and I love new to me. Anything new and different is almost always good.  I told Tomlin that the guy's voice was scary but sorta fascinating and he said one of the best things ever which was, "and it can all be yours for $60!" and I said why and he said that was probably how much the pedal he was using costs. hah. I also really liked the tiny lesbian (only assuming here, looks like a duck walks like a duck, etc.) but because she reminded me so much of my friend Brandy, but mostly because she had that heavy succinctly defined drumming style like John Stanier from Helmet. And you'd never think it, but i reeeeeeally like Helmet. "Betty" stays in pretty consistent rotation with me. Bitter Resolve I would give a thumbs up to, I would probably see them again if they were around, but I'd have to be in the right mood. Which would be in the mood to raaaawk.

Next up was Appetite for Destruction, a Raleigh staple, the self proclaimed "Ultimate Tribute to Guns n Roses." I can't tell you how long these guys have been around (website says circa 2000,) but they have been around a while. they are a Guns n Roses coverband by the way. Roo (with James and Brandy in tow,) messaged me about 2 songs in and asked "how is the musics?" to which i replied: "OMG SO GOOD RAGING (if u like guns n roses)." which was the case, exactly. Now people, I was never a huge Guns n Roses fan, but i did grow up in an age where MTV actually played music videos and quasi-decently produced music still got radio play. My brother was really into GnR while I was still in a deep RnB haze, singing in my middle school gospel choir. So while I never had my own cassettes and spent hours reading liner notes of albums, I knew all the songs. It was time, everyone knew the words. Everyone for about a year there had Welcome to the Jungle stuck in their heads. This whole set was like a time machine to a place where I still believed the best in music and everything got a chance. i wasn't such a snob and I didn't really question who Mr Brownstone was and I just rocked out a little.

 

Probably everyone in Raleigh has seen Appetite for Destruction at this point, and as many times and I had meant to, it never happened until now. I aligned myself with the superfans (mostly the best friends and siblings of the band members) up front and threw it down. One of those situations where i didn't realize i knew so many songs until i realized i knew every song. I was in a text frenzy with my brother berating him for not being there (texting him things like, "SHANANANANA KNEES KNEES" over and over.) and making him swear to me that we would go see them next time they play. So there aren't a lot of straight Cover Bands that I've gone to see, other than the one b52s cover band I was in for a hot second and IWTDI's U2 show. And there is a certain level of obsessive perfectionism that goes into recreating someone else's stage show. AFD nailed it. "Axl" never broke character and sounded exactly like him. LOOKED exactly like him (pre-plastic surgery and cornrows). Slash looked like Slash, Izzy looked like Izzy - these guys love doing this show and it shows. (Personal aside, Izzy unwigged was the cutest thing I've seen in town for a long time and I wanted to kiss his face off. I gave his sister my card and told her to get him in touch with me so that i might, therefore, kiss his face off. I will definitely go see these guys again and i will drag my brother with me and he will rage and then i will kiss "izzy"'s face off.)

 

see that dude kicking? oh yes, that is your superfan.

this show was a perfect funk-killer. it was after Appetite that I somehow wound up outside running into my Jayseph and being talked into a quick walk to Neptune's for a barefoot throwdown dance party. And so it was. And so it was probably always be.

ew you guys, ew.

Birds & Arrows CD Relase Party with Justin Robinson & The Mary Annettes and Gray Young - Local 506 - 05/07/11

Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is! - Anne Frank

This quote has been in my mind a lot lately. Longtime readers of this blog (hey j9) know my big love and reverence for Anne. I relate to her little heart so much and sometimes when the right feelings, circumstances, events and people align in my life and in my soul, I think of her; her joy, strength, passion, and gifts, and I thank God that she exists. That’s kinda where I’m at in life at the moment; things are going pretty good. I feel really happy and loved, I feel inspired and encouraged, and I feel challenged and rationally fearless. Opportunities present themselves and I have weighed options and made good decisions and had some great experiences in the past couple weeks; up to and including the following: I took the initiative to seek help for a medical issue I had been ignoring for a long time and I feel very mentally and physically relieved. I spent some quality alone time with several close friends and had good long discussions (the existentially and theologically deep kind that I really like.) I met a really groovy guy who seems to be on the same page with me and is treating me pretty damn well. I got a big chunk of my finances in order. I took the initiative to change certain factors in my life that left me feeling insecure and neglected professionally. And I got to see one of the best shows I’ve probably ever seen at Local 506.

Last Thursday evening, I was iffy about LBLB as I was unfamiliar with any of the bands in tow. I was still riding high from my Steve-o encounter earlier in the evening and was trying to bail, but Roo insisted I drop in at least to see Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes. He had seen them somewhere else not long before, Durmah perhaps?, and assured me that I would probably love them. He was right, I did.  I had missed the beginning songs of the set and therefore didn’t feel it was fair to do a review on a partially attended show, so I deferred to Roo. Then, after their performance and all out dance party up front at Tir Na Nog, I spoke with the band briefly and found out they would be playing along with (dun dun DUNNNN) Gray Young at the Birds & Arrows CD Release party… A show I was not fully committed to attending, as I had originally planned to spend the last weekend in DC. However, a wicked sinus infection that kept me out of work for a few days intervened. I wasn’t able to take the time off work to visit the capital, so I stayed in town… kinda. I went to Carrboro Saturday night.

Something I noticed about this show, not nearly as many wild “Here’s me with THIS friend!” arm-reach self-portraits. Could be because I was barely drinking, due to the antibiotics. Could be I am kinda losing interest in the whole, like, “drunk” thing. I have this feeling that I tried it for a year and I’m bored now. (Those who know me know full well how entirely possible this “bored now” concept is.) Could be because this was a show I had a little reverent respect for and wanted to give my full attention to. Who knows? Either way, I filled my camera flashcard at this show. I got some of THE best show pics I’ve ever taken. I have figured something out… if you just keep taking pictures, eventually one of them will turn out pretty okay…. PS I AM A PHOTOGRAPHY EXPERT NOW.

First up in this incredible line-up were Justin & the crew… Justin is a statuesquely enigmatic and beautiful front man. His depth and kindness not only present themselves so passionately through his songs and lyrics, but also through his movements and his eyes. He loves what he does. The girls, Kyra and Sally, love what they do. Josh loves what he does. This band is four sweet souls playing something you’ve never heard before, breaking the hell out of your heart and changing your life a little. The reason you’ve possibly heard of Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes is because he was originally part of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Let this be the reason you go see them, Let this be the reason you talk your friends into coming with you, but drop your guard and leave your expectations and gruff exterior at the door. You will hear something you never expected and it will be beautiful and it will be enchanting and it will be something you talk about to all your friends for days. Throughout their set, there were moments where I found myself thinking …. “Okay now, this was the song during the show Thursday where I *thought* I was feeling this way, let’s see if I was right…” and then sure enough… there it was.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, sorry to tangent, but I keep wondering if everyone, and I really hope this is true; If everyone has something in their life that keeps them going, gives them hope and fills them with meaning the way music does for me. Yeah, yeah, everyone likes music, I know this, but the way I experience, the way I need it, the way it feels to me, the level of intensity that I have attached to certain bands or songs or artist or NOTES for Christ’s sake… I hope everyone has that thing that means as much to them as writing this blog, seeing these bands, hearing these sounds, has meant to me.

To further my point in this vein of thought, let me continue telling you about JR&MA; the sound they create feels a little different than just about any live act I have seen in the past year or so, (probably with the exception of Valley Young.) And it’s not just the fact that they veer a little more “folk with a synthesizer beat” genre, (which, by the way doesn’t exist,) but mostly due to the fact that there is a lot of heart on stage with these songs. There is a BIG love in this sound. This is the sound of persecution, awkward first kisses, desperate midnight phone calls, strength, joy, something. This was my second time in a week seeing this band perform and Roo and I will be going to see them again this weekend, I am thrilled and honored to participate. One of my favorite moments from this set was watching the heads turn to each other all around me as people’s eyes and ears were suddenly opened to what was happening in front of them, the murmuring buzz I could just barely hear behind me, “who ARE these guys?”

A few months back I was in a dark place, we all know how to find them; some of us get lost in them and never find their way out. I know the secret; it is the music. You have to hear just the right song at the right time, you have to hear the saddest damned pop song you can tolerate about 14 times in a row until you say, “Enough!” and you claw your way out of the sadness. I have been known to put the weight of the world on my bony ass shoulders and my overactive heart and let myself get real low down. It is always the music that brings me back. Bono, Moz and Byrne have saved my life about a million times each. I can very vividly remember driving back from Cup a Joe on a weekday evening, twisting my way back towards Cameron Village and this slow, bittersweet small chord starts playing on WKNC. Suddenly a woman’s voice, clear and strong filled with love and longing; a breathy strength. The right kinda lyrics that I needed at the right kinda moment… “In a place so old with the light so new; it was always you…” and the choke, that instant little sting in the eyeballs when you know you’re hearing *your* love song, you know it will always stay with you and it will always mean that one (wo)man at that one right moment. I stayed a little too long at the stop sign to pull up the 88.1 playlist and get a screen cap; Birds and Arrows – Honeymoon Song. Thus was my introduction to the band.

Birds and Arrows, for those not in the know, consists of Andrea (guitar) and Pete (drums), a married couple, and Josh (cellist.) So I’ll admit it right now, I am a sucker for a cello. It’s almost a guarantee if you throw a cello on just about anything I am going to eat it up; it is probably one of my favorite sounds, followed closely by the oboe and practically any song written in Eb minor. I am stating this up front because I don’t want any of what I have to say about ‘the couple’ to detract from the essential element that Josh brings to each b&a song; it is necessary, it is lovely and it is perfection.

I was during their performance that I began chastising myself for not owning or knowing more songs. I suppose the point of this show, as it was a cd release party, was *NOT* to know the songs, as they were all new. But I had that nagging anxious feeling I get when I feel like I may have showed up a little too late to the party and I already missed the piñata… I’m not ashamed to admit I like knowing first. Who doesn’t? I’m mad at myself that it took me actually being at the show to come to the realization that THANK GOD I WENT TO THIS SHOW. Of course my original draw for this show was Gray Young, (let’s not fool ourselves here,) but I remembered that lonely night and my first kiss with Birds and Arrows, I knew I would like it, I just wasn’t prepared for how much.

So, hey, I am a crier. I’m a weepy, sentimental person. If I am happy, mad, in love, in pain, confused, see the right little bird bouncing across the sidewalk in the right light, it’ll bring a tear to my eye… Birds and Arrows got me very emotional *several* times with some of these new songs. These songs sounds like we got a special invite into the Connollys’ bedroom and lucky us; we get to watch them falling in love! Yeah, that potentially sounds dirty, but think of it on a more communal John & Yoko level… we are invited to fall in love along with them, with the very best of intentions. There were several instances where I was irritated with myself and completely embarrassed when Roo or James turned to tell me something and I had to quickly wipe my eyes. (Bad decision on my part to wear my contacts, by the way.) When you are open, observant and in love with love, you see it all around you, you hear it in everything. These songs are some of the clearest examples of the truest love I have heard in almost ever, in person.

When I think of my "Heavy Hitters", my big bands, my go-to’s when someone asks about my favorite artists, they are mostly men. There is an unfortunately small drop of envy that cautiously limits me form liking female leads too much. I want to do that, so in an effort to boost my own ego, I neglect more than what I should. Only a few essentials usually sneak through; Sinead, Kate, Judy, even Whitney Houston. However, as I have never seen any of these ladies perform live, I can truly say with no hesitation that Andrea Connolly has the best, strongest and most appealing lead vocals of any female I think I have ever seen live. I absolutely LOVE her voice. And the more the night went on, the more I fell in love with it. I want to take her voice to a nice hidden bistro covered in vines and sit on the patio telling stories about trips across Europe. I want to drink wine with her voice by a creek in autumn. (Apparently I want to take her voice on a date to Caffe Driade?) Several times throughout the performance I heard Roo or James or myself say “I have *never* heard a voice like this in person.” absolutely magical.  After Justin Robinson, I wasn’t sure anything was going to touch my heart in such a personal and delicate way the rest of this night, I was very touched. I was truly honored to witness this performance. I am a fan for life. Already got the next couple shows on my calendar. I have no idea why I would have ever doubted that I would like them as much as I did, given that they are such good friends with the gray youngs.

Speaking of…

I was already in a super sentimental mood, I was feeling warm and fuzzy and loved and happy. There was a voice in the back of my head telling me that I needed to keep an eye open for whatever opportunity presented itself to give me the “shtick” I needed to write YET ANOTHER gray young review. Honest to god, not two seconds of the guys getting on stage I had already decided, no shtick; only love. And my God you guys have you really not figured this out yet; I love Gray Young. I don’t feel like joking about it today, I feel like telling you more about why.

 I love Gray Young because I am addicted to the sound of Gray Young; the feeling their music evokes in me. I do not simply like Gray Young because they are my friends, they became my friends by proxy. I do not like Gray Young because I have a crush on Chas. I do not have a crush on Chas because he is a rock star. I have a “crush” on Chas because he is a huge awkward dork that I used to see at the coffee shop and the irony of his shy awkwardness compared with the person I see when he is on stage amuses the hell out of me. It is entirely coincidental that this guy is the LV for my favorite local band. Therefore, let’s be honest here people, I don’t have a crush on a guy, I have a crush on the whole band. I am courting this band; I am in love with them. I feel giddy when I see a show announced like I got asked to the prom. I worry that the “joke” about how much I love Gray Young has eclipsed the root of the root & the bud of the bud: I love the music. Everything else is entirely adventitious. I go see Gray Young every chance I get because I feel entirely blessed and lucky every time I get to see Gray Young, not unlike the way I feel entirely blessed and lucky to see U2 live. And you guys, that is some HEAVY SHIT coming from me. Do you see?

GY played last in this set, not unlike the last time I got to see them at Slim’s where they played after the headliners, essentially rounding out the show. I don’t know why this keeps happening, but I don’t mind. It allows me to perpetuate the myth in my own mind that GY are always the headliners. Although, you know, now that I think about it, I never really have paid attention to any sort of crowd at a Gray Young show; my eyes are closed like, 80% of the time, like I just dropped acid at a Dead show or something, so I am oblivious. I am enraptured by the sound. I couldn’t’ tell you who was around or behind me at any point of this show apart from James Hall or Mike G, (essential attendees as the Army must always represent!) so if there were 6 or 60 people in the audience at this point, I have no idea, but they played their hearts out for us. They always do: Reason #349 why I love them.

Highlight moment: GY and B&A are good friends. I believe, if am remembering correctly, the gorgeous GY shirt I proudly sport about town was in fact designed by b&a; The more I think about it I think the only way the lineup could have been better would have been like, Bonn and Edgers showing up to do an acoustic set out of nowhere or something (ps also I would probably never recover from that). Anyway. So, to close the show, Birds and Arrows joined Gray Young to perform one of my personal favorite songs, “Tilling the Wind.” A song that, as I have already confessed to you once in this blog, brings me to tears every time anyway; but after the big-smile-face busting, good-love, big time happyheart night of music I had just had, it felt like the crescendo of bliss my night needed. It was probably one of the most incredible things I have ever heard, despite my wavering envy that a girl was singing a Gray Young song on stage *with* Gray Young and this girl was not me, and was, in fact, singing one of my very favorite songs. The fact that it was Andrea is completely allowable, however. This was beyond perfection, it was transcendence. I cried like a bitch and I didn’t care who saw.

 

 Love you guys, no joke.

Posing in front of Gray Young like I am posing in front of the Grand Canyon. Brilliant!

EDIT: the next damned day: dude dumped me.... never. fucking. mind.

Old Bricks CD Release Party with Nests and Wild Wild Geese - King's - 04/16/11

I'm not sure how rational, normal people react to deceit, disappointment and tornadoes; but this is how I do it: Go see an amazing show with a majority of the people you love and trust the most and then PRETEND TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THEM.

this post is extremely picture heavy but i promise you, it will be worth it. Well, I hope it will be worth it. I can only assume this will be another one of those instances where I am amusing myself and alienating anyone who ever comes here looking for actual "journalistic" or "musical" "integrity."

I had wandered downstairs to prowl around Neps when I got this text, (which I can only assume is absolute TRUTH.) So I HUSTLED:

IT MUST BE TRUE.

This was the second time I got to see Nests play live, and each time seems to get better. I definitely think the sound was clearer and a bit more... stabilized than the last time I saw them at Tir Na Nog. If you are not in a deeply introspective, semi-melancholy, ethereal mood before Nests plays, then you will be once they start. This is in no way a bad thing. (Melancholy breeds inspiration; pain makes art, etc...) I like to describe Nests as "the sound of a dying cowboy, counting his regrets"... Earlier in the evening, during the storm, Benny lost both his home and his car to the tornado. I am having trouble accepting this just yet and my heart goes out to him entirely. During this set, our collective pain for him hovered over us all and definitely set the mood for this sound. However, they announced a new song, the last song, which was fully upbeat and featured the drums and my god; people DANCED.

It was somewhere around this time when the tornado anxiety, heartbreak of another failed attempt at a relationship, alcohol consumption, and security of some closest friends turned some wild switch in me and I raged. I blame Hillary. We posed for a sparring pic, which swiftly turned into the theme of the evening.

I asked Roo what he thought of the show: “I only stayed for Nests. I wasn’t in a show mood, but I didn’t realize it until I got there… so everything was kind of un-enjoyable for that reason. I will say their (Nests) sound was much better than at LBLB because their volumes were where they needed to be. I understood the role of the saw better this time.”

Hillary does not approve. And I do not approve of the lackluster approach to her disapproval. I show her how to make it count!

I asked N'abney what she thought of the show, BUT THEN DIDN’T EVEN GIVE HER A CHANCE TO RESPOND.

I showed my sympathies and appreciation for the set to benny with a loving CHOKEHOLD:

Selma and I had a full battle. When I asked her later to give me a quote for the review, she said “No one looks good in loafers without socks?” (the question mark was hers, btw)

We are such good friends!

In between the Nests/Wild Wild Geese set, it seemed only appropriate to gang up on Juan Huevos. When I asked him later how it felt to get his eggs scrambled, he said “I was so drunk (your) fists felt like pesky gnats. But the bruises were very real.” Or “karla. she hits like a girl.”

"pretty sure old bricks was awesome, but what with all the brawling going on it was hard to be sure"

 

"i was at a show?"

"was i the only one getting turned on by all this?"

Wild Wild Geese! This was the second time I got to see them play, and this time, even despite all the rampaging going on, I did actually get to pay better attention to them this time! And I have to tell you I really am starting to like these guys a lot. I think I texted Roo at one point and said “It is the rarest of the species, I think the superfan of WWG is the bass player! He is going wild!” His excitement got me excited! Too fun!

I SHOWED MY APPRECIATION BY BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF HIM.

After their set, I took a toddle down to Neps to beat up Sarah and Jonny from The Big Pic!

Then back upstairs and I spied Abby:  
“So there was this fucking tornado, and I’d been wandering the earth for many hours charging my devices and so I end up at this rock and roll show, and Karla comes over and punches me in the face, and I’m just thinking, “Bad timing, Crazy Woman!” In other news, Benny’s house is fucked and Old Bricks blew my mind with their intense double drumming.”

She then instructed me to beat up Grayson and Tina. Only Happy to oblige!

"The Hopscotch Lineup this year is incredibleeeeeeeeee!"

Speaking of Old Bricks Intense Double Drumming! YES! Absolutely one of the best things I’ve seen in a while. Old Bricks was a duo, I thought? But then I see parts of Motor Skills on stage, so I can only assume magic is happening. I'm not sure if this was a special occasion line-up, but i heartily approve! I think on any other day, from what I’ve heard before, Old Bricks is pretty mellow; like an almost ambient-folk experimental thing. Could be because it was the CD release party, but this set was certainly high energy (mostly).Thanks guys! See Youse at Hopscotch!

 ("this song goes out to benny!" xoxoox)

Jeninan-itorial:

"With the stealth of a puppy at the park, I crept into Kings and set my ears at the ready. I surveyed the scene. Old Bricks were a few strands away, tuning up for tornadoes. Indie expatriates grazed on beer like all too fine gazelles in the African veldt. Had my supersonic skills safely shielded me from the arrows of outrageous hipster fortunes? Umm. No. Boot to the head. A punch from the left in 3/4 time by a pixie in plaid. Back to the soundboard for me. Restrain, restring, retune. Next time, my amp will be on."

 
Text conversation between Hills and I on Sunday evening:
Me: "Hey, you wanna add any quotes to my review?"
H: "I don't think so. Cock Guac was the highlight."

"Goodbye, lovers!"

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Please support the recovery efforts of the recently abused Juan Huevos by checking out this new single, a collaboration with our dearly beloved Heads on Sticks: