Interpol, Take Two

Interpol, with Liars
Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
Saturday, September 22, 2007

I have to start this review with a little background. Interpol's first album, Turn On The Bright Lights, is probably my favorite album of the last ten years. So when I saw them live for the first time three years ago at the Curiosa Festival in Nashville, I was a little bummed. I'd never had one of my favorite bands not also put on a good live show, and their set that day definitely did not impress. I found myself offering a myriad of excuses for them... they don't translate well in an ampitheater setting. Their music isn't suited for playing during the daylight. It was hot, and they were wearing suits. But the basic fact was that on July 28, 2004, they just weren't... well, good.

So on Saturday night, my feelings during and after their show were equal parts joy and relief. It turns out that Interpol is indeed a pretty good live band. "Pioneer To The Falls" probably wouldn't have been my choice for an opener, but following it up with "Obstacle 1" set the tone for a show that seemed to build in intensity from beginning to end. The setlist pulled pretty much equally from all three of their albums, and the lighting matched the mood of their music perfectly. Seeing the band live, you really notice that most of the band's muscle emanates from Sam Fogarino; the guy is a monster drummer. And while Paul Banks and Carlos D. aren't the most active performers, Daniel Kessler makes up for it by moving around the stage in a style that can best be described as "sashaying" (one of my friends described it less gracioiusly as "annoying"). The highlight of the set for me came during "Leif Erikson," a reminder that the only thing I love more than e-bowed guitar is TWO e-bowed guitars.

Interpol - "Mammoth" (mp3) from Our Love To Admire
Interpol - "Not Even Jail (Daniel Kessler Remix)" (mp3) from the Remix EP

As for Liars... I really wanted to like them. They had all the ingredients of a band that I SHOULD dig, but they never gave me anything to grab onto. I kept hoping that an actual song would eventually immerge from the noise, but it never really happened. Honestly, I came pretty close to hating it, but they were saved from that classification by one of two songs that their guitarist sang lead on, the Jesus and Mary Chain inspired "Freak Out." I was told that their set at Grimey's that afternoon was like seeing a completely different band (Janet at Out The Other wrote about it here). Maybe I'd have liked that version of the band more, but I definitely wasn't feeling them at the Ryman.

photo by Marcela Cisneros

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

I have no particular reason for posting this song, other than it's been floating around my head for some unknown reason this evening. Not every post on a music blog has to have some grand design behind it, right?

The Wedding Present - "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah" (mp3) from Watusi

Soon The Bells Will Start

In the past two weeks, I have been getting a TON of hits from people looking for Christmas songs. WTF??? It's September people! There are still two major holidays before we start celebrating the birth of Jeebus. I like Christmas music as much as the next guy, but, you know... in December. Or at least after Thanksgiving. So thanks for visiting, but I guarantee you you're not going to find any yuletide tunes on here until late November.

Until then, this is as close as you're gonna get...

Guided By Voices - "Father Sgt. Christmas Card" (mp3) from Universal Truths and Cycles

Providence

For a while now, I've been meaning to start a series where I post about my all time favorite songs. And since I've mentioned this song twice in the last week, I figure it was a good one to start with.

Jack Frost was a side project formed by Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens and Steve Kilbey from The Church. There are several great songs on their debut album, but "Providence" is hands down my favorite. The last verse is one of the most heartbreaking lyrics I've ever heard... it literally gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. I don't think I've ever heard a song that more perfectly captures that melancholy feeling of looking back on a once treasured relationship.

I've seen it played live twice now. The Church did it every night on last year's tour as a tribute to McLennan (he died in his sleep that May), and when I saw them in Atlanta it practically brought me to tears. Last week Matthew Ryan covered it during his set at Next Big Nashville, and even hearing someone else sing it, it still made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Jack Frost - "Providence" (mp3) from Jack Frost

Next Big Nashville Wrap Up

Three nights, eight shows, eighteen bands, countless beers and fourteen hours of sleep. That was my Next Big Nashville experience in a nutshell. After a Sunday afternoon that I had planned on spending finishing unpacking and listening to the Seahawks game, but ended up mostly napping, I've almost recovered from it. It was an exhausting 72 hours, but totally worth it. With over 130 bands playing at ten different venues over five nights, I missed more great bands than I was able to see. This festival did a great job of highlighting the vast wealth of talent that exists in Nashville's non-country music scene.

Here are some quick reviews of most of the acts I got to see over the past couple of days, in roughly the order I saw them...

Cortney Tidwell - I've raved about her a lot on here over the past year, so it should come as no surprise that her show Thursday at the Basement was amazing. I'm glad to see that the commenters at Nashville Cream who saw her felt the same way. She played several new songs, and they were every bit as incredible as the stuff on her debut album.

Justin Townes Earle - He may have Steve Earle in his blood, but Hank Williams in his heart. His set of "old time hillbilly music" wasn't anything groundbreaking, but it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Matthew Ryan Vs. The Silver State - I expected a good show, and he certainly delivered. I'd kill to have his voice, and his songwriting is so fucking good, it's criminal that the guy isn't a household name. Not only did he cover one of my favorite songs ever (more on that tomorrow), but I think this might be my new favorite song...

Matthew Ryan - "It Could've Been Worse" (mp3 - now with a working link)

Jennifer Nicely - The Basement's low ceilings and laid back vibe was the perfect setting for Nicely's brand of jazzy pop noir. It sounded like a young Billie Holliday fronting Chris Isaak's Silvertones. Her debut album, Luminous, is being released tomorrow.

The Pink Spiders - Considering how hard it's been to miss The Pink Spiders lately, especially in Nashville, it's surprising that this was the first time I've seen them. These guys have been everywhere over the past year... on the soundtrack to Madden 07, on TRL, and they seem to be at the Gold Rush every single time I step foot in the joint. I even saw their video for "Little Razorblade" while shopping at Steve & Barry's in Pennsylvania earlier this year. Their beer spewing stage antics really aren't my cup of tea, but if you can resist the charms of "Modern Swinger," you're made of stronger stuff than I am.

Aaron Robinson - Aaron Robinson has an amazing voice, his songs are great, and his band is fantastic. And yet the thing I remember most about his set at the Mercy Lounge was how much I hated his song about Karen Carpenter.

And The Relatives - I'd never heard of these guys before last week, but their set Saturday night at The End was outstanding. If The Pixies had spent their entire career in a garage, they'd sound something like this.

All We Seabees - I think I have a new favorite local band. Their set started with just hand claps and harmonies, and over the course of half an hour they built their folky pop songs into raging swirl of distorted guitars... and harmonies. It was one of those shows where you kick yourself afterwords for not finding out about them sooner.

Jensen Sportag - I hate to go negative, but this show was memorable in how monumentally boring it was. I've never seen any band that didn't get at least a courtesy clap between songs... the only thing you heard was people carrying on their conversations throughout the set. Apparently they are about to move to London, and hopefully their electro-pop will go over a little better across the pond.

Plastic Clap - Entirely awesome. It was like some unholy mix of The Beastie Boys and NSYNC. If you ever get the chance to see these guys, you HAVE to go. Their show is brilliantly offensive and absolutely insane.

For more post festival thoughts, visit Out The Other and, uh... thats it for now. If anyone has seen any other post-festival posts, please post a comment and let me know. I'm sure the Scene will have a wrap up on Wednesday.

UPDATE: More post NBN thoughts at Nashville Cream.

Traveling Salvation Show

I got into The Jayhawks kind of by mistake. I was killing a lunch hour at Tower Books when I heard a song that I thought was a new Lindsey Buckingham tune. When I went to ask one of the clerks about it, I found it it was the then new Jayhawks album, Tomorrow The Green Grass. After hearing about three songs, I walked across the parking lot to Tower Records and bought it. It's been one of my favorite albums ever since.

It seems to be my curse that I get into a band just before they breakup; Marc Olson quit The Jayhawks a year after that album was released. Though they carried on without him and made some good records, it wasn't the same. Part of their appeal was that most of the songs were sung in harmony. Gary Louris and Olson's vocals blended together so well that you almost couldn't tell who was singing lead. And of course in any band where there are two songwriters, the members are pushed to greater creative heights. They were definitely a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

After leaving the band, Olson moved to the California desert with his now ex-wife, Victoria Williams, and released several lo-fi home recorded albums under the name The Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers. Much like the post-Olson Jayhawks material, it was good, but it lacked the magic that made The Jayhawks so special.

Three years after the last Creek Dippers album, Olson has released his first true solo record. And for people like me who miss the Jayhawks, it's worth checking out. Not only does it feature a much more lush, polished sound, it also features Louris singing harmony on several tracks. The couple of songs I've heard so far definitely sound like a welcome return to form for one of the true pillars of the alt-country movement.

Marc Olson plays twice in Nashville on Monday, September 10. He'll be doing an instore at Grimey's at 4:45 pm, and then he and his band take to the stage at 3rd & Lindsley for an early show at 7 pm. There's also a great article on him in this week's Nashville Scene.

Mark Olson - "Clifton Bridge" (mp3) from Salvation Blues
The Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers - "She Picks The Violets" (mp3) from The Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers
The Jayhawks - "Ten Little Kids" (mp3) from Tomorrow The Green Grass

Previewing Next Big Nashville

Tonight kicks off the festivities for Next Big Nashville, so for the next five days there is no excuse for saying you have nothing to do. But if you're overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices, here are a few personal picks of bands I'm familiar with. Of course, one of the joys of festivals like this is discovering bands you aren't familiar with, so let this list be a starting point for you, and then go out and disover some great new music.

Lylas - Wednesday, September 5, 9 pm at The Belcourt

They'll probably be onstage by the time I get this posted, but I'll mention them anyway because they're one of my favorite local bands (and not just because they've released two Christmas themed records, although that helps). They're the perfect blend of sour and sweet, mixing lyrics that are often borderline creepy into classic pop song formats augmented by ukelele, banjo and slide guitar.

Lylas - "Tiny Echoes" (mp3) from Lessons For Lovers


Oblio - Thursday, September 6, 8:45 pm at 3rd & Lindsley

Oblio was one of the last shows I saw at Radio Cafe before it closed down, and I guess that's kind of appropriate. Their sound reminds me of the kind of radio I cut my musical teeth on. It's pop music with a bit of a late 70s vibe. Which is about the lamest descpription I've ever given of a band, but its appropriate. They're just good.

Oblio - "She-Devil" (mp3) from Create The Night, Pt. 1


Cortney Tidwell - Thursday, September 6, 9:30 pm at The Basement

Cortney was absolutely captivating the first time I saw her, when it was just her trading off between playing guitar and drums and omnichord. As memorable as that show was, she's even more amazing with a full band to create lush soundscapes behind her breathtaking voice. Her album is still the frontrunner to top my best of 2007 list, and if you're one of my friends reading this and you don't have it yet, shame on you.

Cortney Tidwell - "Eyes Are At The Billions" (mp3) from Don't Let The Stars Keep Us Tangled Up


Matthew Ryan vs The Silver State, Thursday, September 6, 11:45 pm at The Basement

I kinda feel guilty that after plugging NBN as a great opportunity to check out new bands, I'm going to spend Thursday night seeing two artists I've already seen before, but I can't pass up an opportunity to see two of my favorite locals in one fell swoop. Matthew Ryan has the kind of raspy voice that is meant to sing big, thoughtful rock music. I've never heard one of his songs that I didn't like. And on his last album, he covered one of my all time favorite songs, Jack Frost's "Providence." This will be the first show by his newest project, Matthew Ryan Vs The Silver State.

Matthew Ryan "And Never Look Back" (mp3) from From A Late Night Highrise


Sleeptalker - Friday, September 7, 9:30 pm at The Rutledge

Rock bands with piano as the main instrument seem to be all the rage lately, and in Nashville no one does it better than Sleeptalker. I guess if you absolutely had to you could compare them to that band that starts with a C, except Sleeptalker's lyrics wont make you cringe.

Sleeptalker - "Many Bells Down" (mp3) from Simplify, Simplify


The Features - Saturday, September 8, 10:15 pm at The Cannery Ballroom

Here's an embarassing admission... The Features are probably the best rock band, and I've never seen them. That may or may not change this weekend. Saturday night at the Cannery features three of the most popular local acts right now... The Features, De Novo Dahl, and How I Became The Bomb. The Ballroom is almost sure to be packed to the gills, so if you want to see this show, I'd strongly suggest you get there early.

The Features - "D-Con (Radio One)" (mp3) from the Soaking In The Center Of The Universe Vol. 2 sampler

I'm barely scratching the surface with these recomendations. There are 130 different artists playing the festival this weekend, and if you really want help in deciding your schedule over the next few days, I again suggest that you visit Out The Other. Janet has posted mp3s from over 70 of the artist playing Next Big Nashville, so if you're looking to expand your local music horizons, that definitely needs to be your pre-departure interweb stop.

Goodbye Dog Days

I love Labor Day. Certainly not as much as I love Christmas, but it's definitely up there on my list of favorite holidays. Not so much because of the day itself, but what it represents... the end of summer. Summer is nice and all, but fall is definitely my favorite season. I'm especially looking forward to it this year, after the most brutal August I can remember in 22 years of living in Nashville. It's nice that the temperatures have cooled down enough that you can roll down the window and turn up the radio in your car. So in honor of the return of moderate temperatures, here is my second favorite driving song of all time.*

Lexo & the Leapers - "Time Machines" (mp3) from Ask Them

*My numero uno favorite driving song will remain my dirty little secret... though I'm sure a few of my friends could probably guess. I'm sure I've revealed it at some point during a drunken moment of weakness.