Old Religion Redefined

The Sisters of Mercy, with Hypernova
House of Blues, Las Vegas, NV
Friday, November 28, 2008

Note: After being fairly disappointed with the last Sisters Of Mercy show I saw in Atlanta in 2006, I decided to sit this year's tour out. My friend Tyge is a bigger (better?) fan than I am, and that combined with the fact that he didn't have to travel to see them meant he caught their concert in Las Vegas last week. This review is the first, and hopefully not last, of his guest blogger posts.

A few months ago I wrote a post anticipating this past Friday's Sisters of Mercy concert. It was their third time playing at Mandalay Bay's House of Blues and the fifth Sister's show I've attended. My expectations were held with caution given their history of live performances; their shows can range from brilliant to painful. Appropriately enough, the Vegas show fell on Black Friday, which as any Sisters fan knows is a good sign.

Iranian transplants Hypernova opened the show with a tight 30 minute set. It took a few minutes to realize they reminded me of a raw, energetic version of fellow New Yorkers Interpol. I liked them enough to buy their cd, which they told us to do at the end of every song. After listening to it, I can hear the Interpol influence even more. Good stuff.

With an instrumental version of "Afterhours" playing, the lights dimmed and the smoke thickened. Guitarists Ben Christo (formerly of Alkaline Trio) and Chris Catalyst took the stage as helmsman Andrew Eldritch lurked in the shadows between them. The first song was a new one, "Crash and Burn," and the audience just stood and stared, not sure how to react. Thankfully the song segued with Doktor Avalanche (the omnipotent drum machine) pulsating into "Ribbons" and the masses responded with an energy that would remain for the rest of the show.

The sound wasn't as loud and distorted like many of their past shows. Yes, Eldritch's vocals were still a bit drowned-out, which made appreciating the new songs difficult (they did at least four). In fact, with Eldritch's new take on some old songs, it was difficult to recognize even them until he started singing ("Detonation Boulevard" and yes, "This Corrosion"). You'd think with the female voices on "Boulevard" being sequenced, so would be the case with the choir introducing "Corrosion," but no. The audience caught on fast though and didn't seem to mind. I know I didn't.

The show covered the gamut of the old ("Marian," "Alice," and "Giving Ground," played consecutively) to the lesser old ("Dominion," both "Floods," and "Something Fast") with the brand new stuff peppered among them. Christo played lead guitar effortlessly; he made the painstaking repetitive lead on songs like "Alice" and "Temple of Love" look easy, and you could tell he was loving it. Catalyst didn't get to enjoy the same amount of spotlight time, although he shined particularly well on "First and Last and Always" - while Eldritch was off stage, undoubtedly taking a cigarette break (HOB is now a non-smoking venue).

I saw no signs of the recently rumored lip syncing, and really, the proof is in the blood pudding; the fact that the vocals were not up to par negates any suspicion. The show was 21 and over which hurt attendance. A quick head-count on the main floor tallied about 500, with another 100 or so scattered about the bar and in the balcony. The 2006 Sister's show was all ages and much more crowded with teenage goths, which made me feel much, much older. As usual, Eldritch only flirted with the crowd with very little interaction. Not once did he announce the debut of a new song; he left it up to the audience to figure out.

The band returned with two encores. "Vision Thing" and "Lucretia" had the audience singing and screaming, while the finale, a brief instrumental followed by an abridged version of "Temple of Love," left me wanting to hear the song in it's entirety. Come on guys, what's an extra four minutes?

Was it the best Sisters of Mercy show I've seen? No. The worst? Far from it. I, along with the rest of the crowd, left the show satiated. It was just what the Doktor ordered; a dose of industrial carnage to remind us that The Sisters are still at it, still grinding their axes against the stone, and that we have not been forsaken.

The Sisters of Mercy - "We Are The Same, Susanne" (mp3) unreleased

Tyge blogs regularly at The Neon Lounge.

Waiting For The Siren's Call

The Duke Spirit are playing in Nashville this Sunday, November 30 at the Exit/In. Last time they came to town, I wrote a post extolling their virtues and pointing out a myriad of reasons why you should check them out. This time I'll let them speak for themselves, other than to say I promise you it'll be awesome.


The Duke Spirit - "Send A Little Love Token" (mp3) from Neptune

Eulogies and The Black Fortys open the show, and rock o' clock is at 8 pm. If you need more convincing, check out The Nashville Scene's preview.

Love and Some Verses

Iron & Wine, with Blitzen Trapper
Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
Sunday, November 23, 2008

I've often lamented on here that despite being obsessed with music, I sometimes feel like I can't keep up with it. Sunday night was another example that despite my best efforts, I seem to be increasingly out of touch with what's going on. I was surprised when I first heard that Iron & Wine were playing the Ryman, and I was even more surprised that they were able to fill the place. There were a few empty seats in the top corners of the balcony, but other than that it was basically packed with enthusiastic fans.

The first part of their set felt more like a recital than a concert. Sam Beam spent the initial half hour with just his guitar and his sister Sarah on harmony vocals, with occasional accompaniment on piano and accordion. After several songs of subdued acoustic mellowness, he brought out the rest of his five piece band, and the evening's arrangements became increasingly more exotic. Beam announced at the beginning of the show that he was battling a cold, and for the rest of the night the breaks between songs were peppered with reminders from the audience for him to drink his tea. There were also multiple declarations of love shouted out, almost entirely from dudes. As Sam himself pointed out at one point, at least no one called for "Freebird."

Blitzen Trapper opened the show with a set that was like a tour through the wonderful world of late 60s/early 70s rock. The Portland sextet kicked off the evening with a couple of jaunty pop tunes. Mid-set, singer Eric Earley strapped on an acoustic guitar, and suddenly seemed to be channeling the spirit of Bob Dylan. Once he put away the harmonica, the band wrapped up their set with a pair of psychedelic freakouts. It felt a bit weird to have the opening act be so much more animated than the headliner, but for a Sunday night show at country music's mother church, it worked surprisingly well.

Iron and Wine - "Innocent Bones" (mp3) from The Shepherd's Dog
Blitzen Trapper - "Furr" (mp3) from Furr

photo by Laura O'Neil

Lambchop does Gedge

Lambchop is one of my favorite Nashville bands. The Wedding Present is one of my favorite bands ever. This song was in my inbox when I got home tonight. It's a match made in music geek heaven.

Lambchop - "Kennedy (Live)" (mp3) recorded live in Warsaw, Poland on 11/14/08

Graffiti Indoor Advertising

Ad in the men's room at the Gold Rush...



Who the fuck serenades his girlfriend with a bass guitar?

Your Black Star = Workers

It's not that uncommon to see a band change its name. Many get to the point where once they start to garner some attention outside of their hometown, they find out there is a band in Latvia that has dibs on their moniker, or there was some obscure 60's one hit wonder whose last remaining member vehemently defends the rights to their former glory. But unless your name is Prince, it's rare to see a band have a name change after seven years and four albums. So I was a bit surprised earlier this week when I got a myspace bulletin from Louisville's Your Black Star announcing they are now known as Workers. I thought that maybe all the recent talk of the rampant socialism that is apparently infecting our society (according to Fox News) had inspired them to pay tribute to the proletariat, but it turns out it's much simpler than that...

"We hated it. It's a difficult name to explain to new people ("Your what?") and it's easy to get wrong. In truth we've wanted to change it for quite a while but never got around to it."

I can testify firsthand to the confusion that their old name sometimes inspired. I got the "Your Black what?" comment more than once when talking to people about them. So while their new nom de guerre may be much less google-able, it wins out on being simple and succinct. So... same members, same songs, just a new name.

The first release under the new name will be their self-titled fifth album, Workers. Recorded in Austin this summer with producer Erik Wofford (The Black Angels, Explosions In The Sky, Snowden), it's scheduled for release at the end of January. I got a sneak peak at it today, but I honestly can't tell you much about it, because I haven't been able to stop listening to the opening track. With its echo drenched guitar riffs and absolutely monstrous drums, it's jaw-droppingly awesome. Even if the rest of the album is only half this good, it'll be one hell of a record.

Workers - "Revolutions" (mp3)

UPDATE (11/18/08): So in the past few days, I've finally managed to get past the first song on the album, and... holy shit. It's fucking amazing. It's been on nonstop repeat on my Ipod since last Friday. And as great as this song is, it's not even the best track on the album. I don't want to say too much about it since I still have to write a proper review of it, and the release date isn't for another two months, but it's easily the best thing the guys have done (and that's saying a lot, I loved Sound From The Ground). If it weren't for the fact it won't be out until January, it'd be my favorite album of 2008. It's already safe to say it'll be at the top of my list for 2009.

And in case you're late to the movie and need to be caught up on the plot to date, here are a couple of tracks from their back catalog...

Your Black Star - "Surrounded" (mp3) from Sound From The Ground
Your Black Star - "Lousy Smarch Weather" (mp3) from Your Black Star/Drumkan

Live! Tonight!

I still haven't quite come down from our historic election, and I'm giddy that in few weeks we're going to have a president who has the judgement to start us on our way out of the huge messes we've found ourselves in during the past eight years. But I need to stop blathering on about democracy and get back to being, you know... a music blog. So here's my tip to help you get your weekend started off right (and a little bit early).

Go see All We Seabees.

If you've been here before, you already know that they're one of my favorite bands, cuz I talk about them a lot. Their new album, MKultra, is incredible, and they're an amazing live band. But why should you take my word for it when you can listen for yourself?

All We Seabees - "Alt. Country" (mp3) from MKultra

They play tonight (Thursday, Nov. 6) at The 5 Spot in East Nashville, along with Hammertoch and The Bohannons. Then on Saturday, November 8, they're in Murfreesboro at Mainstreet along with their Cephalopod labelmates Umbrella Tree.

New Day Rising

A mini-mix for the day after.

Velocity Girl - "I Can't Stop Smiling" (mp3) from Simpatico
Peggy Lee - "It's A Good Day" (mp3) from The Best of Miss Peggy Lee
Frank Sinatra - "The House I Live In" (mp3) from Portrait of Sinatra

As perfect as that last song is for today, two verses that were not included in Sinatra's version are especially fitting for present day events...

"The house I live in,
My neighbors white and black,
The people who just came here,
Or from generations back;
The town hall and the soapbox,
The torch of liberty,
A home for all God's children;
That's America to me.

The house I live in,
The goodness everywhere,
A land of wealth and beauty,
With enough for all to share;
A house that we call Freedom,
A home of Liberty,
And it belongs to fighting people
That's America to me."

I'm not sure I've ever felt as patriotic as I feel today.

High Hopes

I usually don't like to do reposts of mp3s I've previously had up, but today seems like the perfect day to share this one again...

Frank Sinatra - "High Hopes (Kennedy Campaign Version)" (mp3)

For all you completists out there, Zorch's Inner Sanctum has the flipside of this rare single, along with a bunch of other campaign songs from 50's and 60's.

I haven't been this excited about a presidential election in... well, ever. For the first time in my life, I voted for a candidate that I truly like and believe in, rather than the lesser of two evils. And it felt kind of awesome. It was nice walking into the booth two weeks ago with a sense of enthusiasm, rather than the dread and borderline disgust I usually feel when I hit the vote button. It really felt like a privilege rather than a responsibility.

Regardless of who your candidate is, if you haven't already voted, get out and do it today. And if you need some extra motivation...