Palomar to Release New Record, Sense & Antisense, on 1/24

I first saw Palomar a couple years back when they opened for The Wrens at their two-night 20th anniversary throwdown in NJ at Maxwells. Comprised of three woman and a guy drummer, they played great kick ass songs with running streams of power pop and folk, and harmonic melodies that wrap around you and hold you tight.



Since their inception in 1998, Palomar has released four full-lengths and one EP. Sense & Antisense, their fifth full-length, contains contributions by the likes of Charles Bissell (The Wrens guitarist/vocalist), Roman Kuebler (Oranges Band), and Jed Smith (My Teenage Stride), among others.



Says the band about the album:

Sense & Antisense is an album not about boys and girls, but husbands and wives, and not about cars, but car payments and re-financing home loans. The album is about the anxiety that comes with sitting in hotel rooms preparing for work meetings; lying awake at night, pregnant and worrying about how having kids might ruin your life; going to high school reunions; the ennui of sifting through relationships to find the ‘right one’ and then living and working with the right one. This is an album about a girl band that grew up.

Palomar's Sense & Antisense comes out tomorrow, and they're pairing up with Nada Surf for a double record release party tomorrow night at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC, so get there early!

Lights That Flash in the Evening: Jens Lekman @ Sixth & I Synagogue, Washington, DC (10-5-2011)

Singer/songwriter Jens Lekman may, at first listen, seem like a strange Swede. His songs, like "I Broke Up a Fight" and "Waiting for Kirsten," a song about waiting to see Kirsten Dunst at her hotel in his hometown, seem, well, odd. Lekman's songs initially appear as silly musical stories about nothing. But then he brings out a line that just nails how it feels when go through one of the deep situations we all endure at some point while on this mortal coil, and your perception is immediately changed. Lekman covers them all, heartache/hope/love/longing, and in the end, be it from his silly stories or his perfectly capturing the human emotion in verse, you don't feel serious or melancholy, you feel uplifted .

My Washington City Paper piece will be up here later today. See more photos from the set here.

Arcade Fire Movie Shot at MSG by Terry Gilliam Being Rebroadcast in Full Until Noon Tomorrow

Like Arcade Fire? How about live? For the next 19.5 hours now, you can knock yourself out with some live Arcade Fire and not even leave your couch. The live show movie the Fire shot at Madison Square Garden in NYC on 8/5 this year, will be streaming below for the next 19.5 hours (basically until noon tomorrow). Directed by Terry Gilliam-yes that Terry Gilliam-it's steaming in HD and is pretty spectacular to look at. Set list is below.

Now Gilliam and Arcade Fire, how on earth did that love connection happen? Well, it seems the first Win Butler and Régine Chassagne to-the-movies date was to see Gilliam's 1985 movie Brazil. Gilliam comments on his getting involved with the project and offers Brazil is a way to test date match compatibility...

“I’m trying to find out what this f—ing thing is,” admits the director and Monty Python comedy team member. “I keep reading that I’m directing this thing, but I’m not sure that’s what I’m doing. Their manager called my agent less than two weeks ago and said, ‘We’re doing this webcast and the band would love it if you got involved.’ [The MSG show] will be the fourth that I’ve been with them. I’m a groupie, basically! If I see somebody doing something stupid I’ll probably mention that to them. But their show’s really good, and they’ve got really good video stuff already. So we’ll stick with what they’re doing and I can sit back and take credit for everything.”

One thing Gilliam con confirm is that he is a big fan of the Canadian outfit: “I do think they’re very special. I’ve felt that since Funeral.” That admiration is apparently reciprocated by band members, and married couple, Win Butler and Régine Chassagne. “Win said something to the effect that the first movie they ever saw together was Brazil,” reveals the director. “It’s a good way of finding out if your date is going to be part of your future! When Brazil came out I remember some married couples practically splitting over it. One would like it and the other would just despise the film.” Gilliam says he is regarding the webcast gig as an extended “date” during which he and the band can get to know each other, with an eye on collaborating properly at a later point. “It’s really about seeing if there’s a future between them and me,” muses the director. (Source)

Show runs about 1:30 and set list is below:
Ready to Start
Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
No Cars Go
Haiti
Empty Room
The Suburbs
Crown of Love
Rococo
Intervention
We Used to Wait
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Rebellion (Lies)
Month of May
Keep the Car Running

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Wake Up

Lights That Flash in the Evening: Fitz & the Tantrums @ Black Cat, Washington, DC (5-29-2010)

It was great to see the turnout for Fitz & the Tantrums last Saturday at the Cat. Memorial Day Weekend can be tough for any band to play in town, but for a band from out-of-town, you never know. So big ups to DC because they welcomed these out-of-towners with a good showing. Music, as well as a live show this good, is something that should not go unrecognized.

(Go here to see the rest of the show photos)

Lights That Flash in the Evening: The Wrens @ Black Cat (11-20-09)

The Wrens came to the Black Cat last Friday as a little outing prior to their three big shows coming up the first weekend in December at Maxwells in Hoboken, NJ. Ever since discovering them at SXSW last year where I was knocked plumb off my feet from their incredible passion and power, I've made it a point to see them wherever I could. So them playing where I don't have to travel for it? Bonus!

As those Maxwells shows include a set of fan requests, a set of their entire amazing opus, The Meadowlands, and a set of new compositions, the DC show's set list was a little insight into what's to come, all tucked into their typical energetic and vigorous playing. I'm truly hoping "Leaves Ground" finds its way into the "new compositions" set at Maxwells; full of Whelan's piano, his brother's keening guitar and Bissell's loops, it's one I found on par with "13 Grand" from The Meadowlands " or "Safe and Comfortable" from Secaucus, utterly gorgeous.









While the show was great, there were a few mishaps. The sound was....well, I'll put it this way: I saw the Ramones in 1991 and the only way I could tell the difference between one song and the next was by the "1, 2, 3" that was yelled out. This show seemed a lot like that. The Wrens are a loud band, granted, and while not loud enough so that I didn't know what song was playing, their sound this night was somehow garbled enough that I couldn't tell you words at times (and I even inquired to people who were standing in front of the sound guy who said the same thing). "North to Nothing" is a favorite so I "knew" it, but at the Cat, it sounded like "khiuhiyhhihihaaaaa," I'm sad to say.

Lead guitarist Greg Whelan also had equipment issues onstage. Whelan's stage presence is the complete opposite to the human pogo stick that is his brother, singer/bassist Kevin Whelan, but when the jack on his baritone guitar cut out after the first chorus of "This Boy is Exhausted," the audience watched as the guitar went sailing to the back of the stage. (Happily, it survived to play another day.)

(The guitar just before it went airborne ...)

Probably the sweetest moment of the night was when lead singer/bassist Whelan pulled a young boy of about 10 from the audience to hit the keys during "This Is Not What You Had Planned," the last song on The Meadowlands.



At one point, Whelan asked the kid his name ("Theron") and asked the crowd to give him props. How cool must have this 10 year old kid felt hearing an entire club chanting his name? (I found out later though that his actual name was "Darren," and Whelan had obviously misheard him above the din.) Didn't matter though, the kid was beaming. $10 says you see this kid onstage somewhere in a few years.

(During "Exhausted" I think, I kept noticing singer/guitarist Charles Bissell standing up on his toes like this repeatedly as he sang. Maybe that's a new singing technique for extra power or...something?)






(See the rest of the photos from the show here)

The Wrens have been around for 20 years now and they exert more energy in three songs than many bands half that age exert in three shows. It makes you wonder how many cases of Red Bull their rider includes. Whatever it is, it's fantastic, and consistently makes for an incredible and explosive show.

Get Your Rock On This Afternoon with Wilco

Wilco will be rocking a bunch of Amsterdamnians in person, but if you'd like to be virtually rocked at the same time, the band's webcast from the Paradiso in Amsterdam starts today at 2:45 p.m. EST (1:45 CST and 11:45 PST_).

Come on Pilgrim! The Pixies Give Away Four Live Tracks for Free

The Pixies and their classic Doolittle was a seminal record in my music dork trajectory, so it was super cool to hear they were going out on the road to play the thing in full for its 20th anniversary. (DC dates are 11/30 and 12/1 at DAR.)

Now lots of folks are going out now and playing their records in full (why Springsteen just did The River in full last night at MSG), but the Pixies are taking it just a step further and selling the live shows.

The Pixies will once again be recording their live shows! Available starting on the Oakland leg of the tour, you can head to the web address below to order your CD set, a download of the show, or even a 2GB USB bracelet. For now the site will ship purchases to you, but starting in New York you will be able to pick items up after the show. Pixies site

What an innovative idea. I mean, most everyone enjoys a recording of a show they attended and loved, and it makes a little cash for the artist, so win/win yes? Something else unique about this is that there are options in which to receive your show, digital download or cd, which gets shipped to your residence. The cd "is high quality, individually numbered, collectible CD set (double disc) featuring the entire live performance. The Doolittle track listing is printed on each full color, UV coated DigiPak, along with the "Flying P" logo. There will only be 1000 of these CD sets ever made for each show." Not bad for only $23.50, especially as you know the quality will be soundboard, not the muffled attempts of some guy with a microphone under his jacket.

As well, they're selling 2GB USB Wristbands that contain four tracks from the Doolittle Live tour in Europe, and five bonus videos with a cool "dashboard" interface. Purchase of one also gets you $5 off the purchase price of a digital download of any Doolittle Live US Tour show. How's that for thinking outside the box to generate revenue? Now if the rest of the record companies would follow this lead...

(You can check out list of live cd's and wristbands here.)

Want to know if you'll la la love it in advance? They've blessed me to share with you four tracks from their recent show in Paris for your listening pleasure. I'm amazed baby, and you'll be too.

Pixies Live! 20th Anniversary of Doolittle Sampler
Crackity Jones
Dancing the Mantra Ray
Monkey Gone to Heaven
Gouge Away
Zip

Pixies 2009 Fall U.S. Tour Dates:
NOV 9, 10: Fox Theater, Oakland, CA
NOV 12, 13: Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
NOV 14: Hult Center, Eugene, OR
NOV 16, 17: Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO
NOV 19, 20, 21: Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL
NOV 23, 24, 25, 26 (special 1:00 AM show): Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC
NOV 27, 28: Wang Theatre, Boston, MA
NOV 30, DEC 1: DAR Constitution Hall, Washington, DC

Lights That Flash in the Evening: U2, with Muse @ FedEx Field, Upper Marlboro, MD (9-29-09)

U2 is not now nor were they ever my favorite band; in fact, I think the last record of theirs I own might be Zooropa. However, U2 is the reason I am a music dork today.

Up until the 8th grade, I was pretty much listening to "whatever was on the radio.” It wasn’t like fading mill towns in upstate NY were lush with record stores or indie radio stations then (or now for that matter). Up there, you got classic rock (Dylan, Hendrix) and Top 40 (Poison, Tiffany). One day, I was trying to tune in the big Top 40 station in the area and I unknowingly turned the knob a tad too far to the left.

Instead of the Top 40 station, I tuned in a college radio station (91.5, WRPI) and heard a heavy and intense guitar riff, and one hell of an impassioned 'YAHHHHHHHH’...and I felt every single neuron in my body fire all at once.

What I had heard were the opening chords to U2’s "New Year’s Day." It was so raw...so bare...so strong...so...real. I always liked to listen to music but never had a song hit my entire nervous system quite so completely before. It was through that banshee yell that I discovered a whole new world.

The Joshua Tree and U2's explosion into the mainstream was still three years away, so U2 was only being played on college-radio at this point. "New Year's Day" started my music nerd conversion, but it was discovering The Unforgettable Fire shortly thereafter that sealed the deal-what an amazing record. I realized that there was great music being made out there that was an alternative from the mainstream of hair metal, overproduced and plastic sounds, and formulaic lyrics. Music could be smart as well as catchy, and it wasn't all from 1967, it was happening right then. And I wanted to hear it all.

That's why I was so excited at the chance to combine my latest new world, photography, with, ostensibly, the reason that this site even exists today. So I give you photos from Tuesday's U2 show here in Washington, DC at FedEx Field.






(Bono is shorter than a drum cymbal, who knew?)



(Go here for the rest of the photos from this show, and for those of the opening band Muse.)

Lights That Flash in the Evening: The Hold Steady @ 930 Club, Washington, DC (6-7-09)

I'm new to The Hold Steady train. Not new to their music-heard it, liked one or two songs-but new to seeing them live, mostly because I only liked one or two songs, not many. I saw them for the very first time ever at this year's SXSW because of location... and, to quote the great Shane McGowan, their's was a show that knocked me ass over tit. The serious amount of energy lead singer Craig Finn exerts onstage could probably power a small city for a month.

But then I saw them again in Towson, MD a few days after returning from SX, and I noticed a distinct difference. I'll put it to you this way: multi-instrumentalist Franz Nicolay remained rather sedentary until roughly 3/4 of the way into the set (and this was a dancin fool in Austin). And Finn, while kind of animated, really didn't get going until, again, 3/4 of the way into the set. Everyone just seemed...tired.

So, yeesh, did I see an anomaly at SX? Which was live and which was Memorex? After Sunday's show at the 930 Club, I think it's pretty safe to say that the Towson show was the anomaly. At the 930 Club on Sunday night, The Hold Steady was a band out to create musical mayhem, and they weren't leaving anyone in the audience behind.







Maybe they were still glowing from their afternoon visit to the White House, or maybe it was the super-energized sold out crowd that had them amped up, but Finn and company were very clearly having a ball onstage. Bassist Galen Polivka was playing and clowning in back of drummer Bobby Drake on his drum riser, playing atop the side-stage speakers, or doing an odd walk across the stage while playing that was one part Chuck Berry and three parts Elephant Man. Finn bounced around the stage more than a rabbit on meth. He repeatedly commented how glad they were to be back in DC, doing many fist-to-chest bumps to the audience, and wearing a huge grin.





Something I love about the photo above it that it seems to visually capture the typical ying and yang stage presence that is Finn (maniac, dancing and interacting with the crowd), and lead guitarist/band co-founder Tad Kubler (more of a calmer and sedate type overall). Mind you I said typical: Kubler did break out into random pogoing when you didn't expect it and climbed the other side-stage speakers with Polivka. And while I appreciated Finn playing his ass off like a deranged kid because it makes the show entertaining, what I wouldn't give for a shot of him during "Lord I'm Discouraged"....It's a powerful song anyway about utter helplessness, but Finn's rendition Sunday was stunning. He hung on to the mike stand like the words pouring forth were being ripped from the very bottom of his soul.





They also included a really lovely cover of History Lesson, Part 2 by The Minutemen in the encore which was a nice touch.

So if you are like me before and wonder, "What's all the fuss about the Hold Steady?", I got four words for you, man: go see them live. You'll be high as hell and born again, I promise.

(See the rest of the photos from the show here)

Give a Listen: History Lesson, Part 2 (Minutemen Cover)-The Hold Steady, 930 Club, 6/7/09

The whole show can be found here.