Live Review: elbow @ The Enmore Theatre 29/07/2011

 

 

Possessed of one of the most beautiful singing voices, Guy Garvey, potential poet laureate, lead singer and frontman of elbow believes Sydney has beautiful fingers.
Don't ask, you had to be there.
Fact is, judging from the crowd's response, some of those fingers were Mancunian.

elbow is not your typical rock band.  Shorn of the typical rock star egos and posturing, they are instead humble to the point of having their name in lower case.  So humble, that Guy suggested one day they would like to support their opening act, Matt Corby.  That's perhaps s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g it.

Guy's humble demeanor makes an elbow concert feel like one in which you're amongst friends.  He often pointed and gestured to acknowledge almost every individual in the crowd and when he had us going, hands were either aloft and waving, clapping to the beat or punching in the air.

Audience particpation was high on the agenda tonight as he began teaching us a song line by line until it became too long to follow but also ended as a joke!  The whistling parts in Lippy Kids were turned into a call-and-response, but he was good humoured enough and acquiesced to the audience' cheeky out-of-tune whistling.  Further rapport was forged when Guy descended from stage to shake some hands.

At one point, yours truly was moved to tears by the sheer beauty of a song.

Celebrating 20 years in the business, but only ten with a recording contract and five stupendous albums to show, there was a round of drinks on stage as the crowd appropriately sang Happy Birthday to the band.

It's criminal that they remain largely a well kept secret despite winning the below accolades:

• The 2009 Brit Award for Best British Band
• Two Ivor Novello awards
• The South Bank Show Pop award
• The NME Outstanding Contribution to British Music award, and
• The Mojo Magazine Song of the Year 2009 for One Day Like This
• The Mercury Music Prize for 'The Seldom Seen Kid in 2008
• The Mercury Music Prize nomination for Build a Rocket Boys! in 2011

It's possible they're too British for an American audience, but I love them all the more for it.

When asked what he should sing, Ralphie (Sp?) from the audience suggested Hallelujah and for a moment there, we thought we were in for a treat.  In all likelihood, they're probably brushing up on the lyrics for their next live performance.

Perhaps they could play the Sydney Opera House next?

♥,
Syd.  8.9/10

PS.  Sorry that there are no accompanying photos - They were all lost after an iPod update!
        Modern technology, right?

Many thanks to Carina N, we now have the setlist:

(Could've sworn they also included
An Audience with the Pope)

This now concludes my week of exhaustive debauched concert-going and soul-feeding.

Catching Up: The Flaming Lips

Psychedelic Weirdness Alert

Earlier this year frontman Wayne Coyne threatened to release a new track every month and true to his word, has actually surpassed his quota.

In February, they released Two Blobs Fucking as 12 separate tracks on YouTube to be played in sync on mobile devices ala their 1997 Zareeka 4CD experiment.  All you need to do is gather up 11 other friends and all press play together.  Some spoil sport (Thank you!) has mixed all 12 vignettes into one video with audio tracks combined and here's the result:

In March, they collaborated with Neon Indian and released a 4-track EP:

in April, they released a 4-track USB stick lodged in what was purported to be marijuana flavoured gummy skulls:

Tracklst: 1. Drug Chart, 2. In Our Bodies, Out of Our Heads,
3. Walk with Me, 4. Hillary's Time Machine

In May, they released a live recording of The Soft Bulletin (Live La Fantastique de Institution):

Tracklist: 1. Race for the Prize, 2. A Spoonful Weighs a Ton, 3. The Spark That Bled,
4. The Spiderbite Song, 5. What is the Light? / The Observer, 6. Waitin' for a Superman,
7. Suddenly Everything Has Changed, 8. The Gash, 9. Feeling Yourself Disintegrate,
10. Sleeping on the Roof

In June, they released another collaborative 4-track EP, this time with Prefuse 73:

Tracklist:1. The Super Moon Made Me Wanna Pee!!!, 2. Heavy Star Moving...,
3. Be Like That...That...That..., 4. Guillermo's Bolero

In July, we have the 3-track Gummy Song Fetus (US spelling):

Tracklist: 1. Enthusiasm for Life Defeats Existential Fear Part 2,
2. Steven's Moonbow,3. Squishy Glass

In August, we have yet another collaboration with Lightning Bolt on 12" EP:

Tracklist: 1. I'm Working Aat NASA on Acid,
2. I Want to Get High But I Don't Want Brain Damage,
3. NASA's Final Acid Bath,
4. I Want to Get Damaged But I Won't Say Hi

...and The Lips sharing a stage with Weezer at PNC Bank Arts Center.
In September, The Strobo Trip Toy!:

Tracklist: 1. Butterfly, How Long It Takes to Die
2. I Found a Star on the Ground (6hr song)
3. Evil Minds

A breather in October, followed by 7 Skies H3 and the Harvest Festival (No sideshows) in November:

Tracklist: 1, 7 Skies H3 (24hr song)

Devendra Banhart at The Metro 27/07/2011

Dear Warner Brothers,
Please give Devendra Banhart the complete artistic control which he fully deserves and needs in order to truly flourish as an artist.
Dressed in an (office?) shirt, sports jacket and skinny jeans with his hair cropped shorter and a neatly trimmed beard, he looked every part the office worker and about as comfortable as a fish out of water.
Attempts at making an artist more palatable to the masses could also end up diminishing an artist' star quality.
Devendra's following love him for his talent, creativity and individuality.

Okay, I know I've made the assumption that this toning down is a corporate directive rather than a personal choice.

Let's face it, his appeal should never go mainstream.
Another Madonna he'll never be.  And thank heavens for that. 

It was great seeing more local talent primed for the world stage.  This time I'm talking about opening act Melbourne's Husky.  It wasn't till frontman Husky Gawenda covered America (The band's) Sandman that I connected their sounds to 70's harmonised bands.

It felt as though Devendra was slightly reserved for the first half of the concert. 
That's not to say he didn't try to keep things jovial & light in parts, occasionally sticking his tongue out, the odd grimaces and yelps to hit the notes and body jerks we're accustomed to in his performances, only more self-conscious this time around.

After the aforesaid offending jacket came off and sleeves were rolled up, that it felt he was more in his element.
It was also funny when dylexsia struck and he had lines jumbled and was saved as he toyed with the mistake.  There were songs where he'd dug in deep and delivered soul-stirring moments.  My favourite, Brindo, was performed with gentlemanly aplomb; whereas fan-favourite Seahorse saw some jazzy embellishments and a note sung and sustained turning almost into a Red Indian call!  Now that's what I call talent!
A surprise song inclusion was a cover of Yellow Magic Orchestra's Sportsman.

Special mention must be made about backing band The Grogs who were outstanding in their versatility in playing the various genres covered throughout the night.

שָׁלוֹם  8.6/10

Setlist and freebie Dorothy and the Originals' Sound Diary CD (Looks like Devendra's artwork).

Yello Magic Orchestra - Sportsman

The Kills at The Metro 26/07/2011

Tonight's review will be a short one, but so was the concert.

Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart played their fuzzed-out garage punk with vim and vigour.
Alison was full of energy as she belted out the tracks and flung her hair as she commandeered the stage. 
She had the hair, the pipes, the looks and the moves.
She even picked up the guitar and drummed a few simple beats.
So far, so Rock n' Roll.

What killed it for me (Get it?) was the two slow tracks. 
One Silver Dollar was taken from Marilyn Monroe's 1954 film 'River of No Return' and the lullaby-waltz that was 'The Last Goodbye' on Blood Pressures. 
What were they thinking??
They had whipped the crowd into a dancing frenzy only to let it deflate and go limp.
About as sexy as a cold shower.

Several things are running through my mind:-
Does Alison need to showcase her Broadway chops?  The Kills is probably not the right platform.
They are The Kills after all, aren't they?
Are we in danger of losing this band to showtunes?

Karen O from Yeah Yeah Yeahs has a parallel solo career and was last heard venturing into 'Psycho-Opera', while Ms Mosshart has successfully moonlighted on two of Jack White's The Dead Weather LPs.

One distinct difference between actors and singers: 
While actors inhabit their characters and portray their roles; singers sing from their heart and bare their souls.
Why do I require that my singers eat, breathe and live their art rather than play a part?
The very reason why Richey Edwards (Formerly of Manic Street Preachers) carved '4REAL' on his arm.
Otherwise, you're just a poser.

Minus slow tracks  7.8/10
With slow tracks    6.4/10

Setlist
The Last Goodbye?   Perhaps.

This is how I'd like to remember them:

 Not:



Modest Mouse Rocks The Enmore 25/07/2011

Woo Hoo!  What a way to start my holidays! (Admittedly only 4 days this time).

It's not very often I find myself asking who the opening act was, or if their songs were originals for that matter.  Sydneysiders Deep Sea Arcade were impressive enough to have my curiosity piqued. 
Obviously schooled in Rock history, they have Beatles' flourishes and site Elliot Smith, The Doors and Stone Roses as influences.  And it shows.
A band to look out for.

Judging from the rapturous reception when Isaac Brock and co. sauntered on, I'd say I was in the midst of some serious hardcore fans, you know the ones that know the lyrics to almost every song.  Tonight's setlist was mostly a greatest hits package...

Setlist (Thanks to setlist.fm):

1. Satin a Coffin
2. The View
3. Dramamine
4. Dashboard
5. Fire It Up
6. I Came as a Rat
7. Paper Thin Walls
8. Blame It on the Tetons
9. Dance Hall
10. King Rat
11. Gravity Rides Everything
12. Poison the Well
13. Float On
Encore:

14. Bukowski
15. The Whale Song
16. Wild Packs of Family Dogs

(Could've sworn they also played The World at Large...)

Satin in a Coffin kicked the night off followed by a particularly raucous The View which nearly blew the roof off Enmore...  and we're only 2 tracks in!  The sheer energy rarely let off and was only "interrupted" when the taxidermy-fan-cum-frontman addressed the crowd and regaled us about the weather back in hometown Portland.  Rock Star attitude was in play when he carried on a little too long, but I suspect this may have been a calculated move to "egg" the crowd on.

At times, it seemed the stage could barely contain the band because they had such a huge presence.

When first notes of anthem Float On floated on, the crowd went literally beserk.
There was dancing in the aisles and ushers had a tough time showing some back to their seats.

Isaac brought out the banjo on a slightly reggaefied Bukowski.  The Whale Song (featured in 1997 movie Bent starring Clive Owen about a gay prisoner of war) started off with an odd guitar refrain which only made sense towards the end of the track.

No signs of any new songs then.

Had a blast guys!  8.3/10

Broken Social Scene covers Modest Mouse - The World at Large

Since I wasn't too familiar with Modest Mouse's back catalog, I thought I'd get onto YouTube to find out more before their concert tomorrow night and stumbled upon this session by Broken Social Scene for the Voice Project, an online video series that raises money and awareness for women in Uganda by recruiting artists to cover songs.

Music sometimes is alchemy - You know when the different elements come together to create a little magic...

Below is one such moment.
(Skip to the 3:10 mark if you're not interested in banter over arrangements...)



Broken Social Scene » Modest Mouse from The Voice Project on Vimeo.

The 2006 original:

Girls - Vomit

That'll surely be my worst title for this year.

Girls will be releasing LP2 Father, Son, Holy Ghost (3 if you count stopgap Broken Dreams Club EP released last year).

Pre-release track "Vomit" is fragile, lovelorn, dirty & heavy in parts and totally epic... and totally kicking myself for missing them last year when they played Manning Bar in December.
Reminder to self - Stop talking like a teenager...

GIRLS - Vomit by Some Kind of Awesome

I ♥ Girls.  My mom would be so happy.

Beirut in Loft Performance

Beirut contributes O Leãozinho (a Caetano Veloso Cover) to compilation Red Hot + Rio 2.

Beirut Loft (Full Set) from Red Hot on Vimeo.

Can't wait for their new LP, The Rip Tide.

Strange bedfellows: Jack White & Stephen Colbert

Oftentimes it's sad when an artist spread themself too thinly.
Strange then, that Jack White has become one such casualty especially considering how much he safeguarded his legacy.  He was clearly not comfortable.
After his curious cameo in Danger Mouse's ROME project, we have this.
Whilst it's all funny ha-ha, the actual vinyl release takes it beyond the joke...

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Further reading:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/dec/01/jack-white-ebay-auctions

Album Review: Radiohead - The King of Limbs

It's always an unenviable task reviewing a Radiohead album.  Just where do you start??  

For starters, it still amazes me that there are some out there who don't "get" the music. 

On second thought, they have never been literal post-OK Computer; with each album further pushing the boundaries and experimenting with new shapes.  Employing elements of jazz, Krautrock and the electronic glitch of IDM, topped off by Thom Yorke's emotive vocals and a Kafkaesque approach to lyrics makes one heady mix.

Human rights campaigners, "multimedia darlings" since the birth of internet, they have been a constant voice for one disenfranchised generation.

It must be said that they have a great marketing team behind them too.  

Each pre-release has been presented with inventive promotional hype, with expectations whipped up into fever-pitch frenzy upon release.

Little wonder then, that some spoilt fans suffer from a perceived letdown.

They have no idea just how good they have it.

Bloom starts proceedings with a glimmering piano line set off to a skittering drum backbeat, swirling synths and jazz horns embellish disembodied lyrics:

Open your mouth wide
A universal sigh
And while the ocean blooms
It's what keeps me alive
"So why does it still hurt?"
Don't blow your mind with why

Whilst Morning Mr Magpie continues in much the same vein, Yorke here takes on an accusatory role with bile in his veins.  Is this anger aimed towards his lover?  The people in government?  God?

Castanets add to the busy pea-soup that is Little by Little with stream-of-consciousness non-sequiturs.

Feral being the only bass-bothering instrumental.

On lead single Lotus Flower, Yorke morphs into some falsettoed spirit as he inhabits his lover. 
(Then again, you may inetrpret this totally differently).

Codex is by far my favourite track.  Stunningly beautiful vocals accompanied by piano and more(!) right-brain lyrics.  At once ghostly and enchanting.

In sharp contrast, decay effects on vocals and a repeated refrain makes Give Up the Ghost entirely hypnotic.

Syncopated beats jolt the listener back on closer Separator. 
The beginning of this track somewhat resembles I Ain't Gonna Stand for It from Hotter Than July -
I half expected Stevie Wonder to start singing!
Mellifluous, multi-layered vocals, lone guitar twirls around a simple bassline like tendrils amidst skittering beats.
Ladies and gentlemen, we've come full circle.

To conclude, Radiohead's music has always been more about feel. 
Let it wash over you. 
Apply a soft focus, and the inherent beauty reveals itself akin to those magic eye 3D optical illusions that were popular not so long ago.

Masters of aural illusions.  9.0/10