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May 23, 2012

Sasquatch’s Monday Offerings to inspire a Fourth Wind

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I don’t harbor too many regrets about missing a set everyone else proclaims as epic, particularly in the biggest of venues, but reliable reports of the last Radiohead and Death Cab shows (and Sufjan a ways back) as being of each band’s highest standard have been leaving me feeling a bit burned. The only festival set I can recall regretting missing in the last decade is Beck’s 2006 appearance at Sasquatch where he staged an elaborate puppet show, the day after I decided to go home sopping wet from a massive hailstorm. Second chances are few and far between but Beck’s final placement on Monday’s mainstage may have me keeping this regret should I have to leave early. The internal debate is still raging about staying strong through Monday no matter what, so I thought I’d dig into some bands who are scheduled for that day and share a few band’s who’ll be keeping my energy and interest above water.

Don’t Talk to the Cops [www] 3:30pm at the Maine Stage

Holding it down on the Maine stage in the late afternoon is Seattle’s Don’t Talk to the Cops, a hip hop throwdown laced with shit-talking and goofy hooks of b-boy agitator DJ BlesOne. Are you trying to break out of that hands-in-pocket BS that Seattle has a bad rep for? Sasquatch is definitely the place and there is no better example than Bles and Emecks to look to for a few moves.

Awesome Tapes from Africa [www] 4:40pm at the Banana Shack

Band names become more un-googable by the week, but cleverness will only get you so far when nobody can find your music. Awesome Tapes from Africa on the other hand is exactly what the name implies, an actual DJ playing tapes from Africa that he’s collected and blogged over the years. Here the hitch isn’t the name but the medium as Brooklyn’s Brian Shimkovitz highlights music that’s mostly pre-mp3, only issued locally on tape and so by it’s very nature is ungoogleable. I’ve no idea what to expect, and the very notion of the project playing something I’ve never heard before and will not be likely to ever hear again has me deeply interested.

Feist [www] 5:30pm on the Sasquatch Mainstage

With “1, 2, 3, 4…” Leslie Feist had the unfortunate luck penning a cute song, and an even cuter group dance, that Apple’s massive ad budget made impossible to escape. Inundated I made no effort to engage with 2007′s The Reminder. The ambitious arrangements of 2011′s Metals stood out immediately though and shook me out of my prejudice. (I’m a sucker for String sections and Saxophones, so sue me.) We’ll just have to see whether her delicately orchestrated pop stands out enough live from the mainstage to keep me from an afternoon nap in the grass.

The Cave Singers [www] 6:50pm on the Bigfoot Stage

The Cave Bros are a band I count among Seattle’s finest, but are a group who play rarely enough that I often lose track. 2011′s No Witch snuck under my radar somehow, and so for a while I’d missed the memo that these dudes had stepped off the back porch and into the basement to get crunchy. I’ve seen each new tour bring a injection of energy into their sound, and now in league with the laid back stompers they debuted with in 2006 are electric hellraisers and their own brand of backwoods psych. The recent addition of Blood Brothers/Fleet Fox multi-instrumentalist Morgan Henderson is sure to enhance the band’s standing as incomparable on all fronts.

February 2, 2012

Sasquatch! Lineup! 2012!

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Black Whales Allen Stone Charles Bradley Gold Leaves THEESatisfaction The Head and the Heart Shabazz Palaces Pickwick Sasquatch! Music Festival
The Flaming Lips

Sasquatch 2012 ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Who’s ready for Sasquatch? We’ve just got our first glimpse of the line-up and at first blush, we like what we see. We’ll start with who we’re most excited for.

Headliners we can’t wait to see: Crossing Jack White off our bucket list, giving Beck another shot after getting kicked in the head during his performance at Bumbershoot in the ’90s and seeing if Bon Iver can top his last spine-tingling Sasquatch set are all top priorities. Plus Feist, Explosions in the Sky, and The Roots.

Locals we loved seeing on the line-up: Shabazz Palaces, The Head & The Heart, Pickwick, Allen Stone, Poor Moon, Gold Leaves, Wild Flag, THEESatisfaction, Don’t Talk tot he Cops, Fly Moon Royalty, The Cave Singers, Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside, Beat Connection.

Other Honorable Oh-My-God-Yes! Mentions: Charles Bradley, The Alabama Shakes, Gardens and Villa, Kurt Vile, Gary Clark Jr.

Canadian Band’s North of Northwest Would Be Happy to Help Cross the Border: Metric, Feist, Said the Whale, Coeur de Pirate, Hey Rosetta!

Here’s the line-up in video form:

Sasquatch! Music Festival 2012 Lineup Announcement from Sasquatch Festival on Vimeo.

And the Full Line-Up in text, after the jump: (more…)

December 23, 2011

North of Northwest: Top 10 Canadian Albums of 2011

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Dan Mangan North of Northwest

 

 

Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital

In a year filled with stories of oppression and uprising in the Near East and the simply near, this album inspired by the political situation in East Asia began to feel very close to home. The lyrics articulate the creeping fears of the disenfranchised, while the angsty beats help dance those cares away.

Dan Mangan – Oh Fortune

In a year of growing-up albums, this one stands a growth spurt head and shoulders above the rest. The introspections of Oh Fortune are as unflinching, apt, and often hilarious as the societal observations Mangan’s previous release, Nice, Nice, Very Nice, while Mangan’s growing musical confidence offers him more varied and nuanced ways to express emotion.

 

 

Bry Webb – Provider

The erstwhile Constantines frontman finds his inside voice on this quiet, heartfelt collection of songs about marriage, parenthood, and other things that happen when you stop going on tour and start making (long term) plans. The delicacy is a surprising contrast to the bruised and bruising loudness of his work with the Cons, but also a remarkable success.

The Rural Alberta Advantage – Departing

The Rural Alberta Advantage bring an adult’s wisdom and weariness to their sophomore release, examining the past with a mix of relief and affection and bringing sophistication to both their narration and sound. The raw dance-folk that made 2008′s Hometowns such a striking debut is tempered with quiet moments and bursts of delicate orchestration. But though the medium is slightly changed, the message remains the same: who we are is where we come from, and no matter where we go, we can never really leave those old haunts behind.

For the rest of Brittney’s Top 10 Canadian Albums of 2011 (more…)

December 7, 2011

Kathleen’s 10 Favorite Records (National) of 2011

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Girls ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

End of year lists give me the cold sweats. Much like when I was in college and finals were looming, I suddenly forget about everything that sparked in my mind, and all I’m left with is, “I don’t know…when did River Deep, Mountain High come out? THAT COUNTS, RIGHT?”

2011 was a spitfire of a year. While I was still knee deep in snow in Colorado, artists had started to bury themselves in my chest with warm melodies, inventive loops, lyrics that bound to me with knots as tight as the ones in my throat.

So, barring Ike and Tina Turner actually releasing River Deep, Mountain High in 2011, here are my top national releases for this year. Yes, there was a playlist made on Spotify called “Sophie’s Choice” with 30 possibilities, so I can safely say this was a good twelve months for our ears, and all the other soft human parts that music electrifies into waking.

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1. Megafaun – s/t

Clearly fans of Phil Lesh, this band of bearded brutes crafted an album that solidified their predilection for lush folk. It often veers into psychedelic, brain melting jams, and then transitions without a breath into piano heartbreakers like “I Hope You Know.” The album flows with flawless precision, and airtight songwriting that allows for the kind of sonic free fall these guys always send me into.

believers

2. AA Bondy – Believers

AA Bondy is a songwriter who pulls me closer, seeking warmth in his stark, distant melodies. I didn’t think he could top a song like “Mightiest of Guns,” or improve upon spellbinding melancholia. But he has in Believers, which blooms into an opulent soundscape that has moments of such pure sparseness that the whole world exhales into the song and all of a sudden you realize that you’re in a whole different world than when you started.

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3. Tinariwen – Tassili

A desert guitar band hailing from the Sahara desert (actually), Tinariwen set aside the electric guitars they had adopted during their extensive touring and picked up their acoustics for a release that has such threads of longing and homesickness through it, it unravels even girls who grew up in the safe concrete suburbs. With guest spots from Nels Cline, who throws in his own ambient touch, and a couple pals from TV on the Radio, the album is a beautiful homage to roots and change.

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4. Feist – Metals

What can I say about Feist’s 2011 powerhouse of an album? I don’t skip a song. A long way from the safety of the precious, breathy singles like “Mushaboom” and “1234,” Feist has emerged creatively refreshed, her amber voice darker, her songs full of dynamism that I hadn’t heard before. With towering numbers like “Anti-Pioneer,” and some folk-pop tunes that bring back her fans from the beginning, it’s an album that animates, spiritualizes, and expands fearlessly.

kurt-vile-smoke-ring-for-my-halo

5. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for my Halo

I think Kurt Vile read my diary. And then put it to music. And then channeled John Fahey, and then washed off some of that gritty lo-fi grime he had accumulated, and then made an album that crystallized all his guitar influences into a singularly beautiful, wry, and affecting work.

For the rest of Kathleen’s favorites & runner’s up (more…)

November 18, 2011

Feist at The Moore

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Singer-songwriter Feist delivered a stunning performance Thursday night at the Moore Theatre, offering a thoughtful, engaging, and nuanced concert that was as beautiful to watch as it was to hear.

Feist and her six-person band took command of the Moore’s stage at 9 p.m. and held their posts for nearly two hours, spanning the width of Feist’s career with the setlist. Though tracks from September’s release Metals featured prominently, Feist & co. also produced many of the expected choices from 2007′s The Reminder (with the notable exception of “1234″) and even reached back to 2004′s Let It Die.

The stage was set dramatically, the musicians lit in bright, vivid lights while abstract backgrounds swirled behind. Initially, these projections were black and white, mysterious patterns that could have been butterfly wings, or maybe zebra skin. The stark and dramatic contrast between the monochrome screen and the color-drenched band reflected nicely the craggy, elemental intensity of the percussion-heavy Metals. Later in the set the backgrounds switched to abstracted projections of the concert itself, band members rendered kaleidoscopic and swirling, layering the performance upon the performance and drawing your eye ever in.

The beauty of the show lay as much in the details as in the overall scene. Female vocal trio Mountain Man acted not just as backup singers but as visual flourish, using minimal but dramatic dance moves to add well-timed emphases. At times they donned long, rough cloaks, on one side pale and adorned with subtly shimmering bells, on the other dark and pelt-like. Covered in musical skins, they howled in arpeggios like harmonized wolves.

But the star of it all, of course, was the lady herself. Feist was a force to behold, stomping and shaking, tossing those famous bangs, carrying her voice to all corners of its register, but retaining the same command of her skills as she did of the enraptured audience. She was also quietly, wickedly funny, taking harmonic singing polls on methods of transportation and calling to the balcony, “Is anyone up there? Throw someone over so we know.”

Bookending the show was Feist’s longtime collaborator and good friend Chilly Gonzales. Gonzales, who apparently once held the world record for the longest piano performance, offered a shorter exhibition of his skills as the opening act. His combination of piano recital, rap performance, and comedy show was strange and unexpected, but also quite well executed and undeniably appealing. He appeared again behind the keys for the second encore, when Feist climbed atop the piano for torchy renditions of “The Limit To Your Love” and Peggy Lee cover “Where Can I Go Without You.”

As the standing crowd roared its approval, Feist hopped carefully off the piano and gave a little wave. Then she took to the side of her best friend and, with Gonzales’ arm affectionately around her, the most powerful presence of the evening disappeared with a private whisper into the night.

November 8, 2011

Win Tickets to See Feist and Metals at The Moore

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feist

When word came that Leslie Feist was releasing the follow-up record to 2007 hugely successful The Reminder, which spawned the omnipresent single “1-2-3-4,” I couldn’t have been less interested. The sugary sweet album and singles had made Feist inescapable on every media, and frankly I desperately wanted to tune out. So when Metals was released last month, I didn’t exactly rush out to the store to buy it.

But then, over the next two weeks, approximately every person I interact with on-line and in-real-life raved about Metals. Lost their minds over Metals. Many of them claimed it was the best record they heard all year, which considering 2011’s immense output, is quite the statement. So, curiosity got the best of me and I bought Metals. And I’m so glad I did. Those raving friends? They were right to heap praise upon this adventurous effort. While I wouldn’t say its my favorite record of the year, it is the record I’d been waiting for Chan Marshall to make after The Greatest. And I’ve been waiting for that album for five years. Metals may not be Marshall, but it was worth the waiting all the same.

Moody and moving, Metals starts with a knee-slapping heartbeat. But this isn’t a steady heartbeat. Its arrhythmic, pounding slightly off-kilter, it’s the beat of a heart that’s been broken or surprised or so filled with emotion that it is threatening to burst as every aortic chamber pumps. Its this ever-present heartbeat, that allows Metals to crawl under your skin as if its always been there, making the blood to course through your veins. It feels familiar even when its taking you where you never expected it to go.

Metals lacks the preciousness and pop-hits of The Reminder, but the songs are no less memorable. Songs like “The Bad In Each Other” and “How Come You Never Go There” are tracks you want stuck in your head, catchy but not cloying. Despite the size and scope of its orchestration (strings! choruses! saxophone solos by the experimental Colin Stetson!) it remains subtle even as it careens. The album is at its best at the beginning, the first four songs are tracked and stitched together so perfectly, they stand alone as their own novella and show what a gifted songwriter Leslie Feist has become. And while others (like Pitchfork) have heaped praised on the tracks, the album is at its weakest with “Bittersweet Memories” and “Anti Pioneer,” which sound too much like preciousness of Feist’s past.

Metals may not sell the million copies of its predecessor and its single might not sell any new Apple products, but it just might make you a Feist fan. It did me.

Feist is playing The Moore on November 17th and we have a pair of tickets to give away to a lucky reader. All you have to do is leave a comment below with your real email address and we’ll choose a lucky winner next Monday, November 14th at noon.

Here’s that broken heartbeat that hooked me:

October 31, 2011

My Most Played: October 2011

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Nothing has enchanted me more in October than this video of Noah Gundersen and his siblings covering CSNY’s “Helplessly Hoping,” one of my favorite songs of all time. This frills free cover takes full advantage of the reverb of the room and the Gundersen’s familial honeyed harmonies accentuates everything I loved most about the original, while showing me something new to love about the song. If that’s not the definition of a great cover, I don’t know what is.

But it wasn’t the only thing I listened to all month.

Feist – Metals Dude York – Gangs of Dude York and Satanic Vs. Dan Mangan – “Leaves, Trees, Forest” Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter – Marble Son Numero Group – Eccentric Soul:The Deep City Label Gem Club – Breakers Typhoon – Daytrotter Session Cataldo – Prison Boxing Kelli Schaefer – “The Well” (Doe Bay Session)

August 25, 2011

Brittney’s Occasional Choice: Feist – “How Come You Never Go There”

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On the lead single from her upcoming Metals, Feist sings of loneliness and heartbreak in a breathy, torchy shoo-be-doo. Scene: a dark room, a spotlight, a sequin gown, a feather boa, a pointed stare: she’s singing right to you. A little shimmy of the hips. A voice effortlessly sultry. “How come you never go there / How come I’m so alone there?” Your spine shivers. With a voice like that, baby, we’ll never know.

How Come You Never Go There by Feist

February 14, 2008

Hipster Valentine

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We wish we were ballsy enough to send this action-squad Feist inspired Valentine to someone… because it’s pretty fabulous.

March 7, 2007

The Down Low on the Downloads: This Week

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Grizzly Bear acoustic in-store! My favorite soundboard blogger lullabyes has the entire performance from the acoustic Grizzly Bear peformance Gorilla vs. Bear is talking about today. I highly suggest you download it as, it captures the vocal harmonies perfectly. If your into Jenny Lewis like I am, you can also search around at lullabyes for some great performances by her and her and Blake’s band Rilo Kiley.

New Dntel single … Sub Pop posted the title track from Dntel’s, aka Jimmy Tamborello of the Postal Service, new album. Incidentally, this album will feature guest appearances by both Jenny Lewis and Ed from Grizzly Bear. I did not intend for this written coincidence.

Figurines have a video … for their song excellent song “Back in the Day.” I love this band. The animation in this video is great too.

Leak, Leak, Leak… Leaks of the new Feist, the new Wilco, and of course the new Modest Mouse have appeared on the nets and bloggers are all over it. I haven’t dl’ed any of them (that would be stealing?), so I have no opinion yet. The single songs are interesting though and I look forward to hearing them all.