Danielage: Volume XI [10/20/09-11/04/09]

A Place to Bury Strangers w/ These Are Powers, All The Saints (10/20/09 - Biltmore Cabaret - Vancouver, BC)

Starting things off this week was a show I was looking forward to for months as New York City's loudest band and kings of noise visited my somewhat familiar haunt of the Biltmore Cabaret only to turn it on its side. I had heard their live show was a thing of legend and they did their reputation proud as they put on a captivating albeit a tad short set that was aided by the use lighting (or lack their of), projection and strobe lights. Playing a good mix of songs from their new full length (more on that later) and their self titled debut, the highlight of the show by far was the elongated version of their debut's closer "Ocean" which featured a literal ocean of distortion and feedback as lead singer/gutiar player Oliver Ackermann played and manipulated a seemingly never ending supply of Fender Jaguars even going as far as tossing them around and ripping the strings off of one. All of this led to a wall of sound eminating from all of them, colliding and simultaneously captivating the Biltmore audience as they freaked out in corrolation with the onstage freakout they were witnessing... a strangely beautiful conclusion to the night's events.

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The Jesus Lizard w/ Womankind (10/24/09 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC)

If you haven't heard the news let me be the first to tell you that noise rock is back with a passion and you can thank these guys for it all. Reforming earlier this year for one last tour as well as a series of re-issues (see below), The Jesus Lizard, Chicago's infamous noise rock band tore through Vancouver and put on a show that matched their reputation, most of which is due to that actions of lead singer, David Yow. Truely an amazing combo these guys have it down to a science, so much so that you'd be surprised to here that they hadn't played full time in over 10 years. The bass and drums kept everything in (somewhat odd) time as the guitar pierced and screeched along, all the while Yow found himself screaming and howling like a mental patient, with his shirt half hanging off of his intoxicated 40 year old frame as he flung himself all over the place, spending nearly 1/2 of the show in/on top of the crowd. The 60 minute or so set flew by as these guys didn't spend much time letting the audience catch their breath, ripping through such classics as "Mouthbreather", "Seasick", "Puss" and others taken from all of their records released on Touch and Go records throughout the early 90s. If you didn't get a chance to see them, it's too late now as they've stated that this was their last tour. If you did manage to see them during this, or any other tour, I shouldn't have to tell you to consider yourself lucky because I know I do.

Setlist:

1) Puss
2) Gladiator
3) Seasick
4) Killer McHann
5) Glamorous
6) Mouth Breather
7) Destroy Before Reading
8) Nub
9) My Own Urine
10) If You Had Lips
11) Then Comes Dudley
12) Boilermaker
13) Blue Shot
14) Chrome
15) 7 vs. 8

Encore
16) Monkey Trick
17) Bloody Mary
18) Thumper
19) Fly On The Wall
20) Wheelchair Epidemic

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Regina Spektor w/ Jupiter One (11/2/09 - Orpheum Theatre - Vancouver, BC)

Wrapping up the shows I went to in this period was probably my favourite singer songwriter currently out there, New York's Regina Spektor who certainly has come a long way from her rather low-key beginning of playing a keyboard with a floor tom. Here I found her playing a grand piano alongside the accompaniment of a drummer and a string section in one of Vancouver's nicest venues. Playing the majority of her latest major label release "Far", she also managed to sneak in some oldies that dated back to her first LP "Soviet Kitsch" and beyond, the real highlights (to me) being "Us" which displayed the string section in a beautiful manner that complimented her voice and piano amazingly as well as the solo efforts of Ms. Spektor on "Poor Little Rich Boy" as she literally beat shit out of a wooden chair with a drumstick as a means to keep the beat on this classic from her catalog. My only real complaint with the show was the lack of any real banter from Regina, something I was lead to believe she was known for, at least back in the day but that didn't stop her from capturing the attention of the preodiminently female crowd for 90 straight minutes.

Setlist:

1) The Calculation
2) Eet
3) Folding Chair
4) Ode to Divorce
5) Riot Gear
6) Machine
7) Laughing With
8) One More Time With Feeling
9) Two Birds
10) On the Radio
11) Dance Anthem of the 80s
12) Silly Eye Color Generalizations
13) Bobbing for Apples
14) That Time
15) Apres Moi
16) Poor Little Rich Boy
17) Human of the Year
18) Man of A Thousand Faces

Encore:

19) Samson
20) Us
21) Fidelity
22) Hotel Song
23) Love, You're a Whore

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Records I Bought This Week:

Records were picked up at a variety of places over the course of the last week including Audiopile and Scratch in Vancouver, Easy Street and Everyday Music in Seattle as well as an online pre-order with Deathwish Inc.


A Place To Bury Strangers - "Exploding Head" LP (Mute, 2009)

I picked this up when I saw these guys and it's right where they left off with their self-titled 2007 debut. Taking a page from such influence as the Jesus and Mary Chain, these guys marry the seemingly polar opposite elements of sound, those being extreme use of noise and catchy melodies and give it all a fine wash of psychedelia. My only complaint with this record is that it does get a tad repetitive as you make your way through the songs, offering not much variety in the way of beats or vocal delivery as the bulk of it is buried in reverb, distortion and depressing sentiment. Truely this is a record that deserves to be played loudly and even though it's not one of my favourite releases of the year, it's not without its merit.


Doomriders - "Darkness Comes Alive" LP (Deathwish Inc, 2009)

It's been 4+ years since the releases of this Boston based metal band's debut "Black Thunder" which caught my ears back then based on the strength of stand out tracks "Ride or Die" and "Black Thunder." 4 Years have past and this time around Doomriders have gone and produced maybe an even better collection of "Death n' Roll." Contained with "Darkness Comes Alive" are 16 amazing slabs of metal that borrow as much from early metal mainstays like Blue Cheer, Black Sabbath and Motorhead as they do from obvious influence Danzig and these guys other, more notable dayjobs (Converge, Cave-In). Those who love the backup vocals on some of the more recent Converge releases will be thankful that guitar player/vocalist Nate Newton is no longer backing up Jacob Bannon's infamous banshee howl but is instead at the forefront of these songs, bellowing out his every whim and commanding all within earshot to listen or get trampled over in the process. Standout tracks include "Lions", "Jealous God" and "Rotter" but the record in general, as well as the beautiful artwork/layout is another great example of the tremendous work being churned out at Deathwish Inc.

Disfear/Doomriders - "Tour Split" 7" EP (Deathwish Inc, 2008)

When I went to pre-order the new Doomriders album they gave you the option of tacking this on to your order for a mere $4. I figured it was worth the pickup even tho' the Doomriders track "Crooked Path" is featured on the new LP but I figured the rad Disfear track in addition to the beautiful "Beer" colour variant vinyl as well as the neat poster that doubles as a sleeve for the 7" itself made this purchase well worth it. This was released when these two toured Europe together and hopefully can find its way onto this side of the Atlantic as it would be well worth checking out.





Tortoise - "TNT" 2xLP (Thrill Jockey, 1998)

Tortoise didn't necessarily create "Post Rock" the often cited blanket term used to describe bands who use typical rock instrumentation in an atypicl manner. With that being said they did help popularize the somewhat underground trend and in the process put their own spin on it to help standout from a group of like minded pre-dominently instrumental juggernauts such as Godspeed Your Black Emperor! and Mogwai. This, their landmark album is probably their record that showcases their influences and fascinations with Jazz, which Tortoise always leaned more towards as opposed to their counterparts whose hook was their bordering of earsplitting metal and that alone makes this a really different and groovy listen. Anyone who's interested in broadening their horizons to include songs that aren't necessarily concise or filled with hooks but still find a way to hook you in with a real sense of groove. I try to include at least 'some' songs for people to come away from when they read my blog so this week I'm including a link to this full album but please by all means if you like it, feel free to support these guys as the album is still in print (although not on vinyl hence me being stoked to find it used at Audiopile) and these guys do still play/put out music. In fact if you like this, check out their newest record released earlier this year titled "Beacons of Ancestorship"

Right Click to Download Tortoise - "TNT"


Mudhoney - "Touch Me I'm Sick" 7" (Sub Pop, 1988)

What is there to say about this 7" that hasn't been said a million times previously? Some people point to this as the origin of "grunge", an EP from the newly formed Mudhoney that on top of defining a genre/decade, that was then broadened/exposed by a bunch of other bands (specifically Nirvana) but also was a gem in the early Sub Pop catalog, a label that's put out it's share of amazing pieces of music in its day. The song itself is a classic of the genre featured fuzzed out guitars boucne and chug along as vocalist Mark Arm howls in a fitting, 'sick' manner. An amazing release that's so influential and often overlooked, that I just had to pick it up when I saw a copy of it on the wall at Audiopile.


The King Khan & BBQ Show - "Invisible Girl" LP (In The Red, 2009)

Rejoice! The newest album from one of King Khan's seemingly endless bevy of bands is here complete with awesome over-the-top nautical themed artwork and a plethora of songs that your grandparents will love. Taking liberally from genres of music that haven't been in vogue for many a year, this duo has created another fun and upbeat platter consisting of doowop, garage rock and straight up soc-hop style slow dance inspired jams. Oh and y'know how I mentioned that your grandparents will love these songs? Ixnay that because even though the likes of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis had their share of innuendo dating back to the 50s, neither they (nor anyone else for that matter) ever wrote a song with lyrics as filthy as "Taste Buds." Filthy or not, it, along with the bulk of this album is a really fun and catchy listen and a good pickup for sure. I'm looking forward to seeing these guys live in the upcoming weeks.

Built to Spill - "There Is No Enemy" 2xLP (Warner Bros, 2009)

Coming off back to back somewhat disappointing releases in 2001's "Ancient Melodies of the Future" and 2006's "You In Reverse", I was pleasantly surprised to find that the new album from Boise, Idaho's favourite sons is much more of a return to their past endeavours (which featured some of the 90s best guitar rock albums). Just like their career, this album runs the gauntlet of styles incorporating elements of pop and ambience to their famous brand of guitar-centric indie rock. Opener "Aisle 13" is almost a continuation of "Centre of the Universe" the standout track from 1999's "Keep It Like a Secret", followed up with the first single (for lack of a better word) "Hindsight" which is a nice mellow jam. Speaking of which, the standout track on the album for me is "Oh Yeah", with it's beautifully meandering intro that leads to one verse's worth of lyrics that leads to a blistering guitar solo freakout that you can feel the heat eminating from. Gotta love that this was packaged with a copy of the record on CD as well.


Cymbals Eat Guitars - "Why There Are Mountains" LP (Sister's Den, 2009)

One of 2009's best debuts, Brooklyn's Cymbals Eat Guitars burst literally out of nowhere with a self-released CD that garnered an impressive review from Pitchforkmedia that really thrust these guys into the limelight. Fastword 3/4 of a year later and the album was given a wider release on multiple formats including a limited coloured vinyl pressing available only at Urban Outfitters *ugh*. These remind me a lot of early Modest Mouse with a weird lead singer who can yelp with the best of them but finds time to sing at the same time. Some really beautiful textures get laid down and built up and in some cases, such as with the stellar lead off track "And the Hazy Sea", torn down with such fervor I can't help but love it. I drove to Seattle on a weeknight to see these guys a few months back only to find that they couldn't play due to food poisoning and it was one of the bigger disappointments of this year for me (musically), hopefully 2010 will help me rectify that as I'd love to see how/if they are able to recreate some of these amazing numbers in a live setting.


No Age - "Losing Feeling" 12" EP (Sub Pop, 2009)

I spoke of this EP (and even gave a link to download mp3s of it) a few issues back and since then I've found myself listening to even more. It's really a good mix of the varying styles that No Age have perfected over the course of their first two LPs (2007's "Weirdo Rippers" and 2008's much acclaimed "Nouns"), hopefully a sign of more to come from this always busy duo. Kicking off with the title track that jolts along with a neat little riff that sounds more like a loop than a guitar riff, a re-occuring theme on this record and something these guys stated they were going to experiment with a little bit more on this and future releases. It's not until the closing track "You're A Target" do they take off their gloves and let things 'rip' (in their trademark 'weirdo' manner) closing with a bang and leaving the people wanting more as any good punk band is known to do. These guys are only getting better and better.


Jesus Lizard -Head"/"Goat"/"Liar" 12" LP Re-Issues (1990/1991/1992/2009, Touch and Go)

Really what can I say about these releases that hasn't been written a million times. Super influential and ahead of their time and really in the grand scheme of things as a great deal of influential bands tend to be (see Velvet Underground, Pixies), super underappreciated during their day in the sun. I only picked up the first 3 albums these guys put out because a) I couldn't find the other ones at a decent price and b) those other releases aren't as good as these three, especially "Goat" and "Liar" which definitely fall under the category of "All Killer, No Filler." Hopefully these re-issues will help bring to light the greatness of these guys' songwriting and influence a new generation of musicians/people in general (such as myself) to create their own brand of twisted art.