Sonic Parthenon's The Year In Music 2008: Part 3

Fair Game
The show was canceled in the middle of the year and it will be missed for two things: 1. The host, Faith Salie and 2. the music. Fair Game served as a live library of a lot of the great bands of our time, from Camera Obscura and the National to Clare & the Reasons and Magnetic Fields. How the Black Lips got on there I will never know, but I do know I miss Faith a whole hell of a lot :(

Flogging Molly
"Requiem for a Dying Song" and a reinvigorating live show at Pier 54 brought one of the marquee bands of the first half of this decade back from the bog and it felt very good.

Frightened Rabbit
"The Greys" and reports of solid live work were more than enough for this budding band from across the pond to make a mark in 2008.

The Gaslight Anthem
At the end of this year in review, you'll see a list of honorable mentions, pretty much all of which are about one songs with no real backstory. One of a few exceptions to this list, a band that gets a special extra bit of attention is the Gaslight Anthem for the title track from The '59 Sound. Take everything you like about anthem-heavy rock 'n roll, throw away all the excess and dead-eyes suburban inanity, and you have one of the great songs of the decade.

Laura Gibson
Sweet, wonderful Laura Gibson stole the show and pretty much all of the winter in early 2008 with her folk guitar, touching voice, and melancholic lyrics. She could have done near stole my heart too if wasn't for all the competition.

Sebastien Grainger
Right up there with the Gaslight Anthem and Maps of Norway, the one time one-half of DFA 1979 offered up one song that was enough to leave a lasting mark on the year and the decade. "American Names" is going to be one of those songs you give to your kids right off, to show 'em what it's like to make rock n' roll. And the best part of this very American song, is how Canadian the author is. Whatever "how Canadian" means. But oh yeah, he puts on a hell of a live show with some other songs to back it all up.

Laura Gibson, NPR, and a Desk

Damn NPR doesn't seem to want to add embeds to their material.

So read and watch here.

1900s, Stevie Jackson, Laura Gibson @ Union Hall

1900's; Stevie Jackson; Laura Gibson
@ Union Hall
Brooklyn, NY - January 10, 2008

What is it with Union Hall and Chicago bands and gals named Laura?

Chi-town wunderkinds the 1900's shimmy and shake with their effervescent Indie pop-rock, still culling the best bits of the 70's and even making this old curmudgeon finally warm up...ONLY A LITTLE BIT...to Fleetwood Mac. And when they aren't doing that, they're jamming psychedelic rock n' roll and ending the show with a big flourish, the knockout "Two Ways". A fantastic way to kick off the year. And they're all lookers - every one of 'em.

Stevie Jackson of Belle & Sebastien played light-hearted acoustic folk and entertained the crowd with his amicable personality, nice suit, and Scottish accent. Glasgow: clearly the Chicago of Scotland. Or is Chicago the Glasgow of America? Stevie rocked out on a Gibson SG during the 1900's finale and did a little all out power pop of his own when the band joined him for his finale beforehand (Soundbites NYC has a video). He also had Laura Cantrell to sing a couple ballads, including Hank 1's "Lost Highway".

Acoustic singer-songwriters are a dime-a-dozen and it's hard to stand out. But Laura Gibson not only stands out, she radiates. Her substantive, full, textured ballads are matched by her delicate, warm persona. She has a true magnetic presence on the stage, not in spite of, but because of, her charming softness. It was like listening to a cloud.

If Laura Gibson's and Laura Cantrell's appearances at Union Hall tonight weren't enough for you, Cantrell will be back in a short order as will Laura Veirs.