Was once a podcast with Elwood D. Pennypacker (@oldtimeelwood on the Twitter) that went by the old expression "Punk Isn't Dead, It Just Goes to Bed at a More Reasonable Hour".
Sunday, August 02, 2009
M. Ward; Nels Cline & Mike Watt @ Central Park Summerstage
M. Ward; Floored by Four @ Central Park Summerstage New York, NY - August 1, 2009
M. Ward's voice is fuller than ever and even a little silky these days as the monster of folk maestro discovers his truly rockin' side. The ballads were kept to a minimum as Matt and his band tapped into some real barnburners, including a bust-out cover of "Roll Over Beethoven" which reminded everyone that song craft probably peaked in 1956 even if very stellar artists have come around since then. This is in addition to "Rave On" already being in the repertoire as part of the Hold Time record. He should have played Little Richard for the 50's Greatness trifecta. On his own work, Matt continues to sing and play with a level of class and professionalism that few attain. He's no longer singing under his mic, shyly looking to the sky instead of the crowd. Instead, he is finally staring us in the eye, continuing to sing songs of deep reflection and haunted spirit. He's one of those melody makers that I put into the canon of "Writing the Soundtrack to Our Lives". A hokey burden to be sure, but maybe it's not Ward's fault - he was gallivanting around the Indie circuit with that actress last year. That's probably how he was motivated to look people in the face, he saw some of us can be quite pretty to look at.
Nels Cline and Mike Watt got together with two other folks, dubbed themselves Floored by Four (meh name), and made their debut opening up for M. The bulk of the long, trippy psychedelic jams were not very pleasing or ripe for the setting, but the P-FUNK "Maggont Brain" finale (a song I know through the Volebeats so I should have recognized it better) was amazing - Nels Cline is something to see and hear on the guitar.
The Sonic Parthenon Playlist: Early March, 2009 Vol. II
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - songs from It's Blitz "Zero" and "Heads Will Roll" are the two standouts from what I've heard so far from this revolutionary sounding record in the YYY story. Show Your Bones demonstrated that the band wasn't going to stick to an instrumental rubric but they stuck to the same basic rock-based formula that the kids previously displayed in a purer, raw punk form. Now they've broken out of their box. Some will argue that by joining the raging disco-rock sound of the last couple years, the trio are cashing in. But the Yeah Yeah Yeahs do everything they do so well, with so fine on a point on it, they make it all their own.
Late of the Pier - "Space and the Woods" Speaking of that dance-rock rage, here's a good one. Go out on a Saturday night and dance the recession away!
The Features - "Lions" The "wooah wooah" sing-a-long of the moment.
M. Ward - songs from Hold Time I've been a bad M. Ward fan, having not yet devoted time to his latest LP and not catching him when he played the Apollo. Nevertheless, "Never Had Nobody Like You" is a already a classic, and "Jailbird" shows good things. Matt Ward has had one of the most accomplished, and sanely-paced, careers this decade and it looks like he's ending the decade on a very high note.
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone We could do without the 30 minutes of nature sounds at the end, but Neko's first record in a few years is a triumphant return of her flawless voice, her strong songcraft, and the finest gams in music. There, I wrote it. Sue me.
The Missed Connections - Hold Still, You Say In the vein of the above-mentioned Bon Iver, and recalling the spirit shared by artists such as Tiny Vipers, comes this newly minted (and as yet pretty much unreleased) little bud. It's hard to get for now, but it may very well be the case that in the coming months, it'll be on the minds of anyone worth a damn.
Coldplay, Snow Patrol, the Killers - ??? The way things are going these days, there's time to listen to the pretty capable 101.9. Who would have thought a year ago that this station would not only be kicking and screaming, but displaying a solid devotion to not just the easy elements of rock n roll history but the tough stuff and the real stuff (the classic punk, the alternative sounds of the last 40 years, the forgotten gems). That has nothing to do with this, however. In the realm of the easy, in addition to playing enough Aerosmith and the Who to last a lifetime, the powers that be at WRXP managed to sell me on giving Snow Patrol and the Killers second chances, and Coldplay a fourth. Between "Lovers in Japan", "Crack the Shutters", and "Spaceman", I have enough guilty pleasure to tide me over till the summer.
Refuge From A Maddening World: She & Him @ Terminal 5
She & Him; The Rosebuds @ Terminal 5 New York, NY - July 26, 2008
It has been a disturbing 24 hours in Gotham. Following the anticipated oddity of the Brian Jonestown show, my long ride home from Terminal 5 accompanied by a very nice new gal pal (who had earlier told me she was "full of brisket", a line I shan't be forgetting for some time) was interrupted by a gang of teens randomly targeting and assaulting an innocent young man on the Q train. Then on the way into the Q train stop to head back to Terminal 5 for tonight's show, I witnessed a man suddenly punch a woman right in the side of her head and take off for the subway. Then on the train, some woman screamed and ran from the end of the car for no explicable reason and then several minutes later, a fight nearly broke out but was thankfully squashed. And so by that point, I considered skipping the gig and finally going to see The Dark Knight for tips on how to be a better vigilante. But then I figured that some of the very same dregs of society would be present at the theater to ruin the show so I chose instead to see another form of Batman and Robin: She & Him.
Interestingly, allusions to Matt Ward and Zooey Deschanel being a corrective to the world's troubles were made the last time I saw them. So once again, M and Z stepped into those shoes and they filled it as impeccably as they can. Zooey's singing has continued to sharpen up and she's now a vocal embrace, a swirl of warmth and passion, simplicity and solidity. She still sounds best as a Jazz chanteuse, but she's channeling more and more of the Greats, most notably Carole King, both in the spirit of that woman's early songwriting chops and later recording success. There was even a new cover of a Joni song thrown in tonight, more proof that Zooey's tastes are expansive and yet consistently classy. And clearly when the Most Beloved New Gal In Indie Rock is channeling a Brooklyn girl and a Toronto girl, she knows what she's doing (I wonder if she's read this book).
Matt, who has never looked more relaxed in his relatively short but wonderfully perfect career, enjoyed playing mostly back-up man to what's pretty much the Zooey show (with the addition of a song led by back-up singer Becky). He did his usual collaborations throughout the set, only taking off on a guitar solo on the penultimate "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" and again on his own "One Magic Trick". And as if to balance things out, the show ended with a lead by opening act Freakwater that actually brought the country side of things to fruition, something that had been lacking that first go-round in April (Note: I would have seen Freakwater open tonight if the Bowery Presents hadn't erroneously posted their start times an hour late on the web).
Zooey is having an Indie Rock equivalent of the year that Jennifer Lopez had in the mainstream some years ago, what with The Go-Getter, the She & Him record, and the subsequent tour. Her only real problem is that she's disturbingly too skinny. Despite shimmering and shining in her old time sequined dress and flowery headband, this candidate for Most Beautiful Face in the World is showing a bit too many bones on the sides. What she needs is a good couple of nights at a New York Deli, that is if we can avoid getting assaulted on the way. Someone fire up the Bat signal.
The Rosebuds, by the way, were just about equally stupendous. A mix of disco-pop and plain ol' rock n' roll, this Raleigh group recalled recent faves the Submarines and Sons & Daughters, and More Fun-era X. They are a solid good time and they made a new fan out of me and I'll be seeing them again for sure.
So all biases for She & Him aside, The Go-Getter is not just a decent Indie film that avoids the pitfalls of pretension, it is actually a near-perfect picture. The screenplay of this compelling road trip dramedy is essentially poetry and it is delivered with stirring warmth and sincereity from the entire company, notably the surprising lead Lou Taylor Pucci. Rather than be a overgrown pretty boy, Pucci is an authentic, lovable portrayal of a good kid who does one stupid thing. Considering the series of events that follow his one stupid thing, he handles it all with a mix of bewilderment and existential acceptance. Zooey gives her strongest performance yet in a role that she absolutely excels in (the ultimate good girl), and if it wasn't June, she could have (and should have) some Oscar buzz. Bill Duke shows up for a monologue that is the highlight of the picture (along with the small ode to the French New Wave), Judy Greer makes a cameo doing her best Judy Greer-ish performance, and Maura Tierney makes you remember why she was a discovery on Newsradio before she was stranded on E.R. for so many years. Jena Malone is maybe the one hiccup in the affair but not so much for her performance as for the brazen and bold way she sheds her childhood acting past for the role of the sexpot. It is too-far-off-the-scale from her past work. But she does pull it off, as disturbing as it is.
The soundtrack is, as was to be expected, exceptionally good. Besides being the birthplace of She & Him, it is a repository of prime M. Ward material, most notably "To Go Home" and "Sweethearts on Parade". The Black Keys also show up a couple times, including with their career best "10 A.M. Automatic".
This film is writer-director Martin Hynes' debut. This has to be one of the most impressive debuts of the decade. What could have so easily been a ham-handed waste of talent in a muck of pretentious drivel is instead a meditation on not just the classic road story, but on the fundemental concepts of family, friends, and relationships. There have been few if any pictures that have done so much about the complicated process of being distant siblings by doing so little. A very simple, sparse story about two brothers is made complex and whole by a wedge of assorted characters who run the spectrum of good to bad to good again and it is all set against a loving backdrop of the North American west, from Eugene to south of the border. Comparisons to road trip films and novels of the past are inevitable, but The Go-Getter makes a very strong stab at carving out a niche all its own.
In New York, the film is playing at the Quad Cinema on E 13th St between 5th and 6th but you only have a couple more days to see it. Its run ends Thursday night.
How impressive is Barack Obama (even with his Jerusalem flip-flop pandering)? He even has Bob Dylan speaking out in support of him, and in uncharacteristically (for Bob) direct, blunt, non-cryptic, non-cynical terms.
Amazing.
Could the Dylan/Springsteen/Bright Eyes/Arcade Fire/Decemberists/M. Ward concert for Obama be not far off from now?
Jena Malone is in That Zooey/M Movie...She Also Invents Instruments
Jena Malone - another young actress turned Indie singer - is in The Go-Getter, the movie starring Zooey Deschanel and featuring M. Ward's acting debut.
The Wagonmaster passed on this year, but not before showing the wide-ranging crowd at Madison Square Garden where Jack White gets a little bit of his theatricality and, more importantly, some of his country melancholia from.
M. Ward
Live Show
Last year, M. Ward had one of his best records in Post-War. This year, he kept it on the road, dishing out a hard-working, durable shift of country-stomp rock that matches his artistic ethic. Truly, one of the greatest artists out there right now. And “Big Boat” live is as good as it can get. SPTV:
“The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson A dollop of ultra-cuteness can go a long way. And she’s packing ‘em in all over the city. Finally, something good has come out of Staten Island. Video
Webster Hall For all of Terminal 5’s flaws, that place still beats the hell out of the more convenient Webster Hall. Webster Hall’s list of problems can go on forever but even considering all those flaws, the venue had a great year thanks to the Bowery Presents. The Jesus and Mary Chain, Metric, Okkervil River, and Josh Ritter made for some of the best nights of the year and the rest of the calendar was impressive.
Ween
Live Show
Record: La Cucaracha
Song: “Your Party”
Ween came back in 2007 and it was about time. The back-to-brownness of La Cucaracha first came off piss poor but as time wore on, and the songs nagged away in one’s head like a Ween-listening roach might do, the album eventually sounded like one right gem. And of course, they are just about unmatched live, and certainly so if you love the jamming. If you don’t, Ween is still good at it. Boognish bless ‘em, may they stay forever.
We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank by Modest Mouse Isaac Brock recruited Johnny Marr of ye olde Smiths to be his guitarist and while Marr certainly did a good job on this record, the strength of course lies with Brock’s constructions. “Dashboard” and “We’ve Got Everything” are two of the best songs of the year and the rest of the album is pretty darn good. After “Float On” wore off, it took a long time for ol’ Pennypacker to become a believer in Modest Mouse, but it finally happened.
White Rabbits
Live Show
Song: “The Kid On My Shoulder”
Admittedly, it’s kind of fun to pick on the White Rabbits for their stiffness on stage but that’s only because they are actually a very good band. They work hard and don’t stop and they are moving up fast and furious. They are showing tendencies to head down the Spoon path and that is certainly a successful path to take.
When the first strains of Icky Thump – both the single and the LP – were heard, the instant declaration was easy to understand: The White Stripes Were Back. And the special show at Irving Plaza may still very well hold up as the greatest 2 hours ever. Everything made sense at that point. All the past added up – this is where modern music is supposed to be. In every form, in every facet, this was it. But then the Madison Square Garden show was both too much and under-whelming (though as previously noted, none of it the fault of Jack and Meg at all). And then poor Meg bowed out. And all the merchandise madness started bordering on KISS territory (though admittedly in a much cuter, wholesome, and essentially harmless way). And by the end of 2007, the feelings around the greatest band of the decade were not at the level of greatest. But you know, come 2009, or whenever the band may reunite, it will probably all come roaring back again. In the meantime, enjoy the “Conquest” b-sides.
Williamsburg/Greenpoint About ten years too late, the confessionary Pennypacker lived in Williamsburg and Greenpoint for most of a summer and fall. Camera Obscura and Carina Round did fantastic free sets at Sound Fix (a record shop that shows much love to the White Stripes, Black Lips, White Rabbits and the Yarrows, who are not contemplating calling themselves the White Yarrows or Black Yarrows at this time). The Music Hall of Williamsburg, the Bowery Presents first new venue of the autumn, kicked off with a host of quality acts, and the Vampire Weekend and Apples in Stereo reviewed gigs certainly did not disappoint. The Luna Lounge relocated and reopened in 2007 and turned out to be a country backyard home for the Knitters, Scott Biram, and Heavy Trash. Galapagos began its countdown to the DUMBO move with some great gigs (including Les Sans Culottes and Miss Alex White). The Trash Bar seemed to have a quiet year but that means it was really doing something right in the stillness. Union Pool is much beloved in the area. Zebulon is considered the best avant garde venue in all of New York City now that Tonic is gone. And Don Pedro’s and Pete’s Candy Store are ready to carry on the legacy as the good times extend into Bushwick. Love it or hate it, this is still the place to be. For now, anyway.
“Woo Yeah Uh Huh Alright” by the Rapture A dynamite dance-rock single by the band considered to be the best at doing it. Their most accessible and best song yet, Brooklyn’s Rapture should have been a national mega-band when this one…dropped, as the kids like to say nowadays. Maybe someday. “Get Myself Into It” is an excellent runner-up by the way.
Wormburner
Live Show
Record: A Hero’s Welcome
Song: “Sleepy Jane”
Wormburner is one of New York’s best rock bands. Period. Power-pop to a tee and not a slip up in the repertoire. And they’re moving on up in the world. From an opening night mid-card slot at CMJ to co-headlining a Bowery Ballroom Christmas show with posters all over the city – and they’re doing it without Pitchfork and the local scenester blogs (except this one obviously). That being said, all music lovers are encouraged to check this band out. NOW. SPTV at CMJ:
Across the street from the remains of the Twin Towers, New York City this week is trying something new - rock n' roll live from the break of the city's heart. Last night, transplanted Minnesotans the Hold Steady did their best, and tomorrow night, the legendary Nick Lowe will sweeten the pot, but tonight belonged to the thoughtful, evocative, and graceful Matthew Ward. Ward's blend of folk, country, and blues is distinct, particularly when he's singing in that shadowy, haunted voice that sounds like it's coming over a transistor radio from 1934. Those who always seem to want to point out Ward's penchant for surf rock sounds neglect to mention that the surf Ward has in mind is on a rainy, cold beach. Put this all together and you have a complete, accomplished musician. It also helps that he has a superb backing band that includes two drummers. M.Ward performing "Four Hours In Washington":
Imagine Norah Jones, older, wiser, and a little spaced out, sitting on a rocking chair on a porch somewhere along the Appalachians and you have Victoria Williams. Seeming to be the last of the red hot liberal mountainfolk, Williams' music takes sharp but understandable turns from country music to a span of Jazz, most notably old time Hot Jazz, which just can't be beat. Her quirky voice never sounds like the aforementioned Jones, but more like the songstresses of old, notably Billie, right up to Katherine Whalen of Squirrel Nut Zippers. McCarthy Trenching is from Omaha and boy, do they sound like it. What does that mean? It means they sound just fine - their penchant for alt-country smooth but slick - but it's also not very exciting. Photos here.
