It's the Weekend?

Conor Oberst was excellent last night. He played everything from the new record except "Eagle On a Pole" (my least favorite on the record) plus a bunch of new stuff plus a Paul Simon cover. Ben Kweller (a.k.a. BK All Day according to Rig 1) was pleasant (Oberst claims BK's new record is "super dope"), especially after the abomination that was Rig 1. They were truly one of the worst acts I've ever seen, probably the worst I've seen at that caliber venue. It was painful to sit through. I laughed. I almost cried. I was overcome with hatred, despair and unease all at once. Apparently Boston booed them after EVERY song the night before, prompting Rig 1 to butter up the Northampton audience with attempt to make the crowd crazy ("Northampton!") with little or no response. Good thing Northampton folk are amiable, cos Rig 1 would've stumbled upon another night of ruthless displeasure again last night. Proper review coming, printing in the Collegian Monday.

Sesame Street Bandaids tonight, ya heard, 10PM-MIDNITE on 91.1FM or streaming from wmua.org. New music by Deerhunter, Zach Hill, Asobi Seksu, Crystal Stilts, Parts & Labor, and more. While you're there peep the new layout designed by Barry (show-mate, apartment-mate, mate in general) and see what we're all about. There's going to be a vinyl sale December 6, hosted by WMUA featuring some solid labels pushing wares (I heard word of Jagjaguwar, Rough Trade, more..). As noted before, Eric Hnatow will be performing so get there. More info will become available as it becomes birthed.

P.S. Gorilla Biscuits are my favorite band today.

Blood

Best Fwends

Eric Hnatow






So like I said, last night I went to the Iron Horse for a night of silly bands. Turns out I left for a different show before Matt & Kim played, but that's not much of a loss.

Eric Hnatow opened, his table of sequencers and wires and electronics on the floor. He's a whirlwind to say the least, jumping around and convulsing to his slew of heavy beats. Not exactly sure what he reminds me of.. it sure sounds amateur, but he seems to have honed it at least a bit since I saw him for the first time in May when he opened for Dan Deacon. He's a party wrapped within a small bearded man, especially once he donned the Christmas light hoodie, which restricted his movement to a couple feet around his table cos he had to stay plugged in. He ended the night with a different sort of number with some guy whose name escapes me, both hunched over, twisting knobs to create some ambient textures and mild backbeats. He's playing the WMUA Record Sale in December (the 6th I believe) and apparently touring in early 2009. Good Luck Eric.

I've never seen Best Fwends before, but my friend Gabe said it was the best thing he saw at CMJ so I figured it couldn't be bad. Quite the contrary, it was awful and obnoxious and stupid, yet endlessly entertaining. They did a song called "Blood" about blood, a song called "Hail" about Satan, and a song called "Birdchirps" (self-promoted as the worst song ever) which featured... warped bird chirps. None of their songs really lasted more than a minute. Their stage set included a wild banner with numerous multicolored, silly faces and two gigantic inflatable gargoyles which they most likely got on sale from CVS the day after Halloween. Oh, and they didn't play instruments. They just flailed around and played hyperactive, dweeby electronic noise from an iPod.

The other deal was over at this place called Purple House, who put on shows about once a month in their basement. I saw this guy Saul Feathers (also named Ian) there a while ago and it was interesting. Last night I was there for about three acts, starting with Purpleman. Purpleman was Ben Daly playing guitar, a gentleman who lived in back of our apartment in a converted garage last summer, another guitar, and a drummer. They produced some level of black metal meets scattered noise. Quite loud. Next was Hume, a guitar ripping echoed tones while the drummer crashed away. Not tight at all, but it was pretty good stuff. They're playing with Relics at Earthfoods Cafe at UMass in the Student Union building this coming Sunday. The last dudes I stayed for was Snakes Say Hisss! whom I miraculously remembered seeing open for YACHT at Clark University. They're not quite my cup of tea, just some Skidmore College grads, one with a guitar (Miles) one with a microphone (Jamie) playing & singing to programmed iPod electronics. They're touring around together with Boogie Boarder.

About to head over to Northampton again to catch Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band with Ben Kweller and Rig 1 (Team-Love) at the Northampton Academy of Music. Check the preview here.

Matt & Kim

About to go see Matt & Kim, Best Fwends, and Eric Hnatow at the Iron Horse in Northampton. Don't know much about Matt & Kim or Best Fwends, but Eric Hnatow's from Northampton so I've seen him a couple times and hes a riot. Here goes nothin'.

Little Joy

Move over Albert Hammond Jr., Julian Casablancas, and any other Stroke who has done anything solo, Fabrizio Moretti's Little Joy's self-titled record comes out today on Rough Trade and it's quite the whimsical album. Buddy Rodrigo Amarante and main squeeze Binki Shapiro share vocal roles, though they don't collaborate to harmonize on any tracks, which would potentially be very beautiful. Aside from that little falter, Little Joy pleases any palette. There's the sunny pop sensibility ("Brand New Start"), the Mediterranean countryside minstrel sensibility ("With Strangers"), and the cozy bedroom sensibility ("Play the Part"). gorillavsbear.net guy LOVES this record and ain't afraid to show it, but honestly it's getting repetitive... but it's a great bunch of lazy songs, so I accept.

P.S. GO Celtics beat Houston tonite

Another World

That's the awesome cover art for the newest Antony & The Johnsons EP Another World (Secretly Canadian), released about a month ago. It's five songs seem like they're ready to be performed at a half-way upscale bar as businessmen sip their drinks, unaware why the music they're hearing is so eerie. Little do they know, the pianist is actually a man, not a sensually serenading songstress. Antony's voice is one of the most recognizable in today's music. It's difficult to put into words how he can make such sounds while remaining successful and producing quality recordings. "Shake That Devil" is the highlight, ranging from the piano + sustained feedback sound of the first half backing his extra-terrestrial voice to the Bop which follows as the song makes the turn towards big-band horns and surfer dude drums at the end. When Antony gets upbeat, his songwriting really shows. You forget he's this seemingly troubled cross-dresser and remember he's a positively genius crafter of song. Another example is "Fistful of Love" from I Am a Bird Now:



"Sing For Me" is next; light, short, and sweet, staying away from the overly dark tones of much of his material I'm familiar with. I'm not sure how much, if any, of this will appear on his new record The Crying Light, apparently set to be released January 21 (my brother's birthday..). We'll see how accurate that is.

P.S. It's truly confusing watching videos of him (this is from some BBC Session). On the one hand, I'm endlessly jealous that I'll never be able to sing that way. On the other hand, I'm shocked that a human can make those sounds. It's awkward seeing video of him singing, seeing such an angelic sound come from such a man, hard to watch, even, but he's hypnotic - like watching a mushroom cloud. You know thousands have died, but it's so gratifying to see it all go up.