Thursday, March 31, 2011

"I Love You _______"

Yoko Ono & Antony Hegarty - I Love You Earth


It seems that everyone from all over the world have come together to help raise money for Japan.
It's beautiful to see how even artists come together in a time of need to rejoice, celebrate and bring awareness to the things that matter most.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Sounds That Make You Want To Dance

I just came home from seeing MEN at The Biltmore.
I can easily say that they sound just as great if not even more so amazing live.
"Baby Dykes" have better style in 2011.
The venue was full of 'baby dykes' who danced in and out of time in appreciation and celebration of/for MEN.
Its a late night --- I'll add more details about the show when I can think straight --- which is rare.

Raw eggs for breakfast - throwing scarves of appreciation in place of hot pants - helmeted human tripods -
enough shenanigans for one night.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Beards and Abstract Tattoos.

I feel the immediate need to mention Devendra Banhart.
I like his beard.
I like his tattoos.
His voice is nice sometimes.
He's quirky and his music is incredibly simple to listen to -- which is nice.

Devendra Banhart - Little Yellow Spider

Repeated Offences.

I just had to post this.
I know, consecutive posts about Kaki King is a bit much --- but this was one of my favourite moments of the gig.
Also, since I'm in this video for approximately 0.5 seconds.
This is worth the post.
I have to admit. Having someone record an entire gig is a great way to re-live it.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Storytelling In the Form of Music.

Kaki King
The Biltmore Cabaret
March 12th, 2011
Opener: Megan Washington

Megan Washington is an Australian musician who sat centre stage in the dimly lit room of The Biltmore in a blinding spotlight with a piano and microphone. She played pop tunes about "failed relationships" and the like. Her accent from The Land Down Under could be heard in her raspy vocals which reminded me of Cat Power -- with more punch. Washington definitely captivated the audience with her passionate piano playing and witty lyrics. Her humour was evident in her short and quirky banter with the audience, charming us with stories about wiki-ing cities she will play in and remarking on funny facts that are great ice-breakers in any conversation.
Her ease on stage was felt in her enticing story about her "bad vibe-rater" -- note: this sounded painfully similar to "vibrator" which I'm sure everyone in the audience including Kaki herself thought she was talking about. This unraveled into a hilarious story about her bar outings and mistaking a drunk guys obvious sexual advances for a common friendship-- Hence her bad "vibe-rater" of other people's vibes. (The end of this encounter ended up with her singing lullabies until he fell asleep -- how sweet, yet ironically hilarious).
This is the song that was inspired by that incident.


She'll be playing SXSW dates next -- catch them if you can, you are sure to do some feet shuffling and body moving.

Kaki King came on stage after 9pm and announced to the waiting audience that there is a problem and we can all fix it together. ----
I wonder if it was a sound issue, tech problem, drunk and rowdy behaviour? ---
No, it's because she'll have to sit for her performance and this will result in only the first lucky few to be able to see her. She urged all of us on hard wood floors to sit down, nice and comfortable beside our fellow music listeners. Shoulder to shoulder we sat with our legs cramps -- the perfectly unobstructed view of Kaki on stage with her one of eight guitars though -- made it all worth-the-while.

She opened the set with Bone Chaos In The Castle one of my favourite songs off of her 2008 release "Dreaming of Revenge". It was a short and energetic preview of what we will all be witness to that night -- Talent. After this was Doing the Wrong Thing -- one of the songs which attracted me to her percussive and melodic guitar-playing style. Her set-list included Magazine, Playing With Pink Noise, Life Being What It Is to and a cover of Fences My Girl The Horse just to name a few. A pleasant surprise was her performance of the twitter requested Neanderthal from her 2004 release "Legs to Make Us Longer" (I want to thank you the one who requested this brilliantly played song).

She was encircled by eight incredibly impressive looking guitars played in multiple tunings -- which she switched periodically between songs from acoustic to lap-steel to a terrifying-looking double-necked guitar. The sounds produced was articulate, melodic, crisp and resonant with just enough edge to keep you wanting more.
Photo: From here

Between songs her hilarious banter drew the audience in. She blatantly drew attention to Washington's "vibe-rater" story and had the audience chuckling along. Really though... who actually says that, "vibe-rater". One of my favourite anecdotes of hers was a story about having her heart broken -- the non-conventional way. That is to have a cute girl who had been making eyes at her come up and "angelically" say that she and her girlfriend "totally get in on to [her] songs." --- Her friends try to console her claiming that this is in many ways, a threesome --- just think about -- after some pondering out-loud, her song and them = not really the type of threesome to brag about, if at all. Yeah -- It's not that romantic. But makes for a great story to tell when surrounded by friends with empty bottles and time on your hands. Hilarious.
I would also like to add that she played the show while fighting off a cold -- really great to see that she didn't let it effect her performance.

This was undoubtedly one of my top shows of this year. It's refreshing to see a show where the talent is not clouded by light effects, glow-sticks and general rowdiness. Authenticity at its finest.
One of the things I've always loved about her music is that you can for yourself decide what each song can mean. That it is so open to interpretation is something that makes it desirable to listen to-- for me at least. Others may call this instrumental style boring, or unexciting -- I think it's incredibly inventive. To each their own, I suppose.

If you can, be sure to catch her on tour -- you won't regret the experience.

Kaki King - Bone Chaos In The Castle (Live)


Kaki King - Neanderthal (live)

This youtube account has several Kaki King shows... go nuts.

Blinded By The Glimmer of Diamonds

Photo: From Here

March 11th, 2010
Diamond Rings + PS I Love You = Skin friction, sweat dripping, body surfing, dance action.

The opener, whose name escapes me, took to the stage to set the pace for the show. His electronic drum pads, beats and reverb sounding--sound was potentially catalytic of seizures and the like. He danced onstage in a manner that was entertaining and also alarming. His passionate, yet constant stomping of his feet to his music was genuine, yet terrifying. He seemed to have fun, and when he screamed into his auto-tuned microphone we can confirm this. Unfortunately, I can't say that many of the audience members could reciprocate this excitement. The opener in a sense does just that, he opens up for who you really came to see. He however receives A for enthusiasm and a somewhat lower grade for delivery.

PS I Love You were up next and surprised me by their fun and catchy tunes. The rhythmic bass of the drums hyped up the audience and had us swaying to the chaos of sound that came from the guitarist/vocals. Impressive. The act was exciting to watch, listen to and relate to. In addition to being an awesome opener -- Diamond Rings came on stage for the last song to sing a song they wrote together. All in all - it was a great pre-show dance warm-up, to prep us for Diamond Rings.

Diamond Rings came onstage at around 11:30pm and soon after, the crowd obviously so excited felt the anxiety to push and shove and dance about. Crowd surfing, glow-stick waving, and personalities shone throughout the performance. Diamond Rings' quirky dance moves opened his set, he struck rock-anthem poses with his fist in the air as if in celebration of glitter-power and tight pants. His deep resonating vocals sung about "showing your stuff" and the like. He played alongside his pre-recorded beats playing from his laptop. Like a pro he handled mishaps, what-with microphones becoming un-plugged and cords twisting in his clenched fists. He was also attentive and responsive of the crowd, when an audience member screams that he's "beautiful" he has the social grace to coyly voice a "thank you." Not only is he glittery, tall, lanky and "beautiful," he's also polite.

Great fun show -- the venue could however cut back on the stage-smoke and consider getting air-conditioning. It was difficult to breathe when the ceiling is so low and no air seemed to be circulating.

If you can, catch Diamond Rings + PS I Love You on their North American Tour -- And remember to bring glitter.
Photo From Here <-- The link will also bring you to a feature on Diamond Rings by The Guardian.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Covered With Steel Strings

I love Fences (Chris Mansfield) - I also really like Kaki King's experimental guitar style.
So that means this Fences song 'My Girl The Horse' covered by Kaki King is like gold to me.
It shimmers.
It's a completely original interpretation on a wonderfully heartbreaking song.
Brilliant



I'm excited to see Kaki King live at The Biltmore in Vancouver on the 12th of March.
Maybe she'll cover this song and add a few vocals.

Unnecessary Lag Time

My friend and I went to see Owen Pallett at the Vancouver CBC Studio on March 4th. I saw an ad for the SignalFest(ival) in the Georgia Straight the week before -- it was odd how it only occupied a tiny corner all the while promoting someone (Owen Pallett) who is so internationally acclaimed. That last time he was in town I couldn't make it, and so to have had the chance to see him recently was mind-blowing.

There was no falling confetti -
There was no dancing -
There were no glowsticks in sight -

The night became a civilized performance in Studio 40 at CBC (the same place my friend and I went to see a taping of The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos).
Seated comfortably shoulder to shoulder with other eager listeners, we (I was) were all intense with quite excitement for Owen Pallett to perform.
To say the least, I was very impressed by the sounds he produced on stage. The songs came alive on stage and translated well into a live show setting.
I was captivated by how he meticulously looped songs with tedious sounding rhythms, beats and melodies. I'm sure everyone was thinking how he can create all these sounds from just his Violin, keys, and vocals.
I really enjoyed the performance.

Impressive, to say the least.



LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE CONCERT HERE

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Hold Your Fists WIth Love

There was a time in my youth where I had assumed the practice of making fists.
I was learning self-defense so it was necessary.
I learned that in order for your fingers to fit perfectly into your palm,
---- you had to curl your fingers -- strategically.
Knuckles rounded, fingers tucked, nails clipped.
I was ready to punch with false force into pleather wrapped cushion targets.

Making fists never became a daily practice.
Over time, as I reached my teen years, the muscle and co-ordination I developed deteriorated.
I was left with atrophied, weak wrists.
This happens when you decide you'd rather delve into music and bury your self-esteem, identity and autonomy into the music you kept.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Antony and the Johnsons was one of the true musicians I found inspiration in -- his voice.

He is set to perform on TED Conference, March 2nd, 2011.
I love the program, they hold some of my favourite speakers, artists, and performers -- who all can inspire someone.
I can't wait to see his performance.

He is also releasing his "Swanlights EP" (which I intend to buy) on April 16th, Record Store Day
I love the album art

Tracklisting:

Swanlights
Find The Rhythm Of Your Love
Kissing Noone
Swanlights OPN edit



I'm hoping he would do a North American Tour with a Vancouver date soon.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Sweet Sounds of the 16th Century?

Joanna Newsom - Baby Birch (Paris 31.05.2010)