Can You Spare Some Time To Listen?

Today is an exciting day for new music... Well I think it is, and maybe you will too.



Did you know that Beth Ditto front-woman of Gossip is releasing a solo EP, produced by Simian Mobile Disco? Above is a link to an interview with Beth at Triple J, an Australian Radio Station. --- Oh, the great lengths I go to to find out about my favourite music.

I love this song.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a link to an NPR interview with Jack White, NPR: Flipside --- this is Part One to a series of weekly interviews with White. Check back next week for another interview.
I've been a casual listener of his projects and find him to be really, quite intelligent. He is a busy man with his many ongoing projects, be it, Third Man Records (his record label and store), upholstery or one of his many bands.
Photo from Third Man Records


----------------------------------------------

Fences has been a current favourite of mine and this is a Shoot The Player Session Featuring Sara Quin
Fences - My Girl The Horse (Ft. Sara Quin)

Fences: My Girl The Horse (feat. Sara Quin) from shoottheplayer.com on Vimeo.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jessica 6 is the musical project of Nomi Ruiz (formerly of Hercules and Love Affair) and co., I love her disco-esque sound.
(I dance to this song often)

Jessica 6 - White Horse (Music Video)

Visit Jessica 6's Website
This is a pretty interesting interview with Nomi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lykke Li is someone who plays with vocals, instrumentation, sounds and rhythms. I love her quirky and sentimental songs. This is her single from her newest album "Wounded Rhymes".

Lykke Li - I Follow Rivers (TheLineOfBestFit Session)

Lykke Li: 'I Follow Rivers' from The Line Of Best Fit on Vimeo.

Great Vocals!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I mentioned Soko, a long while back in one of my first few posts on this blog.
She's cute, I love her accent. She's quirky and she doesn't seem to have a verbal filter.
Her songs sound like she is sing-speaking from her personal journal, usually consisting of the "fuck you for breaking up with me" variety.

Soko - It's Not Going To Work (Shoot The Player Session)

Soko: It's Not Going To Work from shoottheplayer.com on Vimeo.

Remember When We Were Teenagers?

Tegan and Sara
Malkin Bowl
September 24th, 2010
You Say Party, Christopher Smith

It's my 6th maybe 7th? time attending a Tegan and Sara show. I think having seen so many times... has kind of dulled out the actual live experience for me.

But nonetheless, they are what remind me of my high school memories, as cheesy as it sounds, after a conversation with a few friends who were also in attendance at the show we all concluded that they really had a part in our teen years. I feel old.
And after seeing them live so many times... its hard to be surprised by their songs. It's their banter that keeps us coming back.
I have blogged extensively about Tegan and Sara, be it about shows I've seen or how their records make me feel.... So I think this entry will be a little different, a little more indirect and obscure... expect tangents and going off topic.

I feel obligated to attend their show, in support of their music and also who they are. It's just what you do when you owe someone your teenage sanity, I suppose. I could potentially go into detail about their setlist and performance... but you can read a review from the Vancouver Sun HERE.

Walking into the venue we were just in time to catch You Say Party's set. I have been a fan of theirs for a while now and seeing them perform again (the last time was opening for Phoenix) was a pleasure. I loved their energy and stage presence, Becky was adorable and her vocals were brilliant. So Good. I recommend a listen. Go Here

When Tegan and Sara came onstage I got that feeling... the one you get when you know you know you're going to see something good... something you may want to remember. They started the set off with acoustic songs, Call it Off. Interesting. It gets better. I haven't been to a standing show of theirs for a long time and I forgot how enthusiastic the crowd is, not physically excited.... just vocally. In all of their acoustically driven songs, their vocals were almost indistinguishable from the sing along accompaniment of the audience around me. Mostly younger teens and first time fans. It was adorable.
I had a moment where I thought to myself.. was I ever that fan? Was I ever so excited that I sang so loud I couldn't even hear my own voice afterward? It made me smile and all the while this was happening inside my brain Tegan and Sara continued through their setlist. I felt as if I knew what to expect as each song was played I had somehow trained myself in the weeks, months, and years I had conditioned my ears to recognize and memorize song lyrics off of The Con and So Jealous and If It Was You and so on. I mouthed and bopped my head along to the songs almost as if I was expectantly waiting for the next verse, chorus, bridge...
In truth I hadn't listen to a Tegan and Sara song in a few months... but the lyrics all came back to me, as if I had never removed them from my iPod.

The things I will remember from tonight:
- The audience - Their uninhibited attitude made me enjoy the show more. Don't get so uptight.
- Banter: Ghost - Demi Moore Haircut - Justin Beiber Associations - Swinging a jacket open to acknowledge a breast to prove non Transman status - Teen Audiences - Eye Contact - That's What She Said - The South America Turtle being High Maintenance - Being Happily Single
- Encore of Divided - One of my first favourites.

I found this setlist of the show.

Call It Off
Dark Come Soon
I Know I Know I Know
The Ocean
Like O Like H
Feel It In My Bones
___ (Full Band from here on!)
Living Room
I Bet It Stung
The Con
Walking With Ghost
So Jealous
Nineteen
Hell
Northshore
On Directing
Alligator
Back in Your Head
Where Does the Good Go
Speak Slow
Sentimental Tune
Hop A Place
You Wouldn't Like Me
Encore: Divided

Tegan and Sara x2

(c) jennifer picard photography www.jenniferpicard.com

I was lucky enough to have attended both of the Tegan and Sara concerts in Vancouver. January 5th and 6th have been reserved for this occasion for quite some time. Having been an avid fan of their music since So Jealous, I was anticipating great music, banter and laughter. Tegan and Sara along with Ted Gowans, Shaun Huberts and Johnny Andrews filled the beautiful Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver with almost 2 hours worth of music, banter and laughter.

Opening for them at 7:30 to a rousing clutter of applause was Astronautilis, a rapper and experimental musician. I had frequented his Myspace page a few weeks before the concert and thought his music was definitely Different. I thought he was particular and interesting. I gave him a chance and thought he had great interaction and energy. Although the Tegan and Sara fans can appear a little standoffish to new and different opening acts. I sat in my seat the first night nodding along to Andy's raps and beats. He was entertaining and seemed to suffer an intense epileptic seizure throughout his songs. I saw this as adding to his stage presence and energy. Overall I give his an A for his efforts and no lack for a better word, confidence in our unfiltered claps.

An Horse then appeared seamlessly after Andy at 8:00. I saw them first at The Rifflandia Music Festival in Victoria. They opened for Tegan and Sara at the Alix Goolden Hall, I've been an avid/casual listener of their music for a while and was happily singing along to their songs in their 40 minute set. I think their music involves great melodies and heart-wrenching lyrics. They played Listen one of my favourite tracks, the melodica made the song for me. They closed the set with a guitar-ripping, drum-intense extended version of Shoes Watch. Loved it.

Tegan and Sara then appeared at 9:00 to an Orpheum FULL of anticipating fans. APPLAUSE. I had goosebumps throughout their entire set. This happens sometimes when I feel like something special is happening. They opened with their opening track, appropriately enough. Arrow easily one of the most memorable songs exploded on stage. The synths, emphasized vocals and Feel It In My Bones-esque rhythms made me want to scream with excitement. I mostly sat in awe and felt the bass vibrating in my chest. My hair shaking on ends. This then followed my a flawless live version of Don't Rush. Sara's vocals in the bridge were the highlight for me.

Favourite moments of the concert included their verbal exchange about Candygrams, and family members.
They played Sainthood in its entirety and brought along the classics as well. So Jealous and Knife Going In were favourites.

The encore made my night: Back in Your Head, an acoustic rendition of Feel it in My Bones stunned the crowd. My jawed was unhinged and heavy. Goosebumps. Call it off was interrupted with a classic mess-up of vocal harmonies which lead to banter about a German translator describing them as "partners" and TV movie moments. Also this lead to the audience standing up and attempting to sing Call it Off along with them. Being polite Canadians we couldn't sing loud enough for us to hear our own voices. Mostly whispers.
Still amazing though. Living Room --> nostalgic.

All in all, it was a fantastic concert filled with Tegan and Sara remedies and music.

Fenced in with Horses

Fences - My Girl the Horse


Fences, from Seattle Washington remind me of hardcore/punkcore.
Just replace the heavy guitar riffs, double drum kicks, vocals, and bass with an acoustic guitar.

You'll be left with Fences, simple guitars with emotionally tormented but lovely lyrics, that taste like sugar

How to be Saints

Photo by Pamela Littky
Tegan and Sara's 6th studio album came out on October 27th, entitled "Sainthood"
To be honest, I didn't quite know what the title meant, and I thought it referred to something religious. I didn't quite like it.

I discovered later, this religious idea was to be based on how to become a person who replicates saintly ideals only to win over someone else's affection.
This, I understood.

Having been a Tegan and Sara listener for the past few years I knew this album would be equally for even more impressive than their previous albums.

My favourite was their 2007 release, "The Con".

There was something so deep and resonating about the themes that underlined the songs off of The Con. Not only were they verging on rock indie tunes but lyrically, they were just so blatantly honest. Its unlike other musicians to write their loves on their sleeves. When I heard the album for the first time, it quickly and permanently became the record I unhealthily obsessed over. Admittedly, I did listen to other music.




-----------------------------------------------------------------------
My first impressions of Sainthood amounted to my appreciation for their growth in sound and band mentality. There was a different mood in the songs off "Sainthood" compared to "The Con". The themes related to the acts of pursuing someone, finding out ways to become a better partner, and over-analysing interrelationships with past partners and parents. It was clear that the new Tegan and Sara sound came with their age and maturity.
It sounds developed instrumentally and raw vocally. I particularly love their use of synths on this record. They're heavy and prominent in Sara's songs, especially: Night watch, Paperback Head, and the 80's driven sounds from Alligator.
My current favourites are:
Arrow
On Directing
Sentimental Tune.
These songs are gold.

This is not to say the other songs are not equally brilliant, it goes without saying they do bring a different ingredient to the album's developed sound.

A more detailed analysis of the record in the next few weeks.

In the mean time listen here: