popwreckoning

Collaboration albums tend to be hit or miss with ratings and reviews, and this collaboration is no exception. Sure, there are some albums, like Alisson Krauss and Robert Plant’s Raising Sand that are wonderful, not to mention collaborative projects like The Liquid Tension Experiment that are musical genius, but pairings like Eminem and Elton John make most audiophiles cringe. Lonely Avenue is a great collaboration between Ben Folds and Nick Hornby and is definitely one of the best collaborations I have ever stumbled across.

Ben Folds is known for both his solo work and the work of Ben Folds Five, the band that started out of nothing and topped indie music charts for a good chunk of the mid-to-late 90’s. After breaking up, Folds pursued a solo career, touring the country and charming audiences multiple times over. Nick Hornby is a British author who is famous for his groundbreaking novels, such as High Fidelity and About a Boy. Combine these two great artists and you have an album that just screams for attention, attention it deserves to the highest degree. Filled with both complex lyrics and breathtaking music, the entirely of Lonely Avenue is a masterpiece from start to finish. It doesn’t pull punches and leaves you gasping for air, for the very meaning of everything and anything, and leaves you wanting for more.

The lyrics are completely Hornby through and through- reminiscing on life, touching on sports, love, being a guy and everything that entails. Captivating as his literature and screenplays, the songs bloom with the kind of down-to-earth and heart-wrenching passion that many aficionados have come to expect from his novels. There’s a little something for everyone and singing along to the addictive tunes is not a challenge at all, as the hooks are definitely there in spades. Not at all unlike Folds’ previous lyrics, they still hold a lot of the raw emotion that his lyrics tend to convey, just a with a twist that is all Hornsby.

Couple this with the legendary genius of singer-songwriter Benjamin Scott Folds, Ben to the rest of the world, and you have one hell of an album. Heavy on piano and other more orchestral sounds, it piggybacks on the sound that Folds’ has been building for years- indie alternative rock with a tiny bit of old school jazz (no doubt leftover from his musical education at University of Miami’s Frost’s School of Music) and some seriously classical structure. Beautiful tunes spill forth to entice you in a time when things weren’t so good but they weren’t so bad either- the times when all of us were young and thought we knew how to conquer the world. From dance songs about young love to the bittersweet ballads of heartbreak, the album is perfect from start to finish.

From wonderful lyrics to the signature sound that accompanies the name Ben Folds on an album, this is a perfect fall release to grab. Pick it up tomorrow, September 28th and check out the entire album streaming live at http://www.myspace.com/benfolds

Track Listing:

1. “Working Day”
2. “Picture Window”
3. “Levi Johnston’s Blues”
4. “Doc Pomus”
5. “Your Dogs”
6. “Practical Amanda”
7. “Claire’s Ninth”
8. “Password”
9. “From Above”
10. “Saskia Hamilton”
11. “Belinda”

Website: http://benfolds.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/benfolds

In December 2005, I witnessed the most catastrophic concert lineup of my life, courtesy of 96.5 The Buzz‘s The Night the Buzz Stole Christmas: Against Me!, Alkaline Trio, Hot Hot Heat, The Psychedelic Furs and Death Cab for Cutie.

Yep.

That show left me with a giant purple bruise on the inside of my arm from clutching the barricade to keep my front row spot until Death Cab took the stage, but that faded after a week or two. The image of The Psychedelic Furs‘s Richard Butler strip teasing out of his women’s sweater can never be unseen.

I walked into last Friday’s Buzz Under the Stars event worried 96.5 had put together a repeat wreck of a lineup: Crash Kings, Against Me! (total fluke that they were involved in both shows), Devo (…), the Silversun Pickups and Ben Folds. Much to my relief, the diverse lineup resulted in a fast-paced show that managed to hold my attention (normally equivalent to that of a six-year old) for nearly five hours of music.

Well…and I had a couple beers. And I left early because Ben Folds was unimpressive. We’ll get back to those later.

Crash Kings, hailing from L.A., kicked off the night. They coaxed a notable number of concertgoers down to the River Market early considering the boiling July heat. The trio played Afentra’s VD Party in February and clearly earned themselves some fans there — and how could they not? Crash Kings features a drummer, a bassist and a Clavinet player. No lead guitar? No problem. Slap a whammy bar on that keyboard and you’re good to go.

The group’s Myspace just calls their sound “rock,” which is accurate, but lacking. Let’s go with “piano-driven rock with a touch of blues influence that feels as comfortable as your favorite corner bar.” Crash Kings filled the outdoor venue with catchy, danceable jams that had me bobbing energetically despite the stifling heat. It was impossible to stand still while watching keys player/lead singer Tony Beliveau flip his hair and hop up and down off his stool without ever missing a note.

Against Me! filed in next, and was my first concern regarding the evening’s lineup. I don’t think I’d listened to Against Me! since seeing them back in 2005, but if memory serves correct, they were pretty punk rock. Lo and behold…they were still pretty punk rock. But I liked them more this time. I don’t know if that means they have improved or that my music taste has widened. I don’t know enough about punk rock to have much commentary here, however I would like to point out the ridiculousness that was keyboardist Franz Nicolay‘s mustache. Very distracting. (Side note: Nicolay is not technically a member of Against Me!. He’s the former keyboardist for The Hold Steady and World/Inferno Friendship Society, and joined up with Against Me! for the band’s current U.S. tour with the Silversun Pickups. That tour also explains why they were at Buzz Under the Stars. Kind of. I still don’t entirely understand why Against Me! is playing with the Pickups at all.)

And then Devo happened played. I was ready for another The Psychedelic Furs experience, and I stepped into the photo pit wearily. All I can say is that I’ve never had such a tough time keeping my professional face on while working. I wanted to laugh, dance and clap along with the jumpsuit-clad band members. Those men brought the red and blue energy-domed crowd to life as they robot-danced across the stage and robot-played their instruments. The commitment to character made it one of the most fun sets I’ve ever watched. Devo, my deepest apologies for ever doubting your ability to rock a Buzz event. But please, never hip-thrust against when your junk is at eye-level for me and I’m two feet away. Awkward.

I am a spoiled girl who expects only the best. So even after an evening filled with whammy bars on keyboards, curlicue mustaches and robot dancing, I wanted more from the Silversun Pickups. Friday night was my first time to see the four-piece alt rock band, even though it’s been one of my favorite music acts for several years (“Lazy Eye” is my theme song). I floated through all of their set, amazed to see that lead singer Brian Aubert‘s voice actually sounds like that — I can’t be the only one who thought it was a recording trick. One complaint, which might line up with Popwreck Managing Editor Bethany Smith telling me she thought the set “boring”: considering the intensity of the Silversun Pickups‘ music, I expected a larger stage presence. The band almost disappeared, spaced out on a nearly empty stage with purple and blue lighting. The musicians stayed mostly still through their set; while artist movement is of course the choice of the artist, I struggle to understand how the quartet could stay so planted. I think the band’s somewhat calm demeanor might have reflected onto the crowd, toning things down a bit after Devo‘s enthusiastic performance.

Ben Folds finished up the night, and if you read the beginning of this article, you already know how I feel about that. Someone told me the next day that unless you are really into Ben Folds, it probably wasn’t that great of a show (that “someone” happens to be a huge fan and nearly smacked me when I told him I got bored and left). Listen, if you’re headlining that big of a show, and you’re doing it totally solo, you better have some damn good stage presence. All I saw was a goofy kid with way too mellow of songs to fit in with the rest of the evening. Maybe things would’ve been different if he at least had brought a chick to sing Regina Spektor‘s part in “You Don’t Know Me.” But he didn’t. So I drank some beer, swapped high-fives with my friends and went home.

Check out Brendan Benson’s new music video for the track “A Whole Lot Better.” It’s a psychotropic three and a half minute performance video that makes very cool use of a kaleidoscope effect and really emphasizes Brendan’s high energy live show. It also features his touring band-mates Brad Pemberton on drums (Ryan Adams), Jared Reynolds on bass (Ben Folds) and Mark Watrous on guitar and keys (The Raconteurs).

Brendan Benson: website | myspace | My Old, Familiar Friend review

While listening to Miniature Tigers‘ Tell It To the Volcano, the two adjectives that seemed to stand out the most in my observations were awkward and endearing. Ironically, the latter adjective was used to describe their debut EPs, Black and White Magic by music magazine Death +Taxes. I wish not to sound repetitive, but I don’t honestly think there is a better way to illustrate this band verbally.

They’re cute, quirky, and comical (musically, that is…I’ve never met them personally to be capable of assuming so), and all of the typical adjectives associated with their roots. Two years prior to the release of their aforementioned dual disc EP, Rolling Stone gave them a nod on their list of the “25 Hottest Bands On MySpace.” Not to classify them as a “MySpace band” or anything to that extreme, but let’s be straight; MySpace has helped a lot of bands make it big and many of them sound stylistically similar to Miniature Tigers. Examples include Hellogoodbye, Say Anything, and Plain White Ts….you get the picture. It’s not that they are essentially the same, they just noticeably came from a similar mold. It’s not just the catchy indie-pop tunes, it’s the “awkwardly endearing” quality.

Their lyrics are heavily sardonic (similar to the aforementioned Say Anything), laden with extraneous metaphors, and over dramatized exaggerations. Their instrumentation, however was very difficult to throw myself into. Maybe it’s their somewhat mellow nature; whimsical and slightly redundant, punctuated by often strange noises (very Hellogoodbye-esque, except Hellogoodbye is a bit more up tempo and diverse), but they just didn’t personally get me going. If you happen to dig the typical “MySpace indie” sound, then I would definitely recommend this album to you. The band has been recognized by various publications, including SPIN magazine’s “9 Hottest New Bands Playing CMJ 2008″ and has toured with the likes of Ben Folds and Popwreckoning favorite Kevin Devine, as well as substituting their own lead guitarist with Phantom Planet’s Darren Robinson in the earlier part of this year.

The band is currently touring to promote the album.

Track listing:
01. Cannibal Queen
02. Like Or Like Like
03. Dino Damage
04. Tell It To The Volcano
05. Hot Venom
06. Tchaikovsky & Solitude
07. The Wolf
08. Giraffe
09. Annie Oakley
10. Haunted Pyramid
11. Last Night’s Fake Blood

Miniature Tigers: website | myspace | @ electric factory | @ jackpot

Not so ‘Far’ that she can’t be reached…Regina Spektor’s recent performance proves that her performance needs to be seen before she’s unobtainable.

For those not in the know Soviet-born, Bronx-raised and classically trained folk-pianist turned quirkster-songwriter, Regina Spektor began her career as a solo artist with training from the Manhattan School of Music and Purchase College. After honing her skills as a solo artist in New York’s East Village, Spektor scored a contract with Warner Brothers’ record label Sire Records in 2004 and this little piano lady with a huge smile and wide eyes hasn’t looked back.

In the passing years since The Strokes took their first tour in 2003 with then the little-known opening solo act, the tides have changed for Regina – scores of fans have been gathered, collaborations with the likes of Keane, Ben Folds and The Kings of Leon have garnered attention and the previously main stage drummer (Fabrizio Moretti) well, he’s become the opening act with a little-known and sweet band called Little Joy. The now 29-year-old Spektor has taken the Indie and Pop World(s) by nothing short of a tidal wave and as seen by the turn out at the recent Chicago Theater performance this past Saturday, it appears that Regina’s reign will not come to a downfall any time in the near future.

Stepping on stage to reveal a florally white dress, pink shoes and bright red lips – Regina Spektor swiftly walked to her silhouetted piano and struck up the first chords (“The Calculation”) to kick off what was to be a special evening of new offerings from her recently-released fourth album. For added flair, Regina also had in tow drummer (McKenzie Smith), cellist (Dan Cho) and violinist (K Ishibashi) to help aid in bringing the underlying sounds, intricacies and plush arrangements of her recordings to life.

The first half of the 90-minute performance played tribute to Far by highlighting on all but two tracks. Of the new material, the George Orwell inspired “Machine” was possibly one of the earliest and best performances of the evening – Spektor, in fine form and equally matched by cello and drums, brought forth a tortured story only intensified by samplings, deep vocal screeches, and darkly tinged solos on cello. “Folding Chair” proved as driving as ever with Spektor showing off her vocal prowess for finite intonations and trills, while “Laughing With” brought everything back to the essence of who Regina Spektor is – an artist with an ability to touch people at the truest and most honest level.

Songs such as: “Bobbing For Apples,” “That Time,” “Apres Moi,” “Human of the Year” and “Man of 1000 Faces” rounded out the solo portion of the evening while “Poor Little Rich Boy” certainly became the crowd pleaser as The Village- inspired artist managed to whittle down a drum stick to mere shavings from self-percussion on a wooden chair.

As “Samson,” “Us,” “Fidelity” and “Hotel Song” saw the re-emergence of Regina’s band during the encore, one can tell that of the greatest item which Regina brings as an artist is her ability to reach an audience through talent, intimacy and personality by giving us warts and all.

Overall Regina’s voice on this evening was as loose and precise as one would hope – this performer can show that her range and precision are not just proven in the studio, unfortunately this did not begin to reveal itself until at least 30 minutes into the set. At times Regina’s presence to hold the stage energy and focus (esp. during her band’s absence) may be due to the size of the Chicago Theater’s 3,880 seats or this artist may just be too polite and shy for her own good. And perhaps as this artist has grown from her solo days to packed houses, some of her mystique may have gave way to a bombardment of media, press, interviews, phone calls, fan sites and the day-in-day-out life of a touring musician who has the ability to sell out 4,000 seat houses in a matter of a few hours. Whatever the case may be anyone who was witness to this show could tell you from the constant yells and barrage of cat calls which Regina has come to accept on a nightly basis, the only thing that seems to matter to her 20 to 60-year-old concert-goers are the connections and messages which each person seems to gain from this true artist.

Overall Concert Review: A –

Regina Spektor: website | myspace | @ uptown theater | mp3 minute: “Laughing With” | Far review

Written by: Matt W. Miles