popwreckoning

Growing up on the western side of the great state of Missouri, I developed a bit of Midwest snobbery in which I assumed it was a fact that Kansas City was the only good thing in Missouri and the rest of the state was irrelevant. So as my music passion mixed with this prejudice, I fell in love with up and coming artists from Kansas City and even Lawrence, while neglecting St. Louis’ music scene. I even assumed that St. Louis only produced rap and hip hop artists, thus fueling my neglect of the city’s music. What a mistake that was!

I learned my lesson when Bear Ceuse came across my inbox. Bear Ceuse is Cameron Matthews, a St. Louis kid that recently won MTVU’s Best Music on Campus, and two friends on guitar and drums. It is shoegazey, but not so overly fuzzed out that his lyrics are completely lost. Matthews has a bit of a twang, but not that overly vibrato twang of country artists, but the kind of twang that gives a guy like Jim James his air of mysteriousness. I’d start out with a song like “American Wit” to get a sense of his vocal stylings.

Though Bear Ceuse is a young artist group, the music shows a lyrical and constructional maturity. At times he seems as if this is the male answer to Camera Obscura, but chorus crescendos in tunes such as “Vodka Day Parade” prove them to be more bold than the carefully restrained Glasgow group. Instrumentally, the guitars waver from intensely loud riffs to slowly plucked accompaniment that lets each note resonate until it fades to silence.

The best part about Bear Ceuse is that you don’t have to take my word that the group is good. You can check them out risk-free by downloading their EP from their site for free. You just have to sign up for their mailing list.

Bear Ceuse: website | myspace

Fall in Philly is a beautiful thing—especially when the soundtrack to the season is one that includes M. Ward, Mike Mogis, Jim James, Conor Oberst AND Bob Dylan. The city has seen itself nearly taken over by both contemporary and classic folk musicians this November—first with Dylan’s performance at the Liacouras Center and then Monsters of Folk festival at the Academy of Music (on the same night, no less.)

To wrap up this folk-themed month, Popwreckoning’s Jess McGinley and her roommate (yours truly) braved the rain-slicked streets of Fishtown Thursday night to see recent MP3 Minute feature and local folk hero Langhorne Slim perform a sold out show at Johnny Brenda’s.

And when I say local, I do mean local: a mere 24 miles up I-95 North lies the little town of Langhorne—a Philadelphia suburb Sean Scolnick (better known as Langhorne Slim) and I both call home [Ed note: proof below]. Slim sums it up perfectly in his song “Hello Sunshine”–“There’s a place I know in Pennsylvania / If you never want to go, well darling I can’t blame ya.” Poignant lyrics, when you consider we’re best known for a Sesame Street inspired water park and the planet’s largest auto dealership.

Langhorne the musician, though, offers much more than our hometown. Perched precariously on a packed balcony above the stage, I watched Slim and company perform in support of their new album Be Set Free.

Sort of like Tom Waits without five decades worth of cigarette smoke, Slim successfully crooned and yelped along with his band for a full two hours. For me it mostly felt like a drunk sing-along with some townies at the Langhorne Hotel bar (better known as the black and white building in the beginning of the music video for “Restless”).

Although his backwoods brand of blues/folk seemed like inauthentic posturing at times, (C’mon man-you’re from Bucks County) there were genuinely beautiful, touching moments throughout the set (“Restless,” “Worries”) and songs that left me teetering back and forth on my bar stool. It was nearly as good as the Dylan concert—if only he’d broken out the harmonica.

Langhorne Slim: website | myspace | @ acl 2008 | interview with

Words: Jennifer Robnett
Photos: Jessica McGinley

What is there to say about this show? Having the pleasure of seeing three of the best singer/songwriters music today share the stage was a surreal experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Going into this show, I really didn’t know what to expect, not having seen any of the acts in any capacity, but the show atmosphere setup and atmosphere had the feel of seeing Dylan- you knew you were seeing/experiencing truly special.

Something really to admire is how the show is structured, shifting from tracks from their self-titled, Monsters of Folk, into songs from each other’s extensive back catalogue of indie-rock classics. Each of the three, Conor Oberst, M. Ward and Jim James had mini sets of acoustic songs with a combination of another member (M. Ward and Jim James harmonies were full of such soul). Of the three M. Ward was the one I was the least familiar with, only knowing him from She & Him, but his solo set made me a believer and left the crowd in awe as his solo set, receiving a standing ovation and me making a personal note, “For the love of God, as soon as you get home, get some M. Ward albums.”

As the show hit the 2 hour mark, the M.O.F really hit their stride as Jim James steals the show (with his stellar white boy dance moves that would give Dave Matthews a run for his money), as he leads the band through My Morning Jacket’s Smokin’ From Shootin’ and Monsters of Folk’s Losin’ Yo Head. Not to be outdone, Conor Oberst adds some punch to his verse of Smokin From Shootin’ as M. Ward holds down the keys and guitars rather masterfully.

This is a show that completely blew me away: plain and simple. After three hours, Jim James added, “Boy Chicago, you sure know how to treat a lady.” Chicago experienced something truly special that I will proudly recall for years to come.

Set List:
Say Please
The Right Place
Soul Singer in a Session Band (Bright Eyes)
Slow Down Jo
Ahead of the Curve
Lullaby + Exile (M. Ward)
We Are Nowhere and It’s Now (Bright Eyes)
The Big Picture (Bright Eyes)
Golden (My Morning Jacket)
Baby Boomer
Bermuda Highway (My Morning Jacket)
Look at You (My Morning Jacket)
Man Named Truth
Vincent O’Brien (M. Ward)
One life Away (M. Ward)
Wonder (The Way I Feel) (Jim James w/ M. Ward)
Lime Tree (Bright Eyes)
Dear God
Temazcal
To Save Me (M. Ward)
Goodway
Smoke Without Fire (Bright Eyes)
One Hundred Million Years (M. Ward)
Chinese Translation (M. Ward)
Bottom of Everything (Bright Eyes)
The Sandman, The Brakeman and Me
Map of The World
Smokin’ From Shootin’ (My Morning Jacket)
Hit The Switch (Bright Eyes)
Losin’ Yo Head
//
At Dawn (My Morning Jacket)
Whole Lotta Losin’
Another Travelin’ Song (Bright Eyes)
His Master’s Voice

Monsters of Folk: website

Kill Rock Stars is pleased to announce that Thao with The Get Down Stay Down will be releasing their second full-length album, Know Better Learn Faster, on October 13, 2009.

“The album is named Know Better Learn Faster because you can’t. By the time you realize you should, it’s too late. And I enjoy the predicament and the totally devastating, unfunny humor of that.” – Thao Nguyen, front woman

Thao and the ever-versatile Get Down Stay Down (Adam Thompson on bass, keys and additional guitar, and Willis Thompson on drums and percussion) return with the follow up to their critically lauded and riotously applauded previous album, We Brave Bee Stings and All, the breakout success and best-selling record of 2008 for Kill Rock Stars.

With super-producer and friend Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Jim James) again at the helm, Know Better Learn Faster perfectly captures the band as their more mature, tastefully raucous, subdued and musically adventurous selves. Honed, trimmed and tightened over the last year and a half of constant touring, the now-trio delivers Thao’s cleverly crafted and emotionally evocative songs with vibrant, innovative instrumentation, incredible energy and a still-acutely-solid sense of what sounds good. The new batch of songs spans all genres and influences, all the while staying faithful to their distinct style, sharp wit, and the infectious and enamoring exuberance of their renowned live shows.

But the band can be serious too. Know Better Learn Faster is in many ways a boisterous, frenzied, and resigned break-up record, and with that territory comes a few songs wherein Thao does not employ her trademark method of juxtaposing brighter melodies with melancholic content. “A few of these are just straightforwardly sad. Sometimes there’s not much room to mince words and music when you feel like shit,” she says.

The diverse and wide-ranging songwriting only helps to showcase the trio’s formidable musicianship: all members have stepped up and expanded their repertoires to fill out the trio’s sound. To further help the cause, the band was thrilled and humbled to enlist album guests Andrew Bird, Eric Earley of Blitzen Trapper, Laura Veirs, Nathan Crockett of Horse Feathers, and close friend and new 4AD artist Tune-Yards.

Know Better Learn Faster is a deeply felt, honestly rendered audit of the end of one or any number of relationships. Thao says: “We are thankful for the opportunity to have explored and then purged all crippling tensions and anxiety inherent in such dramas and hope you enjoy the scrappy by-product.

Tracklisting:
01. The Clap
02. Cool Yourself
03. When We Swam
04. Know Better Learn Faster
05. Body
06. The Give
07. Good Bye Good Luck
08. Trouble Was For
09. Oh. No.
10.Fixed It!
11. Burn You Up
12. But What of the Strangers
13. Easy

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down:  website | myspace | @ First Unitarian Church | @ Electric Factory | @ Terminal 5 | interview with | @ Liberty Hall

Photo: Dese’Rae Stage

Indie super group Monsters of Folk was born on the road five years ago when My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, and singer/songwriter M. Ward toured together and regularly sat in on each other’s sets. Now armed with the eclectic and consistently striking songs that make up their debut album, the illustrious quartet will reconvene for a Fall tour. The four members will be switching instruments and trading roles throughout each show, maintaining the freewheeling and highly collaborative spirit of their work together thus far.

On this inaugural tour, Monsters of Folk is partnering with Air Traffic Control, a resource for musicians’ philanthropic and social change work, to donate monies raised from ticket sales. The band will be donating $1 from every ticket sold on the tour to local non-profits.

“On a daily basis, we see how hard organizations like these work to make our communities, country and world a better place,” said Erin Potts, the organization’s executive director. “In a time when economic resources are harder to come by and organizations are overwhelmed by urgency and need, the Monsters of Folk tour’s charitable activities are a significant way to energize and support the tireless and often overlooked work that these organizers are doing.”

Monsters of Folk – “Say Please”

Pre-sale tickets for the US and Canada shows will be available beginning July 28th, followed by the public on-sale beginning July 31st. Tickets for the UK / EU shows will be available beginning July 27th.

Tour Dates:
Oct 13 – Orpheum / Vancouver
Oct 14 – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall / Portland
Oct 15 – Paramount Theatre / Seattle
Oct 17 – Fox Theater / Oakland
Oct 18 – The Greek Theatre / Los Angeles
Oct 20 – Spreckels Theatre / San Diego
Oct 21 – Orpheum Theater / Phoenix
Oct 22 - Santa Barbara Bowl / Santa Barbara
Oct 28 – Holland Center / Omaha
Oct 29 – Orpheum Theatre / Minneapolis
Oct 30 – Auditorium Theatre / Chicago
Oct 31 – Louisville Palace Theatre / Louisville
Nov 02 – Massey Hall / Toronto
Nov 03 - The Orpheum / Boston
Nov 06 – United Palace / New York
Nov 08 – Beacon Theater / New York
Nov 09 - Academy of Music / Philadelphia
Nov 12 - Philadelphia Church / Stockholm
Nov 14 – Huxleys / Berlin
Nov 15 – Vega / Copenhagen
Nov 17 – Troxy / London
Nov 18 – Elysee Montmartre / Paris
Nov 19 – E-Werk / Koln
Nov 21 – Crossing Border / The Hague
Nov 22 – Crossing Border / Antwerp

Monsters of Folk: website | “Say Please”/tracklisting

The Monsters of Folk, a supergroup comprised of Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, and M. Ward, has announced that the release of the first song off their new album, due to be released September 22, 2009.

Monsters of Folk – “Say Please”

Tracklisting:
01. Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.)
02. Say Please
03. Whole Lotta Losin’
04. Temazcal
05. The Right Place
06. Baby Boomer
07. Man Named Truth
08. Goodway
09. Ahead of the Curve
10. Slow Down Jo
11. Losin Yo Head
12. Magic Marker
13. Map Of The World
14. The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me
15. His Master’s Voice

Say Please: website

Outside the Uptown Theatre, it looked like the Pacific Northwest as a blanket of cold, misty rain enshrouded the town. Inside the Uptown Theatre, it was about to sound like the Pacific Northwest as Portland’s finest was preparing to take the stage. The weather, a possible nuisance to those at the outdoor NIN/Jane’s Addiction concert across town, was just the finishing touch for the setting of the Decemberists‘ tour.

Blind Pilot, a harmonious indie folk group along the lines of the Fleet Foxes and Avett Brothers, opened. The group has ranged in size from two members to 10 on stage, but tonight they settled on a more modest quintet. This allowed them to maintain the soft textures of their music that often forced listeners to lean in to catch their every word, yet it gave them a loud, instrumental fullness that seemed to channel Arcade Fire. Kate Claborn’s vocals complimented lead singer Israel Nebeker perfectly, but the instruments made this group special. A portable accordion/organ, an upright bass, a banjo, and a ukulele added to the traditional guitars and drums.

Set List:
White Apple
Story I Heard
Oviedo
Two Towns from Me
One Red Thread
3 Rounds and a Sound
We Are the Tide

Green lights bounced off of the crinkly, lace-like backdrop for the Decemberists as fog crept across the stage. This was one of the simplest stage set ups a major act has used in a long time, but it served its purpose of transferring the audience into the mystical story told on the concept album The Hazards of Love. As the music to “Prelude” filled the venue, members of the Decemberists began to take their places on stage, the lights catching them and casting large shadows on the walls. The tension mounted and it seemed to promise that hearing Hazards of Love would be cool and a great idea. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case and it wasn’t until the second half of the set when the band broke out some older songs that it actually got interesting..

For those unfamiliar with the Decemberists’ latest work, The Hazards of Love is a concept album that tells the story of a woman named Margaret who falls in love with a shape-shifter. A jealous forest queen creates some drama. The album featured several guest singers such as Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond, Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket. Stark and Worden joined the band on this tour. Stark, playing the more innocent Margaret donned a white dress and used loose arm gestures as she floated about the stage singing her part. Her wistful performance was good, but rather blase. It was much easier to root for Worden in the role of the jealous queen as she swaggered around the stage, sharply twisting her torso and busting out huge vocals.

Like many stories, Hazards of Love is structured with an introductory phase that introduces characters and themes, an action-packed middle section, and then a milder denouement that gives resolution. Here in lies the problem with the live performance of this: the introduction dragged and the denouement started too soon. Also, the actual group of the Decemberists seems to take a backseat to the story and the role of the two women, which may work on record, but live, people paid to see the Decemberists. Finally, without stage banter from the band, the story was too dry too take altogether like that. Instrumentally, they were tight, but it was just a bit of an endurance challenge for a live show.

After a very long break, the Decemberists (minus guests) returned to the stage and returned to their true form. No longer playing characters from Hazards of Love, they were free to act like themselves and this meant banter and crowd interaction, which are some of the most endearing features of the band. Only the Decemberists can take the time and make a ridiculous joke sound cool. At one point during a guitar change, drummer John Moen asked, “What did the pig put on to soothe his cut paw?…Oinkment!” Singer Colin Meloy bantered back, “How did he cut it?” “He was in the barnyard horsing around,” retorted Moen. This sort or repartee was what was missing during the first half of the set. At another point, Meloy managed to divide the crowd into sections to sing a bit of Billy Liar. The balcony section showed some exceptional bass singing skills. They also teased the audience with “Dracula’s Daughter” before “O Valencia”, saying that eEvery band likes to play their best songs. We like to be unconventional and play our worst.” The set ended with Worden and Stark returning for a silly, but great cover of Heart’s “Crazy on You”.

While all this was fun, the band pulled out all the stops for the encore performance of “A Cautionary Tale”. As the gypsy-like tale began on stage with Meloy, the rest of the group formed a marching band through the audience on the floor. From here, Meloy set the scene and divided the room into the British versus the Arabians. He encouraged audience members to get up on each other’s soldiers for the battle. Just as quickly as Meloy began the battle, he ended it with a dreaded meteor crash and the band marched back out. This control of the crowd is the sort of role playing that Meloy does best and it proves why he is one of the best showman’s in the business.

The fantastic encore almost made it so the performance of Hazards of Love was a forgotten memory. Almost. Thus, for this tour, it is downright Dickensian. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The Decemberists rocked, but they also bored. I’d say go late if you are going to an upcoming show, but then you would miss the fantastic Blind Pilot, so the slow parts might just have to be the time to schedule bathroom or beer breaks.

Set List:
Prelude
The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won’t Wrestle the Thistles Undone)
A Bower Scene
Won’t Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)
The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)
The Queen’s Approach
Isn’t It A Lovely Night?
The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid
An Interlude
The Rake’s Song
The Abduction of Margaret
The Queen’s Rebuke / The Crossing
Annan Water
Margaret in Captivity
The Hazards of Love 3 (Revenge!)
The Wanting Comes in Waves (Reprise)
The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)
//
Oceanside
July, July
Billy Liar
We Both Go Down Together
The Engine Driver
The Sporting Life
O Valencia
Crazy on You (Heart cover)
//
Red Right Ankle
A Cautionary Tale

Blind Pilot: website | myspace | @ mercury lounge | interview with: Ryan Dobrowski | 3 Rounds and a Sound review | @ aladdin theatre
The Decemberists: website | myspace | Hazards of Love review | interview with: John Moen | @ electric factory

Photos by: Joshua Hammond

“It’s nice to be back in a place you can pretty much call a home away from home,” said M. Ward to the sold out audience at Omaha’s the Slowdown after playing three songs.

At this point, any animosity that anybody had toward M. Ward for skipping this city during the She & Him touring melted as Omaha remembered that M. Ward was in fact one of Omaha’s adopted sons. He did after all tour with and contributed to Omaha’s beloved Conor Oberst’s works with Bright Eyes. He even joined Oberst and Jim James of My Morning Jacket for a special Obama rally a little over a year ago on the same stage he was donning tonight. Yes, Omaha, is a home away from home for Ward, but this time his brother-in-music Oberst could not join him and he faced Omaha alone.

Ward quickly proved that he was more than up to the challenge and that he could own the stage without Zooey Deschanel, without Oberst and at times, he showed that he was just as strong on stage even without the aide of his backing band. In one of the best songs of the set, Ward played solo on “100 Million”, a very upbeat number that almost sounds like what would happen if Johnny Cash had tried to collaborate with the Beach Boys. The next song, “Fuel for Fire”, featured a sweet harmonica solo and then the phenomenal guitar riff at the start of “For Beginners” found Ward ready to be rejoined at least by his drummer.

Ward’s set found a nice balance of slow numbers with the more uptempo to the straight up jam bands. With his husky voice, M. Ward is like something right out of another era, perhaps that’s why a cover of a song like “Beethoven” is so perfect for him and why it was especially potent when he announced it by saying, “Here is a really old song about music changing over time.” This number made the set for me, but Ward was not done. He finished the set with one more song and a double encore, leaving the crowd’s appetites for his tunes well-satiated.

Rough Set List (apologies for order errors):
Chinese Translation
Requiem
Rave on to Nice
Fahey
Epistomology
Nobody Like You
Some Lucky Night
Hold Time
100 Million
Fuel for Fire
For Beginners
Lullaby
Sad Sad Song
Poison Cup
Right in the Head
4 Hours
To Save Me
Fisher of Men
Beethoven
Big Boat
//
Magic trick
Neptune’s Net
//
Vincent

M. Ward: website | myspace

Nothing compares to the live music experience, whether it be euphoric or hellish. The bands below provided us with the sweetest live sounds throughout 2008:

Fleet Foxes
Bright Eyes
M. Ward (2009 tour dates!)
Jim James
Crystal Castles
Beck
Coldplay
Cloud Cult
Get Up Kids
Girl Talk
Hot Chip
My Morning Jacket
Radiohead
Wolf Parade

What were your favorites shows of the past year?

For a long time I’ve been terribly depressed that I had never seen My Morning Jacket live, but for a long time that wasn’t my fault. The band just never seemed to have a tour that included Kansas City.

Last February, I was given a small taste of the amazingness that is Jim James when he performed a few solo numbers in between group numbers with Conor Oberst and M Ward. Although Oberst was the headliner, James stole the show in those few songs. And to think he just showed up for fun; he wasn’t even on the bill! This small sample just made me even more eager to witness the full band as I could only imagine how much better that would be if James alone could sound that good.

Fortunately, MMJ finally decided to include Kansas City in their tour plans and they more than made it up to the city for skipping us for so long by putting on a spectacular show and by pairing up with a local radio station to offer a sound check party.

Now, I’ve been to sound checks before and they have been less than stellar, but MMJ didn’t just do a sound check: they did a show with lights and everything. The band played through five or six complete songs and in between, James would ask the intimate group of about 15, if they were enjoying it or had any questions for the band. Once the sound check was over, the entire band came down to shake hands with the audience. It is nice to see a band be that respectful to their fans. I think James best described the experience when he said, “Sound check parties are always poppin’.”

To see a sound check that was filled with as much passion as a real show, I knew the rest of the evening was going to be great. The venue was packed for the actual show, so it was quite a turn around from what I had just experienced and MMJ took the stage to an ecstatic crowd, skipping the usual formality of having an opening act. I guess when you are as good as MMJ, you don’t need to worry about having some other person warm up your crowd: your fans come ready.

They kicked off the show with the title track from their new album Evil Urges and were accompanied by a light show that rivals that of Muse. The backdrop had two very creepy eyes that would turn blood red at varying times. Enough about the light show, I was there for the band of which I was enamored with from the first moment that James tilted his head back and let out a yell.

Next, they played their radio hit from the previous album “Off the Record,” which seemed mild until the band finished with an intense jam session that had James spinning around the stage. Every member of the band was a blast to watch as they rocked out, but James stood out in his phenomenal stage presence. The guy seriously covered every square inch of the stage. When the stage wasn’t big enough for him, he would create his own playing space, climbing out into the crowd and even disappearing on one song before reemerging on a balcony above the crowd, ripping into yet another impressive guitar riff. The balcony was an impressive feat since the only way to get up there is by a small ladder, which would be extremely difficult to do with a guitar.

The set had a great balance of old and new songs, folk and electronic, and James’ normal register and falsetto. After playing through a two hour set, the guys still had the energy to put on a five song encore.

I don’t think I can say “amazing” enough to describe this show and I would definitely try to see them. However, if you are prone to seizures you might want to sit this one out. The lights do get a little intense.

Set list:
Evil Urges
Off the Record
Gideon
The Way He sings
Touch Me Pt. 1
Masterplan
I’m Amazed
Thank You Too
Sec Walkin
Two halves
Laylow
Aluminum Park
Mahgeetah
Just One Thing
Look at You (ACC)
Golden
Phone Went West
Steam Engine
Smokin From Shootin
Touch Me Pt. 2
//
Wordless Chorus
Highly Suspicious
Anytime
Run Thru
One Big Holiday

My Morning Jacket: website | myspace

Written by: Bethany