Northside Festival, Day Three : The Best Bishop Allen Set I've Seen. Also, Darlings, Motel Motel, April Smith.

So it's a shame I didn't write this about four months ago, because I simply don't remember much anymore. And also because nobody really cares about Northside anymore, do they? Ah, well, that's what I get for being lazy.

In fact, I wouldn't bother to write about day three if I hadn't seen a fantastic set by Bishop Allen that night. The fact that Bishop Allen was going to play Northside was the original reason for my interest in the festival. It was also the one show I wanted to go to terribly, and the one show I risked not being able to attend - because I'm silly and didn't ask off, I was scheduled to work that night. Heh, oops. After some careful cajoling (ie, asking one of my managers, "Can I please have off work on Saturday, pleeeease??"), things worked out and I was free. (I don't work there anymore, so I really don't care who knows about this, either.)

Right, so. First stop was Spike Hill, yet again, to check out The L Magazine's "NYC Bands You Need to Hear" showcase. I got there late, so the first band I caught was Darlings, not to be confused with the punk outfit The Darlings, although there's a bit of a punk spirit alive in an otherwise pop band. Maybe it's a bit more of a "screamy garage" spirit than a "punk" spirit. Anyway, after their set they announced they were opening that night for...Bishop Allen. Oh. Well, that answered my question of "Who's opening for Bishop Allen...?", but also made me think, "Man, I could have checked out another band instead and still not missed this one..."

Don't quit remember what I did after that. I definitely remember wandering over to Public Assembly, where I caught the tail end of Motel Motel's set. Um, I remember having liked them. I guess Paper Mag said they were "better than Cold War Kids," which is actually the best comparison I can think of right now.

Anyway. Back to Studio B, which I got to way too early and therefore had to sit around for a while, reading and drinking free beer. Oh, noes.






Darlings

First up were Darlings, who hadn't changed in the few hours since I'd seen them last. Ta da!


















Bishop Allen

Oh, and of course, Bishop Allen. I'm not exagerrating when I say this was the best performance I've seen them give yet. Maybe that's not super-high praise, as it was only the fourth time I've seen them live. It's probably a lot more impressive when I say something like, "Oh, that was the BEST I've seen OK Go play," because I've seen them a million and three times so if I say "this was the BEST," it really means something. But I digress.

It had a lot do with the fact that it was a hometown show. The last time I'd seen them had been a hometown show, too, but that had a much more relaxed, "We're just playing to our friends and family" feel. Here, Justin pointed out that "we live around the corner from here...a lot of songs were written about places nearby..." That's what spurred them on.

And it wasn't that the band played with unusual enthousiasm, energy, or technical skill. It was the build in the songs and the set that was spot-on. Listen to classic Bishop Allen tracks like "Flight 180" and "The Monitor." There's an emotional build that enhances, or perhaps even creates, the power of those songs. You don't just go from "Once a great ironworks stood at the end of my street..." to "And we're singing la da da da da da da, but what then?" without moving upwards in feeling. The song just wouldn't work without it. And that's what they did so well : balancing and creating the build of emotion within their songs and within the set as a whole. The setlist didn't feature heavily from their recently-released Grrr..., either. I didn't expect that it would, as their set in April was a good mix of new, old, and older stuff, but less than half the setlist was dedicated to their latest record, leaving room for songs like "The Same Fire" (one of my favourite love songs ever), "Like Castanets," "Click" and, of course, "The Monitor" and "Flight 180."

It's hard, after so much time, to really describe what made this such a wonderful performance. Saying, "The build, the build! The build was incredible!" doesn't really point to something concrete that someone who wasn't there might understand. Let's put it this way - you all know that certain Bishop Allen songs ellicit a, um, certain emotional response from me. When I saw them at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last November, I cried through nearly half the set. This time, I figured I was over that, but that didn't stop me from being caught in the gut and tearing up a whole bunch. Lame? Maybe. But when the wave of emotion and power sweeps up and over like that, it's hard not to be caught in the swell.* A performance doesn't need to be particularly enthousiastic, cloying, balls-to-the-wall, contrived, or in-your-face to be remarkable. It just requires the right songs played the right way.

And some local inspiration. That's what we got that night. If you weren't there, that's what you missed.


Later that night, I caught the end of April Smith and the Great Picture Show's set at...well, I don't remember where it was honestly. But she was fantastic and cheeky with an incredible voice. I wish I could do her justice here, but that's for another post.



*(Wow, now that's a lame sentence...sorry for the tired analogy, guys.)

Bishop Allen have NPR's Song of the Day.

Bishop Allen's "The Lion and the Teacup," of their latest release, Grrr, is NPR's Song of the Day today:

Jungle metaphors, tales of international intrigue and philosophical ruminations inform Grrr...It marks a clear evolution from the ennui-ridden, youthful indie-heartache that colored much of the band's first two albums, Charm School and The Broken String (which are compellingly angsty in their own right). This time, rather than simply feeling sorry for themselves, Bishop Allen's characters are fighting back.

And so on. I still like that "youthful indie-heartache," though.

Bishop Allen - "The Lion and the Teacup"

Bishop Allen are currently on tour in Europe, but they'll be back in early June for Northside Fest, which I keep meaning to post about and then forget.

Nothing's On Telly : Bishop Allen acoustic at Art in the Age

Discovered hot on the heels of their Bowery performance last Sunday is a three-song, in-store set by Bishop Allen at Philly's Art in the Age, wherein they (acoustically) rocked some of the songs they've been rocking (not acoustically) live on their tour. Included is "Penitentiary Bound," a cut from their debut Charm School which has been pretty stuck in my head since I heard it live:


Art In The Age Presents...Bishop Allen "Penitentiary Bound" Live. from Art In The Age on Vimeo

Also included is "Shanghaied", a track I really don't care for on the record but which I thoroughly enjoyed live, so I highly recommend the video for comparison.

(via You Ain't No Picasso, thanksss.)

Interesting but unrelated : Art in the Age's video log also includes this amusing, short interview with No Age in which they discuss "veganaise."

Faith, Restored : Bishop Allen at Bowery Ballroom, 4/5/09

I must be spoiled when it comes to opening acts. The last several shows I've been to this year have featured some really spot-on openers, so I felt slightly let down last night.


Team B

I wasn't completely taken with Team B's set. They all seemed like lovely people (and indeed, have had a hand in lovely other projects, such as Beirut and LCD Soundsystem and Arcade Fire), and all played an impressive range of instruments – trumpets, French horns, flutes, and saxophones, to name a few. I like when bands explore instrumentation outside of the guitar-keys-bass-drums set up. I was a band geek from the fourth grade all the way through high school, and played in both wind ensemble and handbell choir in college. Most of my musical life has been filled with horns and winds, not guitars, so seeing those instruments onstage was engaging.

That being said, I wasn't super in to the songs themselves or the set as a whole. Although I liked the occasional foray into more jazz- and polka-inspired melodies and beats, as opposed to straight up pop or rock, I wasn’t particularly enthused about them as a whole. A for effort, though. Just not totally my thing.



Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band

As for Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band...I'm torn. Their songs ventured back to rock, and had far more energy and drive, though I fear they may have started to sound like each other after a while.

My main dislike, though, was their keyboardist, who, well. Didn't really play keys. In fact, she didn't seem to do much of anything for sixty percent of the time, other than dance around. Nice gig, if you can get it. Toward the end of the set, their frontman handed her a guitar for a bit, which immediately made her 100% more interesting. Can she play? Then let her.

I'm not saying that keyboardist should also be guitarists as a strict rule. I also suppose it's extremely nitpicky to complain about that instead of, say, their music. But I found it a distraction. After I while, I wanted to say, "Do something of actual musical interest." I was more interested in watching the incredibly energetic drummer whom, incidentally, I couldn't see because of her set-up. (Also, they had two giant poles with half-tambourines attached to the end to be banged into the stage in lieu of an actual tambourine. What? Seriously, just use a normal tambourine.)*






Bishop Allen

As for the headliners: This was the third time I'd seen Bishop Allen, and, from the start, was unlike the other two performances. The first was a tiny, barely-attended show in Northampton, just before I graduated from college. The second was a sold-out affair in Williamsburg on my 23rd birthday. The first show was more reserved; the second was more surreal and I cried through half of the set.

This time, though, things felt entirely more relaxed. During opener "Cue The Elephants," bassist Keith managed to blow out his amp, thus setting the thing on fire. Frontman Justin admitted that he’d never really planned for something like this, although, in retrospect, maybe he should have. Keith apologised near-continuously ("Sorry about the fire!") while Justin had to stop and figure out the chords for "The Magpie" while they switched out amps. Watching the band awkwardly stumble together and then get back up together and carry on was actually, well, fun.

The set included a good mix of new material ("South China Moon," "Dirt On Your New Shoes"), old material ("The Same Fire," "Rain," "Click"), and really old material ("Penitentiary Bound"), which was satisfying for who’s been listening longer than since the release of Nick and Nora’s. (Although the infectious energy of "Middle Management" really can’t be beat.) More than that, they won me over with the live versions of their new songs. It's not that I dislike Grr – I really do like it, in fact – but it lacks a certain roughness apparent on their first two efforts. Onstage, the pop gems that were too refined on disc were infused with the band's own brand of quirky, unpolished charm. "Shanghaied," a song I've never really liked in its recorded form, became immediately lovable live. "Magpie" felt less contrived. "True Or False" was beautiful.

And so on to the end, when both Team B and Mt. St. Helens joined them onstage for closer "Flight 180." Although a perpetual fan favourite, "180" has never been one my personal favourites, but the eleven or so people playing guitar, keys, tambo, bells, horns, whatever they could get their hands on, made it an infectiously joyous occasion. After two overly-emotional prior shows and a record I wasn't incredibly thrilled with, I think this was the Bishop Allen show I'd been waiting for – quirky, charming, energetic yet laid-back. At one point, Justin said something to the effect of, "We've had a lot of good memories on tour. This is the best."

Father, my faith is restored.


The Bowery Ballroom date was the last of their US tour dates (for now); they continue their tour in Europe through May. Tour dates can be found here.


* True, Bishop Allen features female-keyboard / glockenspiel / snare player Darbie, but the difference is that Darbie constantly plays the instruments she's given and sings ethereal back-up vocals through nearly the entire set. She also possesses certain elegance onstage as well that only lends the band more charm. And I’m still not buying the faux-tambourine thing.

I just don't get it. (There, now I said it.)

Oh, Bishop Allen. Why must you make things so complicated?

I came across Bishop Allen back in mid-2007 when a friend told me to "go download every free mp3 on their website." Said friend has impeccable taste in music, so I did as I was told, and the rest is a long, complicated, emotional history of the past two years and the people and places in-between. Chances are if there's a poignant moment in that period, I've commemorated it with a Bishop Allen track. They have become – nay, have always been – a band that makes me cry, as the above friend once noted a few months ago, taking the proverbial words right out of my mouth.

Many complained that their second LP, The Broken String, released in the summer of 2007, was merely a "best of" their EP collection and ergo, nothing new, nothing gained. I disagree; while, on the whole, I prefer the EP versions of their songs to the album versions (something known as Demoitis), each version carries its own particular significance. It's hard to truly forgo one in favour of the other.

Enter anticipation of their third effort, the strangely but perhaps aptly-titled Grr.

I can’t really say anything bad about Grr.

That being said, I can't really say anything spectacular about it, either. An odd sentiment when one considers that it is an album of flawless pop songs.

The problem largely lies in the fact that the Bishop Allen formula has become predictable. The melodies are predictable, the harmonies predictable, the lyrics predictable. What was interesting, quirky or innovative on their freshman and sophomore efforts seems more contrived the third time around.

Not that this is damning at all. Remember, these are flawless songs, after all. Opening track, "Dimmer," is quintessential Bishop Allen, something that could sit comfortably among the tracks from The Broken String. The sparse orchestration of closer "Tiger, Tiger," with the haunting strings and percussion and not much else, ends the record on sobering, more mature note. In-between we’re treated to gems like "Dirt On Your New Shoes," swelling to its lyrical climax fifteen seconds from the end, or the lovely, pleading "Don't Hide Away" and "True or False." When I get past my dislike for the whisper-singing in "South China Moon," I’m greeted with a sweeping refrain and a richly orchestrated bridge.

But, while I like "The Lion & The Teacup," I’m forced to think why I should prefer it over "Like Castanets," "Oklahoma" over "The Chinatown Bus," "Cue The Elephants" over "The Same Fire."

These are perfect, joyous, sing-along friendly pop gems. But it all lacks the same, unpolished, raw feel from Charm School (and earlier punk project, Pissed Officers). It lacks the same emotional punch that made Broken String and the twelve EPs that preceded it so memorable. It's a little too polished, a little too refined and, well. A little too Bishop Allen. (Is it possible to be a little too yourself?) And while I'll take Bishop Allen's brand of predictability over a majority of bands' any day, it truly does equate to "nothing new, nothing gained" this time around.

Bishop Allen - "The Ancient Commonsense of Things" [link]
Bishop Allen - "Dimmer" [link]

Bishop Allen are currently on tour in support of Grr from now through at least May. Tour dates - including 2nd April at Iron Horse, 3rd April at the Middle East down, 4th April at Music Hall of Williamsburg, and 5th April at Bowery Ballroom - are listed on their website, as I'm entirely too lazy to repost them here.

Look, Ma, I made a mixlist! : 9 boys, 10 songs.

Let me break it down: Girl loves music. Girl loves message in music. Who wrote music? Oh, it was Attractive Boy who can play the guitar/bass/drums/sax (umm...no, not keyboard, really sorry). Music = the musician who wrote it which is what girl loves.
So, girl loves musician.
-- http://wellobviously.blogspot.com

If you've been keeping track, you’ll remember that I don't do year-end lists. First off, the thought of compiling my top 10/20/50 tracks or albums is daunting. But more importantly, I feel I'm totally unqualified to do so. I don't pay enough attention to new releases and, frankly, who the hell cares what I think is the "best" of the year? Who the hell cares what half of the "blogosphere" thinks was the best of the year? It just seems like a lot of yammering, a narcissistic ploy to validate ourselves and post about the same 10/20/50 bands, just rearranged a little bit each time.*

Annnnnnnnnyway. My gripes aside. When it comes down to it, 2008 has been a weird year.

There was that whole "going back to school after a year and a half of being away" thing and then the "graduating from college" thing, as well as the various problems of trying to find a job - any sort of job - in a recession, trying to get on my own two feet, and the whopping amounts of nostalgia complicating all of that. Life changing and evolving and, quite often, coming full circle. So many things ending, which only opens up beginnings.

I'm not talking about any of that.

I'm talking about the boys. Because, let's face it, we are prone to defining large portions of our existence by our romantic engagements, entanglements, or lack thereof. We broke up a year ago, I was dating him at the time, the year so-and-so broke my heart and the time spent getting over that, the summer girl, the fall girl, the winter girl.

And so, when it comes to the romantic engagement and entanglements and lack thereof, 2008 has been a peculiar year. Often fun, sometimes upsetting, but generally peculiar.

I don't do “best of” lists. I won’t tell you which records or songs or artists were "great in '08." I won’t make a mix listing my favourite cuts from the year. Run to Pitchfork for that sort of thing. Instead, I'll give you a 10-track mix – nine for the boys, one for myself – to commemorate the who and what and where of my wandering heart in the past year. I feel like it's a better way to sum it up.

Obviously, since I'm posting this on the Internet, any number of these fellows can – and probably will – read this. Frankly, that’s not my concern. But for anonymity’s sake, I’ll change up the names and the order.

For Ben:
Saturday Looks Good To Me – “Girl Of Mine”
The endless comparisons are not made with malicious intent. But nor are they meaningless.

For Christopher:
Looker – “Spit For Your Shine”
[link]
You can’t just be mine.

For Ethan:
Bowling For Soup - “Ohio (Come Back to Texas”
Too obvious? Let’s call it “very bad timing.”

For Eddie:
Scamper – “Wait Wait”
[link]
Darling, it’s been a long time coming. I still miss seeing your plates.

For Phillip:
Vampire Weekend – “Walcott”
Hey, remember that time we sat around listening to VW? Did I every say “thank you” for that weekend? If I didn’t, thank you. Please move back – the city suits you so well.

For Scott:
Salt ‘n Pepa – “Let’s Talk About Sex”
Oh, come on, you love it. Here’s to late summer nights. How boring they would have been otherwise…!

For Andy:
Bishop Allen – “The Monitor” (album version)
I’ll settle for one of the wisest things I’ve heard this year: “You’d think I’d understand that a rock ‘n roll band doesn’t mean a blessed thing.” Anything else would be too easy.

For John:
Nightmare of You – “I Want To Be Buried In Your Backyard” (album version)
You are not the understated demo; you are the sweeping, cinematic album version. It took a year of losing and regaining a record to figure that out. I no longer feel this song, but it’s still yours. Thanks for all your patience.

For Cary:
She & Him – “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”
How do you deal with an island sitting between two people? Here’s to 2009 and all that it may bring.

The Long Blondes – “Guilt”
This is mine. I declared it mine circa March. It’s not that I’ve got or ever had boys lined up around the block; it’s just that, well, when one showed up, another five that I’d known longer followed suit. A wonderful and wonderfully heart-wrenching year.

And guilt has nothing to do with it.


Note: Half of these songs are in .mp3, the others are .m4a. I don't feel like wrestling with iTunes right now. Ignore the last five seconds of "The Monitor," too.

*(Quoting Heart On A Stick on this: "If you have Weaponize in your year's Top Ten you're immediately a more interesting person than anyone Number-Wunning Fleet Foxes, because at worst it suggests that you're blindly loyal to something other than the release schedule/leak pipeline.” Specific album references aside, I couldn’t agree more with the principles behind the statement.)

Monday Morning Mux: Just a good ol' shuffle.

So maybe you did or didn't notice the last Mux I had up, some self-pitying thing based on The Beatles' "Misery" and a Motion City Soundtrack song. Blah blah. Time for a new mux!

This one is yet another modified shuffle that my iPod just shot out the other day, as I was riding back and forth between my old high school and visiting old friends. No theme, and none of the songs have anything to do with that, but that's the soundtrack I got. And it works.

1) "Tropical-Iceland" - The Fiery Furnaces
2) "Skag Trendy" - The View
While everyone was listening to the Fratellis, I was listening to the View.
3) "Hang Them All" - Tapes 'n Tapes
I saw TnT at Siren '06 and was underwhelmed, but this new track is great.
4) "Stuntman" - Kasabian
5) "Conflitos Urbanos" - AfroReggae
AfroReggae is a group in Rio de Janeiro that seeks to change children's lives through music. They were the subject of the excellent documentary Favela Rising.
6) "Decent Days and Night" - The Futureheads
7) "Koka Kola" - The Clash
8) "I Don't Want To Dance Anymore" - Nightmare of You
9) "Bingo" - M.I.A.
10) "This Means War" - We Are Scientists
11) "Butterfly Nets" - Bishop Allen
Favourite BA song? Probably.
12) "Track 3" - Panda Bear

Nightmare of You kicks off US tour tonight; also, them vs. Bishop Allen in May. (aka the Up-Down Problem.)

This is my sole decent shot from that entire concert in Framingham.

So apparently those few northeast dates last month were just a warm-up for the lads of NoY. Starting tonight, they let loose on the nation as a whole.



(Okay, that thinger says that they're starting tomorrow night, but rest assured, they are, in fact, playing Asbury Park, NJ tonight.)

There are way more dates for May and June up on their 'Space, including 17 April at UMass Lowell, 15 May at the Middle East up (Cambridge), and 14 June at the Blender Theatre (NYC).

Very unhappily, 15 May is also when Bishop Allen will be headlining the Middle East down, meaning a decision as to which band will be seen will have to be made, as I'm not spending the evening running between the two stages. Luckily (for me, anyway), BA is playing the Iron Horse in NoHo the day before, so one of their shows is guaranteed sometime in my near future.

Bishop Allen's May tour dates:

14 May 2008 Iron Horse Northampton, MA
15 May 2008 Middle East Cambridge, MA
16 May 2008 Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, NYC
17 May 2008 Bennington Sunfest Bennington, VT
18 May 2008 Black Cat Washington, DC
21 May 2008 Debaser Malmo, SE
22 May 2008 Mono Oslo, SE
24 May 2008 Kleine Freiheit Osnabruck, DE
25 May 2008 Gleis 22 Munster, DE
27 May 2008 Werkstatt Koln, DE
28 May 2008 Vera Groningen, NL
29 May 2008 Tivoli Utretch, NL
30 May 2008 Primavera Barcelona, ES

Nightmare of You - "I Was Never A Normal Boy"
Bishop Allen - "Like Castanets" (album version)

ETA: A friend has informed me that when two headlining bands are playing the Middle East on the same night and one has to decide which show to go to, it is called the "Up-Down Problem" - at least, this is what friend's friend calls it, and I have decided that this is a good name, and that we shall use it henceforth. (Also I suppose that this works for any venue that has more than one stage. You could very much wind up with the Up-Down Problem at, say, Pearl St. or Knitting Factory.)

That is all for now.

Bishop Allen heads to Paris; Katy is sad.

Bishop Allen is playing the Fleche d'Or on 26 and 27 November, opening for for John Vanderslice.

Hrmph. I would love to see them play at the Fleche d'Or.

It's funny, because all last year, I would look longingly at the concerts going on in Northampton, Boston, and New York and whine about not being able to attend; now I do the same with the concerts going on in Paris.

In any case, here are some free mp3s straight from Bishop Allen themselves.

Bishop Allen - Click Click Click Click
Bishop Allen - Rain
Bishop Allen - Things Are What You Make of Them
Bishop Allen - Calendar
Bishop Allen - The Bullet & Big D