Other things: David Bazan / Good Night, States

Now, to direct your attention elsewhere:

I missed this, but Pgh. Music Report is here to tell you about David Bazan (formerly Pedro the Lion) playing a few house concerts in town next month.

And HughShowsRedux has some cool photos of GNS rehearsing as they get ready for the release of In The Impossible Tension. I'll echo Hugh on loving the record. And I'll get around to reviewing it before the release show. Promise.

With Bob on your side

Here's this:

Bob Dylan: folk-rock legend, poet-spokesman of his generation . . . and GPS voice? Maybe.

The enigmatic troubadour said on his satellite radio program that he is negotiating with two car manufacturers to be the voice of their in-car navigation systems. Insert your own Dylan-lyric pun here about "no direction home" or "there must be some way out of here" or "how many roads . . . ."

Read on here.

Here he is hocking Escalades a while back:

And here he is offering some pretty unhelpful advice on post-retirement higher education: "Dear Bob..."

Thoughts on a book

This is a blog about music.

I am a blogger who blogs about music.

This is not a blog post about music.

This past week saw the publication of Collected Stories by Raymond Carver, with whom I’ve been a bit obsessed lately. In particular, I’ve been obsessing over the edits Gordon Lish famously made to Carver’s draft of a story called “Beginners,” which would eventually become a story celebrated and studied as among of the finest of its century.

Collected Stories contains unedited drafts of even more stories, and I have for some time been looking forward to seeing them.

As a listener of much music, it’s almost strange to consider that not all art-forms lend themselves to variation, cover, remix, etc. To hear a recording of Townes Van Zandt playing his best songs live and solo is ear-opening indeed, but it is expected. To hear “Kids” transformed by some unknown DJ or "Where It's At" mutated by beck himself can be exciting and even a bit enlightening, perhaps, but it’s no big deal. That’s what happens with music. Jose Gonzalez covers The Knife, Iron and Wine reinterprets The Postal Service and you have some chilled out adaptations of what might be modern classics to throw on your fancy Nano.

“Car Crash While Hitchhiking” cannot be chilled out.

To hear Tobias Wolff read Denis Johnson’s “Emergency” is interesting, and to hear him discuss it is quite edifying. But the story is the story, and it ends the same whether Johnson or Wolff or I read it, whether silently or aloud. It’s the same each time and we don’t get to know it as anything else. And that’s cool; that’s the way we interact with most published literature.

Only occasionally will an author’s notes, edits or early drafts see light beyond some library’s archives. But this week is such an occasion. Debate over whether the stories benefited from Lish’s extensive edits to Carver’s rather less cynical voice will likely burn on for some time. What's striking is how heavy Lish's pen was. It's almost as though the Carver stories we've come to love were just cover versions of Carver's stories. “What We Talk About…” starts stronger—and surprisingly more minimalist—than “Beginners.” But I like Herb’s lengthy narrative about the elderly couple, and I prefer the original, somewhat indulgent ending as well. On the other hand, I think Lish’s truncation of the ending of “One More Thing” makes a great story profound… But I’m years removed from my study of English, and have little to offer anyhow but unformed opinions and the sentiment that I’m glad to see this book arrive. It may not be the unblemished collection that Tess Gallagher has been pushing for, but it’s damned close.

At risk of stretching it, reading Carver’s unedited drafts is similar to hearing Dylan’s varying verses of “Mississippi” on Tell Tale Signs (excepting that Dylan presumably made his own edits). Since that’s the best musical connection I can come up with right now, here are some earlier versions of that tune, as well as the final cut.

Bob Dylan: "Mississippi" (version #1):


Bob Dylan: "Mississippi" (version #3):

Bob Dylan: "Mississippi" (album version):

Donora releases new video

Local indiepop favorites Donora have chosen the infectious "I Think I Like You" for their latest video, which was actually not filmed outside a Stringcheese show. Nonetheless, this chic's got moves.



p.s. When writing about a band, are they plural as in, "Donora release new video," or is it singular, as in the title I went with? Style call, I guess. Not so sure I made the right one.

Les Paul: A hero moves on

What a life he lived, and what a legacy he's left us.

Beck Hansen interviews Will Ferrell

Dear fans of modern comedy and/or music,

You might enjoy this interview.

Yours truly,
SITKOT

p.s. And also maybe this unrelated video.

And now, hear this:

"The Black Eyed Peas and Tim McGraw will jump-start the Steelers' season with a free concert at Point State Park on opening night, Sept. 10."

Read on at ye auld P-G.

Setlist: Neko Case at Sandcastle

I noticed we've gotten several hits this last week from people searching for the setlist from this show, which isn't on here, so those people must be disappointed to see that. Well, I was at the show, and I kept a (loose) setlist, so here it is.

A quick review: Neko was great, but she's been better. The band sounded awesome with the exception of some static early and some minor feedback issues later. That said, Ms. Case did not seem to be all that into the show. A can of Off! was nearby, though it didn't seem to be doing much good, and there was plenty of banter about bugs and the smell of rivermud. Apparenty the numerous bats swooping across the stage weren't enough to take care of the former.

It was both muddy and muggy down by the river that night and, though I do like this venue, it is without question at its best when it's dry. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the show. And as Hugh mentioned earlier this week, Jason Lytle was great as the opener.

Setlist:
1. Middle Cyclone
2. Magpie to the Morning
3. I’m an Animal
4. Prison Girls
5. The Tigers Have Spoken (Maybe?)
6. (I think I missed one here)
7. Pauline
8. Polar Nettles
9. Don’t Forget Me
10. That Teenage Feeling
11. This Tornado Loves You

Encore:
12. Vengeance is Sleeping
13. Tightly
14. Train From Kansas City (Yes?)

A syllabic aside regarding recent reviews of Wilco (The Album) that go out of their way to retroactively diss Sky Blue Sky

Why the sudden hate
on Sky Blue Sky? Can’t folks just
dig on (The Album),

be cool with the past?
“Hate it [there],” they say. "Welcome
back, Kidsmoke Nova."

“Miss u, YHF.”
Either way, let’s all agree:
Nels Cline is badass.

Download/Stream:
Wilco - "The Thanks I Get"

Concert Review: The Low Anthem at Club Cafe

I'd first heard The Low Anthem after reader JP saw them open for Ray Lamontagne back in April and offered us a review. At that time, he wrote:

Each member of this trio played no less than three different instruments, and it was the first time in a while that I didn't want the openers to leave. Mournful and deep turned to knee-slapping, good vibrations on a dime -- imagine a dark Sigur Ros that morphs into something happy and bluegrassy.

Perhaps if I'd gone back and read that review (or done any research at all) before Tuesday night's show, I wouldn't have been so surprised to see that there are only three people in the band. After listening to the CD over the past week, I was sure this would be a band of five or so to create the sonic soundscape these guys manage to conjure up. After seeing them and going back for a listen, it's easier to pick out the sparse but fulfilling instrumentations that allow them to sound so rich.

On the softer tunes, Jeff Prystowsky and Jocie Adams' voices blend like air behind Ben Knox Miller's lead vocals to create that thick but natural sound. This was on proud display as they started off with the choirlike "Charlie Darwin," trailing that with "To Ohio."

Then, surprisingly early, came the highlight of the night. Prystowsky jammed on the upright bass for a minute or so to lead into a houseburning rendition of an old blues, "Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around." They lit it up, and just blew me away. In fact, if pushed, my only criticism of the show would be that they didn't save this one for last.

The Low Anthem manage to really exploit their shared talents as multi-instrumentalists without showing off or trying too hard. Each member moves effortlessly between his/her respective tools and they craft songs like old ships. What does that mean? I don't even know.

With a range of songstyles, they also do a great job of juxtaposing loud and soft throughout the set, such as taking "To the Ghosts..." into "Where'd You Get That Liquor From" or following up "This Goddamned House" with the biblical "Ticket Taker."

With one part Art Garfunkel and one part Tom Waits, The Low Anthem create a modern folk that inspires on record and really comes to life in concert. Prystowsky and Miller have a genuine on-stage chemistry, and looked to be having fun despite suggestions that all the touring in support of the re-released Oh My God Charlie Darwin has become exhausting.

Finally, I don't want to forget about Joe Pug, who provided a great set of heartfelt, Springsteen-style folk before The Low Anthem went on. With just his guitar and harmonica, he managed to be way more on stage than another guy with a guitar and a harmonica. He's got an all-American voice, and his ability to turn a clever phrase echoes the likes of John Prine. One complaint: What kind of fan goes to a folk show and proceeds to sing every word of every song louder than the performer himself? Come on.

Download The Low Anthem:
Low Anthem have a handful of live shows available for download on their web site, right here.

Stream Joe Pug:

Concert Review: Deerhunter / No Age / Dan Deacon at Mr. Small's

I got lazy and didn't make it out last night, so we turn to our loyal readers for their thoughts on the matter:

Lupe: Deerhunter pretty good, No Age so-so, Dan Deacon oddly out of place stole the show. imo. Jimmy?

Jimmy: I generally agree with Lupe. The acoustics were terrible. After the first "round" of songs (after all of them playing an opening number together, each group took turns playing one or two songs, then passed the stage to the next group), Dan Deacon went into the sound room at the back of Smalls and must have helped with the mix because you could barely hear any vocals at all.

I had very high hopes for this show, so I'm pretty disappointed today.

Deerhunter definitely has the best book of songs out of the three groups, but played a scattershot of material, omitting most of their best tracks. No Age sounded ok, but again, you basically could not hear the vocals at all. I agree that Dan Deacon was out of place, but it was almost necessary to have something to break up the show that wasn't just heavy noise. His last song, "Wham City," was the highlight of the night for me.

Now for the worst part. After Deacon finished up with "Wham City," everyone came back on stage and started playing together, but there didn't seem to be any plan. After playing something that started out sounding like a song, all three of the guitarists started pounding the same chord for what seemed like at least 8 solid minutes. The singer for No Age started hitting his mike against his palm to see if any sound was coming out and nothing registered, so he tossed his mike on the ground. At that point, I turned to my friends and said that I'd had enough. They agreed, and we left. I don't know if there was any encore because we didn't stay, and no, I did not hear my favorite song, "Agoraphobia."

Disappointment. I have a feeling that this show needed to be at an outside venue because Smalls just couldn't deal with the sound issues. Dan Deacon was also the only act that even attempted to interact with the crowd in any meaningful way.