The Arcade Fire - May 24, 2007 Deer Lake Park - Burnaby, BC
01.) Black Mirror 02.) Keep The Car Running 03.) No Cars Go 04.) Haiti 05.) Neighbourhood #2 (Laika) 06.) Black Wave / Bad Vibrations 07.) In The Backseat 08.) Intervention 09.) (Antichrist Television Blues) 10.) Ocean Of Noise 11.) Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) 12.) The Well And The Lighthouse 13.) Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out) 14.) Rebellion (Lies) 15.) My Body Is A Cage 16.) Wake Up
Credit where credit is due: the show is in zipped in mp3 format, encoded from this taper's source. The cover is based on this picture from this photographer. We really hope they're ok with that.
a review of a review of a thing which I previously reviewed...
Turns out I'm on the cover of the new Wil CD... sorta.
A pull quote from one of my posts is on the cover of every copy of Wil's By December CD at the HMV on Robson Street (anyone seen it elsewhere?).
I've been quoted in band promo materials before, but usually for my work with Cord Mag... and usually it's done on the web or in press kits, not right on the actual product. Either way, quite the surprize. Thanks to Pinder for the heads up.
As far as the full disk goes, I had my first listen of it a few days ago. I'm really liking what I hear (and no, I'm not just saying that because of the pull quote). Wil's first disk had a very polished FM radio single feel to it... this one feels rich with character, lots of dense layers of instruments and colour... it comes across as a collaborative whole, with the sum being greater than the parts. Very recommended for those who are fans of alt-country/Americana (Canadiana?) types of music.
The whole album can be streamed here. For those who want something more permanent, here are the mpthreves I posted earlier:
In addition to this Wil disk new releases from Tegan & Sara, Spoon, Art Brut, and QOTSA are right around the corner. 2007 just got really good for music.
reviewed: the arcade fire at deer lake park [updated x2]
I should have brought my camera to Deer Lake Park last night because it was, perhaps, one of the more perfect outdoor concert environments I've ever been to... even making the Gorge and the Shoreline Amphitheatre look silly. The sun was out, it was 20+ degrees, the crowd was quasi-sane, and the beer garden was a logistical wonder. Oh, and from my 3rd row perch, the Arcade Fire were fucking phenomenal.
It's been 2 and a half years since I saw a quasi-undiscovered Arcade Fire perform at the Commodore, a lot of things have changed since then: a second album, a world tour or 6, critical praise in the press, radio play, videos on much music, bigger venues, even crusty old rock stars trying to stay relevant have performed with them. All things considered, it's a recipe for band to lose their edge.
The Arcade Fire have not lost their edge. In fact, they've sharpened it. Their live show is louder and more inspired than ever. Yes, there are theatrics.. but they draw you in. You can't help scream along with the band... it's an incredible compelling, joyous thing. In the set Neon Bible tracks fit seamlessly along side the Funeral era stuff. It's hard for me to even pin point specific highlight as the whole thing was exciting and wonderful. Every word from every mouth and every note from every instrument was important and exciting.
The Arcade Fire are the most important band I've experienced in a decade. If you're groaning while reading that last sentence, you're either too jaded for your own good... or you haven't seen them live.
Hands down, this was the best show I've seen this year in the last couple of years. I wonder who can/will top it?
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UPDATE: thanks to a nameless commenter, we've discovered that if you click this hyperlink you can view the setlist and download the show via bit torrent. Well played, Internet.
UPDATE 2: Apparently, not everyone's into the bit torrent/FLAC thing... and just want their mtv mp3. Here's a sample of the recorded show at Deer Lake:
At the start of the year I secretly made a resolution to spend more time living with / getting deeper into albums... as opposed to trying to consume EVERY mp3 thrown across teh internets. By no stretch does this mean my levels of music geekery are retreating to a non-obsessive levels... but it does mean I'm much more interested in listening to something because it's good rather than just simply because it's new.
With that said, this is my favorite song of the moment (subject to change in the next 30 seconds):
This song kinda verges on becoming classic Feist. Wonderfully loose drums & guitars, endless handclap percussion, telephone effects layered over the lead vocals... oh, and the way the slide work pairs with Feist's voice. Goodness, and what not.
ATTENTION INTERNET: I am officially declaring the start of summer '07. Feel free to gallivant around in your played-out yet functional camouflage cargo-pant shorts and the like!
For the long long weekend we threw together a very last minute trip to Tofino... which, regardless of rain, was awesome. We had an agenda of (1) doing nothing, (2) being outdoors, (3) drinking ceasers.
Mission accomplished.
The only suggestion I might have for anyone wishing to plan a trip of their own like this would be to buy a personal private jet to fly there, and not do the 8 hour car + ferry commute we did. If you're not a descendant Rich Uncle Pennybags, might I suggest you at least make advance reservations for the ferry. If you're not a planner, might I suggest you at least whip up an impromptu tailgate party (i.e. beers) in the ferry line... or if you're like the people 2 cars up from us, why not install a rusty hibachi grill into the trunk of your car (think Pimp My Ride minus the budget and respect of flamable properties of gasoline) and get your BBQ on?
Either way, solid weekend... I believe we have plans for every weekend until mid-August now. Yay, me! Sorry for later, day job!
The bigger question for me personally is, do I keep watching the show? Arguments for watching include the promise of a retooling and the fact that I should have HD by January 2007. But as Rommmate Nick pointed out, this may only mean that I'll be able to see the suckiness with more crispness.
Have you seen some of the stuff on the official 24 website?
promo for content exclusive to AMEX card holders?
a Crystal Method (!) remix of the 24 theme?
For this show to return to form (or to go in a bold new direction) there needs to be a (production, mgmt, etc) cultural change from the ground up, not just new characters and constraints. Either way, I hope for improvement going forward. With that said, I also hope for a gas prices under a dollar a liter going forward.
4. The article, Kelly Clarkson and the Economics of Pop. I know, Miss Clarkson isn't exactly rock n roll but the discussion of risk taking in pop music is interesting.
Apparently, there's a new Jason Collett EP for sale on iTunes. The write up for the disk says that the songs are pre-Idols Of Exile material. This got me searching for more of Collett's earlier work. Have you heard that album of his from 2002, Motor Motel Love Songs? It's gorgeous:
Very alt-country. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Jason Collett is the Jim Cuddy of the Internet generation.
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Woodpigeon is a band from Calgary which I never ever heard of when I lived in Calgary. A random blog recently put me on to them and linked a bunch of reviews which compared the band to Sufjan Stevens. Normally, I'd cringe at a reference like that... but it works, in a good way. See:
True story: after listening to their album, I checked out the bands myspace space and saw pictures of the band. It turns out the lead singer of band is the guy who sold me and Leo his last ticket in line to Sufjan Stevens at St. James Church last fall. Further, the guy was introduced to me by a friend of a friend of an acquaintance of Quinn Blownspeakers. How do you like them synchronicity-flavoured apples?
When Trapped In The Closet first came out on DVD I started liking R Kelly for irony's sake. Too much listening to his tracks has ensued and I'd swear that I'm starting to like the guy for genuine reasons. Wow, I'm gross.
this is why, this is why, I'm firing my ad team...
The new Zune ad, which I seem to be subjected to 55 times a night, is almost driving me to drink.
Way back in my university days I had a professor who neatly summed up the paradox of marketing. He said, "marketing is implicit, very easy to understand... yet, most companies don't do a good job of it". It seems Microsoft has opted to not do a good job of it and has decided to execute in a way which could only appeal to 14 year old girls who have never ever used any form of mp3 player (I'd assume there are about 6 people meeting this criteria in North America). I'm willing to bet dollars for donuts that some 45 year old dude with a ponytail and a penchant for Michael Buble green-lighted this campaign.
For those who don't like click on youtube links, here's the jist:
Mims
a rap-rock remix of Mims
a graveyard environment in which Zunes (and Zunes alone) thrive
a bunch of features which iPods, PSP's, etc already have
a FM tuner, because 30 gigs of your music is no match for the edgy brilliance of radio jockeys like Kid Carson & Nira Arora
a... really... rap-rock?! Is it 1992?! Should I get my Judgement Night tape out?!
It would be thrilling (yes, thrilling) to see a legitimate iPod rival. Rivalry would force innovation, innovation would mean we'd all be 6 steps closer to having the ultimate handheld device... at a semi-sane price point. MS has something like $100 million allocated to marketing the Zune in 2007. They should do something with it.
adventures in fake dj'ing: rhythm is a dancer edition...
I'm 100% certain that there will be 2 very opposite reactions to this mix: you're either gonna love it, or loath it. No gray area here.
That massive 100 Greatest Dance Hits of the 90's torrent I previously linked to has sat on my desktop for the last week and taunted me. I started by just clicking through the tracks, listening for 30 seconds at a time max, but started getting a bit obsessive about it, and ended up putting a lot of the tracks on heavy rotation... and forcing anyone near by to listen to me ramble on about how mind-blowing Snap was when they first came out, or how such and such a song reminded me of standing in line at Yucatan's for $5 jug night.
Stumbling across this pile of tunes 10 - 15 years after the fact is no different the stumbling across a box of your own clothes from 10 - 15 years ago. How can you NOT be fascinated/disgusted/kinda overjoyed all at once?
So the obvious next step was to start playing around with these songs on the laptop dj machine. The result: a beat-mixed set of early 90's "dance" (does that generic of a genre even exist anymore?) music that'll make you both smile and cringe at the same time (note: this assumes you're old enough to remember the first time Air Jordan's were popular). 16 tracks over 30 minutes... because any more than a half hour of this stuff would cross the line from nostalgic to nauseating.
This is the set list:
Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner Bizarre Inc. - I'm Gonna Get You Snap - The Power Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman (DJ Ayres Redo) Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart Tag Team - Whoomp! There It Is Robin S. - Show Me Love Ace Of Base - All That She Wants Black Box - Everybody, Everybody Corona - Rhythm Of The Night Cathy Dennis - Touch Me Bucketheads - The Bomb KWS - Please Don't Go Snap - Rhythm Is A Dancer Crystal Waters - 100% Pure Love Rozalla - Everybody's Free
Hey... was it me or did today (well, at least the latter half of today) feel a whole helluva lot like summer? The sun was out in full force, Kits beach was busy after work... me and the Tk even managed to sneak over to Burrito Brothers and knock back a couple of casual patio beers.
If summer is modestly ramping up, we need a new mixtape, no?
It could be the warmer temps, but to me this months mix feels a bit summery... a bit melodic... a bit electronic... and in a good way (and yes, of course there's guitars). Also, there are a bunch of covers this month. I'm not sure why. But I'd be surprized if that new Mark Ronson disk didn't turn out the be the album of the summer.
reviewed: LCD soundsystem at the commodore ballroom... [updated]
The thing about James Murphy/ LCD Soundsystem is that they're good. Like, always constantly good... doesn't matter if you're talking about a track of theirs, an album of theirs, or even a remix of theirs... it's gonna be fantastic.
Not surprizingly, last nights' gig was equally as phenomenal. The entire band played the fuck out of every instrument, every song. Despite the fact that the bands arsenal consisted mostly of electronic equipment, everything felt rich and soulful. So impressive... and so refreshing. I haven't been this impressed with a live performance since Jamie Lidell last summer.
With that said, the crowd at the Commodore was a bit nuts. Like, far too excited for their own good kinda nuts. This was one of those gigs where the ballroom floor bounced up and down the entire set. The collective freakout factor was kinda cool, but some dudes were way off the mark. A couple of guys actually got into a brawl (while dancing? what?) and actually caught the attention of the band on stage, temporarily derailing the set. From my perch smack dab on the middle of the floor I realized a good chunk of people (all guys, actually) were dancing/going off (which is cool) but were doing it in a way that messed with the 20 closest people to them (which is not cool). Don't get me wrong... I love that live LCD compels you to dance... but it shouldn't be a mid-90's grunge rock slam dance.
As for the set itself... lots of highlights, the nearly double tempo version of Daft Punk totally reinvented itself, the synths on Tribulations and Someone Great were so thick that you could almost feel your face getting peeled off (in a good way). My only grievance... they didn't play Loosing My Edge. Such a shame. But, based on the insanity and energy of the show, I'm not gonna hold it against 'em.
update: here's a video clip of the Yeah outro:
It's actually from the Seattle show a few nights earlier. But it's awesome... and on par with the Commodore performance.
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