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Sunday, August 31, 2008
reviewed: sondre lerche w/ sylvie lewis at st james hall...
Perhaps one my favorite things about being a music dork is how easy it is to go through a phase or to get deep into a certain style or sound. Maybe it was the warm weather, maybe it was subconscious decision to stop taking things so seriously... but, this summer I spent a lot of time listening to wonderfully braindead hip hop, breezy R&B, and all sorts of electro. This isn't a bad thing, but the 6 string guitar in my living room has gathered a lot of dust as of late. I spent years singing and creating music (for better or worse) and opted to temporarily forget that in exchange for something a little more reckless and celebratory.
Saturday night, thankfully, reset all that. I was reintroduced to melody, sophistication, and how flat-out amazing one person and a guitar can be. I really missed that.
The whole show was kinda surreal. St James Hall in Kits is trapped in a time warp. It's an old, tiny, converted church, complete with creaky chairs and poor ventilation... but, the sound is outstanding, there's no way you can't pay undivided attention to whoever's on stage. Not that either act needed help.
Sylvie Lewis opened, accompanied by only her acoustic guitar and worked through a set of songs which I'd describe as half folk/half jazz driven (you might not agree, but that's ok). Either way, she was a delight complete with hyper-charming banter. She spent the entire set knocking the crowd out... in only the most gentle of ways.
Sondre Lerche was nuts. There's countless reviews about this guy online, which all seem to focus on his writing, his candor on stage... which is fine... but the thing that just killed me was the control this guy had of his guitar. Switching between an acoustic a barely distorted electric, he owned every line of every song by constantly flipping the dynamic of his guitar and his voice. He'd bait and switch... muting and pulling in quiet when expressing anger, playing to a point of nearly going horse during times of joy. He was performing alone on stage, but it packed the urgency and punch of a full band.
Inspired and amazing. I've missed you beautiful guitar music. It's good to have you back.
elsewhere
Nardwuar vs. N.E.R.DLabels: reviewed
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Friday, August 29, 2008
adventures in fake dj'ing: end of summer edition...
Despite the fact that I'm not ready to say goodbye to summer, I thought it made sense to put out one last summer mix for the long weekend.
The only tricky thing was that I've had no time to actually whip something up new... you know, 'cause I was too busy actually being outside and enjoying summer for the past bit.
I found a mix I made for my stag earlier this summer. At the time, I didn't post the mix on vanmega because it seemed ridiculous: blend over blend of older hip hop, rock... a couple of inside jokes, oh, and Toto. The funny thing is now that I've lived with this mix for a month or two, I really like it. It's loud, scrappy, and full of energy... perfect jump-off mix at your next party. Or commute on the bus to work.
The set list (total time = 40 minutes):
Intro - "Dave's on the spoons.."
Ludacris - Southern Hospitality
Toto - Africa
Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours
Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song
Ice-T - New Jack Hustler
Beastie Boys - Brass Monkey
Genesis - Land Of Confusion (Metal On Metal Edit)
Maestro Fresh Wes - Drop The Needle (Throwdown Club Mix)
Lil Mama - Shawty Get Loose (Instrumental break)
MGMT - Electric Feel (Nate Wize RMX)
Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (Bibi & Dimitri From Paris Anthem from Paris)
rob vanmega - Sweat & Shoot (Horrible Mix)
Diplo - Work Is Never Over (Kanye West Redux)
Michael Jackson - P.Y.T.
Pase Rock - Lindsay Lohan's Revenge (feat Spankrock & Amanda Blank)
The Artful Dodger - Re-Rewind
Tomas Andersson - Washing Up (Tiga Mix)
Daft Punk - Prime Time Of Your Life (Night Facilities Remix)
Justice - DVNO (The Officially Unofficial DVNO Transformer Remix)
The Count and Sinden - Beeper (featuring Kid Sister)
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Chicago - 25 or 6 to 4 (Bird Peterson Remix)
*Download the mp3 here* [54MB, right click & save-as]
Or better yet, subscribe to the fake dj set podcast here. (full details can be found here).
elsewhere
the story behind "welcome to the jungle"Labels: fake dj'ing
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008
this weekend in rock in vancouver...
This (long) weekend is looking kinda nuts for live music in the city. Turn off your laptop and get out there:
Thursday:
The Walkmen at Richard's
Beck & Band of the Horses at the Orpheum
Friday:
54-40 at the PNE (what? some people like to kick it really old school)
Saturday:
Sondre Lerche at St. James Hall
Sunday:
!!! at Richard's
Neko Case, Destroyer, Andrew Bird, Deerhoof, and the Evaporators at Malkin Bowl (Stanley Park)
Monday:
The New Pornographers, Black Mountain, Stevie Jackson, the 1900s, and Visqueen at Malkin Bowl (Stanley Park)
The Victory Square Block Party (full line up here... oh and the entire thing is free)
elsewhere
strange brew: vancouver's weird punk scene invents itselfLabels: concert listings
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Monday, August 18, 2008
I've been trying to recover from this Olympic fever thing that I caught last week so you get links...
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Thursday, August 7, 2008
none of these songs are just like the other...
Song 1:
I'll probably lose what little street cred I've got left, but, there's a second song I kinda love on the new-ish Sam Roberts' album. Here's why:
Some of you may remember (many, many...) years ago I went through my musician phase. I played countless instruments, and countless gigs, for countless hours, and of course... for next to no money. Along the way I met and collaborated with a lot of musicians... we'd all get together and pack a room; everyone with their instruments and voices trying to pitch in. The intent was to "jam" (hate that term) and create some sort of a baroque masterpiece. In reality, we just got noisy and muddy (and drunk?)... which wasn't the intent at all. Usually, by the end of an evening most of the crew would go home and only a few would remain and play. Usually at this point, we'd perform something so basic, defeated, and melodic that our vocals would feed of each other resulting in something much greater than the sum of the parts. This kinda feels like that:
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Song 2:
This song has been stuck in my head since, well, the first time I heard it on CJSW in 1990. I still can't get over the bass line.
BOLD STATEMENT: This is the best bass line ever recorded by man.
UPDATE: wikipedia just kinda screwed with my head:
"The [Fools Gold] bassline was "inspired" by "Know How" by Young MC, which is a sample from the Shaft theme song, performed by Isaac Hayes."
I'm gonna pretend I didn't read that. Still... such a hot jam though.
elsewhere
the truth about lollapalooza
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Wednesday, August 6, 2008
easy plateau...
This has got mean something... I'm just not sure what.
elsewhere
why amazon mp3 will win
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Sunday, August 3, 2008
august mixtape = on time for once!
Despite the July mixtape actually getting posted mid-month this month's is actually timely. Well done, me?
This particular mix is kinda mellow... the front end has teeth, but the later half is more sane acoustic driven stuff. Don't be scared... this isn't a bad thing. Kinda good for those far too hot summer days... oh, and August long weekends.
As always, this is a limited time thing.
elsewhere
which shoe company represents U?
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