Kevin Devine / Brand New - 28 Mar 2010 – Palace Theatre (Melb)

We got onto the floor about five minutes before Kevin Devine went on stage. Once again, he was supported by his temporary band, and once again, he was in fine, energetic form. The theatre was yet to really fill, but there was a good sized audience covering about half the floor, and Kevin was well-received enough. He played the same set list as Sydney though this time Jesse Lacey came on stage to growl through a verse in the Nirvana cover. Jesse sounded hoarse and rough, but it suited the song so I thought nothing of it at the time.


Brother's Blood

Cotton Crush
Carnival
Time to Burn (Another Bag of Bones)
You're Trailing Yourself
School (Nirvana cover; with Jesse Lacey)
I Could Be With Anyone
Buried by the Buzz
Just Stay
Brother's Blood


By the time Brand New were due on stage, the theatre was packed tight. Al and I were lucky to grab a spot on the steps at the back of the floor, which gave me the best view I’ve ever had of the band. Unfortunately, Jesse had lost his voice between Sydney and Melbourne. He didn’t let up though, tearing through the first four songs of the set, the same Daisy screamfest as they did in Sydney. It was painful to listen to at times, but I appreciated that they didn’t cut the night short to save his voice, but rather did the best they could as a band. They made some great setlist changes too, again mixing old with new, adding Mix Tape (the first time I’ve heard it live!) and swapping Shower Scene for The No Seatbelt Song , Limousine for Bought a Bride.


Mix Tape

At the end of the night, Jesse closed with Play Crack the Sky solo, as he did in Sydney. Halfway through, a second figure came onto the dim stage with a guitar, then proceeded to trip over some cords, stopping Jesse in his tracks. Kevin Devine (for it was he) and Jesse then had a very cute exchange, bantering about Kevin ruining the whole performance ("you just ruined like two hours of music!"), before they tried to resume from the second verse - which Kevin missed. Lololol. Jesse’s voice was still cracking and off-key, but it was lovely to see them perform together, and they obviously enjoyed each other's presence.


Play Crack the Sky

Sound-wise, this night was a bit of a bust, but it didn't matter. I got this feeling, from both nights, that these might be the last times I see Brand New perform for a long long time, if not forever – it felt like a farewell tour, from the fantastic career-spanning setlists to the way the band connected with the audience and played to fans in a way they hadn’t always before. I think the Sydney show was slightly better - Jesse still had his voice, hometown bias, plus better overall atmosphere - but I wouldn't have missed the Melbourne show for anything, just to see them live again. I'm grateful that I got to see them supported by Kevin Devine, an artist I never would've heard of and loved had it not been for Brand New and their incestuous music making circle; and I'm glad to have had the chance to see them play such different sets each time they toured. But there was a sadness this time round too, the feeling that it was the end of an era, whether for them, or for me, or both.


Sink
Vices
Gasoline
In a Jar
Sowing Season (Yeah)
The Archers Bows Have Broken
Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't
Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades
Mix Tape
The Shower Scene
Jude Law and a Semester Abroad
Seventy Times 7
Jesus
You Won't Know
Degausser
You Stole
At the Bottom
Limousine
Play Crack the Sky (with Kevin Devine)

Kevin Devine / Brand New - 25 Mar 2010 - Enmore Theatre

I have no objectivity left regarding these two artists/bands. Let's just say that last night was AMAZING and I am so glad that I will get to see them at least once again in the next week. They met my stratospheric expectations and went beyond. I'll try to write a proper review of the run of shows when I get back from Melbourne...

OK, so it's two months later, and I still have hearteyes when I think about this night.

I'd seen Kevin Devine once before, on a sidestage at Lollapalooza with his Goddamn Band, and it was one of my highlights of the festival. I didn't hold much hope for seeing him again, not in Australia at least, for he had practically no profile here; so you can guess how ecstatic I was when I discovered not only were one of my favourite bands, Brand New, returning to Australia, they were bringing Kevin Devine, a friend of theirs, as the support.

He'd played a solo acoustic gig at the Annadale the night before (which I kinda regret missing now) but in his support slot, Kevin Devine was amped and backed by a temporary band that included Brand New's Vinnie Acardi on guitar. They played a great set, mostly of his punchier songs, which suited the excited crowd and atmosphere. I was blown away, once again, by the power and emotion in his music; Brother's Blood is electrifyingly intense live, with its slow burning passion, building up to the dizzying climax of his throaty screams of 'my sorry heart' and the guitar wailing its solo after to lead to its weary, quiet end.

Cotton Crush
Carnival
Time to Burn (Another Bag of Bones)
You're Trailing Yourself
School (Nirvana cover)I Could Be With Anyone
Buried by the Buzz
Just Stay
Brother's Blood


Even though not all fans have embraced last year's album, Daisy, as they have the two before it, there was a buzzing crowd waiting in the Enmore for Brand New. They started with a scream-tastic block of songs from Daisy, loud and raucous and bold, but it wasn't until the fifth song - Sowing Season from previous album The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me - that the crowd really went nuts. Al noted that the set was a travel back in time, going from Daisy to TDAGARIM then back to Deja Entendu and then even further back to poppier favourites from first album Your Favourite Weapon.

This unexpected but welcomed dip into the past was part of what made this concert feel like one for the fans. While I love them to bits, the previous times I've seen Brand New there's always been a level of disconnect between band and audience, as if they, in keeping with the inward looking music, were often playing for themselves and no one else. This time, the music was still in turn angry and restless with energy, but the atmosphere overall was somewhat lighter and less introspective; the band seemed to have gotten the hang on enjoying themselves, losing themselves in the music, while bringing the audience along with them.

It wasn't all sweetness and light though; the second half of the set was dominated by moodier songs, a reminder of how hauntingly good Brand New are with the painful, the emotional. No encore, but the set was so satisfying - in length, in song choice, in performance - that I didn't mind. And I left with my fannish fervour renewed, and with even greater anticipation for the Melbourne shows.

Sink
Vices
Gasoline
In a Jar
Sowing Season (Yeah)
The Archers Bows Have Broken
Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't
Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades
The No Seatbelt Song
Jude Law and a Semester Abroad
Seventy Times 7
Jesus
You Won't Know
Degausser
You Stole
Bought A Bride
At the Bottom
Play Crack the Sky

Oscars predictions 2010

I was hoping to do a week of Oscar posts, reviewing nominated movies I'd seen, but time has totally gotten away from me. And since RL has intervened, I'm not even going to be able to watch the Oscar telecast. *sigh*

So briefly, my predictions/hopes:

Best Picture

* “Avatar”
* “The Blind Side”
* “District 9”
* “An Education”
* “The Hurt Locker”
* “Inglourious Basterds”
* “Precious: Based on the Novel‘Push' by Sapphire”
* “A Serious Man”
* “Up”
* “Up in the Air”

A return to 10 nominees in this race after a break of 60+ years. I've seen only half of these (An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Up and Up in the Air) and if it were all about my tastes Inglourious Basterds would win almost everything because it just blew me away. I will say that of the five I saw, I only disliked Up in the Air and felt it didn't deserve all the acclaim it received early in the season, though both the actresses in it were great, and a cut above the rest of the material (including the screenplay, the direction, and the lead performance from George Clooney). However, the buzz has all been about the seemingly two horse race between Cameron's Avatar and Bigelow's The Hurt Locker.

wish: Inglourious Basterds
prediction: The Hurt Locker

Actor in a Leading Role

* Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
* George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
* Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
* Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
* Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

Like I said, Clooney was overrated in Up in the Air; he gave a much better performance, I felt, in Fantastic Mr Fox. I thought Colin Firth was so good as a restrained, repressed, grieving professor in A Single Man. Jeremy Renner was also great as the adrenaline seeking US Army soldier in the Hurt Locker, making a loose cannon of a character likeable and somewhat understandable in the circumstances. Morgan Freeman is lucky to be nominated (Invictus was lucky to be remembered at nomination time, really), but the momentum of the race has been with Jeff Bridges most of the way through awards season. It's his award to lose.

wish: Colin Firth, A Single Man
prediction: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Actor in a Supporting Role

* Matt Damon in “Invictus”
* Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
* Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
* Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
* Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

If Christoph Waltz doesn't win this it will be a truly immense upset. And I want him to win all the way - who didn't come out of IB both appalled and strangely attracted to him?

wish/prediction: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Actress in a Leading Role

* Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
* Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
* Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
* Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
* Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

I only saw one of these performances (Carey Mulligan in An Education) and while I thought Mulligan was great in the role, I don't know if it's strong enough to take down three other very strong, much more highly rated performances in this category (Helen Mirren was a surprise nomination, and the movie has little buzz).

wish: Meryl Streep
prediction: Streep or Sandra Bullock (it's still too hard to call!)

Actress in a Supporting Role

* Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
* Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
* Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
* Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
* Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Both Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick were very good in Up in the Air, bringing depth to thinly characterised female characters, making them complex emotionally in just small gestures and looks. Maggie Gyllenhaal had not made a showing the awards season at all before this Oscar nomination, and has little chance. Penelope Cruz was also, some say surprisingly, nominated over co-star Marion Cotillard, the other actress to get critical acclaim from a movie that mostly bombed; and she's playing a variation on a character that has already netted her past Academy success, so she's not likely to win here. But the one with the most acclaim, and the one who has swept most of the awards in this category over the awards season, has been Mo'Nique.

wish: Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
prediction: Mo'Nique, Precious

Animated Feature Film

* “Coraline” Henry Selick
* “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
* “The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
* “The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
* “Up” Pete Docter

Coraline and Fantastic Mr Fox are sharper, more daring animated films, with a very keen sense of its visual style. But I found Up so darling - like all the Pixar movies, it balances story, whimsy, humour and beauty in a way that can be appreciated at all ages. I loved the detail, in its look as well as in its ability to capture some of the tougher emotions in life.

wish: I'd be happy if either of the 3 I mentioned won
prediction: Up

Directing

* “Avatar” James Cameron
* “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
* “Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
* “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
* “Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

TARANTINO. Because IB is a film lover's film, directed with such skill that each episode stretches, building tension, until it's wonderfully AND terrifyingly resolved, while leading onto the next part in story and in action and in look. But like Best Picture, this has been seen mostly as a race between Cameron and Bigelow, and on that score, I'd say Bigelow all the way. The Hurt Locker is a well paced movie, and it looks and feels as realistic as the action it depicts, almost effortlessly, unintrusively setting the viewer inside this hitherto shadowy world of the soldiers at war in a hostile place.

wish: Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
prediction: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Foreign Language Film

* “Ajami” Israel
* “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
* “The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
* “Un Prophète” France
* “The White Ribbon” Germany

I really want Un Prophete to win this, because it was such a good movie - exciting and interesting with a strange, dirty beauty. But I've heard that because of its gritty subject - it's about a guy trapped within racial conflicts, in prison, trying to escape the confines of this life - there's a chance the judges will go for a more conservative choice. Last year, the race seemed to be between two highly acclaimed features that had swept up all the awards before it; in the end the Oscar went to a lesser known Japanese film with a sentimental bent. So I've heard that this year, rather than the race between Un Prophete and The White Ribbon as it would seem from awards season, Argentina's 'El Secreto de Sus Ojos' might be the one to watch instead.

wish: Un Prophete, France
prediction: El Secreto de Sus Ojos, Argentina

Music (Original Score)

* “Avatar” James Horner
* “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat
* “The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
* “Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
* “Up” Michael Giacchino

prediction: Up, Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)

* “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
* “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
* “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
* “Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
* “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Do you know, they're not having live performances of the Best Song this year! So it's unlikely we'll see Jeff Bridges performing The Weary Kind, or Marion Cotillard singing Take It All, not even in truncated, medley form. Bah.

prediction: The Weary Kind, Crazy Heart

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

* “District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
* “An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
* “In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
* “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
* “Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

I came out of Up in the Air disappointed by its glib smooth surface, masquerading as some kind of emotional touchstone for a disenfranchised middle America, and the more I think about it, the more I think the problems lie in the screenplay. The original screenplay by Sheldon Turner, which is closer to the original book, is meant to be even worse. I just felt it was a clumsy attempt to try to give a soulless man a soul through trite and predictable storylines and words about family and relationships. I really really hope it doesn't win.

You can read the original Lynn Barber memoir that An Education is adapted from. I found Hornby's adapation to be smart, faithful to the general sentiment of the memoir, if sugarcoating some of the events a little.

But I believe the frontrunners to be the movies I haven't seen yet! So I am making this prediction without great confidence.

wish: An Education, Nick Hornby
prediction: District 9, Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

Writing (Original Screenplay)

* “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
* “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
* “The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
* “A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
* “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

I think the buzz (and the general momentum) behind The Hurt Locker could take it to a win in this category too, and it is an interesting look at the Iraqi conflict from a very US-centric but incredibly intimate view (Boal was a journalist embedded with a explosives disposal unit, which is the focus of the film). But I think there's support behind Tarantino in this category too, and it may be the one award it picks up as a consolation.

wish: Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino
prediction: Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino

I'm not going to bother with all the technical ones, but I hope Avatar doesn't dominate just because it's high tech, blah blah blah. And I really really want Bright Star to win the award for Costume Design, because it was just such a beautiful movie with some beautiful (and relevant to the story!) costuming, but it is up against the almight Sandy Powell for The Young Victoria, sigh.


related reading:

The Red Carpet Campaign: Inside the singular hysteria of the Academy Awards race

Excellent, absorbing article on the Oscars race and the strange ups and downs, and driving narratives, of the awards season. Reprinted this weekend in the Good Weekend magazine of the Sydney Morning Herald (but you can read it here for free!)

Five Acclaimed Directors Speak Directly

Fascinating LA Times round table with the nominated directors Bigelow, Cameron, Daniels, Reitman and Tarantino about their films, processes and experiences.

Keats Speaks

On Keats, language, the spoken word, and Bright Star.


past nomination posts:
Oscars predictions 2008 (on The Stirrer)

Taking Back Sunday - 25 Feb 2010 - The Metro

There were an agonising few weeks back in January when I realised Taking Back Sunday had scheduled their sideshow for the same night as the My Chemical Romance concert that I already had tickets for. But when MCR cancelled their Australia shows, I took some small consolation in the fact I could now see Taking Back Sunday live.

It can be a real revelation, catching a beloved band live. Some bands are made to be heard in person, and some artists made to be seen in performance. Taking Back Sunday, as lead singer Adam Lazzara pronounced at least twice during the show, are a "professional rock band". A rock band they most certainly are - they played hard and loud and fast - but 'professional', well. That was my revelation last night: while Taking Back Sunday may have build their live reputation in some part due to the showmanship of Lazzara and his antics, last night Lazzara was more sloppy than professional, the show and sound shambolic as a result. But Lazzara was so charmingly sloppy, and the whole band so sweetly enthusiastic, that they almost got away with it; I had fun, and sang my little heart out, despite the faults.


While Taking Back Sunday hurled themselves musically and physically into the start, banging out crowd favourites from all four of their albums, Lazzara started to really flag in the middle third. His vocal was like his (infamous) mike swinging - all over the place! Guitarist Matt Fazzi's vocal kept things on track, and together the harmony of their voices works really well. The rest of the band, with an extra touring guitarist for oomph, are solid performers and supported well. But the personality of the performance, the driving force of the energy, centred on Lazzara; so when Lazzara chose to sing while kneeling on the floor for large chunks of the show, he may have given the front row a great view, but the rest of the room had little to focus on, and the momentum of the show ebbed whenever he was obscured from sight.

But there was still a great deal of passion on show, if not precision, from Lazzara: his long hair whipping around, screaming catharsis in song, giving rambly but sweet speeches to the audience. He waxed lyrical on our screen obsessed culture (he wanted us to put our cameras away), on the existence of drummer Mark O'Connell, whose parents were in the audience ("they did it and so we have Mark - win win for everyone!"), and also on "manlove", as he sadly noted that any suggestion of his great affection for other males, usually members of his band, elicited much greater response than any serious sentiments he uttered.

And then they pulled it out for the last third of the night and started "killing it", as Lazzaraa urged guitarist Eddie Reyes to do on the intense, magnificent 'Everything Must Go' from 2009 album New Again. From them on, it seemed Lazzara was back to his former self in terms of energy and vocal ability, and the crowd responded in turn.


Everything Must Go
It helped too, that the set was composed of an even mix of songs. There were plenty of old favourites from the earlier albums for the diehard fans who know every word, balanced by the newer, poppier songs to keep the night rolling on. But they finished to great excitement with a trio of songs from their best selling album to date, Louder Now, featuring some great instrumental solos and a chance for the tiny Matts (Fazzi and Rubano, on guitar and bass respectively) to shine.


MakeDamnSure

Cute Without the E (Cut from the Team)
Sink Into Me
What It's Feel Like to be a Ghost
Set Phasers to Stun
You're So Last Summer
Carpathia
You Know How I Do
One-Eighty by Summer
Lonely, Lonely
My Blue Heaven
Timberwolves from New Jersey
Everything Must Go
A Decade Under the Influence
Liar
Error:Operator
MakeDamnSure

Jimmy Eat World - 23 Feb 2010 - UNSW Roundhouse

With an unpretentious setting - the lack of any splashy backdrops, minimal lighting - it was obvious that the music would be the star of the show at the Roundhouse last night. The last minute addition of Jimmy Eat World, replacing My Chemical Romance as one of the headliners at Soundwave Festival, made this huge five band line-up a must-see for any self-respecting punk/emo kid.

(photo from Justin Pierre's Twitter)
We missed RX Bandits due to a public transport miscalculation, and arrived just in time to hover near the barrier of a mostly empty floor for US pop-punksters Motion City Soundtrack. Frontman Justin Pierre, with his mad-scientist hair, led a tight 7 song set of mostly new tunes (from 2010's My Dinosaur Life) almost bookended by their two biggest hits to date. Closing with poppy favourite 'Everything is Alright', the small but dedicated crowd cheerfully yelled back lines such as "I used to rely on self-medication/I guess I still do that from time to time" to the wry amusement of Pierre. Their set was short and FUN, as ably demonstrated by their hard rocking keyboardist and enthusiastic air drummer. :)

Disappear
The Future Freaks Me Out
My Favourite Accident
Delirium
(?)
A Lifeless Ordinary
Everything is Alright

(I wasn't taking good notes, so I *think* this is correct. Anyone know which song I'm missing?)

Didn't catch Glassjaw, but returned to the now-packed floor for veterans of the scene Sunny Day Real Estate. I've been told that many of the other bands on Soundwave have tweeted at one time or another about being reduced to gibbering fanboys in the presence of SDRE, and I can believe it. They played a good set of epic songs: tuneful anthems that slowly built to massive choruses, engulfing the audience in sound. It was LOUD and INTENSE and I kinda loved it. I wasn't very familiar with their songs going in, but now I will not rest until I find out what that amazing fourth song of the set was.

(eta: the song was '48'; and you can listen to a recording of the set, thanks to Morris.)

There was only a short twenty minute wait for Jimmy Eat World to take the stage, but the anticipation was palpable, as the floor packed to a hot, sticky crush. With just over an hour to the "strict curfew" (hah), Jimmy Eat World launched into 'A Praise Chorus', then zipped through a song from each of their last four albums culminating in the well-received 'Work' (from 2004's Futures). The set ended up being a good balance of old and new(er), of poppy hits and slow burners (including a performance of a truncated 5 minute version of Clarity closer 'Goodbye Sky Harbour').

While I had fun, there was an unfortunately limpid feel to the show; I don't know whether to put it down to a "respectful" crowd (as frontman Jim Adkins kindly called it in a rambling bit of banter about the pitiful crowdsurfing), or because the sound was a bit off, somewhat uneven. At times the guitars and drums were way too loud in the mix, the vocals lost in a mushy muddle of sound, and at other times big soaring pop songs like 'Futures' ended up sounding hollow and tinny. It was a shame, because Jimmy Eat World were giving their all, and there were great moments: like when you could clearly hear the lovely harmonising voices of Adkins, Linton and Burch, or when that great guitar riff in '23' sang out over and over.

A Praise Chorus
Big Casino
Crush
Work
Dizzy
Futures
Lucky Denver Mint
Goodbye Sky Harbour
Pain
23
Bleed American
Let It Happen
Always Be
Blister
Hear You Me
The Middle
Sweetness


'Sweetness' live @ Roundhouse 23/2/10 (from soxfang)

The Decemberists - 19 Jan 2010 - The Metro

Sydney's much hyped - and ubiquitous support band - Bridezilla opened the show to an already fairly full Metro Theatre. Their reception was tepid and distant, much like the band itself, who didn't try for engagement with the audience. Though their music was atmospheric and dramatic, and they looked striking lined up along the front of the stage with their violist writhing away over her instrument, musically they were all moody sound and little fury.


(photo from Chicago, 2009)
But the night belonged to The Decemberists and a palpable anticipation was in the air by 9:30pm. This was the Decemberists' first non-festival show in Australia, something frontman Colin Meloy was quick to point out as the band took to the stage to rousing cheers. They were playing for an audience who had been waiting six years and five albums to see them, their music and reputation for live shows preceding them. They did not disappoint. Fun and funny, engaged and engaging, The Decemberists played a hour and a half long set packed with old favourites, new material (a song from the upcoming record, one a cover so new Meloy still needed lyric sheets), and tonnes of enjoyment for both the band and the audience.

Highlights of the night often involved Meloy demonstrating something akin to a God complex as he orchestrated audience participation. Halfway through 'Billy Liar', Meloy divided the crowd into left and right hand sides by an invisible line stretching the entire length of the theatre, then pitted the two sides in a battle of impassioned singing of the 'ba dum bah' refrain. Flattering each side in turn to raise the volume of the singing, Meloy then became the puppetmaster, raising and lowering the volume in jerky motions with his hands, the audience complying with his every move!

He was back to his tricks again in main set closer 'The Chimbley Sweep'. Meloy and guitarist Christ Funk began mock-duelling midway through the song, showing off their skills on their guitars with licks and riffs until both were playing their instruments above and behind their heads, to the audience's glee. Meloy followed this by sinking to the floor, and soon the entire band had followed suit. With a wave of his hand, the entire theatre began to sink to its knees too, until every person was low to the floor. Oh the power! Meloy pretended to be asleep before mischievously narrating the 'awakening' of the theatre, as Jenny Conlee's sweet voice brought us back into the song.

The whole band were consummate musicians, switching easily between a variety of instruments. 'The Rake's Song', possibly the most fun anyone can have singing about infanticide, hurtles along with an ominous triple beat, with Conlee and Funk joining John Moen on drums. And on the last song of the night, 'Sons and Daughters', it was a wondrous sight to look across the stage and see the accordion, upright bass, drums, bouzouki and hurdy gurdy playing in fantastic harmony to great effect.

But I was won over long before that last note, long before Meloy's banter had me clutching my sides laughing, long before the beauty of the quieter moments, the slower songs. For me, from the moment they launched into the second song, the epic 12 minute long 'The Island', with its prog rock intro to its hushed, sad ending, I knew I was in for a glorious show. The power of the music, the talent of the band; it was just amazing. This concert, this night, will be a hard one to top.

My friend braved sore arms to capture the entirety of 'The Island' on video, and she is my hero. :)






The Crane Wife 3
The Island
The Sporting Life
Billy Liar
July, July!
Shankill Butchers
The Engine Driver
On The Bus Mall
(new song)
The Rake's Song
O Valencia!
16 Military Wives
The Chimbley Sweep

Eli, The Barrow Boy
Bye Bye Pride (Go-Betweens Cover)
Sons and Daughters [another great video, taken by celerity59]

Neko Case - 12 Jan 10 - City Recital Hall

After seeing Neko Case from afar, red hair streaming in the afternoon breeze, her clear-as-a-bell voice ringing out over the gathered crowd on a hot Sunday afternoon at Lollapalooza, I was itching to hear her again, this time in a more intimate setting, closer to home.


I came away pleased with the show, still completely infatuated with the sound of her voice, humming snatches of her songs all night long.

Let's get the bad out of the way first: yes, as noted in other reviews, there were some sound issues. For me, at times the four piece band threatened to overwhelm Neko Case's fantastic instrument of a voice, but luckily it never quite could subdue the beauty of it.

Obviously it was bothering others too; an audience member on the floor took advantage of a tuning lull to yell for the amps to be turned down.

"Lady, this is a rock show," Case shot back as she pulled her mane of flaming red hair into a messy bun. "You're in the wrong place."

The (inappropriate) request seemed to give Case a spark that diffused some of the rarified atmosphere stifling audience and performer alike in the City Recital Hall. For the first few songs the audience seemed to be at a much more formal show, afraid to voice their appreciation. Case herself seemed hesistant and subdued by the hall, bouncing on her toes before the mike every now and then nervily. She spoke very little, and often in a rushed stream that rendered the words inaudible. It was up to Kelly Hogan, her backup singer, to liven up the show with her endless stream of softly spoken quips and giggles.

But musically, it was bold from the get go, starting with the Americana twang of 'Things That Scare Me' (with some great banjo work), followed by another song from earlier in her career, 'Maybe Sparrow'. But as Case noted, tonight was almost the one year anniversary of the start of the tour for her 2009 album, Middle Cyclone, and the set was heavy with songs from that great album.

I was glad to hear all my favourites from Middle Cyclone, from the back-to-back pairing of 'The Pharoahs', the first time that night I felt Case's voice really break through the sound issues and just wrap its soaring spell around the audience, and the smoky 'Polar Nettles'; to 'Prison Girls' live, with its ominous, dark sound; and the closer to the main set 'This Tornado Loves You', thrumming with energy and longing, until its very end with Case and Hogan's voice harmonising fantastically on that heartbreaking last line, "What will make you believe me?"


We ran into Jess in the lobby, and she let me take a picture of the setlist she scored, and told me the changes, which was great because I hadn't been keeping notes for once! :)


Things That Scare Me
Maybe Sparrow
People Got A Lotta Nerve
Fever
Hold On, Hold On
I'm An Animal
Middle Cyclone
The Pharaohs
Polar Nettles
Deep Red Bells
Margaret Vs. Pauline
Prison Girls
The Tigers Have Spoken
Red Tide
Don't Forget Me
That Teenage Feeling
This Tornado Loves You

Vengeance Is Sleeping
Star Witness