I Feel Alright: I Used To Be Darker, Then I Got Lighter

Then I Got Dark Again

So since last week I've been inundated with ridiculous gigs, truly a monumental week for the Boston music scene.

Gig Report:

6/10/09 Meat Puppets @ Paradise
I mentioned this one in the last update but I'd just like to reiterate that the show was really great, Cris and Curt had great stage presence, never faltered on their instruments, and played a varied setlist with my highlight probably being Up On The Sun. I had been anticipating this one for a good while and thankfully had the foresight to buy a ticket beforehand so I didn't have to go down there and endure the opening act to make sure I got in even though I'm fairly certain that the show wound up not selling out, which was surprising.

6/14/09 John Vanderslice / The Tallest Man On Earth @ Middle East Downstairs
Wow, this one was about as great an experience as I could have hoped for. Knocked back a few cool ones, headed over to the club, and arrived basically right before The Tallest Man On Earth aka Kristian Matsson was scheduled to begin his set. For those of you who haven't gotten his debut LP (entitled Shallow Grave) yet, I strongly urge you to go back to the last update and get it immediately- it's easily deserving of a spot on any Top 5 Albums of 2008 list. The album is brilliantly constructed, from the strength of the lyricism and songwriting all the way down to the recording quality, so I was understandingly skeptical about his ability to accurately replicate this sound in a live setting. Much to my delight this Swedish troubadour came out and banged through a stellar set consisting of a great number of instant-classics off of the Shallow Grave LP without tripping up once. His vocals were run through some type of reverb effect that really suited his warbly quasi-dylan yodel-esque vocal changes- especially when he utilized the dynamics of slowly rising vocal crescendos with sudden strained drop-offs to leave the room with a haunting echo. A very powerful performance indeed, as Kristian strolled around the stage, leaning into the crowd and weilding his guitar like a rifle while simultaneously managing to attain prolonged moments of direct eye-contact with each individual audience member throughout the set. Very personal and a very telling performance which has cemented Kristian in my mind as deserving of a mention in any conversation concerning today's most talented songwriters and performers.

Next up was John Vanderslice. The last time he came through town was with John Darnielle aka The Mountain Goats on what was deemed the Back To Basics Tour on which both artists performed their songs solo, but on his newest album (Romanian Names- also available for download in the last update) there is a great deal of instrumentation so I was unsure about how he would perform. Sure enough he came out accompanied by a percussionist, bassist, keyboardist, and an additional guitarist. I'm a recent Vanderslice convert and haven't had time to digest his entire catalogue as of yet, but I was really entertained by this performance. He played through a good number of tracks from the new album including one of my personal favorites "D.I.A.L.O." and then ushered the rest of the band off-stage for a few tracks while he performed solo. It was during this portion that he leapt into a rendition of the track "Lucifer Rising" off of he and John Darnielle's collaborative EP entitled "Moon Colony Bloodbath"; this is the track that made his set for me as I wasn't sure he would get down with any of the songs off of the EP without John there. The band returned and the rest of the set was very energetic and entertaining. An especially enjoyable part of the performance took place when Vanderslice introduced the track "Romanian Names" with the deadpan description, "This is a song about gymnasts who are in love... and they're not supposed to be." The band then proceeded to end the set by picking up a set of acoustic instruments (the keyboardist donning an acoustic guitar while the additional guitarist moved to the flute), walking down onto the floor into the epicenter of the crowd, placing a small desk lamp on the floor in the hub of the small musicians' circle, and playing their final number without any amplification while encouraging a great deal of audience participation. Really a fine way to end the set.

6/15/09 Bill Callahan @ Brattle Theater
Ahh, the culmination of a week-long excursion into the world of the frequent concert-goer could not have ended any better. Here I was given the opportunity to see Bill Callahan aka Smog with whom's music I have lately been near-obsessed. Callahan has had a long career in music ranging from the depths of the lo-fi genre with records like Sewn To The Sky to his later more cleanly produced Smog albums like Knock Knock and Red Apple Falls and finally to his two most recent efforts (the first to have been released under the moniker Bill Callahan) Woke On A Whaleheart and Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle (both available for download in the previous update). His sound and songwriting style takes on a strikingly original form culled from a wide variety of influences, the most obvious of such possibly being Jandek and Leonard Cohen perhaps combined with the lyrical prowess of songwriters like Townes Van Zandt.

I arrived at the Brattle (though I walk past it twice a day, this was my first time visiting the theater aside from a week earlier when I went over there to buy my Callahan ticket) about 5 minutes before Callahan was set to take the stage (again, the god's of gig arrival times smiled upon me) and found a seat in the upper level. As was the case with Vanderslice, I was unsure if Callahan would perform as a solo act or with a backing band (seeing as how his catalogue is so diverse) and upon entering and seeing the presence of a keyboard and drumset realized it would be a collaborative performance. Joining him on stage were a violinist, cellist, percussionist, and an additional guitarist who all managed to robustly fill out the songs (also, during one song the violinist took charge of keyboard duties and during another Callahan himself shed his guitar in exchange for a shift behind the keys). They performed in front of a large projection screen which, throughout the duration of the set, faded slowly through a cycle of vibrant colors, this coupled with the prowess of the band and Callahan's deep haunting voice really took hold of the audience and definitely brought us down-the-rabbit-hole during several numbers. The set-list was fantastic (with an artist that has a catalogue as large as Callahan's you can't really go into a gig with your hopes up for a specific track, seeing as he has so much material to draw from) and included tracks such as "Jim Cain", "Bathysphere", "Too Many Birds", "The Wind And The Dove", "Rock Bottom Riser", and "Cold Blooded Old Times". You really got a feel for Callahan's unique sense of darkly tinged and devastatingly dry wit as he conversed with a heckler, continuously engaged himself in quirky dance-moves as he performed, and made light (during between-song banter) of his set-list's necessitating of frequent tuning alterations. All in all, an excellent set which Callahan and his fellow musicians carried flawlessly. And kudos to the Brattle for providing a great atmosphere, there's no doubt that I'm looking forward to attending future events there.

In an unrelated matter, our good friends over at Grillo's Pickles were featured in yesterday's (6/15/09) edition of Karmaloop TV. Wait until the last minute of the video to see PJ make his debut as "Sam Sam the Pickle Man" and discuss the intricacies of pickle-on-mouth rape. You can find the video over at http://www.karmaloop.com/tv/index.html under the entry for 6/15/09. Also, word on the street is that the Grillo's cart got a visit from the Phantom Gourmet this morning, so keep an eye out for that. Finally, shoot-outs to Trav for hooking me up with a gallon of fresh Grillo's Spears on Friday night, it's good to have the staple of any balanced diet on hand in great supply.

As always, I would never leave you without some records to ponder. Since I already posted the new releases for the above-reviewed artists last time I'll just leave you with some albums that I've had in heavy rotation.

Charlie McAlister- I'll See You In Hell

The Extra Glenns- Martial Arts Weekend
(The Extra Glenns are a collaborative project between John Darnielle aka The Mountain Goats and Franklin Bruno of Nothing Painted Blue and this record features several previously unreleased Mountain Goats tracks including three entries in the "Going to..." song cycle)