Songs In the Key of Touché

Taylor!

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 03:26:00 +0000

Yeah, so much to say about the show, but how to say it? For starters, it's well over 3 hours of nonstop musical exuberance.

If you haven't already heard, the production value is unparalleled, more in the spirit of theatre than music. The stage is this dynamic screen with levels that go up and down. the gigantic screen behind her seems to be 3-d or stereoscopic in a way that layers the musicians or story into the songs stunningly. Everyone gets multicolor LED bracelets that turn the crowd itself into a gorgeous ambient light show, at times pulsating, or doing a wave, or just setting a tonal mood (maybe this is a thing on big tours but I'd never seen it and it blew my mind).

The dancers were an amazing troop of diverse races and body types, helping to pump out both the joy and the story telling of each track.

Taylor is absolutely feeling herself, fully immersed in the role, able to drive the crowd bananas simply by breathing, blinking, maybe tossing a knowing smile between songs. She played 44 songs and gave her all unflaggingly.

I would imagine the crowd is both different and the same every night. I'm sure the throat searing shout-singing is a constant, even as the crowd's favorites eras shift. Pittsburgh skewed towards the early stuff for whatever reason, so white cowgirl boots and shirt sparkly dresses win the day. 95% women, which made for a delightful diversion from the standard crowd I’ve been part of at the Steelers stadium--lovelier, more coherent, less drunk.

SITKOT is quiet.

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 23:01:00 +0000

Other local rockblogs are not. Read them all here:

http://pittsburghmusicblog.blogspot.com/

Thanks.

JR's Best Albums in the First Half of 2010

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:54:00 +0000

Well - it's been awhile since I last posted due to a number of things keeping me busy, but I wanted to share a list of my favorite albums that arrived in the first half of 2010. Last year, there was a single standout album that stuck for me immediately and was never superseded at any point after it came out. In fact, if it came out this year, it would also be the best album in the first half of 2010. And that album would be............Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors. But I digress. This post is about new music, not year-old music that still blows my mind over a year later. Here is my top 10 in order from best to 10th best:

1. Teen Dream by Beach House

What an amazing album by Beach House. I can honestly say that I like every single track. Definitely my favorite so far this year, and very cool DVD that accompanies the vinyl copy of this album containing a different music video for each song. I also *saw* them in concert earlier this year and they sounded awesome live. I use the term "saw" loosely since the concert was at Diesel and the stage is only viewable for approximately 25 people after they renovated the place to make it awful for concert viewing. I was not one of the 25.

2. Brothers by The Black Keys

But for Teen Dream, this would be my favorite album by a long shot. There is a significant gap between my first and second choices and the remaining eight. I feel like this is potentially the Keys' masterpiece. Everything is really working for them on this album and I love the fact that they stuffed the album with 15 tracks, none of which are filler in my opinion even though some "professional" critics have said that the album is too long. Sometimes people feel like they need to say something negative for credibility purposes, but I have nothing negative to say here. The riffs are sweet and the use of falsetto on several of the tracks adds a new dimension to the Keys sound that works really well. A five star effort in every respect. Great music videos too, especially the one for "Tighten Up".

3. Expo '86 by Wolf Parade

A great effort by Wolf Parade after At Mount Zoomer, which was a bit of a letdown.

4. Forgiveness Rock Record by Broken Social Scene

I've been coming back to this album a lot lately. It's definitely an improvement over their last self-titled album and over Brendan Canning's lead effort. I would still rank it a notch below Kevin Drew's album and it's not nearly as good as You Forgot It in People, but not much is from the last 10 years!

5. Treats by Sleigh Bells

6. Astro Coast by Surfer Blood

7. Gorilla Manor by Local Natives

8. Fang Island by Fang Island

Just saw Fang Island with The Flaming Lips and they were a great opening act. Awesome energy and incredible guitar work. Anytime you have three dudes dueling on the guitar and it doesn't come across as cheesy, you're doing something right. Very nice debut album. "Life Coach" is one of my favorite tracks of the year, even if it sounds a little like "You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates (as my fellow blogger Roberto so astutely pointed out before the show - Fang Island, not Hall & Oates).

9. Heartland by Owen Pallett

10. King of the Beach by Wavves

I also have one honorable mention that is growing on me and might be a lot higher on my end of year list: Mines by Menomena. Also, it hurt me not to put This is Happening by LCD Soundsystem on the list, but it really lost some steam for me as of late. I like three tracks a lot, but the rest of the album just doesn't do it for me.

Rock on!

Has SITKOT gone dark?

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 03:50:00 +0000

We shall see.

An open plea to Diesel

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:54:00 +0000

Dear Diesel,

Beach House was pretty good last night. They sounded really good, actually. Problem is, I couldn't see a thing for most of the show.

I skipped the opener, so the place was already packed when I arrived. The floor was so crowded there was really nowhere good to stand without blocking someone else. My own fault, I admit, for arriving late. So I tried upstairs, which I'm sure you're aware suffers from even worse visibility problems than it previously did, thanks to the recent renovations (which I know the clubbers--who surely account for a bigger portion of your revenues--love, so I can't fault you that).

I was able to get into a corner by the door for a little while where I could sort of see the drummer from behind, but then someone told me I couldn't stand there. I got a beer and found a spot on the back wall and gave up on trying to see anything. I listened to the music, and I enjoyed it.

All of this is just precursor; I knew what I was getting into when I bought a ticket to a Diesel show. You guys have a great soundsystem, terrible visibility issues, and Joker's been booking some solid acts there lately. But let's get to the point, to the puzzle: I counted six TVs that weren't turned on and were easily visible to the 30% or so of the crowd who could not see the stage.

So, why not set up a closed circuit, aim a fixed camera on the stage, and display concerts on those fancy hi-def screens in the future, a la Thunderbird?

Very truly yours,
Roberto

My Current Favorite Songs As I Journey South

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:26:00 +0000

As I am preparing for a short vacation at the end of this week, I thought that I would pass along my list of current favorite tracks for all inclined to follow along with my musical tastes:

Pa Pa Power by Dead Man's Bones - Can't get this song out of my head. It is so catchy it should come with a warning.

Chase Scene by Broken Social Scene - Awesome track for driving fast. I feel like I'm in a Steve McQueen movie whenever I listen to it.

Life Coach by Fang Island - Another song that is amazingly catchy and is constantly on my rotation.

Dance Yourself Clean by LCD Soundsystem - Great track by Mr. Murphy. No one builds a better electro-track than this guy. The song just grows and grows until it erupts in all of its electronic splendor.

Tell 'Em by Sleigh Bells - This track explodes from my speakers every time I hear it. Heavy fuzz at its absolute finest.

Tighten Up by The Black Keys - When they break it down at the 2:35 mark, I just can't help but smile at the genius of it all. I wish that I could write gritty blues licks like these two guys.

Bonus track from the archives - Let It Loose by The Rolling Stones - very underrated song from Exile on Main Street. Very bluesy and soulful. Great vocals by Mick on this one and one of my all time favorite Stones songs.

Enjoy!

SITKOT goes on holiday

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Fri, 28 May 2010 18:42:00 +0000

In case you haven't noticed, we've taken a bit of a siesta. Expect it to last through mid-June or so as we all do a little traveling. Someone may surprise me and sneak a post in here toward the end of Arts Fest, but I doubt it.

Set List: Josh Ritter at Diesel, May 18, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Fri, 21 May 2010 19:30:00 +0000

Let me know if you think I missed any...

Full band:
1. Change of Time
2. Southern Pacifica
3. Rumors
4. Folk Bloodbath
5. Right Moves
6. Good Man
7. Rattling Locks
8. The Curse
9. Lark
10. Wolves

Solo:
11. Monster Ballads
12. The River (Springsteen)
13. In the Dark [without mic]
14. Kathleen [as band rejoins]

Full band:
15. Girl in the War
[Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabelle Lee" read by Ritter's father]
16. Another New World
17. Harrisburg --> Wicked Game --> Harrisburg
18. Lantern
19. To the Dogs or Whoever

Encore:
20. Moon River
21. Snow is Gone
22. Wait for Love [dedicated to "Dan", who repeatedly requested "Lillian, Egypt" during the show]

Thanks to YouTube user ejg5068 for the posted video and a few others.

A word about My Morning Jacket and the birth of a blog (this one, actually)

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:58:00 +0000

As a phrase, title, or whatever else, "songs in the key of touché" has little meaning in the context of what this blog has turned out to be. But there was a time when My Morning Jacket released Evil Urges. The time was 2008. I loved it, Henry hated it. We argued, nobody won, and we talked about starting a blog where we fought over various albums/songs/concerts that we disagreed on. That blog never came to be, but the proposed title of "Songs in the Key of Touché" stuck with me, so when I finally got around to starting a blog on a spark of inspiration from AC/DC and a six-pack or so of warm Labatt Blue Light, I went with it.

Anyway, Henry tells me My Morning Jacket is awesome live, and I can't wait to find out on August 29 27 when they roll into the Station Square Amphiteatre, which I think has a new name that I don't plan to call it by.

Download/Stream:My Morning Jacket - "It Makes No Difference" (The Band cover)

Bonus Download - In honor of tonight's show, here's Josh Ritter a little over a year ago at Diesel playing what has turned out to be one of the best songs on his new record:

Josh Ritter - "The Curse" (live in Pittsburgh, 3-29-09)

SITKOT's current favorites

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:30:00 +0000

El Loco Mooso:
Hot Chip - One Life Stand
Guster - Lost and Gone Forever
Mastodon - Crack the Skye

Henry:
Josh Ritter - So Runs The World Away
Son Volt - American Central Dust
Madvillian - Madvillainy

JR:
Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
Sleigh Bells - Treats
The National - High Violet

Roberto:
The National - High Violet
Josh Ritter - So Runs the Worlds Away
Broken Bells - Broken Bells

Honorable mention:
Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts

Download/Stream:
The National - "Bloodbuzz Ohio"
Josh Ritter - "Change of Time"
Sleigh Bells - "Tell 'Em"

Some Monday FYIs

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Mon, 10 May 2010 14:32:00 +0000

1a. According to one of our archrival local rockblogs, Pittsburgh Music Report, Interpol will be coming to Mr. Small's on June 23. Hot stuff.

1b. Carlos D. has left Interpol. Not too worried.

1c. Download "Lights," the lead single off Interpol's forthcoming LP at their site.

2a. The National's new album is awesome, and is now streaming in full on NPR and Grooveshark. Least satisfying lyric: "I was afraid I'd eat your brains because I'm evil." Buy it tomorrow.

2b. As of now, Pittsburgh is not among The National's stops on their upcoming tour. Come on.

Cymbals Eat Guitars Devour Ear Drums

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Wed, 05 May 2010 18:26:00 +0000

When I heard that Cymbals Eat Guitars was making a stop in Pittsburgh, I was pretty pumped. For anyone who isn't familiar with the band, they put out a self-released album last year that received heaps of praise from several indie band websites as well as from yours truly who listed their debut album, Why There Are Mountains as the 11th best album of the year. Their sound is very unique with wailing vocals and some serious noise-shred guitar work. I was curious as to how they were going to pull this sound off in a live setting - I was not disappointed.

They started out playing the first song from Why There Are Mountains called "...And the Hazy Sea", which also happens to be my favorite song of theirs. Joe D'Agostino, the lead singer and guitarist offered some ear plugs to everyone before they began and I am still wishing today that I had used them. The sound coming from their set-up was monumentally loud, but at the same time controlled. On many of the songs, Joe's vocals range from soft to screaming, which is a little reminiscent of Pixies or Nirvana and the whole soft/loud style, but the songs themselves are instrumentally very different. One thing that struck me during the show was just how much Joe used an Ibanez Tube Screamer pedal. I even mentioned to him after the show how liberal his use of the pedal was and he said that he always has three of them just in case they break because they are so important to the band's sound.

Overall, the band played basically every song from Why There Are Mountains and a few new tracks. Their stage presence and energy was incredible and nothing I describe in this review could possibly do the show justice. If you ever have the opportunity to see them in person do yourself a favor and see them, but don't forget the ear plugs.

One additional note: the first opening act, Big Hurry, is a local Pittsburgh band with an awesome sound. I talked to the band a little bit before the show at Sammy's and they are also really nice people. Check them out if you get the chance. I would compare Kelly's vocals to a cross between Joanna Newsom and Feist. And the guitar work was great too. Definitely a fine addition to the Pittsburgh music scene.

An aside re: August 1st

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Wed, 05 May 2010 17:29:00 +0000

So I realize that concert promoters don't consult with indie fans, or each other--or local parks officials for that matter--when planning shows. But in the future, maybe they could.

Anyway, my math is rusty, but if I had to guess:

(Built to Spill @ Mr. Small's) < (Yo La Tengo @ Hartwood Acres)?

Yo La Tengo coming to Hartwood Acres

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Tue, 04 May 2010 20:50:00 +0000

What else is there to say? I guess that there are a few other concerts to look for at the county parks this summer too:

06.04: Pittsburgh Opera, South Park, 7:30 p.m.

07.02: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, South Park, Time TBA

07.18: Rosanne Cash, Hartwood Acres, 7:30 p.m.

07.23-25: 16th Annual Blues Festival, Hartwood Acres

07.30: Incendio, South Park, 7:30 p.m.

08.01: Yo La Tengo, Hartwood Acres, 7:30 p.m.
08.06: Livingston Taylor, South Park, 7:30 p.m.
08.13: Marcia Ball Band, South Park, 7:30 p.m.

08.22: Joe Sample Trio, Hartwood Acres, 7:30 p.m.

09.05: Rusted Root, Hartwood Acres, 7:30 p.m.

Download/Stream:

Yo La Tengo - "You Can Have It All"

A brief word on The Hills season premiere

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:20:00 +0000

I'm in your corner, Kristen.

We're still here.

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:32:00 +0000

But, then, so are the other blogs, and they're doing a better job of blogging lately. So I hand it to them, and I hand you over to them this week. (Although I do want to mention that the 28 North track posted at Burgh Sounds is pretty sweet indeed.)

speed of the pittsburgh sound
The Ceiling Stares and the Spirit of Analog
"The Ceiling Stares, Pittsburgh’s newest underground rock heroes, embrace the lo-fi movement in the correct manner."

Pittsburgh Music Report
David Bazan - House Show - Pittsburgh - 5/29/10
"David Bazan (Pedro the Lion fame) will be performing a house show in Pittsburgh on 5/29."

Burgh Sounds
28 North bleed rock and hope to bleed more
“The band 28 North is so close to huge breakout success, that listening to their new self-tiled record brings — along with the pleasure of hearing a dozen tracks of kinetic rock and roll — a touch of frustration as well."

Old Mon Music
Jammin' From Carnegie to Colorado
"Vince Herman grew up in Carnegie, the youngest of seven children in a music loving family."

The Watson Twins @ and on YEP Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Henry Kleber) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:00:00 +0000

I was lucky enough to follow up Sunday night's Wilco show with Monday's midday in-studio concert by the Watson Twins. The Louisville-rooted, LA-based duo was due to play YEP before their February show but Snowmaggedon hindered their plans. Yesterday they graciously stopped through on their way home to LA, having concluded their recent tour at the Mountain Stage in WV last night.

Chandra and Leigh (Watson) brought a wirey-haired keyboardist (Kip?) and filled the studio with their beautiful harmonies, light acoustic guitar and axillary percussion. Between thoughtful anecdotes and recording stories their set list was:

1. Tell Me Why 2. Calling Out 3. Devil in You 4. Southern Manners

All four songs were well-performed, but "Southern Manners" (the title track to their 2006 debut album) was downright stirring. Honestly, I didn't know their catalog outside of 2006's Jenny Lewis collaboration "Rabbit Fur Coat." Big mistake on my part. These ladies are supremely talented.

A captivating and symbiotic presence, they have been harmonizing since they were 8-years-old. In fact, they are so in-synch that their mother's (pre-ultrasound) obstetrician couldn't discern two separate heartbeats until less than two months before their birth. As Leigh said yesterday, "Our dad is 6'8" so our parents thought we were just a really big baby."

They wear their lo-fi-ness as a badge of pride; typically opting for 8 or 16 track analog. Surprisingly, they write their music separately. On March's recent release "Talking to You, Talking to Me," they each wrote 6 of the 12 tracks, taking their inspiration from time holed up in their producer's remote cabin in the high-Sierra Mountains. This time around, the song's author took lead vocals then together, they recorded duet harmonies for backing vocals.

Hot off of today's studio set I'm excited to delve into their albums and will be looking forward to their return to the 'Burgh, which Chandra thinks will be late-Summer or early-Fall.

Stay tuned. In the meantime, click here for a free MP3 of "U N Me" off of their new album.

Another Wilco Review!?

noreply@blogger.com (Henry Kleber) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:52:00 +0000

Well, not really - Roberto and JR nailed down the details pretty well and I'm not typically one for remembering that "that one note on that one song..." But holy crappamolie that was a killer concert - so here are my quick hits:

1) Glenn Kotche is a heckofa drummer. My two blogging chronies are axe-men so their Nels Cline fawning isn't surprising, or unmerited. But as a drummer with lofted seats, my aerial view afforded me perfect fixation on Glenn's movements for the first third of the show. Those interested can check out his Wilco kit here. His movement between such a tightly wound mess of equipment is at once deftly economical and perfectly spot-on.
1b) Note to our Aussie readers: Nels and Glenn will be playing an "improv jazz" duet at the Melbourne Jazz Fest on May 7. Those of you down-under should not miss it and let us know if you go, JR is thinking about making the trip.

2) I haven't been to a show with so much pre-concert, expectant energy in a while. You really got the sense you were a part of something special amidst a who's who of Pittsburgh music lovers. The grandeur of the venue certainly played a part in the excitement - a tremendous hall save for the 80 or so obstructed view seats that Roberto mentioned and the thick, stinky air.

3) I didn't care much for the acoustic set. It was a nice way to break up a marathon show, but as such it felt like more of a sideshow than an exposition. I am, however, always a fan of kitschy floorlamps for creating acoustic set intimacy. Nice fringed lampshades, fellas.

4) Damn that's a small stage! I first noticed how small it was back when Feist and her band were crowded in there last year. But with Wilco's packed laboratory of amplification and instrumentation, Nels' spastic movements were held in check. Whether or not the stage benefits the performance, it's always refreshing to see big bands who play big stages in big venues reign it in a little.

5) The PG made a big deal about Wilco joining a "supposed 2:45 minute club" - typically Springsteen, Phish, Dead territory. An interview I read quoted Tweedy saying that the goal of this tour is to "leave (the fans) wanting less" and play as long as they're allowed. By any account, I'm sure no one left feeling like they didn't get their money's worth.

I certainly couldn't have asked for more and will be eagerly anticipating my next "Evening (into early morning) with Wilco".

Another Wilco Review

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:53:00 +0000

Apologies to non-Wilco fans for today's barrage. Anyway...

For some perspective on where I'm coming from, this was my 7th (maybe 8th?) time seeing these guys. The latest album and A.M. are my least favorite Wilco records. I would say I was pretty diehard for a good while between Summerteeth and Sky Blue Sky. And I'm still still a big fan.

As concerts go, this one was great. As Wilco concerts go, it was slightly above average. My #1 Wilco show would have been at Massey Hall in Toronto. Part of it was the setting, part of it was the setlist, and part of it was certainly seeing Nels Cline live for the first time. Jimmy's review below rings true with me. Cline's energy, musical proficiency, and bizarrely captivating body movements add so much to Wilco's live presence that he can really save a show, as I think he did at the Palumbo the last time they came though town. So imagine my disappointment when I found my seat last night and couldn't even see him at stage-right without standing and leaning way forward. (For those, like me, who may have thought there is not a bad seat in Carnegie Music Hall: there are about 40 of them, actually, in the back corners of the second balcony). I thought I would just suck it up and sink into the music.

My seat assignment surely took a bit away from my enjoyment of the first set. But, even accounting for that, I felt like the band took a little while to warm up. "Shot in the Arm" was where I really started feeling things, and I think by "California Stars" they were in full swing. When "Impossible Germany" rolled around and those sweet-ass guitar lines began to weave themselves together, it was time to move. Luckily, there were a surprising number of empty seats in the first balcony, and the staff didn’t seem to care at all when we snagged some prime seats not too far off-center.

I would have expected the acoustic set to be a highlight. As "Poor Places" built into an awesome symphony of noise, some roadies carried out a smaller drum kit, some keyboards and a selection of acoustic guitars. The noise subsided and the band assumed their new positions on the stage within the stage. "Spiders" was an interesting choice for the first song of this set. Probably a better idea in theory than in practice, unfortunately. While I don’t fault them for trying to switch things up on what usually turns into an epic electronic jam, it left me wanting more. Luckily they followed with a highlight of the show for me, "More Like the Moon." A very mellow, very underrated Wilco tune in my opinion. This was the first time I'd heard it live, and it did not disappoint. The rest of the acoustic set was fine, but nothing game-changing. It was definitely a nice touch and a cool opportunity to see Wilco tone things down a bit, but I was glad when, during "Airline to Heaven," the roadies began to break down the acoustic stage.

The third set just killed. "Via Chicago" was on par with the best versions I've heard, and from "Jesus" through "Monday" the whole band was on fire. One thing I always appreciate about Wilco is their ability to blend the old and new songs into a set and make them all fit harmoniously. I thought this was really on display in the third set, especially with a great "Candyfloss" in the middle. I can’t say I've ever found myself pulling Summerteeth out just to hear that tune, but it was right on time last night. And I love that it led into "Hate it Here" and "Walken," both of which completely rocked, and both of which were standouts of the night for me.

Overall, I wouldn't rank this as one of the best Wilco shows I've seen, although certainly better than the 2007 Palumbo show. Maybe somewhere in the middle for me. That said, it's Wilco. This is hands-down one of the best live bands playing today, and I have yet to walk out of a show disappointed.

An Evening With Wilco - A Rookie's Review

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:54:00 +0000

So as it happens, most of the SITKOT crew made it to the Wilco show last night at Carnegie Music Hall, and what a show it was. I must confess that although I have listened to Wilco for years - I started getting into them when Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was released - this was the first time that I've seen them perform live. I can honestly say that it was one of the best shows that I've ever seen. Because my other SITKOT comrades are going to be better with the details, having been to a show or seven, I'm going to keep my review brief and just give a few highlights.

1) Nels Cline - Guitar God. Yes, I just did. Perhaps I am biased because I am still fresh off the show last night, but I never expected Nels Cline to have some of the most insane chops that I've ever witnessed. On many of the songs from Wilco (The Album) and Sky Blue Sky he absolutely shredded the guitar, but in an always appropriate, never cheesy way. Even on the more country-tinged songs, his country soloing stayed within the genre and was smokin'. Unbelievable.

2) The Length of the Set - It was also amazing how long the set ran. I had heard that Wilco puts on some long shows, but this was incredible. Three plus hours of solid music. Their albums can't do their live show justice. During the show, I couldn't help but think that Wilco is like a modern day version of the band Television. Great soloing with purpose and catchy riffs flourishing throughout almost every single song. My highlights were "A Shot in the Arm", "Walken" (which was not even one of my favorites on Sky Blue Sky), "Impossible Germany", "Company in My Back" and "Theologians". In particular, the soloing by Nels in "A Shot in the Arm" was nothing short of magnificent.

Overall, the best show of the year so far and one that will be hard to top by any other band coming to the 'Burgh. When I think about the expansiveness of Wilco's catalogue and the fluidity of their performance last night, I can safely say that they are one of the great bands still creating relevant music that should have generational staying power.

Ok - two small gripes about the venue. First, anyone who has been to a performance at Carnegie Music Hall knows that it tends to get stuffy, and that is usually during a 1.5 hour show. When we were approaching hour three I felt like I was standing in a pressure cooker. I was thinking to myself, "Thank God this is a Wilco show and not a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert because more than one person might have passed out from the stench." And I'm not talking about the song "That Smell".

Second, I was sitting on the first level and the doors leading into the atrium were open during the acoustic set and there were people talking very loudly, to the point where Jeff Tweedy even commented that he could hear the talking and that he was dedicating the next song to the working people in the audience who paid $50 to see a Wilco performance and not talk in the lobby - or something like that. I know that it was hot and stuffy, but jeez, show a little more respect for a world-class band closing out their tour in our fine city.

Setlist: Wilco at Carnegie Music Hall - April 11, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:04:00 +0000

As they've been doing during this "An Evening With Wilco" series of shows (the last of which was last night's), Wilco played sort of three sets in one set. No breaks except for a very brief one before the encore. I think they played from roughly 8:10 to 11:10. 37 songs in three hours. Not bad.

Three of us from the blog were there, so a review or recap may follow, depending on motivational levels.

Mostly Electric:
Wilco (the Song)
Bull Black Nova
You are My Face
I am Trying to Break Your Heart
One Wing
Shot in the Arm
On and On
Company in My Back
Deeper Down
Handshake Drugs
California Stars
Impossible Germany
I’ll Fight
Poor Places (feedback into stage change)

Mostly Acoustic:
Spiders
More Like the Moon
Someday Some Morning Sometime
Not for the Season
When You Wake Up Feeling Old
Don’t Forget the Flowers
War on War
Passenger Side
Airline to Heaven (during stage change)

Mostly Electric:
Via Chicago
Box Full of Letters
You Never Know
Jesus, Etc.
Theologians
Heavy Metal Drummer
Candyfloss
Hate it Here
Walken
I’m the Man Who Loves You
Monday
Thank You Friends

Encore:
Casino Queen
Outtasite (Outta Mind)

The Wolf Is Loose

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 15:31:00 +0000

The first time I heard of Mastodon I was sitting in my apartment in Salt Lake City, Utah on a ratty pull out couch I had bought at a goodwill store for $10 reading Life Sucks Die magazine. A metal-head all my life, I was, at that moment, coming to grips with the fact that Reinventing the Steel was probably going to be Pantera’s last album. To fill the void, I had slowly started to wade into underground hip hop- Cannibal Ox’s The Cold Vein is a timeless classic of that era btdubbs. I began to wonder whether my metal days were winding down (these were life’s big questions to me at that point).

LSD typically reviewed hip hop acts but occasionally tossed in some random fare. I remember the author writing about how “chuffed” he was by the Viking-like ferocity of Mastodon’s Lifesblood EP. A glimmer of hope stirred in my iron-maiden mind. My interest piqued, I ran around the corner and ordered the EP from a local record shop. I was hooked from first listen.

The opening track of Lifesblood, Shadows that Move, opens with a sample from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest- one of my favorite movies and one of my favorite lines in that movie. Patient Harding starts ranting: I'm not just talking about my wife, I'm talking about my LIFE, I can't seem to get that through to you. I'm not just talking about one person, I'm talking about everybody. I'm talking about form. I'm talking about content. I'm talking about interrelationships. I'm talking about God, the devil, Hell, Heaven. Do you understand... FINALLY? And then right at FINALLY Mastodon hits you with this mountain of sound like a whirling dervish all fists and elbows. A chill ran up my spine- I knew right then that my metal days were far from over. I must have listened to Lifesblood twenty times that first day. It was raw and angry yet purposeful; this was a cerebral band. The problem with a lot of metal acts, whatever the genre, is that their aggression is unfocused. This leads to a smattering of great riffs and vocals but with an ultimately empty feel. No one could ever accuse Mastodon of being devoid of feel.

After an anxious wait I was blown away by Mastodon’s full-length follow-up album- Remission. In fact I have a t-shirt from the Remission tour with an exploding pink horse on it that remains my single favorite article of clothing despite all the shit I get when I wear it. Though Remission is considered by most to be Mastodon’s only non-concept album it is nonetheless a work of art. The further cohesion of the band can clearly be heard in Remission’s transformed sound. Lost was some of the primal grit of Lifesblood. But this was more than made up for by the increased clarity of the album. More importantly is the focus that Mastodon placed on wistful guitar solos- the end of Ol’e Nessie being a prime example. It is this wistful and melancholic thread, woven throughout Mastodon’s albums that has hooked me as a fan for life.

Over time, Mastodon’s jams have morphed from downcast to something reminiscent of what I think deep space travel would feel like. In fact, when asked about how Mastodon’s most recent album, Crack the Skye came about bassist Troy Sanders said “we kinda strapped on our aeroshells and departed from Earth for a while, and then captained to the ethereal element of the universe and kind of slept on the roof of the world for a while to get a perspective on this record.” Admittedly that line gives me a tinge of lame chills for its new agey/pseudo-philosophicalness BUT the music saves the day. Crack the Skye is fraught with guitar-laden departures that can only be described as extra-terrestrial.

I could go on ad nauseam about Mastodon’s subsequent epics Leviathan, Blood Mountain and Crack the Skye (and hope to do so in a future post) but this particular diatribe is starting to feel tome-like. Real quick though, these three albums began Mastodon’s elemental ‘concept album’ phase. Leviathan, the water album, is based on Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, with song titles like “I am Ahab,” “Seabeast,” (I defy you to keep from nodding your head to this) and “Iron Tusk.” Blood Mountain, representing the Earth element, is about a man searching for the crystal skull in order to place it on top of Blood Mountain so that his reptilian brain can be removed allowing him to achieve the next step in human evolution. And finally, if you thought it couldn’t get any more bizarre, there is Mastodon’s most recent album Crack the Skye. In a review on Pitchfork.com Tom Breihan declared that with CTS, Mastodon’s concepts are officially “out of control.” Breihan best summarized the album plot as “a record about a kid who experiments with astral travel and then goes through a wormhole and meets Rasputin and Rasputin enters his body to escape assassination, or something.” Yeah.

The bottom line is that Mastodon IS COMING TO TOWN! They will be playing the Palace Theatre in Greensburg on April 26, 2010 with Baroness (another amazing group from Georgia), Between the Buried and Me and Valient Thorr. Don’t Sleep on this Giant of a show.

Concert Review: Girls and Dum Dum Girls at Mr. Small's

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:49:00 +0000

JR: The show was decent. First, Dum Dum Girls: their set was tight from start to finish. They opened with their cover of The Rolling Stones' "Play With Fire", which they do very well. The closer was "Jail La La", as I would have expected given that is their first single off the new album. Musically speaking, the songs are mostly three-chord mashers with some bells and whistles thrown in for good measure, but vocally, I thought they were pretty awesome. The lead singer has a great voice and the harmonies worked very well, in my opinion.

Roberto: Definitely. I hadn’t been impressed with what I’d heard of Dum Dum Girls before the show, but they were very good live. The vocals in particular were really tight and sounded great, reminiscent of some early-70s gospel-rock harmonies. They have like no stage presence, but I didn't find myself thinking, "These chics have, like, no stage presence." In fact, it didn't detract from the music at all in my opinion. It actually worked with their aesthetic. Really enjoyable opener.

JR: The lead signer was also wearing some pretty awesome tights.

Roberto: Sweet tights FTW.

Girls started off great. I can't remember what they opened the set with for the life of me, but I do remember thinking it was a great starter. For the better part of the set the sound was excellent and the song selection was great. I think "Laura" was the third or fourth song in, and that seemed to be the big crowd-pleaser of the night. Not a lot of stage presence with these guys either, but that didn't seem to to hold them back. They're not the kind of band you would ever describe as a great live band, though generally the songs equaled the album versions when played live.

JR: Amazingly, the mix was quite good for most of the night, especially during the Dum Dum Girls' set. You could actually make out the vocals most of the time - not like the Deerhunter/No Age/ Dan Deacon show that we attended last summer at Mr. Small's, which was a sound engineering nightmare. As for Girls, I agree the first two-thirds of the set was great. Until around “Hellhole Ratrace”

Roberto: That really was where the show went wrong. First off, I thought it was a horrendous rendition. The drumming wasn't off beat; just off. It was almost as if the drummer had some Phil Collins pumping into a personal set of headphones right on rhythm. I found it distracting. I also thought some guitar change-ups in the song didn't work. I'm all for reinventing your own tunes, but this particular version didn't wow.

JR: I actually thought "Hellhole Ratrace" started off great, but then it turned into a wall of distortion, which would have been fine had it lasted 30 seconds - it probably lasted about a solid three minutes.

Roberto: Yeah, the feedback. Girls is not Sonic Youth, and the lesson should be learned early by any indie band that noise for the sake of noise will fail almost every time. When they finally let the feedback lead into "Morning Light" I was ready to let it slide and rock out a bit. But it didn’t let up, and there was just no control of the distortion. Some high frequency drone persisted that had a solid third of the crowd cringing and/or plugging their ears. Some were eyeballing the soundboard; I blame this one squarely on the band.

JR: That is where any other band probably would have called it a night and closed it out with the big grandiose distorted finish. But no. Then they played one more song and did a three song encore that was poor.

Roberto: True, I might have let the noise thing slide if they'd closed the set on that loud note. I can appreciate a climax. But the last song of the main set was totally forgettable (literally, as it turns out). The encore was respectable in length but pretty weak otherwise.

JR: They didn't save any of the their best tracks for the encore, so it was very anticlimactic. They also lost whatever magic they had with the sound board, because the encore sounded horrible from an acoustics perspective. And throughout the encore the drummer especially seemed like he was playing with a different band -- it just wasn't working, period.

Roberto: My favorite Girls tune actually popped up in the encore: "Lauren Marie." Unfortunately it was totally lackluster and the vocals were really drowned out. "Big Bad Mean Motherf*cker" was only slightly better. All in all, I left a bit disappointed, which is too bad because it really was a good show for the most part.

JR: I would give the show as a whole a 6 out of 10, and that figure is aided significantly by the Dum Dum Girls' performance, which was very good. Ultimately, no one really wants a 6. Your friends probably won't make fun of you for being with a 6, but you will never be totally satisfied, always wondering if things could have been better. That's how I felt about this show. It was good enough not to be embarrassing, but the lows outweighed the highs, and I left feeling a bit underwhelmed.

Roberto: Agree, the lows just outweighed the highs in the end. I’m on board with that 6 out of 10. Or, 35 out of 57 varieties on the SITKOT scale.

SITKOT appreciates jazz this month

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:00:00 +0000

We don't spotlight enough jazz here on the site, but April is a tough month to ignore on that front. For starters, it's evidently National Jazz Appreciation Month. Not sure what that means exactly, except that there is a hell of a lot of good jazz in town over the next few weeks.

The Mellon jazz series has a lot going on all spring, the full schedule for which is here. Most, but not quite all, are at the Cabaret or the Backstage Bar, both over in the Theatre District, both very nice places for a concert if you haven't been there. A few shows I want to call out: Paquito D'Rivera's Funk Tango Quintet at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild; Sean Jones & Dwayne Dolphin at the Cabaret; and Pittsburgh Native Jeff Tain Watts also at the Cabaret.

Another worth mentioning, with whom I actually wasn't familiar until this week, is Ahmad Jamal. He's being billed as the "headliner" of the month, so there must be something to that, yes? He'll be at the Byham on the 9th. Check him out below.

Before any of that, however, George Winston passes tomorrow night through that old library on the hill over in Munhall. Though probably best known for his soothing soft jazz melodies, there's more to his catalog. Not your standard jazzman, Winston was somewhat discovered by experimental folk guitarist John Fahey, and his music still carries that folk origin while blending in sounds of rock, blues and R&B.

Ahmad Jamal - "Arabesque"

Corey Harris in Oakland on Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Roberto Cofresi) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:16:00 +0000

For months, since Calliope announced it was bringing Corey Harris in as part of its concert series this year, I've been racking my brain trying to remember how I first heard Harris. I've been a fan since hearing some track from Greens from the Garden and buying it almost immediately. I know it was the summer of 2000. But was it the driving beat of "Basehead"? His delta take on Woody Guthrie's "Teabag Blues"? On college radio? In a record store? What's the difference; I'm psyched for the show either way.

I've seen Harris twice now with his electric band--great stuff, but I've always been drawn most to his acoustic work, so this will be a welcome first for me. With harmonica master Phil Wiggins at his side, I expect tomorrow's show to be a highlight of my year.

Blue Notes wrote a little about what to expect, which you can read here.