Stay Down Champion Stay Down
AV Club staff weigh in on their favorites of the year.
Jason Reece proudly displaying the Longhorn
I have a lot of anticipated releases for this year but I'm further encouraged when the first sounds from a new album exceed my expectations. Here are a few:
Trail of Dead's new vinyl EP, Festival Thyme, will be released tomorrow. I think anyone who has been a fan of this band previously should take note because this song absolutely kills. If this song is any indication, I think I'm really going to enjoy the post-Interscope period.
Listen to "Bells of Creation" on their MySpace page.
The odd start time (listed at 9:30) allowed me just enough time before and after the show to watch my Sox. On any other night, I'd much prefer a headlining and longer set but this was perfect. When I bought these tickets I had every intention of seeing Islands (whom I've never seen) but it wasn't meant to be. TOD's high energy and intense set did not disappoint although I admit, I hold them is such high regard that it would take a complete disaster for me to offer any other opinion. The only downside, as was the case at Luna Lounge, was not hearing "How Near, How Far." I don't know who I need to pay to hear that song live. Also, a congratulations goes out to the bouncer/ID checker at Highline for the biggest asshole of the day award.
Setlist:
"Ode to Isis"
"Gargoyle Waiting"
"Naked Sun"
"Stand in Silence"
"Relative Ways"
"Caterwaul"
"Will You Smile Again for Me"
"Clair de Lune"
"Totally Natural"
My first trip out to the relatively new Luna Lounge. I'm assuming they are not affiliated with any of the big booking agencies in NYC (Bowery Presents, Live Nation, etc.) because their calendar of bands contains relatively obscure names (to me, at least). It's a shame, really, because the venue is outstanding; Trail of Dead chose wisely (sans booking agency) when scheduling a tune-up show before their European tour - and first with the new drummer.
Shock Cinema took way too long to take the stage and when they finally did, what I witnessed was a blatant Yeah Yeah Yeahs rip-off. A surprisingly sober, Trail of Dead came on at 11:30 and played a 75 minute set. I'm biased of course but I thought it was an awesome show, and despite the glaring omission of "How Near, How Far," (seriously, how can they not play this song?) it was a better performance than their previous Irving Plaza show. Fans know not to expect great vocals but the band was incredibly tight and by their standards, actually pretty mellow. Ah...old age. The new drummer was solid. He handed over the main kit to Jason Reece for a couple songs and the band still used two drum kits for several others. Below is my attempt at the set list, although I think I'm missing a couple songs. In no particular order:
"Ode to Isis"
"Fake Fake Eyes"
"All White" (?)
"Stand in Silence"
"Naked Sun" (first play)
"Rest Will Follow"
"Relative Ways"
"Let it Dive"
"It Was There That I Saw You"
"Heart in the Hand of Matter" (?)
"Caterwaul"
"Will You Smile Again"
*************
"Clair De Lune"
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Lydia Lunch are working on an EP to be released this fall. The EP, titled Omar Rodriguez Lopez & Lydia Lunch, is a single, extended track and will be available on vinyl and CD.
The Von Bondies (remember them?) are releasing a new album next year entitled Love, Hate and Then There's You. I still listen to Pawn Shoppe Heart every now and again.
Trail of Dead have found a new drummer. Their first show with the new line-up is the now-sold-out show on Thursday at Brooklyn's Luna Lounge. I'll be there.
From PJ.com: Pearl Jam announces the release of Immagine Nel Telaio "Picture in a Frame", a live concert film chronicling the band's performances and behind-the-scenes footage from the five Italian concerts that took place as part of the band's 2006 European tour. A limited edition commemorative T-shirt will be available for a special price when purchased with Immagine Nel Telaio here during a special pre-sale beginning August 22.
It feels like it's been ages since I've been to a show. Actually, this is probably the longest stretch since I moved to NYC two years ago. The last show I caught was Dinosaur Jr and now that my ears have finally healed, I have a few dates with some of my favorite majors.
Tonight is The White Stripes at the Garden. Much talk about how this one will play out. I'm expecting big things but more on that tomorrow.
Last Thursday, I saw an unexpected announcement on BV that Trail of Dead will be playing a $5 show in Brooklyn next Thursday night. Under normal circumstances, I would think twice about making this trek (it's a long one) but there was absolutely no hesitation for this one. I may be one of the few people who still feels this way about TOD. Tickets are still available. For 5 bucks, how can it not be worth it?
I'll follow that up on Monday, 8/6 with Muse at MSG. I have very little interest in seeing Cold War Kids for this one but needless to say, the anticipation is high for a Muse blowout in the Garden.
To some (perhaps fewer by the day), any Trail of Dead news is good news: Jason Reece did an interview with UK's Gigwise. Read the story here. It's not exactly groundbreaking but I'll take it. As mentioned to Pitchfork last month, the band has been in search of some altnernative means to making cash. Witness the following Samsung spot:
"As was the case with its predecessor, the aesthetic faux-pas on So Divided can be cringe-inducing. It's not pretty. But there's a much bigger problem at hand: Trail of Dead don't even sound like a rock band any more. So Divided is even more elaborately orchestrated and structured than Source Tags and Codes, but its complexity seems inorganic and clumsy, revealing the weakness of the source material rather than elevating and enhancing it. There's certainly nothing wrong with forgoing traditional rock instrumentation in favor of lavish arrangements and studio trickery, but the bells and whistles here don't even begin to fill the void created by a complete dissipation of the group's energy. Even when the dizzyingly disparate pieces of the album do fall into place, it seems like the work of some external hand; the band achieves crystalline structural vistas, but it's never quite clear how they got there, or why." [Pitchfork: 5.5]
Setlist
"Mistakes & Regrets"
"It Was There (That I Saw You)"
"How Near How Far"
"Stand In Silence"
"Gaterwaul"
"Homage"
"Aged Dolls"
"A Perfect Teenhood"
"Will You Smile Again"
"Totally Natural"
Encore
"Another Morning Stoner"
Tuesday, November 14
7:00 Doors
7:30 Brothers and Sisters
8:15 Celebration
9:05 Blood Brothers
10:30 ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead
Metro D highly recommends checking out Celebration's set. Katrina Ford & Co. are high energy and a lot of fun.
Sunday shows are the absolute worst and this was the second show in two nights for the Blood Brothers/Trail of Dead tour at Irving Plaza. Add to it the shitty weather outside and in such a rare instance, I'd be willing to give these guys a mulligan. Over the course of the last two years, Trail of Dead has ascended my list of favorite bands even as others began to write them off. I missed their show at Black Cat last year and this was my first chance to see them live. From the cryptic messages found throughout the blogosphere, the reviews of this tour have been very pro Blood Brothers/meh AYWKUBTTOD. Needless to say, given the above, my expectations going into last night were pretty damn low. Well, you know where I'm going with this, forget all that shit because they ripped out my insides and shred them to pieces. I'm completely exhausted this morning, my ears are still ringing, and I could care less. They were everything I wanted them to be and more.
I won't go into much detail because I want InMyTree to go into Tuesday's show with an open mind. If you know what you're getting into, Blood Brothers will absolutely live up to the hype they're getting on this current tour but their sound is just not for me. Given the choice of incessant screaming or Conrad Keely's admittedly shaky vocals, I'll take the latter every time. Consistent with the rest of the tour, the set list was very focused on earlier work, "Stand in Silence" was again, the only new song they played. I'm not sure if this is due to lack of practice with the new material or the fact that the album has yet to be released. That will be judged by the remainder of the tour. They played the 3 songs that I needed to hear including what I believe to be the best song of the past decade, "How Near, How Far" ("Another Morning Stoner" and "Will You Smile Again" were the other two). Their set was a relatively short 70 minutes but to be honest, I'm not sure I could have handled anything more. Jason Reece did about 3 songs but made up for it by doing an entire show's worth of stage antics. The band did a one song encore and invited about 30 people from the crowd up on stage and unfortunately, I'm not exactly sure what the last song was, maybe "Richter Scale Madness?" It was a bit hard to tell with everything going on and people bouncing into the band. Here is my attempt at the setlist, in no particular order, and I may have one or two incorrect songs in here. If anyone out there has the official setlist, please send it to me.
"Ode to Isis"
"How Near How Far"
"Caterwaul"
"Homage"
"Clair de Lune"
"Days of Being Wild"
"It Was There That I Saw You"
"Relative Ways"
"Another Morning Stoner"
"Will You Smile Again"
"Stand in Silence"
"Rest Will Follow"
"Richter Scale Madness" ??
Trail of Dead is going to be busy over the next two days, they're doing an album release show tonight at midnight at the Virgin Megastore in NYC, followed by another in-store at Sound Garden tomorrow in Baltimore and then the show at 9:30 Club tomorrow night. Who knows, that could lead to a sub par effort but you've been warned.
Related News:
The New York Times reviewed the Saturday show
[Viva Voce @ Iota Club & Cafe]
British. Buzz.
MP3: Klaxons - "Atlantis to Interzone"
Give me one good reason why this isn't one of the top twenty tracks this year. We almost left after Silversun Pickups to catch Sparta, but we stuck around and caught the goodness that is Viva Voce. Get Yr Blood Sucked Out has been spinning ever since.
MP3: Viva Voce - "So Many Miles" (Live @ KEXP)
Tuesday can't come soon enough. TOD is hitting 9:30 Club up with Blood Brothers. Get some.
MP3: ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - "Naked Sun"
Maybe my favorite track next to "Whipping" off of Vitalogy. Many a jam session between Frat and InMyTree feature a two man acoustic attack on this.
MP3: Pearl Jam - "Immortality" (Live @ Bridge School Benefit 1994)
News of a new Cornell solo album dropped this week. Rumors of an Audioslave breakup were dismissed. And this gem, which will be part of the solo album, surfaced at Stereogum.
MP3: Chris Cornell - "Billie Jean" (Live in Sweden)
I saw the movie The Proposition more than a month ago and I still find myself thinking about it. "The Rider Song" is a great track for the Sunday rain. Or for shooting dudes in the Australian outback.
MP3: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - "The Rider Song"
Bob Dylan has been on heavy rotation during my periods of heavy composition. This track, I believe, is the strongest track off of Blonde on Blonde. I love the meandering bass line.
MP3: Bob Dylan - "Visions of Johanna"
I love this song acoustic. The intro still has a heavy feel to it. Pearl Jam fired Dave Abbruzzese two months earlier and Jack Irons was filling in on percussion.
MP3: Pearl Jam - "Corduroy" (Live @ Bridge School Benefit 1994)
"It's not that people feel apathetic about music or the way it is, but there's a certain sense of resignation about what can and can't be done, with things like records leaking. It seems like the stuff that is really popular, the stuff that's top 10, top 40 music-- it seems like most people I know are in complete agreement that it's horrible, and yet they can't do anything about it. I've also been affected by this sense of powerlessness, that I don't feel like it's worth trying to change things right now. I wish I didn't feel that way." [More]
For fans - and I count myself as slightly obsessive one - it can be a distressing read at times but it certainly gets at the heart of Conrad's frustrations of where he sees TOD's music today, his views on the current tour and on the music industry as a whole.
“I was raised by these survivalist type parents who were really serious about the state of things and I always think about things on a more global scale. But, on the other hand maybe it’s not really our place as musicians or entertainers, it’s not like we’re CNN.com, obviously we’re not telling anybody things that they don’t know. I like to talk about them, maybe just to make people realise that songwriters these days can talk about more besides partying and fucking dancing and whatever bullshit you hear on the radio; that we actually give a fuck.” [More]
I'll be seeing them at Irving Plaza this Sunday and man, I hope they're into it.
Related Info:
Yesterday's article in the Village Voice
Looking back, it's been a pretty good year of music for Texas bands with exceptionally strong releases from the likes of Sparta, TMV, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Sound Team, and of course, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead. As I stated previously, their album has been available for a few weeks now and while different, these guys can absolutely do no wrong in my book (yes, that includes Worlds Apart). For those folks out there excited for the official release of the album, the band will be making some in-store appearances at all Tower Records below:
Oct 29, 3pm at Vintage Vinyl - St. Louis
Nov 4, 3pm at Rock A Billy’s - Utica, MI
Nov 13, Midnight Sale at Virgin Megastore - Union Sq. NY
Nov 14, 12:30pm at Sound Garden - Baltimore
Nov 16, 5:30pm at Criminal Records - Atlanta
Nov 17, 5:30pm at Park Ave Records - Orlando
Nov 27, Time TBD at Hoodlums Music - Phoenix
Dec 5, Time TBD at Rasputin Music - Berkeley
Dec 7, Time TBD at Easy Street - Seattle
Listen to the first single here.
Pre-order So Divided here.
Tour Dates with Blood Brothers here.
