worthy<-MUSIC

Buble Invasion

Michael Buble
Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh NC
April 12, 2006

I posted this as a comment on my other blog, but thought I'd put it here to since it is a live review of sorts.  Enjoy!

It has been a long time since I have been to a show where people are so crazed over the performer that they lose their minds completely. The poor security guards at Memorial Auditorium have never had such a workout. People were running down the aisle to the stage and then turning around so their friend could take a picture of them standing in the aisle near the stage with Michael Buble singing behind them. A surgical nurse in the area made repeated attempts to get to the stage and finally made it past the ushers running full-speed. She handed Michael a bouquet of flowers and a teddy bear, saying that they (the ushers) wouldn't let her up there. Buble said "I wonder why, it's not like I am doing anything up here," and then went on to ask what the woman does for a living. After hearing she is a nurse, he said okay, next time you're at work how about I come up all in your s***.

Very funny, yes, but embarrassing to me that so many people in Raleigh act as if they are the only one there to see the show. The woman who pushed my wife out of the way as Buble came down our aisle (we were on the end of the row) so she could nearly molest him as he passed should be committed. She was about to pass out and couldn't stop trembling as if Raleigh was experiencing its first major earthquake.

I guess this is why I prefer the small intimate shows of lesser known indie bands. Not sure I could take another one like that anytime soon.

Now, let it be said that Michael Buble is one of the best live singers I have ever heard. And his stage prescence is amazing. A true total package performer who I am sure will have a lifetime of success. He handled all the chaos with grace and style and razor-sharp wit. Definitely better at handling it than I was...

Live 8: The Old Guys Take The Show

I'm sure many of you watched much of the Live 8 broadcast this past Saturday.  Or, perhaps you were fortunate enough to be able to attend the landmark event in one of the 10 locations.  I spent a little bit of time watching as much as I could on Saturday and I have to say that I was impressed.  I'm not usually one for enormous crowds and outdoor venues, but there was some magical stuff happening on those stages.  I caught Coldplay backing Richard Ashcroft on "Bittersweet Symphony" which was fantastic.  And Green Day's brave-as-hell cover of Queen's "We Are The Champions," a tribute to Freddie Mercury's enthralling performance at the original Live Aid concert.  And The Who's solid we-can-still-rock performance.

But by far the most amazing part of the show was the reunion of Pink Floyd...  Roger Waters and David Gilmour actually on the same stage again--something many believed would absolutely never happen--and sounding incredible.  A very emotional performance, especially from the extroverted Waters, it was as if no time had passed and they were still one of the uber-bands of the world.  Gilmour was his normal fairly subdued self, but his vocals and guitar work were as sharp as ever.  Time had certainly passed in their appearances, yes, but not in their sound.  Loved it.  Like most people in my generation, I went through a huge Pink Floyd phase when I was younger.  Probably not as huge as the folks born 15 years earlier, but I loved them nonetheless.  This was apparently just a one-time thing which is too bad... but hopefully will do that much more to bring the point of the concerts home.

I've added a link to one.org over there on the left.  Take time to visit the site, learn the issues, and learn how you can help make a difference.  I think the "We Don't Want Your Money, We Just Want Your Voice" is such an amazing and powerful way to make a difference.  We elect our politicians to be our voice, so let's let them (especially thick-headed W) how we feel about the poverty levels in Africa and what we expect him to do about it.  It's our money we're talking about, right?

Ok, no more politics.  I'm still whittling away at watching more of the performances.  They have them all going on a loop over at aolmusic.com and they are apparently going to make all the performances available on-demand, song by song, which will be cool as hell.  There is also one more concert on the way tomorrow in Edinburgh, close to the location of the G8 conference.  Some more good performances, for sure. 

Enjoy!

Hometown Genius

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cold Roses

Live Show:
Meymandi Hall
Raleigh, NC
June 8, 2005

I'm not even sure where to begin with this one. Still in that speechless phase... and I should probably hold off writing about this show until I give it some more time to sink in... but what the heck. I've been meaning to write about his new album for a while now anyway.

So to understand this show and how different, bizarre, fantastic, and mindblowing it really was, we have to begin with the venue. As you can see above, it was held in Meymandi Hall here in Raleigh. Meymandi is the symphony hall just completed in 2001 that is the home of the North Carolina Symphony. It is also the hall I perform in with the North Carolina Master Chorale. I have a small picture of it here but if you click here you can see just how formal a setting it is. Very cool place with awesome acoustics. They had managed to set up the stage to look like a rock show using a large black curtain as the backdrop with lots of gold balloons floating at all different levels. But, even with this enhancement, the audience stayed seated throughout the show, which was a strange experience. Especially with this audience, a large majority of whom are rabid fans who have been way into Ryan since his earliest Whiskeytown days here in Raleigh. Born in Jacksonville, NC back in 1974, Ryan moved to Raleigh when he was 19 with his then band, The Patty Duke Syndrome. A year later he started Whiskeytown and became a quick local favorite.

Some critics have called Ryan the "Kurt Cobain of the alt.country genre" which I'd have to say that this show substantiated for me. He and his band (The Cardinals) started off with a flurry of songs with barely a "thank you" in between each song. My initial impressions were ones of amazement at their sound and his voice and the overall talent, the only negative being that the sound person had the volume levels up WAY too high... apparently choosing to ignore the room in favor of a rock hall sound. This was annoying because in my opinion the best reason for playing in Meymandi is the awesome acoustic. But, the volume level totally overpowered any sound coming off the room itself. Nearly painful at times, unfortunately. But, not enough to overshadow the incredible performance. As time progressed, Ryan become more and more chatty... often just to his bandmates and far enough away from the mic that the audience couldn't hear him. It was funny, which I think was the intention.... especially when he would occasionally raise his voice so we could hear him say something like "Well, yeah, if we were professionals we could totally do that." At one point when he was using the mic to tell the audience a story, one fan shouted out "Just play a song" which Ryan quickly jumped on and used comically throughout the show. He told the guy he was just trying to inject some humanity into the show, but that he would stop doing that and just be like Billy Corgan and be all like "worship me" or something like that. Very funny. Then he said the funniest statement of the night "Look man, I'm just 3 frets away from working in that gas station again" which I thought was not only hilarious but perhaps a little window into his psyche. Something must be driving that man to be so prolific and driven...

Ryan's recent new release, Cold Roses, is an 18 track album which revisits his alt.country roots after a couple albums foray into a more rock sound. This is the first of THREE new Ryan Adams albums to be released this year... THREE! Most bands show up with two or so albums' worth of music to a new recording session, but Ryan has been known to show up with double that number.... and obviously he showed up with a bit more than that even to be able to release 3 this year, at least one being a double album. Amazing. I love Cold Roses. Sure, he could have paired it down to a normal album length and perhaps made it more accessible, but I differ from other critics in that I don't really think there are particularly weak tracks on the disc... it's just that it's a lot of Ryan Adams to take in one sitting. There are some quite magical moments on the album though. The opener is fantastic. I also love the classic "Let It Ride" which manages to stick in my head days at a time. Some powerful moments too like the beautiful "Meadowlake Street" and the heartbreaking "How Do You Keep Love Alive" that has just an emotional, unveiled delivery. He really thows it all on the line.

Back to the concert, the show went for almost 3 hours and I think he would have played all night if the venue didn't have an 11pm "curfew" imposed. In between songs, he is a jittery guy, seeminly on the edge, almost giving an Andy Dick-like delivery. I am sure there were some alternative substances helping that along, but as soon as each song started, he transformed into the most amazing musician and performoer you've ever seen. Gives the impression that music isn't just something he enjoys doing, but something he must do. Just exhudes such talent... vocally amazing... often astounding on the guitar... and great on the piano... Just bursting with music... The last 20 minutes or so were just Ryan and Caitlyn Cary (vocalist and violinist from Whiskeytown) singing old Whiskeytown songs sans band. It was obviouisly not rehearsed as both of them had a very hard time remembering the words, but luckily the audience was there to help out. It was a beautiful and emotional (to the long term fans) way to end the show. Such an enjoyable night. Can't wait to see him again. Enjoy!

Benjamin Britten: War Requiem

So, I know I've been relatively quiet again this week. Sorry about that. This April has been an uncharacteristically heavy performance month for me so I've been spending a lot more time practicing and listening to the pieces I am performing than listening to any new indie/pop/rock/etc. stuff. This coming weekend is my last performance of the season after which I should have a long break until rehearsals start back up sometime at the end of August. Today's post is a recording of the piece I will be performing this weekend as a member of the North Carolina Master Chorale. The Rhapsody and Amazon links on the left are for the same disc; the iTunes link is of a different recording. I've also included an Amazon link to another recording of the piece that is considered by many to be one of the best out there. It won a Grammy in 1990 for best choral recording.

Anyway, this piece is enormous. Not only is it lengthy, but it requires the participation of both an orchestra and a chamber orchestra (we'll be using 78 pieces overall) and a large chorus (we're approx. 170 strong) and a boys choir. Because of this and the difficulty of the piece, it is rare to see it performed. I am so happy that I am getting a chance to sing it fairly early in my life so perhaps there's a chance I'll get another opportunity sometime. Many, many, many musicians and critics believe this work to be the best choral work of the 20th century. Our fantastic conductor, Dr. Al Sturgis, said to us that he believes there to be only a handful of works he would consider 100% "complete" and fully developed and this one stands at or near the top of that list. We are expecting one of our bigger Spring performance crowds this weekend as musicians and enthusiasts from around NC and beyond are coming to witness the performance. Exciting, eh?

The piece itself is obviously focused on war... not the glorification of war, but the brutality and horror of war. Here is a fantastic write up about Britten and his War Requiem that does a much better job than I ever could explaining it to you. It is a complex, emotional piece that, although was written for World War I, is very appropriate for the current state of affairs in the world. If you're in the Raleigh area and want to come see this performance, click here for reserved tickets (only a small number left!) and here for general admission. Be sure to note that there is a free lecture on the War Requiem starting 1/2 hour before the performance. So, if you're in the area, come on and enjoy! If not, enjoy the links!

Post Muse Concert Thought

Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy crap!

Bravely Go Where Many Have Gone Before

Ash / The Bravery / The Crimea
The Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC
March 11, 2005
So I'm kinda bored with the new stuff in Rhapsody right now so I thought I'd play a little catch-up and finally post about the show I went to about a month ago.  I was looking forward to this one since The Bravery is one of the current "it" bands, I was enjoying the new Ash CD, and I really love The Crimea's EP Lottery Winners on Acid.  Unfortunately, The Crimea had already started playing by the time we got there, but we still got to see a decent amount of their set.  Lead singer definitely has charisma, but it certainly seemed that they were trying to weird-out the trendy crowd that had shown up to see The Bravery.  Very intense, very noisy, very jerky, in their own little world.  I would love to have seen more but they played a short set.  I love their recorded stuff so much but will have to see them again live to really get their vibe.  Hope I get the opportunity soon.

The Bravery played 2nd and man, what a walk down memory lane.  My friend and I couldn't stop laughing at how plucked from the early 80's they were, right down to their haircuts and their incessant posing.  The lead singer continually put his foot up on the monitor and leaned forward, wailing into the mic... something he must have learned in "How to Be a Rock Star: 101."  I swear it seems that some record executive, after catching wind of this "New, New Wave" movement, went out and created the "perfect" new wave revival band.  For me, it was all too much and I just couldn't get into their stuff.  Just too put on and seemingly insincere.  The guitarist even wore a face paint, a la Adam Ant...  By the way, after seeing this show I REALLY wanted to hate their album but so far, it's not so bad.  Just so long as I don't have to look at them while I listen to their music, I guess...

The Ash, for me, was a lot more enjoyable and certainly a lot LOUDER.  They certainly got the "rock out" bug lately as their live show matched their latest release, Meltdown, in shear drive and true hard rock vibes.  Even their older, punkier stuff came off as more rockin' in this show.  They've been around a while, but their energy levels are certainly not decreasing.  A good bit of the audience was very familiar with Ash, and sang along to many of their older tunes.  All-in-all a good time.  Definitely recommended.

Click on the picture above to be taken to a little photo album of the show.  My camera phone is really crappy so don't expect much.

Hanging on Her Every Word

Tift Merritt / Hotel Lights
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro NC
February 19, 2005
Ok, the third and final live show in the "Best of 2004" series... at least so far, that is. Only live show I have nailed down coming up is the Ash / The Bravery show in March. Might go see the Rosebuds that same weekend, too... But I digress.

My (wonderful) wife and I were both excited about this show as we both really like Tift Merritt's albums. She provides us a nice middle ground on which to meet. Plus, I was excited about the opening band as Hotel Lights is Darren Jesse's new band. Darren, as the astute popsters in the crowd know, was the drummer in Ben Folds Five. He's pulled a "Dave Grohl" and is playing guitar, keys, and singing lead vocals in his new band.

So, with all this excitement, you can imagine my disappointment when we had made it over halfway to Carrboro and realized we'd forgotten the tickets. Grrrrrrrrrr. It's like a disease we have. Would you believe we had tickets to the Continental Tire Bowl a few years back when my Virginia was playing and left the damn tickets on the refrigerator? Unbelievable, I know. Luckily, this time we had purchased the tickets online at etix.com... Mix that with a little quick thinking and you're scanning your brain thinking of where in the world the closest Kinko's is (excuse me...make that FedExKinko's). I knew where one was nearby, but of course hit every single traffic light getting to it and got there 5 minutes after it closed. Luckily, Chapel Hill is a college town so we found a Kinko's there and $2.25 later had reprinted the tickets.

Which means we weren't too terribly late to the show. Got to see the last few Hotel Lights songs. From what I could tell, they were lulling the crowd to sleep. Their music is very peaceful, *very* mellow. I thought that maybe live they'd turn it up a bit, but no... they were happy to make it a sleepy affair. Unfortunately, I just think it was the wrong crowd to truly appreciate it and to tell you the truth, I don't think I was in the right mood or mindset to enjoy it either. I did pick up their self-released debut and I'll be reviewing it soon.

Fortunately, Tift Merritt was easily able to turn things around for the crowd. The middle-ground I mentioned earlier apparently applies to others as well as the crowd was extremely diverse. From the young college-age kids (man, I'm getting old) to folks who could have been my parents and even grandparents were in attendance and seemed to be very aware of her music. There were the hipsters, the not-so-hipsters, the I-don't-even-know-what-a-hipster-is-ers, and the nerds, like me. But, everyone in attendance seemed to be totally entranced by this woman. In between some of the songs there was a weird silence after the applause and shouting subsided... Tift joked about it saying we were so well-behaved but eventually someone shouted out "We're hanging on your every word!" which I think was completely the case. No one wanted to miss a thing she said. It was very different than any other show I'd been to. There is really something special about her and people are just drawn to her... Maybe it's her sheer talent, maybe it's her songwriting, maybe it's her sweet beauty, maybe it's what comes across as the most intense kindness, maybe it's her innocence... who knows? Whatever it is, it works.

Throughout the main set of her show, she was fantastic. Her vocals were tight, even though she was having serious monitor problems early on and couldn't hear herself at all. Her band was perfect for her. The backing vocals were spot on. The keyboards were rockin'... and so on and so on. Had the crowd dancing and singing along. But, all that said, Tift really nailed in the fact that she is a special talent during her encore set. She came out with just her acoustic guitar and let us into an intimacy that I hadn't experienced for a while at a live show. What a voice, what a spirit. I love it when a performer validates praise live. Tift definitely did that.

I obviously recommend checking her out if you get a chance. See if the crowd is set into the same trance where you are. Perhaps it was all because this is her howetown, but I'm guessing it's because she really has what it takes.

A Tale of Two Ci... Uh... Shows

Ah, what a weekend. Definitely one I'll never forget. Filled with fantastic music and fantastic friends (and a fantastic wife, of course). As my regular readers know, I hit the Arcade Fire show in Carrboro, NC on Friday night and the Keane show in Charleston, SC on Sunday night. Both absolutely wonderful shows, both absolutely different shows...

The Arcade Fire / Final Fantasy
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro NC
January 29, 2005
So, as you probably know, I was hyped as hell for this show. The Arcade Fire's debut album was my favorite release of 2004 and one of my favorites of all time. I couldn't believe I was able to get tickets to this one as I just happened to notice they were coming to the Cradle one day and bought the tickets right away in what was apparently just a two or three day window before the show sold out.

Friday night was a cold night and unfortunately there was something going on in the neighboring Carrboro Arts Center so we had to park very far away even though the line for the Arcade Fire had barely started to form. We had some pizza there next door at Amante's Pizza and watched as more and more people lined up and more and more people showed up with "Wanted: One Ticket" signs, desperately wanting to get into this show. When we finally gave in and decided to wait in the cold, there were probably 50 or so people in front of us. Only had to wait about 10 minutes out there before they let us in... and I was very surprised when we got in that we were still able to get a spot right in the front row. I know, not always the best place to stand for sound, but just wanted to experience this band up close.

The show started with a single, thin guy with a violin who said "Hi, I am Owen and I am in the band Final Fantasy." So, of course we thought there were a few more people in the wings who were going to join him at some point. Quickly though, we realized this was not the case. Instead, this guy is a one man string quartet (sometimes quintet, sometimes octet, etc.) and vocalist. Amazingly, he uses a loop pedal to create loops of violin parts on the fly, using his foot to tell it when to start recording and when to loop, etc. Within a minute he has many intricate, swirling, intertwining string lines building while he then sings over top. Truly an astounding performance. The crowd was definitely amazed and definitely showed their enjoyment by totally getting into the show and giving him the praise he deserved. I bought his handmade disc and have only given it one listen so far, but I'll review it once I get to mull it over some more.

Due to the lack of a necessity to change stage set up, the Arcade Fire came on fairly quickly after Final Fantasy finished. From the first note they played, I knew we were in for a great show. I've never seen anything like it. By my count, there were 6 members of the band onstage (with Owen of Final Fantasy also playing on many songs) and just the violinist played her single instrument throughout the night. The others all switched between all songs but one. While this does mean there is a bit of a break between songs as they trade instruments and places, it is totally worth it as each of them have a different way of playing the instruments. They have a musicality surpassed by few, and an energy unmatched by any show I've ever seen. To me, it's amazing that they put this much into their shows night after night after night. I don't know how they do it.

The only negative point I have from the show is that the amp for the keyboards was up WAAAAAAY too loud. While I am sure at the soundboard things sounded good once they were routed through the large stage speakers and made it back to the back of the room, there was no reason the keyboard MusicMan amp had to be up so much louder than the rest of the amps on stage. On the songs where the keyboard played a major role, the other instruments were drowned out. Now, keep in mind that I was in the front row, but still... a good sound person will try to make the sound acceptable from all spots in the room. She (I am pretty sure it was a she) should have turned that keyboard amp down and then pushed it up in the overall mix for the large stage speakers.... simple as that. Anyway, I thought we might should move back, but I decided that for this show the experience of being 2 feet from the band was too awesome to pass up...

So overall, in my opinion, the Arcade Fire has the potential to become one of the greats of our time. They certainly have the live show to back the incredible studio work which makes such a big difference to me. They played one new song, "Intervention" which was great and makes me look forward to their next studio stint. They played most, if not all, songs from Funeral and I believe just one song, "No cars go," from their self-released EP, which I bought at the show and will review soon (pictured above). If the Arcade Fire comes anywhere near your town, go see them. Do whatever it takes and go see them. Totally worth it. I don't think I've sweat that much in a long time which is always a good measure of a show!

Keane / The Zutons / The Redwalls
Center Stage at the Plex, Charleston SC
January 30, 2005
Ok, so I had way too much fun in Charleston this weekend. Headed down on Saturday so we could take in the city and its nightlife a night before the show. Had a great time with good friends. So by the time I made it to the Keane show I was in great spirits and probably the perfect mood to take in this show.

Well, we arrived at the show probably halfway through the Zutons show so I missed the Redwalls altogether. Don't really like any of their stuff though so I really didn't mind too much. Just not into those who sound more like a copy than influenced... But anyway, I have to say that I was very unimpressed with the Zutons. While they were very tight in their sound, they seemed to have an uncanny ability to lose the audience in an instance. One second the audience is dancing and enjoying the show and the next second it was as if we were in a club with a random house band as they dilly dallied through some uninteresting stuff. I am just not into their music, nor was I into their live vibe. Not engaging.

Now Keane is a totally different story. Keep in mind that there are just 3 of them. The lead singer (who only played an instrument on one song ... another keyboard!), the pianist, and the drummer. The bass "guitar" is added by the pianist via a laptop and some sort of bizarre integration that I have yet to figure out.

I whipped out my camera phone and snapped a few (bad quality) pics to show that they had a good light setup that added just the right theatrics to their beautiful music. The band itself was fairly calm on stage, the lead singer not resorting to much dancing or overt expression. As many of you know, I am a singer and I have to say that the lead singer is perhaps the most talented vocalist I have ever heard. I don't think he hit one wrong note all night... not even slightly off pitch. Truly amazing. When I first heard their album I thought for sure he had a "studio voice" that could never really sound like that live. Well, I was completely proven wrong. I stood there most of the show completely in awe of what I was hearing come out those pipes.

The crowd was VERY into what they were doing and even really got into the new stuff they played. Just a fun, happy, inspiring, impressive show. It is great to see a band who is just that good, that talented, and just knows how to write and perform perfect pop songs.... you know? I recommend seeing them if you have the chance. Oh, and they are performing on SNL this weekend. You'll swear they're pulling an "Ashlee" but I can assure you he's really making that beautiful sound.

I have tickets in hand to two more shows over the next month or so... So I'll keep the live reviews coming as I can. Thanks for reading!