Of Montreal
TwiRopa in New Orleans, Louisiana
June 12, 2005
Reviewed by Virginia Dressler
The strongest link between Of Montreal and support act Tilly and the Wall and Teeth is the sheer energy that they put into their live sets, though in an overly sticky sweet pop kind of way. To this listener, the style and stage antics seem out of date, with the incessant clapping of the two female singers of Tilly and the Wall and Teeth, and the 60’s psychedelic gone 80’s dance party stage approach of Of Montreal. Or maybe it was a pop overload, after two lengthy sets of overindulged pop song and dance.
The average turnout of locals at the show seemed to be moderately amused by the antics of both bands, only half-heartedly giving into the beat. Tilly and the Wall and Teeth have the components of a pop band; female vocals, quirky keyboard blips, and simple drum beats. I felt as if the stage show was more about the actions of the musicians jumping, dancing and clapping across the stage than the resulting mediocre music.
Of Montreal took the stage, and delivered a fairly straightforward set. The sound was surprisingly good, with kudos given to their own traveling sound engineer. Their compositions will remind one of a dozen different pop bands, though never quite solidifying into one distinctive influence. What Of Montreal can succeed in doing is creating pretty guitar hooks and vocals, never leaning too far outside of its world of sunshine and rainbows. Perhaps they are not so sticky sweet, but after song after song of cheerful melodies, it gets a little daunting. Vocals that always harmonize with the guitar hooks create tedious listening patterns that seem to be on repeat.
One of my qualms with the set from Of Montreal is that the live versions do not waver too far outside of the recorded versions of their songs. The majority of the songs performed are almost exact replicas of songs off their numerous albums. The band has been putting out albums since the late 1990’s, though the album covers and songs could easily be interchanged, and seem to be displaced in time by about fifty years.
Though the musicians in the band often trade instruments many times over the set, it still seems to be a predictable pattern, like a play performed too many times night after night. My pop quota for the year has officially been surpassed in the matter of one evening. While I give credit to Of Montreal’s proficient, if a little stylistically dated, recordings, their live set is lacking in variation.
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Steve Singh, Justin Rutledge, David Celia, Valery Gore & Royal Wood
The Supermarket in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
May 30, 2005
Reviewed by Adam M. Anklewicz
Not your usual night of entertainment.
The five musicians lined up on the stage, Steve Singh, Justin Rutledge and David Celia with their guitars while Valery Gore and Royal Wood shared a keyboard. In a cozy room, the musicians were able to show off their skills and enjoy each other’s performances. They went down the line playing songs until all of them had played five, allowing for a very varied night.
The problem with the genre of “singer-songwriter” is you’re faced with a lot of mellow songs, Steve Singh tried to keep it different that night playing upbeat songs which were very reminiscent of Elvis Costello. Throughout the night, each of Singh’s songs got better and better. He tried without much luck to try to get the other performers to be a bit more animated, but they were all too interested in watching the others play, understandably. An acoustic guitar hanging from his shoulder, while David Celia sat with his electric, playing along to add a bit more to Singh’s songs. Celia’s improvisations helped the songs along with some spacey guitar work. “Ladies and Gentlemen Here Comes The Wave” was the song where I made the largest connection to Elvis Costello's music; a great song, with a lot of energy.
Justin Rutledge is a singer-songwriter in the true sense of the word. Lonesome ballads, a voice laced with despair and aware of how to get the most from his guitar, though he might not play fast, but he plays well. His songs are not afraid to detail a scene rather than a story. Though he was overshadowed by his fellow musicians, his songs are still strong and his voice solid.
David Celia, an early friend of Being There, mostly played new songs. His one album is now two years old and he has some great new material which he should get out. Celia, a great guitarist, showed off his talents on an acoustic guitar. Playing a soulful set of numbers, the atmosphere created a very different way to see David Celia play. Though always a treat to see live, Celia really shined as a solo artist for his five songs. “Cactus”, one of his newer songs was a fun tune about the pricks in our lives.
From guitar the group moved to piano. Valery Gore, started off with “Deloria” and all the musicians stared at her fingers flying across the piano. “That was awesome to watch,” said Royal Wood when she finished “Deloria, ” a song that perfectly showed off her skills as a piano player while being a catchy pop-jazz song. It gets her connected with audience immediately as all stare in awe. With her piano playing, Gore was able to fill the room better than any of the others, her strong voice, though a bit peculiar, stands out from the rest. Gore also played “Dancing”, a beautiful love song, though not as technically impressive as “Deloria”, it is a great catchy song that’s easy to sing-along to.
A few weeks back I had heard Royal Wood’s CD and I was very impressed by it. I was looking forward to seeing him live. I was disappointed though, Wood is a great songwriter, but he just didn’t seem to be in the right place that night. Wood was performing with a very downbeat mood and the songs didn’t seem to survive too well.
All the performers were great songwriters and it led to an excellent night of entertainment, even if a bit mellow.
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Spoon (with The Clientele)
Stubb’s BBQ in Austin, Texas
June 25, 2005
Reviewed by Mark Pittman
Stubb’s BBQ, a pleasant, mid-sized outdoor venue, was the last stop on Spoon’s month-long tour with The Clientele. And even though Spoon and The Clientele were probably touring together only because both acts are signed to Merge, I couldn’t imagine a better double bill. Spoon has the stripped-down, clean rock sound, while The Clientele have the mellow, reverberant, British psychedelic sound. Two very different musical approaches, but both extremely easy to like.
The Clientele took the stage towards sundown looking surprisingly casual in t-shirts and jeans—not surprising as Austin is unbearably hot this time of year—but definitely surprising for a band whose songs mainly concern rain and twilight. But it turned out that t-shirts and jeans better suited singer Alasdair Maclean’s unpretentious personality. “Hello, we’re the Clientele from Britain, helping you in the War on Terror!” Maclean announced, before launching into “Joseph Cornell” (“a song about an American artist,” we later learned). Maclean reminded me a lot of Paul McCartney, closing his eyes and bobbing his head as he sang, while the Clientele’s drummer and bass player, who barely moved at all, more resembled two assistant librarians forced onstage. Luckily, most of The Clientele’s short set revolved around their excellent singles compilation, Suburban Light, and included some of their best songs: “I Had to Say This”, “Reflections after Jane”, “Lacewings”.
Another surprising aspect of the Clientele’s set was Maclean’s tendency to stretch songs out by playing lengthy guitar solos. Luckily, his solos were as tastefully constructed as his song’s normal guitar parts. Occasionally, however, at the end of these solos Maclean would loudly and manically strum his guitar to get the audience’s attention after having lulled them to sleep with the Clientele’s typically pretty, quiet arrangements. It was slightly depressing to see that this was what was required to get audience response, but after their all-too-brief set was over, the Clientele still had probably won themselves many new fans.
After we stood waiting in the Austin heat for what seemed like an hour, Spoon finally took the stage. Spoon’s singer, Britt Daniel, was clearly energized by the atmosphere of the crowd that evening. Austin is his home town, after all, and Daniel commented on being surprised by how many people there were in the audience (Stubb’s BBQ was packed). As Spoon played through their first song of the night “The Beast and Dragon, Adored” Britt Daniel sang with amazing energy, sounding even better live than on disc. And even though I almost never notice bass players, Josh Zarbo’s unbelievably solid playing demanded attention, as did Jim Eno’s precision drumming.
As would be expected, much of Spoon’s hour-and-a-half long set revolved around their new album Gimme Fiction. Most of the new songs came off well, with “I Summon You” probably coming off best. Surprisingly, the funky “I Turn My Camera On”—which Britt did not sing in falsetto, unlike the album track—failed to make much of an impression. The rest of the set mainly centered around songs off Kill the Moonlight—the most striking numbers being a gothic version of “Paper Tiger” and a sped-up, annihilating version of “Small Stakes”. But, for me, the best-sounding songs of the night were the four from Girls Can Tell: “Me and the Bean”, “Lines in the Suit”, “Fitted Shirt”, and “Everything Hits at Once”. The full, dark arrangements of these songs made the other albums’ songs seem almost puny by comparison.
Before Spoon left the stage, on this last night of their tour, Daniel thanked The Clientele for allowing his band the opportunity of watching The Clientele play every night. Likewise, The Clientele earlier had thanked Spoon for treating them so well on their tour and for being “gentlemen to the man.” The audience couldn't help but leave last Saturday
night's show with a similarly upbeat feeling.
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Iron & Wine
House of Blues in New Orleans, Louisiana
June 9, 2005
Reviewed by Virginia Dressler
The House of Blues must have been close to sold out the evening Iron and Wine played in New Orleans. Despite the increasing sultry summer heat of this southern city in combination with a sizeable crowd, the night was quite mellow. The opening act of Band of Horses could not have been a more suitable match for Iron and Wine. As people slowly trickled into the muggy room, Band of Horses lulled the audience into a slow rhythm of meditative song.
Band of Horses creates quiet harmonies speckled with acoustic guitar and banjo. The resonance of slow guitar lines and the echoes of the raspy vocals at times seemed almost endless. The set was strong from start to finish, giving Iron and Wine the challenge to equal this stellar opening set. Some may hear sounds reminiscent of Seattle’s now defunct Carissa’s Weird, for two ex-members are in Band of Horses.
Iron and Wine has often been seen as the brainchild of Miami boy Sam Beam. Past recordings have a distinct sound combining folk instruments with some regular standbys. Beam has recorded albums playing every instrument and layering his own assorted vocal tracks, forming an eclectic and individual style. He has also fashioned personalized variants on cover songs from the Postal Service and Six Parts Seven. In the last year, Beam has welcomed additional musicians to the band such as his sister Sarah into the recording and touring routine. The resulting changes have some effect on the final product, though still finished with a distinctive Beam signature.
The set began with a handful of songs featuring Beam solo, later slowly adding and subtracting other musicians into the mix as the night wore on. Perhaps this is also reflective of Beam’s writing style, taking or leaving whatever bits and pieces fit into his language. Beam seems to be in control of the pace of the evening, ambling ever so slowly to the end. An assortment of songs from the building number of recordings over the years were included in the set, each song slightly modified to the evening’s repertoire from the original recorded version. Debuted songs from the recent Woman King EP were included as well, such as the title track and ‘Jezebel’.
As satisfying as a good meal, I left House of Blues with a pleasantly numb head, set for dreams and lullabies.
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