Billy Bragg is back !!!

Billy is back….well he never really went away. He wrote a novel after all and also has worked on fund-raising for the Jail Guitar Doors project and toured as always.

I’m thrilled to learn Billy Bragg is going to be releasing a new album in 2008. It’s been far too long and I can’t wait to hear it. A couple of tracks are available online so I will scribble a review this week.

Billy launches his new album, Mr Love & Justice (released on 3 March 2008), with a gig at the Roundhouse in Camden Town, London, on 4 March 2008 He is also heading dan sarf (down South if you are not Cockney) to Australia and N.Z. in Jan/Feb so hopefully he will be over here in the Spring/Summer. In fact I would guarantee it – it’s an election year and he should be ready to help kick over the statues following the 8 year farce we’ve all endured.

Cheers

Tim

Marquee Madness – how a concert venue can hold a full house yet still lose

The live concert ’scene’ in Phoenix is a strange affair. We have a host of smaller intimate venues, and pubs masquerading as live clubs. At the other end of the spectrum there are a good number of large arenas for the rare dates when a U2 or a Britney comes to town. What Phoenix lacks is the clubs which can accommodate 700-1200 people and be centrally located in the valley.

There is only one contender ‘The Marquee Theater’ in Tempe on N Mill avenue at Washington. The Marquee is now 14 years old but has only served as a rock venue  for about 5 years, it formerly operated as the ‘Red River Music Hall’ catering almost exclusively to Jazz and Country music.

So here is the perplexing issue: you have a venue with such a large number of attributes how could it all go wrong?

• Exclusivity – with a capacity of 1,050 it is the only game in town for audiences of 700-1500
• Location – Only 1/2 mile from downtown Tempe and 8 miles East of downtown Phoenix, the venue sits on the corner of where Phoenix/Tempe/Scottsdale meet on the map
• Access – Excellent freeway access, very close to the 202/101/51/10 – just yards away from light rail when it opens next year
• Space – Ample parking throughout the surrounding area

So faced with all these positives – how could the owners get it all so wrong? Let me count the ways….

1. Identity: I agree that Phoenix is a hard town to gauge, I’ve been to shows expecting a sell out to find less than 20% of tickets sold and also events which are not on the radar that are packed. For a large city concert attendance is spotty and seemingly can be effected by weather, the Phoenix Suns, the latest episode of “The Biggest Loser” – you name it. But, that’s no excuse – The Marquee doesn’t (even after 5 years) have an identity of any sort. I never hear anyone excited when an act announces they are playing there, coupled with the chameleon status of the venues promoters. Heavy Metal, Indie, Alternative, Funk, Emo, you name it, Nothing wrong with diversity – but I see it as chaotic booking strategies. The venue seems content to try and appeal to everyone and offend them all simultaneously.

2. Staff: I’ve seen concerts at venues and cities around the world – never before have I seen a venue as overstaffed as this one. On nights where the audience barely reaches 200 it’s easy to hand count 40-50 employees just milling around trying to look busy. To add to the illusion they also select staff who seem to have zero interest in music or customer service. The security lines make the airport seem efficient and the ‘bar’ makes you wonder if they are just trying to keep the streets safe for others. Slow disinterested service is the order of the day

3.  Apathy – In five years not one discernible positive change has been made to the venue.  Access, lighting, sound, cleanliness, marketing, staffing all remain as they were. I would estimate I’ve been to about 30-35 concerts at the venue over that span and the feeling that the venue just ‘doesn’t care’ could not be more pronounced. I’m not looking for Wi-Fi access in the lobby or the best bottles of Belgian Ale in the bar – just a feeling that the club will occasionally get out a paintbrush, or better enable the audiences access to the ticket booth, security checks etc.

4. Greed – I am fully conversant with the fact that tickets to shows have risen by 40-100% since the decade began. This being due to higher travel costs, downloaded music and general inflation. I’ve no issue with that – I will always support live music. The venue – which should be feel like ‘our’ venue further alienate their customers by seemingly squeezing every last dollar out of the wallets of it’s clientele. Parking – there must be 1200 spaces within 300 yards of the venue that are not in use. When the Marquee opened it cost nothing to park – now it costs $5 – the only other thing in the lots are empty beer bottles and Jack Rabbits. Ticket fees – again, when the venue opened fees would make up a 7-15% surcharge – now its 20-30%. Here comes the masterstroke: I saw Art Brut at the Marquee last Friday night – at the T-Shirt stand the band had written a sign that said the following “Art Brut regret we are not selling any T-Shirts or other concert merchandise due to the 28% (!!!) addition being collected by the venue on every item, Art Brut do not want to abuse our audience in this fashion.” 28% ? for what ?? Writing the songs? Organizing the tour? Conceiving the artwork? No…for allowing a dirty table in the lobby to be used to sell these items. I was offended but won’t punish the band as the same items are available online for more normal rates.

As for the future of the Marquee….I want it to succeed….I like the size of it, I like the location of it and I sincerely feel Phoenix needs it. Based on the evidence of ever dwindling audiences, terrible promotion/booking and advertising coupled with the desire to rip off the paying customers I see tough days ahead. I hope I’m wrong, I hope the public can show more than the same apathy that the venue displays, I hope live music in Phoenix can have a medium sized venue it can be proud of. I don’t need the Hammersmith Palais, just a place to see a band.

Cheers

Radiohead – The Bends – revisiting a classic album

In light of Radiohead releasing a new album this month I decided to revisit and review what may have been the most straightforward Radiohead album ‘The Bends’ – the band’s second release from 1995.

Immediately I was struck by the fact that 12 years had passed and that the landscape for Indie Rock, Alternative, Britpop (call it what you will) has changed so much since then. I saw Radiohead live first in 1993 supporting James at Brixton Academy in London. Hindsight being 20/20 should make me say “Oh I saw the potential blah blah blah” but in truth I was not overly impressed or even interested. Partially because the debut album Pablo Honey was pretty formulatic for a debut and live the band were shoegazing (they were from Oxford after all) and fairly nervous. Coupled with the fact I was there to see James (who were excellent) and wasn’t thrilled about waiting through a support act.

Fast forward 15 months or so – the moth turned into a butterfly. ‘The Bends’ was such a stirling seachange in sound, scope and ability that I was hooked. Preceded by the single ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ I recall buying the CD the day it was released and being very impressed, especially after the first album. Over a decade later and via countless listens and sharing of the album with others it stands up incredibly well to the cruelest thing music has to weather – the passing of time.

So often when we listened to a disc from the 90’s or 80’s the first thought is ‘good songs but the production ruins it’ or ‘what were they thinking’ – no such distress with this album. From the opening attack of ‘Planet Telex’ the album signals its arrival – a loud and positive step into what became a huge record for a band on their way to becoming indie darlings of ‘95-’99.

Thom Yorke’s voice on the 2nd album has become the central point for the band by the time of this record and it still sounds (for me) to be at it’s pinnacle with The Bends – not matched subsequently. Track two – ‘The Bends’ has remained for me one of the strongest openings to a track ever – John Leckie’s production of the soft/hard blend that became a staple of Radiohead songs. The double tracking of electric and acoustic guitar on this track and others on the album is another prominent feature. Choppy guitar interlaced with a swirling chorus takes the song to it’s strength (and a rarity) the best part of the song is the bridge. Yorke’s semi-rap propels the song to the sing along coda of “I want to live, breath, I want to be part of the human race” (a wee bit melodramatic but at that age I felt the isolation too…sure..!).

Two singles follow – the vaguely traditional High and Dry followed by the stellar Fake Plastic Trees. Both songs have great atmosphere – I always felt High and Dry was the kid brother to ‘Fake Plastic..” as both songs are similar if vaguely faster on the former. High and Dry has some great acoustic work on top of more choppy punctuation by J Greenwood.

I’d moved to the States when this album became big and I remember
1. Everyone feeling ‘Creep’ was written for them (perhaps it was – we don’t even use the word Creep in London – yes…you wish you were special…I know)
2. The video for ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ seemed to stick in people’s memories more than the song
The second is a pity as FPT has some of Yorke’s best vocal tics – all the way down to the last bar of a wonderful song.

Back to the disc, ‘bones’ is a reverb heavy number that builds to another thrashing chorus. A great song live if memory serves me as it’s wreckless chorus is allowed more room to pulse. A great riff and Yorke’s semi yodel mark this song out as a ’shoulda been bigger’ but it’s great nonetheless. “Nice Dream” is by name and sound very much in a lullaby vein, a pretty song with a tempo that just ferries you to a calmer place. It also features some lovely cello and a bit of viola (my non classical ears even grasped that). One of the few songs that feature backing vocals that add great depth to the latter part of the song.

“Just” is maybe the strongest link to the first album in sound – and I think is the only disposable song on the album. I just (sic) think it’s one of those songs that ‘tries too hard’ which is a pet peeve of mine. Whereas the rest of the record feels like part of a bigger whole ‘Just’ is too spikey and contrived. My Iron Lung on the other hand could be seen as a harbinger for what Radiohead would become on OK Computer. Huge arrangements and intricacies make you listen intently as the song never goes quite where you expect it to…which is excellent.

The last four tracks on the album have their own environ in my opinion as what was pretty much a rock/singles album becomes a lot larger and more thematic. Beginning with Bullet Proof the album goes to a different level. One of the first Radiohead songs that plays with the ‘less is more’ theory, the very acoustic track with heavy background noise by Greenwood is as beautiful now as when I first heard it all those years ago. Black Star has an opening that fools you into expecting another loud ‘rocker’ but then segues into another gentler number which showcases Yorke’s ability to make his voice the lead instrument. A great song that still sounds fresh as a daisy. ‘Sulk’ is a song that I would have really like to have been an instrumental so you could hear the bassline more clearly. It’s got wonderful guitar/bass overlays and I think it really is a song that it somewhat drowned in the vocals. Has there even been an instrumental version? I must find out.

The album closes with ‘Street Spirit’ which then (as now) sounds like something you first heard when you were 3 years old. So ingrained is the natural chord progression that I’ve wondered for years whether the song was ‘borrowed’ from elsewhere or if it simply is just that good. Perfect film score music – so long as the film is good.

So there we have it – a near masterpiece. It was one of my favourite records of the mid nineties and pleasingly still sounds vital today. That’s a lot more than can be said for many records of this vintage. If you don’t own it…well…you should. (I’ve a copy for sale in my online shop). Oh yes..I saw them live in ‘95 (and since) also – they improved!!!

Cheers

Tim

New Earlimart Album – ‘Mentor Tormentor”

Following the release of Treble and Tremble in 2004, Los Angeles based Earlimart (they are named after the town in Northern CA) have just released a new album “Mentor Tormentor” on MajorDomo Records. “Treble..” slowly became one of my favourite releases of 2004, a nice natural growth from earlier releases saw Earlimart put together a wonderful album that I’ve returned to many times.

Therefore, it was with some trepidation that I listened to the new album, wondering what the band could and would do next. I needn’t have worried.

From the opening track ‘Fakey Fake’ the melodic pulse of a band totally in sync is apparent. Suddenly during the opening track, booming percussion diverts the daydream from calming to agitating – but in a ‘pay attention’ way. “Answers and Questions” is a wonderful example of the energy of the band, production feels tighter than previous and backing vocals by Murray are interspersed exactly when and where needed. Other standouts are the piano led ‘Happy Alone’ where lead vocals are handled by Ariana. Acoustic guitar opens “The Little Things’ which has a nursery rhyme lullaby quality that is simply tranquil. Thematically the album leans toward love lost and hints of revenge, though ultimately belief in yourself. “Everybody knows Everybody” has the most similarity to the earlier material by Earlimart, though in truth this sounds like a much better and more sophisticated band. The constant and tiresome Elliot Smith comparisons can be placed where they deserve to be, three albums back.

Aaron Espinoza’s breathy vocals mesh perfectly with layered and textured pop to create a masterpiece. Layered string arrangements by Ariana Murray in combination with real Cellos & Violins give songs a tremendous pallette. The two mainstays are joined by a number of other musicians. I don’t like to compare bands if I can help it, while the return to bass/guitar/drums rawness remains favoured these days, Earlimart bring back some of the best elements of post punk synths and strings. At times I hear the groove from earlier Factory Records artists; then it lurches to Moojave 3 while Doves, Slowdive and moments by the Delgados also come to mind. Perhaps Scotland’s Delgados (sadly missed) are the best analogy I can draw – and that’s a fantastic proposition. A great album, balanced and poised for greatness Earlimart come up trumps. Now if only we had a rocky coastline nearby to drive alongside while listening.

Earlimart live are not to be missed and have just announced a national tour on their website – and they will be in Phoenix at the Paper Heart on Oct 22. Do yourself a favour and go and see them.

Violent Femmes/Hallowed Ground (1984) : Revisiting great cds, 1st in a series of many –

Lat night I had the opportunity to listen to the Violent Femmes 2nd release ‘Hallowed Ground’ originally released in 1984. All those years ago I was rather fanatical about this record but haven’t truly listened to it in full now for 16 or 17 years. Probably as a result of 20 years plus of overkill hearing (whether by choice or not – as many so called indie kids felt “Blister in the Sun” is somehow their personal anthem) of tracks from the first eponymous album I had neglected this disc, which then as now is not only vastly different to their first record but perhaps even superior.

Three observations during listening struck me – and resonated throughout.

1. What a dark record they made – the themes of death, deceit, religion, rejection and sorrow were realised and explored with so much more clarity and innovation than the debut.

2. The instrumentation was extremely folk(sy) in its arrangements and sound. Though a warning flag for some – trust me …it works here.

3. Gordon Gano’s fury and frustration in his voice.

The disc is well sequenced and opens with the dark and haunting ‘Country Death Song’ a track so morbid and self recriminating that you almost feel guilty enjoying it. The full instrumentation throughout the record is aided by great use of Banjo and led (as always) by Brian Ritchie’s work on bass guitar. Credits show he used Mariachi Bass/Electric Bass/Slide Bass/Celeste/Marimba in the sessions. The album ranges from the eerie chants of “I hear the rain” to the Velvet Underground like lullabies of “I know it’s true but I’m sorry to say”. Instrumentation reaches it’s crescendo during the manic length of “Black Girls” but the experimentation doesn’t detract from the album it galvanizes it. My favourite track to hear again after all these years was “Hallowed Ground” which ensures we all share the guilts that Gano writes of to a piano driven march.

One of the rare records from the first wave of American Indie Rock with a country/folk twang (early REM, Guadalcanal Diary, The Long Ryders) that actually sounds better now than it did then to these ears. I’d guess most people with limited Violent

Femmes in their collections own the debut and perhaps the singles collection, but as the definitive

article I would suggest Hallowed Ground should at least be heard and ideally owned.

Click to buy Violent Femmes/Hallowed Ground