Tuesday night Sam and I met at Paradise to see the sold out Dirty Projectors show. When they first took the stage it seemed like they really didn't want to be there but as they loosened up and rocked out it turned into a really solid show. They played almost every track off Bitte Orca (bonus!), some from Rise Above, some I wasn't sure about, and then they ended their encore with "Knotty Pine" off Dark Was the Night. Solid.
David Longstreth is brilliant for sharing his limelight with the vocal harmonies of three beautiful ladies. And, they are all really talented kiddos, making their signature mash up of vocal and musical styles really work. I haven't always felt that way. A lot of the band's pre- Rise Above music is a little too wild for me to listen too all the way through.
Sam just gave me a New Yorker article about the band in which pop-music blogger Sasha Frere-Jones shares her similar struggles with the old material and new-found excitement for the band, given the accessibility of the most recent album. His more technical description of the music was illuminating for me, especially this bit: "Longstreth employs a method of arranging voices knon at hocketing, which stretches back to the work of thirteenth century French monks. To hocket, you split up a melody or a chord and assign the notes to different voices." I saw that in action on stage and it had a little, "so that's how they do that!" moment. It was cool.
I also liked Frere-Jones' description of Bitte Orca's opening track, "Cannibal resource" :
"Unaccompanied, Longstreth plays a series of small, torqued-up chords through tremolo and a phaser. We could be anywhere at this point - there's no telling what continent we're going to land on when everyone else shows up."
Frere-Jones is good. He makes me want to step up my game in real reviews. I believe he was also named one of the top 30 critics in the world. Someday.
Opening for the Dirty Projectors, the Tune-Yards really blew the crowd away. I already sent a mass e-mail about how much I loved that band so I won't elaborate here but they may be my new favorite and I hope I get to see them again very soon.
I also wanted to mention that Sam, who hates Halloween because you have to dress up, got into the rock show spirit by Robert-Smithing his hair, donning tighter clothes and even dog tags for the occasion. Damn Sam, we should go to shows every week. And clearly Amy Parker is a good influence.
Wednesday, Wyatt and I saw his buddy Ross' band The Painted Lights, singer songwriter Drew O'Doherty and Canadian folk rock trio Elliott Brood. Ross' drumming was good but the rest of TPL needs work. Headliners Elliott Brood, with harmonica, banjo, growley singing and fast guitar, made me feel a bit like I was train hopping in a wild west adventure movie. I liked them a lot and they looked great, all dressed up in black suits, and the fedora-sporting drummer sat framed by a ghetto, ahem, DIY but endearing light show. They also handed out plates and wooden spoons so the audience could join in on the percussion. Wyatt and I also got our first picture together. Unfortunately it's much too dark to save for the future grandkids.
Emily and I watched "Trouble the Water" earlier in the week. A brutal account of Katrina, anchored on amatuer footage taken by a female wannabe rapper in the Ninth Ward, it is easily one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. I didn't see Spike Lee's Katrina series but I can't imagine it's as good as this piece. "Trouble the Water" rules because it masters the art of showing, not telling. Be ready for it when you watch it. The 911 calls in particular will twist a hole in your heart.
On the upside, its almost Thanksgiving! Mmmmm. Stayed tuned for epic food descriptions and reviews of Ula's pumpkin pie and quince tart.
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