Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

Watch The Rawking Refuses to Stop all week for an Elliott Smith cover bonanza! Today is the Kinks, and they’ve got “Big Sky”. RAWK indeed!

Last night, I headed out on a solo adventure to Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro to see Of Montreal. I bought these tickets before I left Boston. I think I was afraid there would be no good music down here, so I wanted to be sure that I had at least one gig to look forward to. I always like to be holding tickets for something. It may not be a trip back to Paris or Cinqueterra, but it’s a little something. I only remembered that the gig was last night on Sunday, so I sent out emails to Xopher, Katy, and Massimo (a Flickr friend) to see who wanted to go. No luck there. I decided to go alone, thinking that my friends Brian and Shannon would be there, although turns out they couldn’t get tickets. I sold my second ticket at the door and walked in to catch the tail end of the brightly colored Mixel Pixel. By the time I’d bought a beer and headed back up front, they were practically finished. I moved up front by the stage thinking that Of Montreal would be on next, but there was another opening act.

Grand Buffet were a total trip! It was two guys rapping, sort of old school Beastie Boys-esque. Their shtick was that they would act like total badasses about VERY unbadass things. They’d exclaim things like, "I’m drinking distilled water, yo!" And "Who’s wearing Rockports? I’m wearing Rockports." They had amazing energy and were actually pretty tongue trippy talents (I just made that shit up!). I got some great images and videos. After the show, I spoke with one of the guys, and while looking at some of the pictures I’d taken, he pointed out his good muscular definition. Here’s that one.

And another:

Here are the rest of the pictures I took of them. And here’s some video (please forgive the sound quality).

My experience with Of Montreal is interesting. I first heard about them because Amy Carpenter, A blogger and performance artist/activist in Jamaica Plain, posted a really great video using their music. I downloaded that song right away, and it his my regular rotation. After that, I heard another song or two here and there. Recently, they were on an episode of All Songs Considered that I listened to at the gym. My point is that I know of their sound, not their look. A few weeks ago, a report came up that the lead singer had disrobed on stage. (NSFW link) It sort of registered. When I saw them walk out, it came back to me.

I don’t know any better way of sharing them than some visuals. Some people do full reviews. That’s not really my scene. What I can say is that it is clear that the band rotates around the axis that is Kevin Barnes. He’s a terribly charismatic and complex performer. The music is chromatic, with unexpected harmonic and rhythmic changes, and the words are also surprisingly complex. Not the normal chantable hooks and simplistic style of lyricism found in most pop/indie music. Even the titles of their songs are fascinating and beautiful. The first song I started to listen to by them (the one in that video) was "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games". Their new album (Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?) has some really catchy songs, but again, the titles, and the lyrics themselves are indescribable, angsty, and at the same time, sometimes very catchy. Visually, this band is total 70’s glam. The addition of several video screens behind flashing images of the performers themselves (in negative and with fancy retro digital effects), the costumes… It was all really FABULOUS! What’s amazing about this band is that while there are all these distractions creating a decadent visual and audio feast, there is one basic fact that makes it all OK. These are competent musicians with a real perspective. They each play several instruments, and play them well. There was a lot of leaping from one instrument to the other. The man I thought was the drummer played the keyboard and even pulled out a trumpet. They so-called "lead singer" played the drums (better than the drummer?) and the guitar. You get the idea. This is starting to sound more and more like a review, huh?

Anyway, it was a delightful time. No chance of boredom. I spent time talking with the "kids" up front with me. An 18 year-old couple and a 25 year-old couple who’d driven from near Knoxville, TN to catch the gig. I love how the 25 year-olds thought I was their age. I swear I was definitely the oldest person there. The 18 year old guy (Scott maybe?) said I was old enough to be a "stranger" he was supposed to fear! It was at that point that I offered him candy. Then cracked up and admitted that I was actually a child psychologist. It sounded like a good joke so he laughed, but I had to admit that it was actually the truth. Then I gave him a piece of gum… and he lived.

Here’s the entire Of Montreal photo set. Here is VIDEO! (again, TERRIBLE sound quality)

I stayed up late editing pictures and slept until noon. I really need a job. Yes, I’m still waiting to hear. And I’m starting to get pretty antsy about it.

Oh Billy Bragg, how do I love thee?

Jail Guitar Doors is an independent initiative set up by Billy Bragg with the aim of providing musical equipment for the use of inmates serving time in Her Majesty’s prisons. It takes its name from the b-side of the Clash’s 1978 single "Clash City Rockers"… Ex-prisoners who have actively participated such sessions have are-conviction rate of between 10% – 15%, compared to the national average of 61%.

Read more here.

(BTW, no word on the job yet. Will keep you posted.)

I think it’s going to be a really nice concert.

I got a great pano. Click on it to see a larger view:

I had the opportunity to see The Old Ceremony as part of the same benefit where the Mountain Goats played on Friday. It was such a delightful surprise. These guys are from Chapel Hill. What was funny is that I had asked Shannon why there were so many people wandering around with suits. When The Old Ceremony began, it was clear that all the besuited ones were actually in the band. I’m such a sucker for any band with a fiddle, any band with a cello, and any band with a Hammond organ. TOC had all three, as well as the usual singer/guitarist, bass player, and drummer. They also had a very energetic guy on keyboards, and the Hammond organ player also played vibraphones (although I always see them and think of them as a marimba – too much musical training). At first, I was just taking pictures (as I do), but their sound really drew me in. They had wonderful real songs. I always feel like a good sign of a band is that its songs are reminiscent of classic songs I’ve heard before, but they don’t have that derivative feel (like Lenny Kravitz sounding like Curtis Mayfield, etc). After the show, I told Django Haskins, the band’s lead singer, that I was really impressed with the set, and that he should take that as a huge compliment because I was a real opinionated bitch with a strong tendency to roll my eyes when I hear good music. I bought a CD that night, and I was especially drawn to two of the songs in particular. The lyrics are excellent, which wasn’t something I was able to judge when I saw them live.

The first song on the disc, Talk Straight, so clearly expresses something that is such a big theme in my life: the importance of honesty in relationships. I have a lot of friends with all kinds of personality flaws (lawd knows I have my fair share of them, too), but what they do share is integrity, genuineness, and honesty. They don’t fear telling me the truth, even when they know it might hurt me, and for that, I am grateful. The other song by The Old Ceremony that I’ve been listening to is Papers in Order, knowing the my papers are, in fact, not yet in order. But it is sort of something to aim for. I’ve added both of these songs to my new Radio Blog, which I’ve now moved over to the sidebar, along with the other song they did which really rocked my socks off. During that song at the gig, John and Peter of the Mountain Goats were visible in the door, dancing their butts off! When they went on later, John made a point to mention how amazing TOC were. Man, he wasn’t wrong. Really impressive. I can’t really afford to see them open for Squirrel Nut Zippers, but they are playing a smaller gig nearby very soon. I’ll be there. No doubt.

I’ve also added another selection of songs I’ve been listening to lately. I first heard Heartless Bastards at Alibi after choir one night. I could have sworn that it was a man singing. After I got the tracks, it was clearly a woman. I don’t know what I was thinking. The song Blue Day has become one of my favorite tracks to listen to when I’m on the elliptical machine at the gym.

I got a chance to see Telepath again last night, and they were, once again, really excellent. I’m working on editing the pix and video I took and it will be heading to my Flickr and YouTube pages soon. I’ve thrown two of my favorite Telepath tracks over into the Radio Blog, too. You also get a Kristin Hersh, a little Wolfmother, and a live version of Crazy by Gnarls Barkley that you’ve maybe not heard.

Enjoy, people. I’ll add more as I’m inspired to do so.