an empire is an immense egotism

February 1, 2007 at 3:21 pm · Filed under music

so said ralph waldo emerson. but he couldn’t have been talking about the cat empire, because these guys are about as selfless as they come. their music is, stylistically speaking, wide-ranging and all-encompassing. and they invite the crowd to share in the fun from the opening sonic salvo.

2006 was a great year for live music in san francisco, but the cat empire has already set the bar pretty high for 2007. (admittedly, it’s still way too early to call favorites, especially considering some of the upcoming shows on my calendar: sparklehorse, jesse sykes, the mountain goats, tv on the radio, apples in stereo, and the gourds.)

but back to the cats. i had stumbled (almost literally) upon these guys last year at bonnaroo. when i saw the show listing earlier this month, i decided to see if my first impression would hold up under further scrutiny. it did. in fact, they were even better than i hazily remembered.

the cat empire is a 6-piece band from australia with no guitars. yep, no guitars. there’s an incredible rhythm section, two frontmen—one sings and plays percussion, the other sings and plays trumpet—an androgynous keyboard player, and a turntablist/percussionist. the songs are all over the place, everything from dub to cuban to sing-along-chorus pop. the trumpet bursts are the most consistent element, providing everything from percussive stabs to primary melody lines… it’s like herb albert and the marijuana brash.

anyway, buy the new CD “two shoes” (which is actually a re-release—but their first US release—of a 2005 australian album) if you like the clip below. fun stuff, and we need to make sure these guys make enough money to come back to the states on a regular basis.

take a listen to their song “lullaby” from last night’s show.

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boston baked tunes

December 27, 2006 at 1:43 pm · Filed under music

not that anybody was missing me, but sorry for the month of silence. i’d like to say that i was so pleased by national political events that i didn’t feel the need to rant, but the reality is that there just isn’t enough time to do everything. so here’s a post i started back around thanksgiving… and finished today. and a pledge to be a bit more up-to-date in 2007.

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it sure is nice to know that literate pop/rock can still draw a decent crowd on a tuesday night. and the tuesday before thanksgiving, even. the pernice brothers rolled through town and played a magnificent set of tunes for an appreciative—one might even say reverent—audience. drawing heavily from the most recent release and sampling the previous four full-length albums, joe pernice led his 5-piece band capably, if not particularly thrillingly. but rock and roll thrills take a backseat to songwriting skills in pernice’s world and, for him, it works wonderfully.

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the real mr. tough…

November 3, 2006 at 5:34 pm · Filed under music

... is not one of these never-served-a-day-in-their-life neocon schmucks. no, the real mr. tough is a song off of the new yo la tengo album, i am not afraid of you and i will beat your ass.

i had the pleasure of catching the middle night of a three-night run at the fillmore last month. to be honest, this show was a bit on the noisy side (a yo la tengo show always moves back and forth between gorgeous, whispery-vocal melodic tunes and full-on distorted feedback squall). but it’s impossible not to love these misfits of rock and roll. they’re omniverous music geeks and once their broad range of influences gets fed through the YLT cuisinart, the result is purée magic.

here’s the version of mr. tough from the show on october 20th, 2006:

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what’s good for the goose

October 26, 2006 at 11:29 am · Filed under music

after reading this, it’s a “no-brainer for me” to consider giving this draft-dodging assclown a little waterboarding adventure of his own. i actually find it incredible that there’s even a debate about whether torture is acceptable—it’s not, and it’s so clearly completely contrary to everything for which this country stands. that said, a piece of human debris like dick cheney—who’s done far more damage to this country than any supposed terrorist ever could—might be that rare exception deserving of this kind of treatment. in fact, waterboarding cheney might be the only way to get the truth about the WMD lies, 9/11, plamegate, halliburton’s obscene profiteering, secret prisons and extraordinary rendition.

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i (heart) jesse sykes

October 13, 2006 at 10:51 pm · Filed under music

i’ve had the great fortune this year of witnessing some really fantastic live shows in san francisco. last monday, i headed back down to the independent (which is rapidly becoming my favorite place to see bands) to catch the knitters.

the knitters are a side project of john doe and exene from X that dates back to the 80s. originally started as a vehicle for more countrified acoustic songs, the 2006 version now steamrolls through a collection of classic X tunes, dave alvin songs, knitters’ originals, and some traditional numbers. i’ll have a sample from their incredible set in a future post.

but the bonus of the evening was the opening act: jesse sykes and the sweet hereafter. i have her first album “reckless burning,” but had never seen her live. mark my words: i will never miss another bay area appearance. why? first of all, jesse is one of the sexiest frontwomen in music today. she’s dark and mysterious, a fine guitar player, and perhaps best of all, self-deprecating. and that voice. i hear a little grace slick, some diane izzo, and echoes of pattie santos from the 60s band, it’s a beautiful day.

and then there’s her band. her primary musical partner is guitarist phil wandscher, ryan adams’ foil in the original lineup of the late great whiskeytown. but this band also features bill herzog on bass; herzog was in the incredible but little-heard citizens’ utilities. from hear-a-pin-drop quiet moody stretches to rhythmic crunch bolstered by controlled feedback, the sweet hereafter’s sound is, well, pretty damn sweet.

take a listen to “the dreaming dead” from their second album “oh, my girl.” if you like what you hear, please consider buying both albums here. it’s great stuff.

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