An Evening with The Greatest

It started out as a dream the night before the show, call it a "Moon Pix" moment. I had a dream I was already in the crowd staring at Chan Marshall sing but woke up way too early and the end got cut off. I knew I had to create my own storybook ending.

It was cold and rainy Sunday night in San Francisco, people were coming back home from their Thanksgiving trip, I was making the trek to the famous Fillmore. I had half an hour left before the doors opened, so with my spare change, I decided to hit Safeway and buy Chan a bouquet of flowers. While waiting for the show to start, I kept thinking to myself, "is she going to take them?" and " what if im too shy to give them to her?"

As usual, the great Memphis Rhythm Band started the show by playing a couple of songs, I didn't know if it was the band or the Fillmore sound system, but the acoustics sounded so clear. Then the notes to "The Greatest" started playing and Chan Marshall made her way to the stage with her usual green collared long sleeve and black tank top show attire. As soon as she put down her drink, I reached my hand out and handed her the flowers, this was easier said than done. My heart was running laps in my chest as Chan grabbed the flowers and smiled and shook my hand.

Halfway through the show, she sat on a speaker next to me, and we were literally less than an inch apart. That whole moment was hazy, I couldn't even remember what song she was singing. She takes her hand and pets me in the head before she got up. Yeah, what a moment.

The majority of the songs she played were from "The Greatest", i wish she had played more from "You are Free" though. Chan also sang a couple of songs from her "Covers Record" including Gnarls Barkley's song, Crazy. She sang her heart out even though that was an early show and had another show right after.
The crowd was great too, barely any kids around and it was mostly adults in their late 30's and 40's.

All in all, it was thirty dollars well spent. Minus the interactions with Chan, it was exactly like my dream, colourful and beautiful, and this time, i knew how it ended.


The Cat Power show that was streamed on NPR.org last week is still available for download. It's an okay substitute if you haven't seen her live, although it won't do justice.

Cat Power in Concert NPR.org

The Greatest (Live @ La Cigale Paris) - Cat Power

more photos from the show


-Charlie

From the Camera Crowd, To the Dancefloor

Although the Thanksgiving holiday is nearing its end, Christmas is right around the corner and so are the parties that come along with the holidays. I hope you won't have to be stuck at one where the same tasteless music is played over and over again, but if you are the one throwing the party, here are a few bands that will make your party dance-ilicious. Hint: you can also use this playlist to practice your dance moves when no one's looking...

Click on the song title to download!
Click on the artist/band name to find out more!

{ Once the Hype Machine records these songs onto our recent tracks page, you can click on their neat pop up flash player to listen to these songs and then just download the ones you like. Just click on the pop-up flash player located to your left to listen to this playlist now! }

From the Camera Crowd, To the Dancefloor

1. The Adjustor | The Octopus Project
2. IMpossible | Figurine
3. My Patch (Hot Chip remix) | Jim Noir

(found this on Quick Before It Melts blog)

4. This Charming Man | Stars {a Smiths cover!}
5. Glass Danse | The Faint
6. (You Can't Blame It On) Anybody | Phoenix
7. Crazy | Gnarls Barkley
8. Hotel | Broken Social Scene
9. Loose Ends | Imogen Heap
10. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger | Daft Punk
11. Mushaboom (The Postal Service remix) | Feist

Also check out anything from Ratatat, neat Brooklyn band that churns out lyric-free rock/electronica music like no other. They are also currently on tour with The Faint. And hey, if you want the easy way out, buy The Faint's Danse Macabre and Ratatat's Classics and you're set for almost two hours of music for your party.

~anne

Oh I'm Happy When It Rains [Playlist]

Photo by: Andre Gallant

Ignoring freak snow storms, the start of November or the week of Thanksgiving is usually the start of rainy/snowy season. For as long as I can remember, I've been a "rain, rain don't go away.." kid. I totally prefer the rain over a nice sunny day. Sunny summer days just give me headaches and makes me grumpy. There's something about the sights and sounds of the rain that makes it so beautiful. And there's nothing else besides music and a warm sweater that would perfectly go along with the rainy weather.

I've put together several songs that would have your senses thanking you during those wintery days. Most of these songs have little or nothing to do with the rain, but each and every one of them is soothing to the ears just like a warm cup of real green tea flowing down your throat(not that snapple/arizona crap).

And one more thing, before you carve that big turkey/tofurky of yours, think about the less fortunate who aren't having a big meal this thanksgiving. Try and help out the less fortunate by donating canned goods at your local supermarket. Or if you wanna go further, help out on Thanksgiving day at your local soup kitchen, it's only for a couple of hours on Thanksgiving morning. I did just that a couple of years ago and volunteered at a local church in San Francisco and served food to the homeless. So do what you can, there are millions out there who are starving right now, even the people who don't celebrate Thanksgiving, even one can of stuffings can make a difference.


Happy When It Rains playlist


1. Happy When It Rains - The Jesus & Mary Chain
2. A.M slow golden hit - Hotel Lights
3. Rain And Sun - We Will Build
4. Say - Cat Power
5. Leaving Philadelphia - Denison Witmer
6. Some kind of Chill - Arizona
7. Day Six - Explosions in the Sky
8. Wraith Pinned To The Mist And Other Games - Of Montreal
9. Warmest Part Of The Winter - Voxtrot
10. Acid Tongue (Live) - Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins



-Charlie

3 minute entry : Magic Bullets

I mentioned Magic Bullets a couple of weeks ago in my Voxtrot show post, and this Bay Area band has been on repeat on Chan (my mp3 player) ever since. Their hip swaying beats are seriously infectious and unstoppable.

It's sad to say that I'm not familiar with a lot of San Francisco musicians, I'm too caught up with what's coming out from Austin and somewhat ignoring my own turf. This band is slowly changing that. After seeing these guys, I'm much more open to the sounds of San Francisco. We'll make our mark on the map soon, I hope San Francisco can be the next Austin, or the next Montreal.

Magic Bullets is a band that will no doubt have you shaking and burning the dance floor. This band who "keep their hair and songs short" can easily headline a show with no disappointments. They will release their debut c.d titled "a CHILD but in life yet a DOCTOR in love" in early 2007.

For now, we only get a tiny slice of the hot cake.

Lay Low - Magic Bullets

New Kicks - Magic Bullets

more songs

Tour Dates: (they're only touring the San Francisco Bay Area right now)

Nov 29 2006 - Bottom of the Hill w/ Nightmare of You

Dec 11 2006 - The Knockout-- DONUTS



-Charlie

Chapman - Unexploded Bombshell

It's not often you get a musician to bare his or her soul and have their triumphs and tragedies come out beautiful on a c.d. Anne and I can name one from the top of our head, Elliott Smith.

Don't worry, this isn't going to be a comparison to Elliott, it's more about Dom Chapman, a singer, songwriter from London. Having written his first song on the inside of a shoebox lid at age 5, Chapman has gone a longway. After bouncing from club to club singing and being involved with two different bands, he finally decided to go solo and write his own album.

We all go through a time frame in our life where everything just seem to go a different way. Halfway through the album, Chapman suffered a lot of heartbreaking losses in the family. I won't go into details as to what they were, but lets just say if they happened to you, they'll keep you depressed for months or even longer. The events made a big impact on Chapman's album. The heartbreaking yet have a "positive" outlook feeling is definitely in the songs. I'm a big fan of singer/songwriters who are equipped with a piano, and Dom Chapman is one of them. Certain songs on this c.d can easily make it to a Zach Braff movie soundtrack.

Dom Chapman's album titled " Unexploded Bombshell" is a chronicle of Chapman's life stripped down to the soul and the beautiful layers of his voice and the piano.

Burning Bridges - Chapman

The River - Chapman

listen to more songs on his myspace

Chapman website

Purchase the c.d:

CDBaby.com

itunes



-Charlie


p.s : Yousendit has been acting weird lately, so if you download a song that's skipping and what not, just tell us and we'll fix it. Thanks.

Why you should listen to Explosions in the Sky

∞

*latest update on 11/22*

At first, I was going to make a post titled: The Music Lover's Guide to the {good} Instrumental/Post-Rock Bands and I even typed up intro paragraphs to a brief history of instrumental/post-rock bands, but once I started typing about my favorite instrumental band, Explosions in the Sky, I couldn't stop.

It became a bit too long to add on four or five more bands, considering that would probably turn the reader into a zombie, who will then proceed to drool on the keyboard over the text-heavy entry. So I will take this one instrumental band at a time. Although, I will confess right now that I don't know any other instrumental bands as thoroughly as I know of Explosions.

Explosions in the Sky

Munaf Rayani (guitar)

Mark Smith (guitar)
Michael James (bass)
Chris Hrasky (drums)

Oh, Explosions in the Sky my first instrumental band and one of my favorite bands ever. Somehow Austin bands are drop dead amazing. Their first album, How Strange Innocence was recorded in 2000 with only 300 copies made. It was released on the label Sad Loud America and now they are signed onto Temporary Residence Limited and molding the modern instrumental movement(if there were a movement, they would be the forerunners, promise). From the evolution of a span of six rewarding years: three full-length albums to one EP and two compilations; it is safe to say they have earned their place in the ever-growing/changing instrumental genre-land.

Who is this Explosions you talk of?...
If you are new to Explosions, you should start with their latest album, The Earth is not a Cold Dead Place, go backwards discography-wise. Don't worry, I will have a discography chart at the end of the entry. You may have heard Explosions and not even know it, they were pretty much the whole soundtrack in the movie, Friday Night Lights. They wrote new songs for the movie and yes, the {good taste in} music supervisor was Brian Reitzell(Marie Antoinette/Stranger Than Fiction). There is also a recent Cadillac commercial with "Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean"and "Your Hand in Mine". By the way, the TV series Friday Night Lights is nothing like the movie. So watch the movie and immerse yourself in a good plot/acting and music!

Something cool...
Their whole The Rescue: Travel in Constants Vol. 21 EP is available for download here(click on the album with the Lassie look-a-like and there will be a popup with mp3s), since there were limited copies to this Temporary Residence EP series. This was the first time they recorded something themselves and every song on there was made up on the spot! It took them two weeks to finish it, with eight days for improv and rest for mixing and messing round with tracks. This E.P. also shows Explosions in a different light, recording by themselves in Michael's house, the shorter songs, improvisation and using different instruments. There is a sense of hope on this E.P., a lightness that was on their 2000 debut album.

What they're doing now...
They recently finished up recording their fourth album in Minnesota and it should come out either in late February or early March. *on February 20th in the US and on the 19th for the UK and rest of Europe. The album is called All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone and clocks in at 44 minutes long with six songs on tracklist.* It was produced by John Congleton who also produced The Earth is Not A Cold Dead Place. They're playing at the Drift in Los Angeles tomorrow night and have just announced new tour dates for, Brooklyn, New York City, London, Brussels and hinted a future North American tour. Get tour dates here or scroll towards bottom for the dates. They also have a pre-sale to avoid the crazy surcharges for the Brooklyn show at Warsaw and the Wordless Music Series in New York City, hurry before the public gets their hands on them on Nov. 15th.

*I found some more info on Explosion's new album, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone from a Pitchfork news entry. The album will have a limited edition and deluxe versions bundled up with six remixes from Four Tet, Eluvium, Adem, Jesu, Mountains and John Congleton's own Paper Chase. You can hear what will be the second track, "Welcome, Ghosts" of their new album here. Here is the tracklisting...

All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone | Explosions in the Sky

1. The Birth and Death of the Day
2. Welcome, Ghosts
3. It's Natural to Be Afraid
4. What Do You Go Home To?
5. Catastrophe and the Cure
6. So Long, Lonesome

The bonus disc (sweet!)

1. The Birth and Death of the Day (Jesu remix)
   
2. Welcome, Ghosts (Adem remix)
   
3. It's Natural to Be Afraid (The Paper Chase remix)
   
4. What Do You Go Home To? (Mountains remix)
   
5. Catastrophe and the Cure (Four Tet remix)
   
6. So Long, Lonesome (Eluvium remix)
   

More Cowbell has an entry on Explosion's new album and has a larger photo of the album's art cover!

About them live...
I have seen them twice live. Their sets are usually about an hour long and they play without stopping. No small talk on stage, these guys play straight through. Adjusting pedals and strings inbetween songs, but its hardly noticeable with the distortion and just single-note strumming leading into the next song. They don't just stand there and play, they jump, their hands crash against the strings, they crawl on stage, they nurse the sounds and release them into the air, they come alive. It is the most awful thing to miss an Explosions show, and it is the most beautiful thing to attend one.

Discography:

Sad Loud America/Temporary Residence Ltd. (2000/2005) How Strange, Innocence Explosions with a heap of distortion and then some. But it has this "lightness" as they mention on the liner notes. Sounds as if it's underwater, the distortion if anything highlights the lighter parts and those moments of clarity is the beauty of the album. It really does remind me of the ocean, like the new artwork by Esteban Rey interprets it: the see/sea-saw turbulence and then the calmness of the ocean after a storm. Best song on there, "Look Into the Air" hands down, the beginning is ineffable.

Temporary Residence Ltd. (2001) Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever A metamorphosis, no lightness, just dark. Complete pitch black dark and confusion, what an album. At times, they sound like a noisy Mogwai and pull a complete switchup to minimal Godspeed You! Black Emperor feel. There are also clips inserted in "Have You Passed Through This Night?", a voice-over, sound of a gunshot, a line taken from the movie The Thin Red Line". Even unfolding the sleeve there is a drawing of a plane that says, "This plane will crash tomorrow". A lot of cymbal riding and resonating even after songs have ended. The drums are incredibly important in Explosions, not just to keep rhythm or be background noise. The distortion here is well-placed! This album...when it's loud, it's LOUD and then its so quiet you feel like you're in a church.

Temporary Residence Ltd. (2003) The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place Like a white wall from far away, but close up with so many subtle nuances. Their sound has evolved so much, but we can still hear ten seconds of it and say its an Explosions album. It is an extremely minimalistic stripped down, bare-bones album, hardly any distortion. Their most accessible and popular album. Their well known songs like "First Breath After Coma" and "Your Hand in Mine" are on here. I love "Six Days At the Bottom of the Ocean" and "Memorial" along with the rest. This is a long album with each song over the 8 minute mark. It is truly so epic and heart-clenching. If this isn't beautiful, I don't know what is.

Current Tour dates:

02-19 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
02-20 New York, NY - Society for Ethical Culture Concert Hall (Wordless Music Series)
02-26 Brussels, BEL - AB Box/Ancienne Belgique
03-01 London, UK - KoKo's
03-11 Sunrise, FL - Langerado Music Festival - Markham Park

Downloads&purchase:

...from How Strange, Innocence

Look Into The Air | Explosions in the Sky

...from Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever

A Poor Man's Memory | Explosions in the Sky

...from The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place

Memorial | Explosions in the Sky


Links:

>>> Explosions in the Sky's Official Site
<<< Download The Rescue EP (click on bottom left album for mp3s)
>>> Buy Explosions in the Sky's albums
<<< I live in New York, where's the pre-sale?
>>> Read synopsis on Friday Night Lights
<<< Hear new song, "Welcome, Ghosts"!

~anne

3 minute entry : Joanna Newsom

Her debut cd The Milk-Eyed Mender came out two years ago which got a lot of thumbs up from bloggers and fans. I got a taste of Joanna Newsom a couple of months ago and got hooked right away. A cousin of San Francisco's mayor, Gavin Newsom ( who's doing a good job by the way), Joanna's sound is nothing I've ever heard before. With her individualistic vocals and her angelic harp, everything sounded so new and different, yet, I was liking it. If you're not familiar with her, you'll be suprised with what comes out of your speakers when you play one of her songs. Joanna Newsom is literally a one of a kind musician.

Her second c.d titled Ys comes out this tuesday. A 5 track cd that's about an hour long, yeah, imagine harmonic chapters of her harp and her voice. If you wanna get into Joanna Newsom, I suggest getting into The Milk-Eyed Mender first.

The Milk-Eyed Mender

Sadie-Joanna Newsom

Buy The Milk-Eyed Mender

Ys

Cosmia - Joanna Newsom


Buy Ys


More mp3's.


-Charlie

Voxtrot along with Magic Bullets and Yellow Fever 11.04.06

Now don't lie, but I know there are those of you out there, including me, who just can't wait to get the supporting artists off the stage and get the main event going. I finally saw Voxtrot over the weekend after missing them twice this year. Tagging along was another Austin band, Yellow Fever, and a San Francisco {hometown} band, Magic Bullets. I've never heard of both so I did what any music fan would do and check out their songs online.

I wasn't impressed.

So came show time, Yellow Fever opened first and suprised me with their poppy beats and quirky but catchy short lyrics. A couple of songs into their set, I caught myself groovin and shakin.

Donald - Yellow Fever

Download more songs

Up next was San Francisco's own, Magic Bullets. The front man came out with a pair of maracas, I had a feeling it was going to be another dance party. The lead singer started dancing all over the stage and the crowd just couldn't help but dance along. The rhythmic keyboards hip shaking beats were just too contagious. I think of this band as a San Francisco version of The Hives, with the '80s like pop beats.

Lay Low - Magic Bullets

Download more songs


Last but not least was Voxtrot, no explanation needed for this. The moment they hit the stage, I knew it was time to let go of everything and just ride the music. From my favorite, "Raised by Wolves", to the new song, "Your Biggest Fan,"it was downright a burn the dancefloor party. It was everything I expected it to be. I haven't been to a show since early May, and this show took a toll on me. I'm still suffering from P.G.S.S, {post groovin and shakin too much syndrome}. I fell asleep in Physics lecture for the first time today, and I love that class.

Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, and Wives - Voxtrot

Voxtrot Website

Buy Your Biggest Fan E.P

As for my photographs, they're mainly of Ramesh, because all the light was focused on him and the other band members were so dark that it was suicide photographing them. I decided to shoot in black and white because the lighting on stage was so poor, it was pointless trying to capture a single colour. I seriously need a better flash, stock flash just won't cut it, so I have to rely on bad stage lighting and my fstop only goes up to 2.9. And sorry for the bad angles, live photography isn't really my thing, and even though I was first in line and got a good spot, I lost it because Voxtrot's merch guy and I had to find Jared so I can get his new EP.

A Couple more photos from the show

All in all, it was an awesome dance party and I hope there's good lighting at The Fillmore when Chan Marshall performs in two weeks, and I have a feeling she won't be moving around too much like these guys.


-Charlie

3 minute entry: The Decemberists

{Photo by Autumn de Wilde}

Somehow describing The Decemberists with words alone has always been hard.

Take one:

"I think you'll like this band called The Decemberists,"
"Oh yeah? What do they sound like?"
"Uhhh...well they sing sea shanties...kind of."
"What the?! I don't know you..."

The better route is handing them one of their albums: Her Majesty, Picaresque, or their latest album, The Crane Wife. They would immediately join you in the puzzle of trying to describe Colin Meloy & Co's catchy 'sea shanties'.

I found on their website a really neat video of a "photo shoot with The Decemberists". It shows how many people are actually behind the scenes bustling around with makeup and backdrops for a few photos. It is also humorous and gives a nice view of The Decemberists just being themselves. Also the photographer in action in the video is Autumn de Wilde, who has captured the memorable images of Elliott Smith, Beck, Jenny Lewis, Spoon, Death Cab for Cutie and so many more. We here at cameracrowd are in awe over her work and we hope you realize how much work goes into the photos in magazines lining the shelves at Barnes & Nobles. If you do swing by the bookstore, the latest issues of FILTER and Under the Radar magazine have The Decemberists on their covers. So if you want to learn more about them, stop by the bookstore, when you're picking up their new album, The Crane Wife. Here are the rest of the photos that came out of the photo shoot!

Links:

>>> Photo shoot video with The Decemberists
<<< Final photographs that came out from the shoot
>>> The Decemberists official site
<<< The Decemberists MySpace
>>> Buy The Crane Wife
<<< Autumn de Wilde's website
Enjoy reading with a cup of coffee/tea:

FILTER

Under the Radar

Downloads & purchase:

from The Crane Wife:

>>>Summersong | The Decemberists

~anne