Wilco (Live!)

From the Apocrypha Rockus Americanus:


"In the desert they will sing with dragon slaying axes, and Benjamin (son of the right hand) shall be called forth as a witness..."

This blog entry may also be called "A Prophecy Fulfilled: The Intercosmic Connection."

If you're reading this blog, you sorta know me and you sorta know that I can get overly nerdy about the music I love. This blog will be more of the same, however, you should note that certain experiences took place on June 25, 2012 that might make you a believer in the power of music and why I love it so much.

Prophecies were fulfilled. Intercosmic connections were made. Faces were melted.


Like all good bible stories, its a good idea to start at the beginning:

This is my older brother Ryan. For as long as I can remember he has either been teasing me or opening mysterious doors of wonder. He's a big-shot lawyer, laser smart, and navigates various planes of reality.

When I got my Bachelor's degree from the U of U, he made me a CD. The CD was filled with amazing music. There was one song in particular on this CD that I simply could not get enough of. This song was "Jesus, etc." by Wilco.

If I'm ever asked to share music with someone for the first time, I ALWAYS include this song. It's a staple. It has to be heard.

My love for this song led me to the album it came from (below):

By fans and critics alike, this album is considered a rock and roll "classic." I didn't even listen to it until 5 years after its release and it seemed like the most important music I'd ever heard. (I wasn't the only one who felt that way).

Fast forward a few years and the advent of iTunes, iPods, and Facebook, I dug deep into Wilco. They never disappoint! Album for album, song for song, these guys find gold in the sounds of folk, country, garage rock, jam-band, and sixties pop. 

Their lead man, Jeff Tweedy, provides the magic dust. His deadpan, self-effacing humor and poetic introspection are what gives Wilco the edge on all other "alt-country" acts. 

This is a pic of Mr. Tweedy from last night's show. (Gotta love his vaudeville-folkie flare!) 

He was totally complimentary of SLC, and particularly Red Butte Gardens. He made fun of the bourgeois VIP section, security guards, and big-ass cameras. He backed up his compliments with not 1, but 2 ENCORES! (More on that later...)

For reasons previously unknown, (now known as intercosmic magnetic forces) I was able to get in line really early for the show. Not 3 seconds after I sat down (in the shade no less) I noticed a familiar figure meandering up the hill to get in line:

This tall drink of water was none other than Adam "Time Traveler Pants" Swalberg!! I've cataloged some of my musings on Adam here.

He literally appeared out of the sunlight. I have no evidence (nor do I need it), but I'm pretty sure he teleported to that hill riding an intergalactic unicorn.

The next 3 hours faded in and out of reality as we discussed music and the meaning of life...

This is a picture of Adam pontificating to (a then stranger in a hat, Aaron) about a great many things. After our extensive exchange, Aaron revealed himself to be not only a "brother-in-arms" about rad music, (he spoke quite knowledgeably about Bon Iver, Band of Horses, and Dr. Dog...) but husband and father to famed "Signing Time" stars Rachel and Leah!!!

I was able to directly thank Aaron and his wife Rachel (she showed up later, but I didn't take any pics, cuz I was super shy) about how I've used their Signing Time videos to teach not only my own children some sign, but a bunch of other children struggling with developmental and/or communication deficits in my role as a psychologist in the schools. They were both very nice and pretty amazing people.

Check this link out!

As I spoke with Aaron and Rachel, this older gentlemen with long hair and a goatee next to them said, "Are you Ben Springer?" Here I was, talking with Signing Time Lady & Co and this guy asks me my name like I'm famous!?

I responded in the affirmative, and he said, "I'm Bruce Poulsen. I'm a big fan! You're a killer illustrator, man!"

(My mind exploded at this point. Dr. Poulsen is a well-respected psychologist here in Utah and was the graduate supervisor of one of my all-time-good-buddies, Ben Belnap. Dr. Poulsen had apparently seen my work on my Superheroes project...)

My mind (still in tiny shards) collected itself long enough to remember that my buddy Ben and I would geek-out about Bruce's connections to Arcade Fire (one of the only bands on the same tier of Wilco for me). I made some blur of a comment like, "Holy Shit! What's happening right now!? I remember Ben talking to me about your connections to Arcade Fire!" To which Signing-Time-Rachel replied, "We're related to the guys in Arcade Fire!!!" I guess Rachel's sister is married to Dr. Poulsen! (Zoinks!)

We all started laughing and Aaron said something like, "Music is life, man! Music is life!"

Shortly thereafter, I reunited with my love and reported all of these wondrous happenings. Then we took a cheesy photo:

Here's a shot of the Red Butte venue:

This was the opening band, "Blitzen Trapper." It occurred to me that their name might be in reference to catching one of Santa's reindeer. Whether or not this is true, my observation made me like them less.

They were okay.

Below is a picture of Wilco. They were much, much better than "okay." They were the quintessential summer rock and roll band experience!

It's important to recognize Wilco as a "band." While Jeff Tweedy provides the unique voice and influence, they are solidly equipped with crazy musicians. None more so than this dude:

This is Nels Cline last night. See him with that guitar? He literally destroys that instrument in the most beautiful ways. If you have just over 6 minutes, watch this and see it for yourself:




The rest of the night went something like this:

(Note the red-glare "replicant" eyes of my brother, Ryan!)

Here's the setlist of all the songs they played, plus the encore(s)! (My favorites in bold):

One Sunday Morning
Art of Almost
I Might
Muzzle of Bees
Misunderstood
Impossible Germany
Born Alone
Far, Far away
Whole Love
Box Full of Letters
Pot Kettle Black
I’m Always in Love
Heavy Metal Drummer
I'm the Man Who Loves You
Dawned on Me
A Shot in the Arm
..
Via Chicago
Jesus, Etc.
Late Greats
Walken
Hesitating Beauty
California Stars
..
Red-eyed and Blue
I Got You (At the End of the Century)
Hoodoo Voodoo

1. "One Sunday Morning" is this quiet, lovely, meandering of a song with poignant lyrics about life and love. 

2. "Art of Almost" was my "Best song of 2011" and a face-melting experience. The guitar explosion at the end eviscerated a fat man. I saw it happen!

3. "Misunderstood" is quintessential Wilco.

4. "Impossible Germany" is a guitar-god manifesto.

5. "Far, Far Away" is Wilco showing off their finest country chops.

6. "Whole Love" is a nod to 60's pop and A.M. radio love.

7. "Pot Kettle Black" is a good sample of how only Wilco can sound like Wilco

8. "Heavy Metal Drummer" should be mandatory listening for all summer vacations.

9. "I'm the Man Who Loves You" is straight-up guitar-rock-stomping

10. "Dawned on Me" shows you how remembering love can rock your world.

11. "A Shot in the Arm" is Jeff Tweedy putting it all out there, a beautiful, rocking gesture.

Those songs were the highlights (for me) of the pre-encore concert. 

Then, as the audience howled into the desert moon, Wilco came back out and gave a helluva encore!

(As Wilco picked up their instruments, Val whispered to me a hope for "California Stars.")

1. "Via Chicago" opens with the line "I dreamed about killing you again last night, and it seemed alright to me..." Not the most romantic opener, but its about going home, getting your head straight. 

2. "Jesus, etc." The Song.

3. "Late Greats" is one of my favorite Wilco songs. There is something cool about a band singing about a band.

4. "Walken" honky-tonk piano driven rocker.

5. "Hesitating Beauty" Obscure Woody Guthrie song. Pretty. Simple. 

6. "California Stars" Valerie's wish was granted. The stars above were not from California, but they certainly shined on our love last night. 

You see, Valerie made Herculean efforts to make it possible for us to have another Red Butte date.

With all the magic in the air last night, it made perfect sense that Wilco would end their encore with that song for Valerie. 


A prophecy fulfilled... 

As Wilco left the stage, Valerie picked up her blanket and went to off to get our babies. 

All of this really happened. 

Because of music. 

Music Blowing My Mind (Part 3)...

Prepare yourself for brain-splattering rock music! (This is the final installment of music that has been blowing my mind recently).

No skulls allowed!


**WARNING: The following music may do this to you.**



1. Islands "A Sleep & A Forgetting"

A couple summers ago, I went to go see The Black Keys with my brother. I was stoked to see those dudes melt faces with their bluesy-guitar-stomp-garage rock! The Keys had an opening band called Human Highway. This band consisted of two Canadian indie stalwarts Jim Guthrie and Nick "Diamonds" Thornburn (and sounded nothing like The Black Keys).

They played their set in the hot Utah sun while most of the folks in the audience were talking. I wasn't paying too much attention, but they got into a song called "What World" and it shot a sonic arrow right into my heart. As much as I liked the Black Keys, this quirky pop-folk-doo-wop is what stuck with me that night.

I got home and downloaded their album. It was, in a word: perfect. I became sorta obsessed with them and tried to figure out if they had any more albums. My gumshoeing led me to discover Nick Thornburn's primary band, Islands. Because it looked like Human Highway was sort of a side-project-whim, I surrendered and got an Islands album called "Vapours."

As it turned out, "Vapours" became one of my all-time favorite albums.

It's time, dear readers, that you acknowledge Islands! They're legit, and Nick Thornburn has the goods on the same level as Beck, Stephen Malkmus, and Jack White. By "the goods," I mean the ability to make a unique mark on the alt-rock soundscape all their own.

Anyways, I heard Islands were coming out with a new album this year and was really eager to hear it. It was released on Valentines Day. Here's a picture of the album cover:

A black background with a black rose. On Valentine's. Oh boy. 

When I first listened, I found none of the crazy spaghetti-western-drum-machine-pop-masterpieces that were on "Vapours." So, like a little bitch, I wrote this album off as "okay" and let it slide into my overly vast iTunes library. 

A little bit of time passed and while shuffling songs on my iPod, an Islands song from this album would pop-up. Every single time I stopped what I was doing! I was all, "Wha? Me gusta!"

After this happened more than a few times,  I hunkered down and re-listened. My brain was jettisoned rear-cranium-style!

I screwed up comparing it to Vapours. This album is something totally different. Where Vapours rocked the fanciful tales of drug-induced oblivion, "A Sleep & A Forgetting" made a bridge to Human Highway-ish sounds. A 50's (60's?) love letter to burned and bloodstained love letters. Nick Thornburn made a tragic heartbreaker of an album cuz I think he experienced a tragic heartbreak! (Zoinks!)

Anyways, do yourself a favor and buy this album. Its all good. Right now, my favorites are "Hallways," "Oh, Maria," and "This Is Not a Song." 

2. Jack White "Blunderbuss"

Um, how often will you be able to compare a solo effort to the likes of Led Zeppelin and Jerry Lee Lewis? Answer: Never. Dude is ridiculous! My pre-frontal cortex turned into creamed corn when I heard these songs: "Sixteen Saltines," "I'm Shakin'," "(Hip) Eponymous Poor Boy," and "Trash Tongue Talker." Who is this guy?






3. Diamond Rugs

Hmmm...Where do I begin?

Oh, I know, when my skull exploded into raspberry jam all over the back of my truck!!!

This music is at once too simple and too incredible to write about in my sorry-ass blog. It's everything I've ever wanted in American Rock Music. How's that? It's why car windows were designed to be rolled down and car stereos were designed to be turned up!

Just go buy this album and thank me later.





4. Dr. Dog "Be the Void"

For starters, these dudes are my favorites right now. When I think of Dr. Dog, I think of this image  below:

I've seen them live a couple times and they don't dress like this, (you never know cuz indie-music-hipsters can go to great lengths to dress ironically...) . This is a publicity shot. If you listen to their music, you get it. They work hard, they look to the past, they fix it, they bring it to you in their own unique way. If you asked them for what's in their pockets, you'd find dusty remnants of The Beatles, The Band, and The Beach Boys. 

Their last four albums are back-to-back masterpieces. I'm not joking. I mentioned those older bands above, but don't let me mislead you. Dr. Dog sound nothing like them. It's just...you can tell they take the past of rock history seriously and selectively. 

Anyhoo, they do their thing and it works. All the time. 

Their most recent album "Be the Void" is a frenetic pot luck of sorts. It's full of energy, angst, and fun. These guys are fantastic musicians and you get the feeling they just let it all out in the studio here. No breaks, very little polishing, just a good ol' fashioned rocker! I like rocking to all the songs from this album, but check out, "That Old Black Hole," "The Trick," and "Lonesome" for sure.

There you go. Hope your brain splatters on the back of your sofa!

Music Blowing My Mind (Part 2)...

This blog is "part 2" of new music I've been listening to. I'm continuing the rank of "Mind Expanding" music below:

3. Beach House

My other buddy Adam "Swallz" turned me on to this band a couple of years ago. I sort of think Swallz may be a time-traveler or something. When you meet him, he has this look like he's seen something both mysterious and beautiful. Its like he can only give you bits and pieces of information or you'll lose your mind. He called me out of the blue and said, "Springer, you need to listen to this music. It's like the sound of a forgotten summer..." or some shit like that.

But, because he's magic, I did listen and he was right. Beach House has this effervescent sonic blanket of sound that takes you far away... Also, this most recent album has some tracks that remind me of the vibe from Twin Peaks. (I can't explain why, but this article can). The whole album will marinate your brain in mind-expanding juices. Stand-outs are "Myth," "Lazuli," "On the Sea," and "Wishes."





4. M. Ward

Dude has opiate-laced vocal chords, okay? Dude shreds the guitar, okay? Dude is a master at crafting songs, okay? M. Ward is simply M. Ward and he's wonderful. Just listen. Your mind will expand, guaranteed! Stand-outs are bonafide singles crafted by a careful student of 60's pop orchestration and folk-flare: "Sweetheart," "Primitive Girl," and "Clean Slate."





5. Jay Farrar & The New Multitudes

So, I have this love affair with music that might be referred to as "alternative country." There are a couple of dudes that may be considered the "original gangstas" of this genre of music: Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy. They started a band called Uncle Tupelo in the mid-nineties when most other dudes were in full-on grunge mode! They had a good thing goin' but it didn't last...

Fast forward a couple of decades and throw in some "creative differences" and you have an interesting Peter vs Paul dynamic going on where "the gospel" is Woody Guthrie's unsung songs. In 1998, Jeff Tweedy's Wilco took a stab at Woody Guthrie's songs and knocked it outta the park!

I think that pissed off Jay Farrar, especially cuz he said that he was asked first, (but he turned it down...)

Well, God works in mysterious ways and Jay got his shot at the Guthrie canon. He also got a little help from his friends (Jim James of My Morning Jacket, anyone!?)

The album is strong and has a fearlessness about it that I really like. It's a good collaboration of a bunch of bearded-indie-wonders too. I never got into Woody Guthrie, but these dudes make a strong argument for getting to know more about the folk legend. Stand-outs are: "Fly High," "My Revolutionary Mind," and "Chorine My Sheba Queen."





There is still more to come! Stay tuned! As if anyone is actually reading this garbage! Yeah!

Music Blowing My Mind! (Part 1)...

I can't help it! I have to consume new music or I get really bugged, okay! The following blog is dedicated to new music that I've consumed for the past few months.

I've arranged the music into the following categories:

1. Mind Tickled (MT)
2. Mind Expanded (ME)
3. Mind Totally Blow to Pieces (MTBP)

Got it? Good.

Let's start with the MT first:

Ben Kweller's new album: "Go Fly a Kite"

For those of you unfamiliar with Ben Kweller, he's a crafty young musician once pegged by indie-rockers as a "child prodigy." That status meant that, as a teenager,  he had "mad-indie-skills" when it came to catchy, lo-fi tunes. He's older now, so, that glove doesn't really fit him any more. Basically, based on his trajectory, he should have crafted a masterpiece by now, but hasn't. (He came close on 2009's "Changing Horses" but not close enough.)

Mr. Kweller knows how to craft a song, though, and proves it with a few good 70's and 80's guitar-and-piano-songs with strong pop sensibilities. (See: "Out the Door," "Jealous Girl," and "Gossip.") Other than those stand-outs, the rest of the album just sort of comes and goes for me.






That's all for the Mind Ticklers. Short list, which is good, I guess...

Next we have the ME group:

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (For the record, I HATE THEIR NAME SO BAD!) It just bugs me.

Fortunately, their music makes up for it. I have been listening to their latest album, "It's a Corporate World." I know very little about these dudes, but I think this album is a "concept album." In other words, there is a funny and quirky thematic element that spreads through all the songs. I think that theme has to do with being a corporate businessman. Clever and sardonic soundtrack for the "Occupy Wall Street" movement? Maybe, I have no idea.

These guys conjure up similar tones of The Flaming Lips and MGMT. They definitely scratch that itch for melodic and sonic catastrophy. The whole album expanded my cerebellum a few millimeters and these songs stand-out: "Morning Thought," "Nothing But Our Love," "An Ugly Person On a Movie Screen," and the Mo-Town-influenced "We Almost Lost Detroit."




2. Alabama Shakes

My buddy Dave Lamborn teased me once that all my musical tastes can be found on NPR. He lives in Minnesota or I would have kicked him in his nards (all three) for saying that. What sucks, though, is he's sorta right. I was listening to the Spring Fund Drive on NPR and they were giving away this album if you donated $100. (Instead of supporting public radio, I just waited for the album to come out on iTunes, I'm only a little ashamed...).

Anyhoo, the samples of music they had on NPR were very, very tasty. They have a huge "buzz" about them now and it's all warranted. The gods of rock and roll have awakened a beast within lead singer Brittany Howard. She has an incredibly soulful and ready to rock voice! She's the real deal. The whole album is good, and these are the stand-outs: "Hold On," "Be Mine," and "Hang Loose."


 



TO BE CONTINUED! STAY TUNED!