Live Review: Solid Sound Festival 2011

It's been wonderful watching Wilco break away from the music industry over the past few years, taking with them their seemingly ever-growing entourage of devoted followers. The group has come to a point in their career where the confines of record label are no longer a necessity, where the band no longer takes their music to people but rather brings their fans to them. Nowhere was this more evident than at the second iteration of the Solid Sound Festival--nestled in the somewhat remote town of North Adams, MA on the campus of the world class Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). The facilities were transformed in a Wilco-mecca of sorts, finding concert posters and homemade instruments nestled next to work from luminaries such as Sol LeWitt and Katharina Grosse. And then there was the music——handpicked by the folks in Wilco and encompassing everything from garage rock to brass bands. But why stop there? With a comedy cabaret curated by John Hodgman, a falconry demonstration, a pop up record store and a menagerie of local vendors, there was no excuse not to fill every moment of the weekend. Not to mention two headlining sets from everyone's favorite convention-defying rock band. The perfect weekend for this diehard Wilco fanatic? Yup.

Album Review: The Nels Cline Singers "Initiate"

If you don't have a handle on how prolific guitarist Nels Cline is, take a quick look at his discography. The guy has played on a staggering number of releases, appearing along side a bevy of recognizable names in both the jazz and avant-garde scenes. Cline's latest record reunites him with bassist Devin Hoff and drummer Scott Amendola under the Nels Cline Singers moniker. Initiate is a two disc release, one featuring newly recorded studio material and the other documenting a live performance by the group at San Francisco's Cafe Du Nord. Both demonstrate Cline's more experimental and improvisational side, clearly showing why Nels is one of the more versatile players of his generation.

The studio component of Initiate is a more subdued affair than past Singers records, however this more subtle approach has a way of making the group's talents very apparent. It's no secret that most of the record centers around the abilities of the band's titular guitarist, and nowhere is this more apparent than on "Floored", a straightforward tune which is propelled almost exclusively by Cline's improvisational might. On "Red Line to Greenland" a stream of delicate noise collides with a rush of epic riffs and fills that bring to mind the guitar-driven post rock tendencies of Mogwai. "King Queen" finds the trio joined by a distorted organ which weaves itself in-between the rhythms and melodies supplied by the group. In between these larger 'set-pieces' are smaller numbers, almost musical sketches set to tape. These highlight some of the unique sounds that Cline can achieve with a guitar, an example being his penchant for singing into his guitar pickups, beautifully demonstrated on opening track "Into It". It's all a little overwhelming at times, but the Singers have a way of catching your attention just when you start drifting away, making this easily one of their most engaging and enjoyable studio albums to date.

In contrast, the live component of Initiate finds the band channeling some of their noisier tendencies while dipping into some of the best tracks from Cline's discography. Highlights include the percussive "Raze" which goes from all out rocker to Nels on solo guitar and then back again. A track called "Thurston County" gives a glimpse of what Sonic Youth might sound like if they were fronted by Nels Cline. The almost 15-minute closer entitled "Boogie Woogie Waltz" gives every member of the group their time in the spotlight with its tight rhythms and shifting melodies. As a whole, Initiate's second disc completes the portrait of this progressive trio as a group equally as raucous as they are understated.

Live Review: Wilco in Athens

I think it's telling that the prospect of going to a Wilco concert is still something that excites me to no end. Sure, you hear the same songs, but every time I've seen them there's been something that has made that particular experience unique. Back in 2005, I met most of the band before the show at Used Kids records in Columbus, Ohio; back then I was a 16-year old kid meeting rockstars. The year after that I saw Wilco in a festival setting at Tall Stacks in Cincinnatti, a much more communal experience to say the least. The following year I found myself back in Cincinnatti seeing the band at the Aronoff; one of the best sounding venues I've ever been in, and meeting the group again one by one after the show. My experience in my adopted hometown of Athens was an entirely different animal, and possibly the best Wilco-related experience I'll ever have.I made a trip to Memorial Auditorium early Friday to pick up my tickets for the show and ran into Nels Cline on the sidewalk outside the venue. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to put together an interview for my radio show since all those requests have to be approved by management (and Wilco's manager insisted that the band was far to busy to humor a lowly college radio student with an interview). Anyways, Nels was extremely helpful and pointed me in the direction of their tour manager, who gave me essentially the same schpeel. Feeling slightly forlorn, I got a call from my dad (he and my sister came to town to see the show) telling me that he had just run into Wilco bassist John Stirratt, who Jana spotted, with whom he apparent hit it off with, so much so that John put us on the guest list for the show's afterparty. I was ecstatic to say the least, and very impressed with my dear old dad.
I made it to the show about halfway through A Hawk and A Handsaw's opening set. After getting to see Low open for Wilco, I think I'm a little spoiled as far as quality opening acts go. A Hawk and A Handsaw were interesting, but not the kind of group that I'd normally peg as a rock concert opener. It was enjoyable enough, but it was obvious that the crowd was fairly eager to get to the night's main attraction. Wilco took the stage and launched into "Hell is Chrome"; certainly one of my favorite songs thanks to it piano-centric nature and also just a great sounding live tune. They also got around to playing "You Are My Face" fairly quickly; one of my favorite songs on Sky Blue Sky and one that I hadn't seen them play live. It was fairly obvious (at least from where I was sitting) that the venue wasn't the best sounding place in the world, there were times where you could hear things bouncing around, but the group really took it in stride. Nels was particularly on top of things, with his solo during "Side with the Seeds" being a highlight of the show. Another great surprise was the A.M. track "Shouldn't Be Ashamed"; those old songs sound so great with this lineup of the band. Tweedy kept fairly quiet during the show, although he did pander to the crowd by replacing the word 'Peking' in "Kingpin" with 'Athens', and told us a story about almost getting hit by a golfball while walking around campus. The night was fairly by-the-book as far as Wilco shows go, but as it was my first time seeing the group in over year, I didn't really mind.
Directly following the show, we made our way out back and after Jana and my sister exchanged some words with security, managed to obtain our passes and go backstage. The only other time I'd been backstage after a show was after a Nels Cline and Glenn Kotche solo show at the Wexner Center a few years back, but this was certainly a different experience. Everyone from the band except Jeff was in attendance, and there were maybe 10 or 15 other attendees. John welcomed us in, offering us drinks and thanking us for showing up. We struck up a conversation with Nels, and he told us about some of his upcoming projects, such as a soundtrack to an artbook by Ed Ruscha and the next Scott Amendola Band album (which IS still on it's way, although probably not until next year). For being such a great guitarist, Nels is a very humble guy; he expressed how grateful he was to have a well-paying gig like Wilco that allowed him to work on much smaller, less lucrative projects. Next, we talked briefly with keyboardist Mikael Jorgenson, who was glad to hear that his group Pronto's debut record All is Golden was getting some spins on WOUB.

Finally we got to Glenn, a guy who I was really looking forward to asking some questions to, my first one being; What have you heard from Jim O'Rourke about his new album? To my surprise, Glenn said that it was finished, and that he actually had a copy of it, and that it was just as amazing as his previous work. He said that Jim played every instrument on it himself; but being the perfectionist that he is, is still tinkering with it. Glenn also revealed that he and his family had flown out to Japan to visit Jim recently, and that while there he laid down some drum tracks for an entirely different project that Jim is working on. Glenn made it no secret that, like me, he has a huge respect for O'Rourke, going as far as to say that he is the only person he has ever met who he truly considers to be a musical genius. I told Glenn to send my regards to Jim, and to urge him to release an album sometime soon. With that, we took a few more pictures and made our exit, making certain to thank John one more time for his gracious invitation. I don't know if I'll ever top this Wilco experience (maybe Jeff Tweedy taking me out for dinner at Chili's?), but damn, my 16-year old self would be so jealous of me right now.

The Triumphant Return

Well, it's been a while since I've posted here. Suffice to say, I'm not dead, just unmotivated and busy with more pressing matters. In the months since my last post I've graduated from high school, landed a summer job and to top it all off, last night I attended Wilco's show at Cincinatti's Aronoff Center. A great night to say the least, especially with an opening band as outstanding as Low. Before the show I ran into Mike Jorgenson on the sidewalk outside the venue and started out the signing of my "What Light" 7" single (a single which none of the band even knew existed, more on that later). Doors opened early and before taking my seat I snagged an amazingly clever Nintendo Wii-themed Wilco t-shirt pictured to the left. Low kicked the night off promptly at 7:30, drawing mainly from their newest release Drums & Guns (a real grower, I've been listening to it quite a bit as of late). The band didn't rely on pre-recorded effects of any sort, opting instead to rearrange songs to be played by their three-person configuration. Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker's haunting vocal harmonies were in full effect, making the accompanying music almost secondary in comparison. The sparse audience in attendance for this opening act were surprisingly respectful, which is really integral at a Low show since so many of the songs are quiet and subdued. In the words of Nels Cline "Low is the only slowcore band who gets it right".

Wilco took the stage to the opening strains of "Shake it Off", quickly launching into "You Are My Face". Both were songs I'd never heard live before and, in my opinion, both greatly improved upon their studio incarnations. The focus on Sky Blue Sky tracks continued throughout the main set, with spot on renditions of "Side With the Seeds", "Impossible Germany", "Sky Blue Sky" and "Walken". The set was surprisingly YHF-heavy, including the usual "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart", "War on War", and "I'm the Man Who Loves You" joined by "Pot Kettle Black" a song from the era which I've never had the pleasure of hearing live before. A welcome change was the lack of Ghost is Born material in the set. While I don't mind hearing the songs, both shows I've been to previously were chock full of songs from that album, so it was nice to hear some new things. The band looked to be having a great time on stage, still full of all their beginning of tour energy. Tweedy introduced the audience to a Spinal Tap-esque stage piece which turned out to be a tiny macramé owl that came down from the rafters onto the stage behind the band ("Adjust yourself to THAT reality"). The main set culminated with "Hummingbird", but the band quickly returned for their first of two encores, launching into the great new tune "Hate it Here" following it up with the a rendition of "Poor Places" that bled into the krautrock of "Spiders". The night ended up with a sing-a-long to "What Light" and the pop-rock goodness of "Heavy Metal Drummer".
After the show I managed to get the rest of the band sign my "What Light" 7". No one in the band had any idea that Nonesuch had even put out a single in the UK. Tweedy wondered why they hadn't at least sent him free copy for his collection. Nels was excited about the inclusion of rocker "Let's Not Get Carried Away" as the b-side. I gave Glenn the URL of the website I imported from (Juno Records, for any of you who'd like to own a copy). My only regret is that I didn't get to meet any members of Low, but I can't complain too much. Yet another awesome night with Wilco.

Live Review: Scott Amendola Band

Last weekend I had the distinct pleasure of seeing the Scott Amendola Band in the Wexner Center's performance space. The lineup featured all of the players from the band's Believe LP, including Scott Amendola himself, Nels Cline, Jeff Parker, violinist Jenny Scheinman, and bassist John Shifflett. The group sounded great, especially for night two of a three-date tour. The night started off slowly with a percussion driven song call "Lullaby for Sasha" which provided a smooth segue into the violin-driven strains of "Believe". For the most part, Nels seemed to hold the reigns of the band, acting the part of animated director, while Amendola laid down the backing grooves. A spirited cover of Thelonius Monk's "Pannonica" kicked off the night's more upbeat numbers including a new tune entitled "Blues for a Grand Bizarre". The highlight of the evening was the one-two punch of the Crazy Horse-esque "Buffalo Bird Woman" and the afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen tribute "Oladipo". Nels Cline's guitar-work positively exuded brilliance during these songs, nearly stealing the show from an extremely talented band. The night was capped off with "Cesar Chavez", a song that showcases Amendola's unique rhythmic skills. The whole night was a real treat, it's not too often that this segment of the progressive jazz scene makes it way out to C-bus. The group sounded great, especially seeing as this album was recorded almost two years ago. After a short e-mail correspondence with Amendola, I can confirm that another record with this line-up of musicians is in the works, with recording taking place sometime this year. You heard it here first! Also, after the tremendous response to this show, it doesn't seem unlikely that the Nels Cline Singers may make a stop in Columbus in support of their two new records being released in May.

On a side note, this the first post I'm writing on my brand new Mac mini. I must say, so far I'm really enjoying it. It sure beats upgrading to Vista (which, from what I hear is just a big old OSX ripoff anyways). Since I now have access to the excellent GarageBand application, I'm seriously considering testing the podcasting waters. Expect my first effort within the next few weeks or so.

Addendum

The first post of 2007; sure to be remembered as a year that was... just about as great as any other year. The spring tour announcements have been trickling in, and it looks like the coming months will be well stocked with concert options here in Columbus, Ohio. My list so far includes the Scott Amendola Band (ft. Nels Cline & Jeff Parker), Apples in Stereo, TV on the Radio, and Animal Collective. Whoever books these acts gets my humble thanks, as this is truly one of the more eclectic line-ups I've seen around these parts in my relatively few concert-going years. I just bought the Scott Amendola Band's Believe today and, if the album is any indication, their live show is going to be pretty mind blowing.

Plenty of record releases dropping within the next few months as well. I've listened quite a bit to Damon Albarn's new sideproject The Good, The Bad & The Queen, and I really like what I'm hearing. Danger Mouse's production work is pretty obvious, almost sounding like a direct continuation of Gorillaz Demon Days. The single "Herculean" is my favorite so far, so give it a quick search on Hype Machine is you're interested. However, my real anticipation is focused on Wilco's newest full-length, entitled Sky Blue Sky, which will be released on May 15. Although I've already heard live versions of many of the song which will be included on this release, Wilco has a habit of really mixing things up with the studio arrangements, so it's not unreasonable to expect these tunes to take on a whole new sound in their recorded forms. Speaking of Wilco, lead guitarist/noisemaker Nels Cline has TWO new albums with his Nels Cline Singers group coming out care of Cryptogramophone sometime in May. I really dug the group's last release, The Giant Pin, so hopefully at least one of these new records will continue that last album's unique blend of jazz, rock, and noise.

I've decided to hand out a few honorable mentions to my favorite albums of '06 list. A recent episode of Austin City Limits turned me on to Cat Power's 2006 release The Greatest. I can't say I ever been much of a fan of Marshall Chan, but put a Memphis soul band behind this girl and it's damn hard not to enjoy. She's got a voice that works extremely well with the gernre, and the record just has an amazing sound to it. My other favorable mention goes to Aloha's Some Echos, which I recently picked up on a whim. These Ohio-natives craft a solid pop album which at times evokes the Arcade Fire and the New Pornographers. Some great almost jazzy guitar work rounds out the package and makes it list-worthy. I'm sure I've overlooked some others, but these are what came to mind directly after the fact. Perhaps I should just post another list entitled: "Nice One, Dumbass: The Ones I Forgot"? Ah well, expect a review of the Scott Amendola Band sometime next weekend.

Candy Left Over From Halloween

Yes, it's high time for yet another gushing Wilco-related post. I picked up my copy of Jeff Tweedy's Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest a few weeks back, and I think I've watched it enough to provide an honest, if somewhat biased, impression of the film. The first thing astute Tweedy fan will notice is the great color footage, and professional camerawork. Previously, the best film taken of Tweedy solo shows was the grainy, slightly shaky, black and white footage captured by Sam Jones for the I Am Trying to Break Your Heart documentary. While stylistically appealing, there's something about his footage which always made it seem a little surreal, unlike the extremely accurate depiction that Christoph Green and Brendan Canty (purveyors of the exquisite Burn to Shine series) provide. Nit-pickers will argue that the lighting is pretty dismal, and they may have a point. But the thing that stands out in my memory about the Tweedy solo show that I attended was the fact that there was no smoke and mirrors, just a guy with a guitar lit by a single light. The simplicity is the appeal, and I doubt anyone would complain if we had footage like this from some of Bob Dylan's early shows.

Ultimately, the music is the main draw of this DVD (all cuts from the film, plus a few extras, are available as free MP3 downloads for those who purchase the DVD), and the selection does not disappoint. Most of the solo show mainstays are covered, although obviously skewing mainly towards the Wilco side of Tweedy's career. The blemishes are all present, an aspect of Tweedy's show which I feared would be conveniently omitted. Songs are started in the wrong key then restarted, punctuated by rowdy fans, etc. The sound quality is notably higher than a bootleg, mixing a soundboard patch with some mics placed around the room to capture the unique acoustics of each venue. Many of Tweedy's off the cuff remarks/rants to the audience are also left intact, including his "hissy fit" in Portland about people being silent and actually listening to the show the paid to come to. The DVD is by no means a one man show, taking a few chances to showcase bandmates Glenn Kotche and Nels Cline, who opened up dates of the tour and then joined him on stage at the end of each evening. The rendition of "War On War" with Nels on dobro and Glenn on drums gives you an idea of just how talented these guys are outside the realm of Wilco, and also how much fun they have just being on stage together. Overall, if you're interested in Tweedy's solo work, this film is well worth the price especially when you factor in the free MP3 downloads.

Live Review: Glenn Kotche & Nels Cline

The thing that surprised me most when we walked into the Wexner Center's Black Box was how close we were going to be to the performers. When I saw a Fiery Furnaces Black Box show, the stage was high enough that you could rest your arms on it. But for the Glenn Kotche and Nels Cline solo performances the stage was not more than 2-3 feet high. I was standing within inches of Kotche's drum kit, I could have reached out and touched the guy while he was playing. I'm pretty sure this is perhaps the most intimate show I've ever had the pleasure of attending. It felt like I was in a basement with these two, just watching them mess around on their respective instruments.

The night started out with Nels Cline's solo set. He played one long 30-minute improvised piece, aided by a sampler and a myriad of effect pedals and several unconventional noisemakers. The piece drifted from straight ahead rock, to staccato bursts of noise which bled into Pink Floyd-esque guitar balladry. I can't even begin to describe some of the insane things this guy did with his guitar, you and have to see/hear it to understand. His set was far from cohesive or easy to understand, but he still managed to keep the audiences' rapt attention simply because how fun it is to watch him coaxing these abnormal sounds out of his guitar.

Kotche's set was much like his performance when he opened for Jeff Tweedy last year, however it's intensity was magnified by the fact that I was within inches of his set. The whole place was as silent as a tomb throughout the entirety of Kotche's show, a fact which he commented on as being both "weird, but very much appreciated". His set was mainly culled from his solo album Mobile, including renditions of all three parts of the titles track, "Projections of (What) Might..." and a full length "Monkey Chant" that left Glenn's hands bleeding. Also included was a Steve Reich cover, in honor of his 70th birthday.

It was hard to know what to expect when Kotche and Cline took the stage together. Much like Cline's set, it was largely improvised, but there seemed to be some structure to it. The first piece they played was a 'cover' of Sonic Youth's "Karen Coltrane", an improv-jam that deviated back to a familiar riff every few minutes or so. The next piece was drawn out and freeform, sounding almost like one of the more experimental Nels Cline Singers songs, and featured a return of many of the gadgets from Cline's solo set. It was not at all straight forward, but still enjoyable just because you could tell that the two were having fun. Like I said earlier, I felt like I'd snuck into one of their basements and witnessed an afternoon of musical messing around. A great night and a reminder of the fact that even outside of Wilco, these two are solid and successful musicians in their own right.

My Glenn Kotche & Nels Cline Concert Pictures
Video Montage of Kotche & Cline Performance