Nels Cline Singers w/Yuka Honda at Don Quixote - Felton, CA 2011/02/04

I missed the first set. I have a decent excuse which I will not share here but, thankfully the second set was sufficiently face melting to unhinge my jaw. seriously?! I am grinning like a b#stard. I walked in the joint and took a seat and table directly in front of the Nels's pedal board. I could see nosehair and every twitch of muscle. There were plenty of folks at the show, but sometimes you get the most amazing seat luck when flying solo. The sound was fantastic and carefully sculpted by the fine engineers of Don Quixote's International Music Hall. I have seen a few videos of Nels solo, but this was my first live show. I was expecting more of a free jazz experience, but the set I witnessed was far more a groove-jazz-freakout. Full on guitar hero jazzshred wrapped in blissful stompbox frosting. Trevor Dunn and Scott Amendola handled bass and drum duties perfectly. I was really touched by how Yuka Honda complimented the group, and her husband. she didn't take any jazz solos but she confidently supported the music and textures during most of the set. This is also the first time I have taken any photos and video at show so... enjoy.

Cory Chisel and Adriel Harris @the Crepe Place

Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons was the first show I wrote about on this blog back in February when they played at this same venue on the first date of their tour with Dawes and Jason Boesel. On this Monday night it was their second to last date of the current tour and Cory and Adriel were playing as a duo, opening for a band from Seattle called Telekenisis. I showed up early and alone and Cory and Adriel were doing a bit of soundcheck. How I would love to see them play on a good soundsystem. I sat at the bar and sipped a Green Flash IPA and talked to some folks. There wasn't 20 people in the whole bar and nobody I spoke to had ever heard of Cory Chisel. I bought a copy of "Death Don't Send A Letter" on vinyl and we chatted for a while before their set. Cory and Adriel are certainly some of the warmest and most gracious people I have ever met. They remembered my wife and son, and wanted to hear all about my goings on. They suggested I play tambourine tonight and I thought that was a joke. We talked about J. Tillman, Preservation Hall, My Morning Jacket and Carl Broemel, how much we liked Jason Boesel's record, and how everyone is moving to Nashville.

The staff seemed a bit nervous that nobody was there yet, but Cory didn't. He smoked cigarettes and drank red wine and laughed saying, "time to go to work". And then people magically showed up. All of a sudden there was 30+ people in the bar and we crowded in to stand face to face with them. Without the band, it was all about the words and that voice. Adriel is so airy and pure, and Cory's voice is as honest and limber as you could hope for. They seem to be slightly at odds with the fact that their songs are so very sad and emotionally barring. Cory looked at me and said, "Glad we have a friend out there tonight". They played "My Heart Would Be There", then "Calm Down", and a fantastic "Tennessee". They made good on their threat with the tambourine and I banged it out through an awesome "Born Again". The "So Wrong For Me" was sweet. The absolute highlight of the set was the closing song, Tom Waits "Rosie" from Closing Time. Oh my god! So killer! You can tell they are just loving playing this song and Adriel plays the piano part so well. I've never heard them play anything that jazzy and it just worked. Apparently they have been playing this song for years: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3ukudwxqcA

Telekinesis seemed to be a fun bunch of guys... especially the drummer. The guitarist had a rocking Rickenbacker sound. I just wasn't in the mood for the rock though. I sat outside with Cory and Adriel and talked about Tom Waits for a while. The moon was shining through shrouds of mist as I walked to my car and the smell of the sea was grand.

(later..)

I found this awesome video of Cory and Adriel by Baeblemusic

http://www.baeblemusic.com/concertvideo/Washington-Square-Park/Cory-Chisel.html

Vetiver @ Don Quixote's, Felton

So I moved last week. I bought a house up in the redwoods above Santa Cruz in a town called Felton. And this town has a Mexican restaurant called Don Quixote's. They have a nice dancefloor and host a lot of consistently good nights of music. In fact it is one of my favorite places to see live music. I used to drive up to this joint to see bands like Hot Buttered Rum and Zilla, and see old friends. But now it is also the place I like to stop and have a beer when I work late. And tonight there was a band called Vetiver. I had heard their name bounce around, but I had never heard their music. With that name, I thought they would be less accessible... with more of awkward indieness. But this venue doesn't really book bands that challenge listeners like that. I walked in at 10pm and caught the last four songs. And what I heard was good ol' roots rock with a young face and a young 20-30 something audience. They were hot! I bought their newest LP on vinyl, watched the whole scene, and enjoyed my beer. The young girl girl on keyboards and bassist meshed really well, with tasty moving lines that played off each other. The vocals were mixed low and didn't really grab me, but the band as a whole was gellin'. It still catches me off guard that a young-ish band can play honest straightforward music and draw an audience and be on Sub-Pop records. No crazy distortion feedback or out of tune keyboards or vocals drenched in effects? My ears aren't even ringing! They covered "Don't Ease Me In" for god sakes... and it was good. And now I have a reason to unpack my record player.

J.Tillman / Phosphorescent / Little Wings @ Bottom of the Hill, SF 7/29

I found J. Tillmans music last week while cruising the Daytrotter sessions. I thought he was worth a listen because he had a substantial beard, and the beard did not lead me wrong. Chicken skin all over. This guys voice is insane and his lyrics are great. Check out the song "First Born" on his Daytrotter Session from 4/18 http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/j-tillman-concert/20031067-3738275.html - or this video:

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His wiki page says he is the drummer for Fleet Foxes? I'm not really in to Fleet Foxes, but that is interesting. At 4pm the Bay Bridged blog's daily show listing informs me that Phosphorescent, Little Wings, and J. Tillman are playing tonight at the Bottom of the Hill, so I immediately bought tickets and headed up to one of my favorite little rock clubs ever. When I walk in the door just after 9pm, J. Tillman is already on stage and the place is really full. damn damn. Why is he opening? After I make by way past the yakking at the bar, I settle in to stand and stare with about 200 people who have various levels of jawdrop. This guy can really sing, so much control and grace. After a bunch of superb new songs, he addresses the audience in a very intimate, casual way and invites us to share comments or requests and the whole place goes dead quiet. Some clown comments that his worn red plaid shirt is nice and Josh takes an opportunity to poke fun at himself. "...This shirt says that I am a big faker... I live in an Urban area." I can tell that J. Tillman is quite sure of himself, and comfortable barring his soul up there, but he continues to jokingly self deprecate. He stops halfway through the next song and says he can't remember how to play it, and "this is not going well". Okay maybe it is getting a little awkward. He shifts tunings and plays a final song that is from one of the last two records. The audience loves him and tries to let him know.

Little Wings is up next and singer Kyle Fields is sporting a respectable beard as well. I have never heard their music. The first two songs kind of blew me away because the writing is awesome. Not your average three chord deal, not by a long long shot. Great changes and grooves with a very reserved playing style. Never too loud because he plays his SG with is fingers and a small fender champ. Kyle has a fine voice, and the vocal parts on the songs are deceivingly difficult. On the thirds song things begin to go terribly wrong. The vocals were so sour. Then there was the weird country version of some Michael Jackson song. Kyle stars acting a bit erratic and things start sounding a bit better. I definitely was not bored.

I left after 2 songs from Phosphorescent. The crowd was definitely most exited for his set, and his band is awesome. Six piece band with pedal stell and keys! Lots of sonic flexing and bravado. The two songs I heard were from his new record and they were quite good, but the sound was muddy and loud. I was tired and had to work early so I bailed.

Dawes, Corey Chisel, Jason Boesel 2/10 @ the Crepe Place, Santa Cruz, CA

The first show of their tour was at the Crepe Place in Seabright-Santa Cruz, and I bought a pair of tickets immediately. Cory Chisel at a bar in Seabright?! That little bar can hold maybe 60 or so people when packed shoulder tight. We showed up about an hour early and the place was just starting to fill. Cory, Adriel, and the Wandering Sons were sitting at the only table in the bar and I couldn't help but walk up and say hello. Cory asked what I wanted to hear... " So Wrong For Me", "Tennessee" and, "Lovers & Friends". We talked about life, touring, and Greg Brown. “Nobody writes a breakup album like Greg Brown”, Cory said. I learned that Brown's father was a Pentecostal preacher and I'm sure Cory could relate to that. Everybody seemed in a good mood, and exited to see each other play for the first time.

Jason Boesel was up first and the place was pretty well packed. I had never heard of him before, but I figure if Dawes wants to be your backing band then you are probably solid. Turns out he played drums for Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band, and now he sings and plays guitar on a record of his own. The songs were really good with strong hooks and a bit of that Dawes harmony squeezing your tear ducts on nearly all the songs. His voice reminds me of a relaxed, slightly goofier Jim James. There is no stage, and the loudspeakers are sitting on small tables pointed at our faces. This was a loud, hot bar gig and the band was flexing some muscle. I honestly didn't expect the show to rock this hard. The room smelled like either farts or eggs the whole night and we never did figure out which.

We had to go outside after the first set. Not only did we need a bit of a cool off, I was hoping the vibe might cool a bit. How the heck are any of Cory's ballads going to work in that room with all the drunk people hollering and shit. I started to realize that most people were here to see Dawes, and the bartenders and crew were definitely into Dawes. Cory took the stage and asked if we had all eaten a bunch of crepes. The band played admirably and rocked through “Angel of Mine” and “What Do You Need”. Before they played, “So Wrong For Me” he says, “I don't know how this is gonna go over, but here we go...”. That song is just so damn intimate and delicate that it felt like the band was barely keeping it's head above those boiling ocean waves. My wife and others failed to hush the drunk girls yakking away through the whole song. They played a great, “My Heart Would Be There”, and “Lovers & Friends”. I just love that touch of surf in some of the songs. Then came, “Born Again”, and you could feel the crowd get really sold. The keyboards were way too quiet though. Cory asked the crew how much time he had and they said, “two songs”. Wow that was short. What the hell? Cory turns to the audience and says, “we're gonna play ten, er... two more songs”. Then he starts heckling this fool who was crazy dancing in the front row. He announces that the next song is going to, “Melt your faces” and finishes a kick ass set.

Now I love the Dawes record, “North Hills” a lot. I can't listen to it a lot though because the vocal harmonies get to be overwhelming, and start to remind me of Alabama. In this bar however, these guys just rocked way, way harder than the record and the harmonies were more subdued. I could look around the room at any point and see plenty of people mouthing all the words. By the time they played, “When My Time Comes”, people where jumping and singing along at the top of their lungs. We had to retreat to the back and hang with the merch folks. The last track they played was the last track on the record and my favorite, “Peaceful Valley”. David Rawlings showed up and joined them on the song wearing a white cowboy hat while Gillian Welch watched in the wings. Damn... my face is now officially melted and it wasn't just those brownies. I f#cking love Santa Cruz.

GREETS

Welcome! My name is Brock and I listen to a lot of music. I spend a lot of time with music... stroking, smelling, burning, and sorting it. I don't have many friends any more who share my taste and eccentricities, so writing here is therapy. I can't just find an album like "For Emma, Forever Ago", and not share how I love it. We'll see where this goes I suppose. I save a lot of time by reading Stereogum, Chromewaves, My Old Kentucky Blog, etc... and gratitude for other bloggers is part of my motivation too.

For so, so, so long... the South Bay and especially San Jose, Ca has been the Armpit of the Bay for me. A place void of Scene and without hope of producing awesomeness and great music. But now I live here... and the carcass of Nu/RapMetal has decayed and doesn't stink up the place so much. There are actually records being made here, and people pressing bonafide albums to vinyl, and you can buy them at Streetlight Records and even the Good Karma Cafe. The Mumlers, Careless Hearts, Doctor/Nurse, Slow Trucks. People, I have hope.

I'm gonna write about the albums I find, the record stores that sell them, and the technology that makes it sound better. The shows I see, the crowds that dance, and the people that come across my path. Plop me in your RSS feed, and don't be afraid to start a conversation.