The Moment of Panic

Last night was the big D.iscontent show at the Baltic Room, where Timm and I debuted the live sets we’ve been working on almost non-stop since the beginning of the year. It was a lot of fun, with great visuals, a lineup of excellent DJs on either side of our live sets, and good turnout (especially for a holiday Sunday).

But there was one moment of sheer terror.

We’d showed up to sound check early in the evening, getting all or connections sorted out and hooking up all the gear to our laptops and the mixer. Everything was sounding good, and it was great to finally hear the sets on a big, booming PA. Timm’s set ran smoothly, and towards the end I got up behind the DJ booth to set up my gear next tot he decks. I get everything powered up and running, fire up my software, and take a look to make sure the software is responding to the gear.

And guess what? It’s not.

I restart the software. Still nothing. I unplug my gear and plug it back into the laptop. Nothing.

I turn to Timm with a sinking feeling in my stomach, and tell him he needs to cover for me. He’s a total trooper, so he improvs the end of his set, dragging out his last song longer than planned, with more variation than he’s practiced. Meanwhile, I hit the power on my laptop and begin the long slow boot back into Windows.

When it finally boots up, I plug my gear back in. Up pops a window, asking if I’d like to install new hardware. This is the moment when I reeeeeally start to worry. I cross myself and mutter a few obscenities. Fortunately, the solution is simple; I switch the two USB cables for my MIDI gear and audio interface. Everything clicks. My software responds. Disaster averted. The show goes on as planned. Which is good, since I was one more error message away from committing ritual suicide.

Static Gliding

I should probably mention that a new project just launched. Go visit D.iscontent! What is it? It’s a label-like, crew-like thing founded by myself and Hjalti, where we will be releasing music and gathering together other Cascadian musicians for collaborations, shows, etc. We’re accepting demos if you’re intrigued by what you see and simply must be a part of the excitement.

In case I haven’t mentioned it here yet, the live debut of the D.iscontent crew takes place on May 25th, at Static Glide Part 2, with Miniature Airlines (aka your truly) and Hjalti playing live PA sets at the Baltic Room, with DJs Travis Baron and Levitation Device keeping things bouncing. It’s free before 10, so you have no excuse for missing this. It’s also my birthday, so you have no excuse for not buying me drinks all night..

Static Glide Part 1, featuring Telephone Jim Jesus and DJ Egadz, went off last night, but not exactly as planned. Originally slated for the VIP Room at Neumo’s, the show was merged with Broken Disco at Chop Suey at the last minute. Damn Seattle Fire Marshall, making things all complicated! It still went off well, and hopefully interest will carry over onto our show in two weeks.

Why? & Mt. Eerie @ Vera

It’s an odd pairing, but in someon’es mind, there was some theoretical sense to it. Pairing a scruffy, mystical folkie from Anacortes, known for hushed, sacred songs backed by a nylon stringed acoustic guitar, with an equally scruffy, neurotically self-revealing pseudo-rapper/indie rock star playing with a full, fractured band. Luckily, in practice, it worked out beautifully.

We came in during Julie Doiron’s opening set, and my first thought was “Cat Power clone”. Serene’s Feist comparison turned out o be more apt as the set drew on though. She was standing alone on stage, gently strumming and fingerpicking an electric guitar and talking compulsively between songs. I think she might have spoken more words than she sang during the set. But there was something charming about her songs, delicate but occasionally fierce, sweet and sad.

I’d never seen M. Eerie before, despite several opportunities to do so. I wasn’t sure what to expect either. Phil Elverum solo, a full band, some odd configuration of exotic instruments and woodland spirits? It turned out to be Phil Elverum, joined by Julie Doiron on backing vocals, and another guitarist, playing all new material that they had written and recorded during the previous week. A giant sheet of handwritten lyrics, festooned with underlines and notations as to who was singing what part, was unfolded and served as a cheat sheet and setlist, and they plowed through a batch of songs so fresh they had to refresh each others’ memories between songs. Even with limited visibility of the stage, it was a great experience. the audience was unusually quiet and still, rooted in place as the music flowed from the stage. At one point, the projected videos on the back wall displayed some sort of metal scrapping in process, showers of sparks building and cascading in unplanned synchronicity with the rise and fall of the music. They even slipped in a cover of Björk’s “Undo,” which fit in perfectly with the haunting and sometimes desolate originals.

I’d seen Why? before, once as a band and once as a guest with Hood, reprising his role as an additional vocalist on songs from Cold House. This time, the band was back in force, with frontman Yoni’s brother Josiah on drums and vibraphone (usually at the same time, amazingly) and bass at one point, and a slew of additional keyboards, guitars, basses, and percussion being passed around the remaining musicians. The musicianship of the Why? live band is incredible, both for the range of instruments and the range of textures and tones they produced. Yoni switched off between glockenspiel, keyboards, bass, guitar, and a couple of drums and cymbals while singing. The brothers Wolf even split drum kit duties on one song, with Josiah playing the kick drum with his foot and Yoni playing cymbals and snare while he sang.While guitar and bass were prevalent, the vibraphone and glockenspiel took on a lead role in many of the songs, floating on top of a bed of warped synths and rhodes piano. Except for obscure gems like “Early Whitney” or “Darla,” they played all my favorite song, mostly from Elephant Eyelash and the new, stunning Alopecia. The full house demanded an encore, and got the only song that I was really hoping for, “By Torpedo or Crohn’s”.

Earlier in the evening, the soundman had been playing C&C Music Factory between sets, that combined with the all ages crowd and darkened room to give me a feeling like I was at a Junior High dance circa 1990. It was another of the night’s many odd pairings, but this one didn’t work as well as the other musical matchups did, for reasons that are probably obvious.

Daedelus @ Nectar

When Daedelus came through town last year, on tour with Caural, he ended up playing a pretty sparsely attended show on a Sunday night at Chop Suey, and despite the lack of bodies in the room, he turned out an excellent, high energy set. I wasn’t sure how this show would turn out; the day before Thanksgiving, one of the worst travel days of the year, bitterly cold. There were plenty of reasons for people to skip out on this show, and it would’ve been pretty shitty for an artist as talented as Daedelus to play two consecutively undersold shows in Seattle.

I was pleasantly surprised when the main floor at Nectar started to fill up during the opening DJ set. I didn’t catch the name of the DJ, but his set of quirky hip-hop and electro was a nice intro to the evening. By the time AntiMC took the stage, the venue was getting to be well filled out. Sadly, AntiMC didn’t really keep the momentum of the evening going, with an uninspiring but mercifully short set of aimless hip-hop instrumentals

But the room was packed when Daedelus took the stage, armed with a  laptop, a controller keyboard, and his famous Monome prototype, a “machine that runs on good will, so make some noise, as the hip-hop kids say.”

Noise was certainly made. He kicked his set of with a reinterpretation of “Pure Imagination,” from the Charlie & the Chocolate Factory soundtrack, and then proceeded to burn through 45 minutes of loopy hip-hop built around samples from old movie scores, samba beats, acid bass, and assorted sonic detritus. It was a similar set to the one he played last year, but way more refined and confident. He’s got his Monome set-up down cold, and plays it like an old familiar instrument. It’s great seeing live electronic music performed with such gusto, and in a way that’s somewhat accessible, exposing some degree of the inner workings to the audience. Definitely cuts down on the “he’s just checking his e-mail up there” jeering from the rock kids.

We didn’t even bother sticking around for Busdriver. He’s good, but I don’t think he could have topped Daedelus that night (as one audience member yelled, before Daedelus’ encore: “I came for Busdriver, but I was wrong!”). And I wasn’t looking forward to hearing AntiMC doing the backing beats. Oh well, it was definitely a worthwhile show, even without seeing the supposed headliner.

Discontent

It feels like Seattle again suddenly. Meaning, of course, that the slightly damp, often gray film of precipitation that we live with for 2/3 of the year has made it’s return, almost immediately after a run of abnormally high temperatures. We’ve gone from sleeping with the sheets thrown off and the windows open, to huddled under a comforter in a matter of days. But on the upside, that means more excuse for afternoon tea and comfy sweaters. And scarves, soon enough.

So this winter has been dubbed the Winter of Discontent, for reasons I’ll leave alone. Though I will say that it involves a lot of tumult and discord and struggle, mostly in immediate social circles, but seemingly in the world at large as well. If I were into astrology, I’m sure I could point to celestial evidence of some great unraveling, puring entropy down upon us. I’m not, so I can’t.

Before we hunker down for a dark winter, there are some bright spots. Decibel Festival is this weekend. I’m not sure if I’ll end up as a volunteer again or if I’ll have to shell out for the festival pass, but either way it’ll be worth it. A little escapism will be nice, and the four on the floor beats and ambient soundscapes should provide plenty. Then there’s Maui. Soon, just a short little hop over and a how-you-doing, drinking Mai Tais on the beach before returning to the Seattle gloom.

Naturally, all of this is just preparation for an even colder and more far flung New Year. But more about that later. Layer up and keep your kettle ready, kids.

Battles @ The Crocodile

I’m surprised it took me over a year of living in Seattle to make it to a show at the Crocodile Cafe. The venue is somewhat legendary, known for having appeared in the quintessential 90s Seattle movie Singles and for being co-owned by REM’s Peter Buck.

The reason I finally made it, after missing many a great show, was to see Battles.

Their recently released full length debut, Mirrored, has been at the top of my obsessive-rotation playlist since it was released, and I’d already missed the band back in San Francisco when they opened for Prefuse 73. I was basically a fan before I heard a single note of the band, and by the time I checked out their first EPs, I was sold.

Fortunately, the live show didn’t disappoint in any way. If anything, it made me an even bigger fan. The sheer virtuosity with which they manage their massive pile-up of gear puts them far above most of their peers. Among their bag of tricks: simultaneous guitar and keyboard playing, live looping of every instrument in their arsenal, pitch-shifted vocals, using a compact mixer like a volume pedal…and of course, a ridiculously tall crash cymbal stand.

Not only are they inventive and skilled, but their stage presence is cool and calm, with every intricately choreographed arrangement seeming completely effortless. Watching Ian Williams and Tyondai Braxton do their one-hand-on-guitar, one-hand-on-keyboard thing at the same time without breaking a sweat or furrowing a brow was pretty astrounding.

Besides technical prescision, they have a total mastery of the propulsive energy behind their songs. John Stanier is to be given the lion’s share of the credit for this, with his heavy, clockwork drumming. He’s solid and metronomic, but not at a cost to his creativity. My favorite theory regarding his 7′ cymbal stand is that it forces an element of restraint into the music. Having to reach high above the rest of the kit makes you leave that cymbal for the really dramatic moments, rather than relying on it as punctuation.

For the first half of the show, Ian Williams’ elderly aunt was standing in front of us, enjoying the show with her earplugs in and a beer in one hand. I think maybe the  pounding math rock got to be too much for her midway through, although if she’d heard her nephew’s previous work with Don Caballero or Storm & Stress, it shouldn’t have been too surprising.

Week in Review

Monday: Jarvis at the Showbox. Oh my fuck. At a remarkably spry 43, Jarvis Cocker can still gyrate and rock the house like no one else. He’s not just sarcastic, he’s quick-witted as well (during the show, a crowd member yelled out a request for “Cunts Are Still Running The World,” to which Jarvis replied “I’ve heard that as well…”). Every minute of this show was engaging, all the way to the surprisingly faithful cover of “Purple Haze” at the end of the encore. Faithful except for slight lyrical alterations (”Excuse me, whilst I kiss the sky”) at least.

Note to self: $2 well drinks at the Noc Noc does not mean you can have twice as many. Especially not on a Monday night. But they also have the best $2 tater tots…

Tuesday: Sick day (see above).

Wednesday & Thursday: Dinner and reality television at V-Ray’s. Sometimes I can’t believe what passes entertainment these days (Shear Genius? The Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School?), and yet I can’t look away. It makes me want to yell at the TV like when Bill O’Reilly is on.

Friday: Cocorosie, Tez, and Busdriver (with Caural) at Neumo’s. Didn’t even stay for Cocorosie (too tired, damn work schedule) but Tez was awesome. His all-beatbox set was incredible, the highlight was absolutely his spot-on rendition of Prince’s “Kiss,” from vocals to beats, with nothing but his mouth and a microphone. Not bad for a  white French boy. Busdriver was pretty incredible too, with Caural laying down the MPC beats (I caught some Super Furry Animals samples in there) while Busdriver went off in his super-quick flow, tossing in shout-outs to Seattle the whole time. Apparently, he knows the difference between Pike and Pine. Way to play to the locals.

This weekend promises to be at least as busy as the rest of the week, if not more so. More later, natch.

The Books @ Neumo’s

Ended up going to the Books, obviously, and since it was a pretty late night for us,we didn’t even try to sprint over to the Yacht show. In fact, we didn’t even stay for the Books full set before calling it a night.

There was nothing wrong with the show. The Books put on a incredible show regardless of venue,  and this year’s presentation was different than last year’s show at U-Dub. But there were minor elements that made it difficult to enjoy. The sound was poorly mixed, at least near the fron of the house, where anything even remotely in the bass range caused floorboards and eardrums to shake violently, and even rattled a power cord loose during opener Todd Reynolds set. Retreating to the back was a much better experience, though the usual issues with a full house in Neumo’s still applied. At least this crowd had a lower hipster quotient than your typical Neumo’s crowd.

But speaking of Todd Reynolds… now that was an amazing performance. He’s a solo performer who plays violin, accompanied by a laptop running some Max/MSP looping software, both for pre-recorded accompaniment and for layering his violin parts in real-time. I think he only played 4 or 5 pieces, but they were all epic and dynamic, using the full range of possibilities in his instrument, rising and falling in long, dramatic arcs. A couple of his pieces were played to video accompaniment, including the final piece, which was synched to split-screen footage from a train crossing the Brooklyn Bridge that was slowly sped-up and layered, becoming more frantic and abstract as it played.

I really wish the 2 set show had started before 10, but I’m glad I got a chance to catch two amazing performances, even if there were a few obstacles to full enjoyment.

Jarvis Cocker tomorrow night. That should be fun too. More later, of course.

Dilemma!

I have a decision to make before the end of next week (and the sooner the better, honestly). Next Friday, the 26th, the Books and Yacht are playing here in Seattle on the same night. The Books will be at Neumo’s, and Yacht will be playing at the Club Pop monthly at Chop Suey, a few blocks away. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be able to dash back and forth and catch both acts, so I need to figure out which tickets to buy.

I’ve seen the Books before, at U-Dub last year, and they were fucking amazing. Hands down one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Which means I’m leaning strongly in that direction. But I’ve never seen Yacht before, and the Club Pop atmosphere seems perfectly suited to his quirky brand of electro-pop, the way the U-Dub auditorium was perfect for the scholarly and playful music of the Books. Plus, I’ve been really, really digging Paper Television, the new album from The Blow, that he was a part of.

If I wasn’t sure that one or both of these shows would sell out, I’d just wait to see what mood I was in that night and choose accordingly.  But now I have to figure all this out in advance. Woe is me! Whichever I end up doing, you can expect a write-up and probably some pictures…

More later…

Atlas Applauded

When I started seeing show listings for Atlas Clothing, the little vintage/boutique/thrift clothing shop off Broadway, I sort of wondered what was up. Did they just shove the clothing racks aside, and do it like a record store? I missed a couple of opportunities to check it out when This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb and The Micrphones came through, but I finally had the full Atlas experience last night, with The Americas and I Love You Avalanche.

The venue isn’t actually in Atlas’ retail space, as I learned when I approached the door. It’s actually around the back, in the loading bay accessible from the alley. The interior is done up in total DIY style, with a bare wooden stage decorated by a robot sculpture an christmas lights, a mixing booth for loew-powered 2-speaker PA system in the loft, and a curtain made of sewn together cartoon character bedsheets hiding the actual storage space. All in all, it’s a very charming space that seems out of place in such an urban setting. It would almost be more at home in someone’s garage in the suburbs.

I came in as Leaves Sleaves were finishing their set (with a cover of “Against All Odds,” no less). Featuring 2 guitars, 2 trumptes, cello, keyboards, and drums, they were quite the sight to behold. The original material I heard was actually quite good, though the horn players weren’t quite in tune and the vocals were pretty low in the mix. I Love You Avalanche, featuring the Leaves Sleaves cellist on guitar and vocals, along with a pair of multi-instrumentalists and some pre-recorded drum machine, was dangerously sweet. They’re the kind of band who could rot your teeth and kill diabetics in the space of an hour. Despite a handful of technical glitches, their stripped down indie folk won over pretty much the entire room. I couldn’t help but think of P:ano during their set, actually.

But oh, The Americas. I can’t believe how good this duo is, let alone how loud. They’ve gotten a lot better since last time I saw them a year or two ago, and that’s saying a lot. Their fierce, frenetic math rock has all the right ingredients of mid-90s emo (before that word was reduced to signifying mopey guitar pop, white belts and bad hair), combined with the exploratory  aspirations of noise-, math-, and post- rock. They play dense, epic music that sounds improvised, but is actually pretty tightly structured in closer examination. I find it hard to believe that they haven’t been snapped up by some label somewhere. Not that I think they’d bechart-topping megastars or anything, but they’d fit pretty comfortably in a niche label’s roster.

I guess it was definitely worth staying up late and only getting 5 hours of sleep in order to attend. I don’t feel any worse for the wear today, at least.