Filed under: Life, art, music, etc.
This year it’s all watercolor (except I’ll throw in this acrylic I finished up) and most are 12 x 9 or so… all white frames
I got the pleasure of seeing this lovely man from Wisconsin play his tunes Monday night at the Trocadero. From what I hear, he wrote his latest album, “For Emma,” in a cabin. Considering the region and the serene, kum-bay-ya feeling you get from his music, that sounds about right.
The venue — another all ages one, if you read my Dr. Dog post — is this huge, old theatre in Chinatown that was probably immaculate in the 1920s. Although it’s now a bit falling apart, it’s magnificent antiquity and character will probably only get better and better with age. The best part about the place was that it was huge, making for great acoustics to carry the ring of Mr. Iver’s hauntingly beautiful voice right to you. I’ll admit, though — the boss of the place should invest in anger management classes for the security guard at the bottom of the stairs. The man breathes fire, no joke.
The song “Skinny Love” had been on my favorite playlist for a while and it was great to hear it live. If you haven’t heard that song, go listen to it — you will be glad you did. When I first heard Bon Iver, lead singer Justin Vernon’s falsetto was a little alarming — kinda Adam Sandler-esque. But it was so unique and piercing that it actually grew on me and became sort of interesting — the type of sound that can hold hundreds of people’s full attention for more than an hour. The crowd Monday was still and not a single person was dancing or even moving — barely blinking. Usually I don’t dig that sort of vibe, but in this instance it was only appropriate.
The hands-down most wondrous part of the show was when he asked the audience’s help in singing part of the song “Wolves.” Participation was weak at first, but once the crowd caught on to how beautiful hundreds of voices sounded in the openness of the circular theatre, the refrain “what might have been lost,” grew louder and louder. It was absolutely breathtaking — the type of moment that could move one to tears.
Bon Iver. I thoroughly enjoyed this show, and his album makes my list of “Favorite ballady, love-song, folky stuff.” I’d say it’s close behind Iron and Wine’s “Resurrection Fern” and the new self-titled Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson or Blitzen Trapper. The man’s voice is stimulating and immobilizing at the same time. His song’s kinda make you want to roll in the grass, play in the rain or fall in love. Cheesy, I know, but listen for yourself. It’s totally true.
Friday, November 28 at the Starlight Ballroom in North Philly. Simply amazing.
I was a little disappointed earlier this week when I read Rolling Stone’s Top Albums of 2008. Their No. 1 pick, TV on the Radio, was great (Spin had the same pick. How original). But I must happily admit — my former colleagues over at The Daily Texan nailed it. They ranked Dr. Dog’s “Fate” as the No. 1 album of 2008, when Rolling Stone somehow left it off their entire list! Come on — Coldplay and My Morning Jacket even made their top 10! Lame. Lame. Lame.
So I got inspired to load up these pictures from their day-after-Thanksgiving show and share my little two cents about the experience. They covered the stage in lush, tropical plants, vines and trees, and they took their happy ass time doing it — at least 20 minutes — while they looped the most bothersome lounge-style elevator music. Yes, it was a cool set piece if you are into remote forests and such. But just reminiscing on the experience made that annoying song start to repeat in my head once again.
They played a great show, and the audience was alive. I think the positive energy had something to do with the band being local. So often touring bands seems as if they are just running through the motions of a show they’ve done night after night, week after week. But luckily, I got to see these Philly natives play for the long-time fans that have carried them to stardom. They wore brightly colored sunglasses and fedoras, and you could certainly feel their vivacity.
I went with a family friend who lives in the Philly burbs and her two teenage sons, so she and I chilled in the bar area while the opening bands played. If you plan on drinking at a show, this venue is not for you — you can’t take drinks outside the bar, which is on the complete opposite side from the stage. I wasn’t too impressed with the opening bands — Illinios, Bardo Pond, and Spinto Band — but maybe that was because I was too far away from the stage to hear them.
It was an all-ages show, meaning I was surrounded by high schoolers and there was a young girl hung over the trash can in the bathroom, her teen boyfriend holding her hair back — stuff you just don’t seen in 21+ venues. I can’t quite put my finger on whether it made me feel young again or like an old lady, but seeing girls with gaga eyes giggling at every move the lead singer made certainly reminded me of the week-long high I got from seeing Bush (oh, dear Gavin) live at the Oklahoma fairgrounds when I was 12.
Long story short, Dr. Dog freaking rocked. 
Filed under: Articles and such
http://www.spiritnewspapers.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=113&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=311&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2714&hn=spiritnewspapers&he=.com
Filed under: Articles and such
http://www.southphillyreview.com/view_article.php?id=7826
