Music Video

Bombadil is a band and a word that I was unfamiliar with. I did a quick check on Wikipedia and apparently there’s a fellow named Tom Bombadil that is described in J.R.R  Tolkien’s 1934 poem, “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil,” as a “merry fellow” living in a dingle close to the Withywindle river, where he wanders, exploring nature at his leisure. Oddly enough, that spirit of back-country exploration is a fair description of the band and their recent release, Tarpits and Canyonlands.

Bombadil was formed by Duke University alumni in North Carolina by way of Bolivia, giving them an international flavor on folk and Americana music. Tarpits and Canyonlands will be released by Ramseur Records, which was the first sign that I’d most likely love the album. The second sign was the second song called “Sad Birthday.” It’s an upbeat piano driven, hand-clap accented number that is brimming with musicianship and raucus energy.

“Honeymoon” is the next song and another standout. Much like “Sad Birthday,” they take a serious theme and marry it (pun intended) with playful arrangements as they question “what lies beyond that honeymoon?” Their sound is a blend of Cat Stevens and The Avett Brothers that will have you tapping your steering wheel, bouncing in your chair, skipping in your step, or otherwise drawing a bit of drudgery out of your day.

Tarpits and Canyonlands will be released on July 7th.

Website | MySpace | Twitter | Ramseur Records

Bombadil – Honeymoon

Bombadil – Reasons

Video: Bombadil – Three Saddest Words, from their previous album, A Buzz, A Buzz.

Justin Townes Earle just released a video for his song “Midnight At The Movies,” from his album of the same name (Our review). You can also download the tracks from our live session with Justin Townes Earle.

Video: Justin Townes Earle – Midnight At The Movies

Justin Townes Earle, “Midnight at the Movies” from Bloodshot Records on Vimeo.

Not really a pic from Wilco’s show at Mountain Winery, but a nice image of the venue.

Wilco made a tour stop at the amazing Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA last night. The show had everything you’d look for in a concert – a great opening act, an amazing set list, a gorgeous venue, short beer lines with Sierra Nevada on tap and a dash of drama between Tweedy and a pesky fan to entertain between songs. It might be the best concert I’ve ever seen.

Led by a fully bearded Will Sheff, Okkervil River opened just before nightfall with a brief 30-minute set as people trickled to their seats. The crowd? Mostly 35 and over professional Silicon Valley types. The folks seated around us hadn’t heard of Okkervil River, but the band slowly won the audience over and sealed it with “Lost Coastlines.” They walked off to a standing ovation.

Wilco took the stage as the sun was setting and played through my favorites, as if I’d picked the set list. I’ve been to several Wilco shows but have never been so fully satisfied with the song choices. The biggest highlight for me was an acoustic “Remember The Mountain Bed” while others included “Forget The Flowers,” “Jesus, Etc,” “Impossible Germany,” “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” and “California Stars.” The night was clear and the moon and stars created a tapestry over the Paul Masson winery and adjacent rolling vineyards. A stunning scene to say the least.

Throughout the show, however, Tweedy and a front row corner stage fan engaged in some banter that the rest of the crowd thoroughly enjoyed. Apparently the fan was upset with Wilco because the vocals weren’t up loud enough. Tweedy’s response was something like: “I’m sorry you can’t hear, but I’m not the sound tech. Do you go to a Who concert and tell them to get new monitors? By the way, I am equating us with The Who right now.”

Another song later, it continued.

Tweedy: “That’s what happens when you come to shows in a place as beautiful as this. There are neighbors and we can’t play as loud as usual. Maybe you could hear better if you would stand up!” The crowd applauds, then Tweedy continues: “When I saw the tour schedule, this was not the stop where I thought I’d lose control.”

You’re getting the picture. It continues throughout the concert and it is awesome.

Tweedy: “Dude, how are you complaining?! Your seat is 5 feet from Nels Cline! You should be happy!”

The guy actually approached the stage at one point and Jeff leaned down to hear what he had to say. Tweedy then jumped back to the mic and said “Whoa, whoa. Don’t blame your wife. LAME!”

Kudos to Tweedy and Wilco for keeping a great sense of humor throughout the dialogue and for continuing to perform like pros. I can understand the fan’s frustration. I’m sure they thought they lucked out with the corner stage seats, but most concert goers know that there’s a good chance the show will sound like shit from that location. I was further back, center stage and found the sound to be damn-near perfect.

All in all, it was truly special night. I was able to enjoy a California summer night with my lady, listening to two of my favorite bands playing my favorite songs, all while drinking my favorite brand of beer. What more can you ask for?

Fan Video: Wilco – Hummingbird, Live at The Mountain Winery. Notice the stage antics.

Here’s a full set list courtesy of The San Jose Mercury News.

Wilco (the Song) / I Am Trying to Break Your Heart / Bull Black Nova / Remember the Mountain Bed / One Wing / Muzzle of Bees / Shot in the Arm / At Least That’s What You Said / Impossible Germany / Forget the Flowers / California Stars / Jesus, Etc. / Handshake Drugs / You Never Know / Hate It Here / Walken / I’m the Man Who Loves You // Ashes of American Flags / Heavy Metal Drummer / Hummingbird // The Late Greats / I’m a Wheel

I first heard of Horse Feathers when they opened for Blitzen Trapper at Schubas last fall.  The music was stunning and the crowd shut up and listened quietly to the entire set.  Fast forward a few months to a sunny Friday morning at SXSW, and I’m sitting with the HearYa crew in gravel at Homeslice Pizza watching Horse Feathers kick off our day.  Again, the crowd quickly shut up and listened. Fast forward a few more months and I found Horse Feathers at Schubas for the first of two sold out shows with Joe Pug.  Once again, the show was exceptional and the crowd took notice.  After a few too many beers and a couple of shots, I decided to head home because Horse Feathers was coming into my studio at 11am the following morning.

I showed up to the studio with a headache, reminding myself I am no longer in my 20’s.  Justin, Nathan, Catherine, and Sam rolled ina few minutes later, coffee in hand an ready to go.  We positioned the mics and cameras and got rolling.  Their music is awesome and seeing them pull it off in an intimate setting like this was something to behold.  Justin’s voice is smooth as silk and the band delivers an incredible dynamic behind him.  Every time I looked up from the control room, somebody was picking up a new instrument to add to a part, mid-song.  Nathan’s performance on the saw during “Heathen’s Kiss” gives such a dark and haunting texture, while Sam throws the kitchen sink at the music from banjo, mandolin and violin to percussion and glockenspiel.

I had my hands full for this session, covering both audio and camera-switcher duties, so it took me a song to get things under control. I missed a few things in the process.  You’ll notice Justin’s floor tambourine is a bit cutting and loud, especially on “Working Poor.” Like hi-hats in a drum kit, a little goes a long way and this tambourine went ALL the way.  These are live sessions though and you can’t control all the variables. Sometimes you just gotta deal with it.  I was tempted to say something after the first take, but instead I thought twice and did what everyone should do when seeing Horse Feathers. I just shut up and listened.

Exclusive: Horse Feathers – Working Poor

Exclusive: Horse Feathers – Heathen’s Kiss

Exclusive: Horse Feathers – Curs In The Weeds

Exclusive: Horse Feathers – Rude To Rile

Download the entire Horse Feathers Session as a zip.

Video: Horse Feathers – Heathen’s Kiss

See the rest of the videos from our session with Horse Feathers on our the HearYa YouTube Channel.

Here are the tracks we talked about this past week. Look out for our live session with Horse Feathers coming up this week!

Pink Mountaintops – Vampire

Pink Mountaintops – While We Were Dreaming

AA Bondy – When The Devil’s Loose

AA Bondy – There’s A Reason

AA Bondy – Vice Rag

Generationals – Angry Charlie

Generationals – When They Fight, They Fight

Generationals – Wildlife Sculpture

Stanley – Nothing to Say

The Builders and The Butchers – Barcelona

Exclusive: Other Lives – It Was The Night

I exploited my daughter on HearYa not too long ago and we’re going to spend a sunny Father’s Day together. Here is my favorite song for the occasion – perfect for anyone with a daughter. Anyone else have a favorite?

Video: Paul Simon – Father and Daughter

Good news for Chicago people! Other Lives are back in town for a show at Schubas tomorrow night (6/20). It’ll be a special night. The band stopped by Shirk’s studio in April for one of our most memorable live sessions to date. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, get in there. This band has a way of pulling emotions out of you that you may have forgotten you had.

Here’s what Steve Shirk (HearYa Live Session producer) says about why you should attend:

After our session in late April, I was expecting a great follow up show at Schubas. I wasn’t prepared for how huge Other Lives sounded in that room – They blew me away. Alex Pasco, their live mix engineer who is on tour with them, really brought their sound to a new level for me.  The band sounded so powerful.  I remember moments in “End Of The Year” nearly melting my face.  That’s not to say that they don’t do the quiet thing REALLY well.  This band understands dynamics in the studio and even more so on the stage.

We recorded three videos from the session and only posted “Precious Air” at first. I featured the video for “Paper Cities” on our home page (to your right) all week and now “It Was The Night” is the final installment.

Exclusive: Other Lives – It Was The Night

Video: Other Lives – It Was The Night (HearYa Live Session)

The Builders and The Butchers are back, so let’s start with some lyrics:

Close your eyes and you draw one more day to a close.
You choose to be alone. You float through your life as a ghost.
And everything heals given time. And everything dies given time.
And the scars run together, mixing the nerves with the blood.
And the soldiers light houses on fire and they burn down.
And all your belongings turn to dirt in the ground.
When your heart’s deep and dark as a well.
And everything that’s golden and green goes to hell.

And away we go kids, for another uplifting collection of tunes from Portland’s The Builders And The Butchers. The thing that initially drew me to B&B on their self-titled debut is how their storytelling transplants you to another place. Tunes likes “Bottom Of The Lake” and “Red Dresses” made me an immediate fan. As evident by the initial verse of “Golden And Green” shown above, Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well sees the boys moving forward with their bluegrass/punk music.

The Builders and Butchers are built around vocalist Ryan Sollee’s Southern-Gothic inspired lyrics backed by a host of instruments, including mandolin, pump organ, violin, stand-up bass, keys and whatever else they could find to bang on or slap together.  They revisit the Spanish Civil War on “Barcelona,” a song that features an excellent dose of trumpet that offsets the tension in Ryan’s vocals. It’s a brilliant composition and sign of the band’s progress. “In The Branches” is another winner that features a choir down the stretch, giving it a gospel vibe.

The music blends gospel, country, folk in a bouillabaisse of noise and sound that leaves you on edge, but wholly satisfied. Their bio has this to say about Salvation and I couldn’t have worded it any better: “The story of Salvation is a Deep Dark Well is that there’s joy and celebration through the darkness, there’s light in the hardest of times, and when you reach the bottom may salvation light your way.”

MySpace | Gigantic Music

The Builders and The Butchers – Barcelona

Listen to the entire album over at Spinner.

Video: The Builders And The Butchers and Portland Cello Project – Golden and Green

Image courtesy of BeauHoward.com.

Last month, I again found myself in Atlanta and made it to a great venue called The Tabernacle. One of my favorite bands, Blind Pilot, was opening for The Decemberists and rental car trouble started things off on the wrong foot. My front bumper dropped off the car on the interstate and dragged along the ground all the way through downtown, past throngs of on-lookers with no inhibitions about pointing and laughing.

I stepped inside the The Tabernacle, an old church cathedral with pews still visible in some areas, to see Blind Pilot starting things off. They had a great crowd, but as I listened to side conversations at the back bar, I soon realized that many people had never heard of them. You’d hear comments like “This is Blind who?” during “Go On, Say It” and then “Shit, these guys are good. Who are they?” around the time “One Red Thread” was kicking into gear. I then understood the importance of pairing up with the right headliner if you’re just getting your start. I’m sure this tour will grow Blind Pilot’s audience in big ways.

Between sets, National Car Rental was nice enough to drop off a new car with all parts intact.

Then The Decemberists took the stage. Their latest album, Hazards of Love, was still sinking in with me but the live performance pushed a couple songs up to the top of my playlists, most notably “The Rake’s Song” and “The Wanting Comes In Waves.” I noticed five drum kits set up on stage prior to “The Rake’s Song” and I was intrigued. Then Colin Meloy played first acoustic guitar chords and the lights went dim. Only his face was lit up until the thunderous drums started kicking in from all five locations on the stage. Lights flashed and chills were sent down my spine. The entire venue (me excluded) knew every word and the Tabernacle walls were echoing with the shouts of fans. The fan video below will give you a taste:

Video: The Decemberists – The Rake’s Song (Live in Atlanta)

Another highlight of the night was “The Wanting Comes In Waves” which I’d seen on Letterman a few weeks earlier. In my post about the Letterman performance, a reader pointed out my indie ignorance by explaining that Shara Worden from My Brightest Diamond/Sufjan Stevens is performing with The Decemberists. Well Shara stole the show. She has the best voice I’ve ever heard in person and a stage presence to match. A second video clip from the same fan.

Video: The Decemberists – “The Wanting Comes In Waves” (Live in Atlanta)

The Tabernacle’s temperature got up to about 108 degrees with 200% humidity so I left. I could taste the sweat of others around me.  Despite the rental car and clammy venue, the night was great.  I was always on the fence with Colin Meloy and friends, but after this night, it’s safe to say that I’m officially a fan of The Decemberists.

I wrote about John Vanderslice the other day and how I’m just now joining the JV party. My favorite track on his new album, Romanian Names, is “Too Much Time.” This video features John performing with the Magik Magik Orchestra at the SF Conservatory of Music. It’s awesome.

John Vanderslice – Too Much Time

Video: John Vanderslice – Too Much Time

John Vanderslice “Too Much Time” from Yours Truly on Vimeo.