I purchased my tickets to see Wilco at The Mountain Winery out here in Northern California and didn’t even know there would be an opening act for the show. Imagine my excitement when I found out that Okkervil River, one of my all time favs, is also joining. Here are Okkervil’s tour dates with and without Wilco:
June 14 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo- The Other Tent
June 25 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern Theatre w/ Wilco
June 26 Saratoga, CA The Mountain Winery w/ Wilco
June 27 Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre w/ Wilco
June 28 Stateline, NV Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena w/Wilco
June 30 Jacksonville, OR Britt Pavilion w/ Wilco
July 03 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre w/ Wilco
July 10 Ottawa, ON Ottawa Bluesfest
July 11 Winnipeg, MB Winnipeg Folk Festival
We’re knee deep into the top 25 albums of 2008 and this batch features two bands from Alive Records – Left Lane Cruiser and Hacienda. The Rural Alberta Advantage was arguably our biggest surprise of the year, building buzz with nothing more than their music – no label, no publicist. The Morning Benders and Sam Champion were both in our live session studio, so make sure to check out those tracks if you have a few extra seconds.
21. The Morning Benders – Talking Through Tin Cans (our review)
The Bay Area quartet have hints of The Beatles, a dash of Pet Sounds sound, and a little Zombies tossed in for good measure. Thankfully they don’t come off as cheap imitators and instead put forth an excellent effort. A good shot of melodic California pop.
A step down from The Stage Names, but that was to be expected. You’ll find a few gems – just not the transcendent album that its predecessor was. Okkervil’s b-sides are still good enough to land in the top 25.
Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys produced this album and is preparing his solo tour with Hacienda as his backing band. Dr. Dog performs backing vocals on the album. It’s safe to say that they have the seal of approval from some of music’s finest.
29. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – Self Titled (our review)
MBAR was homeless and strung out on drugs before cleaning up and focusing on music. The result is folk album with his signature lazy, organic vocal delivery.
Best appreciated in a live setting, Black Mountain perform amazingly good psychedelic rock songs that either punch you in the face or get you in a slow groove.
I had originally dubbed October “Rocktober” as I was fixing to see a host of shows this month. Due to some personal issues, I missed my first show, Heartless Bastards & Langhorne Slim, and then Jim James was injured and the My Morning Jacket Show at the Chicago Theatre was canceled. Rocktober was falling apart in front of my eyes. But then I went on a run of shows that I haven’t seen since before the kids started arriving fast and furious.
First up were the Silver Jews. Lead singer, David Berman, emerged in a snappy suit and fat belt buckle enscribed with “JOOS.” This show was a replacement for MMJ and in a way I was happier to see Berman and company for the first time.
Berman carries an awkwardness on stage that makes his stage presence genuine and real. He’s constantly checking his set list, which is written on a paper plate and dedicates songs to anyone and everyone. He also battles the mic and the accompanying stand as if it were his first time on stage. Berman announced that it was in fact their 100th time on stage this night. Bob Nastanovich (formerly of Pavement) showed up to play drums on “New Orleans.” He told stories of the origins of the band, when they would call Thurston Moore’s answering machine and leave demos.
The show was an absolute blast and, in many ways, a very communal experience. People sang along and when he played “Random Rules” everyone in the crowd had a shit-eating grin on their face.
Next up the docket were Fleet Foxes. This was the third time seeing them this year and their eponymous LP is easily my favorite debut of the year, if not my favorite album. This was my first time seeing them headline in a proper club and they didn’t disappoint.
At the Pitchfork Festival, the crowd was eerily quiet when Fleet Foxes played and once the boys from Washington hit the stage at The Metro, the “shhhhhs” came out in full force. When one jackass started mocking the situation with his girlfriend, another guy politely said, “Please, we really want to hear them.” The guy relented as he realized that people came to listen the music and not bullshit about nonsense.
The Foxes tore through a set that covered almost every tune from their EP and full length. “Drops In The River” which led into “English House” was an amazing 10 minutes of music. There was plenty of easy going banter the band and the crowd. It’s good to see they are easing into their new found celebrity.
The highlight of the night was “Mykonos.” The four-piece harmonies were absolutely breathless. That was the last song before the encore, and really they could have walked away at that point and I would have been thrilled. I’m glad I caught them at The Metro this time because I don’t think I’ll ever have that opportunity again.
Last on my concert stops was Okkervil River. This was my 6th time seeing them this year and I’m one random run-in at the grocery store from getting a restraining order slapped on my desk. Sheff and co. launched into “Plus Ones” and were off. What else is there possibly left for me to say about them? Let’s see… New guitarist Lauren Gurgiolo seems to be settling in nicely. In August, she seemed unsure of herself, as if she didn’t want to flub a note. Now she smiles more and seems to really be enjoying herself. Bass Guitarist, Patrick Pestorious, should sing more often. He sounds great on “Lost Coastlines.” And on a sad note, Sheff announced that they don’t play “Kansas City” any more. That made me sad. That’s a fucking doozy of a tune.
Anyway it was a great show that we’ve all come to expect. Sheff busted out a solo “Red” and the band fired a version of “A Stone” that was transcendent. They are hands down my favorite band right now.
As many of you know, I headed out to The Treasure Island Music Festival on Sunday afternoon with my trusty point and shoot camera in my holster. As you also may know, my pictures are always horrendous but I like to share them anyway.
Port O’Brien and Dr. Dog tied for my favorite performance of the day. Van Pierszalowski played with his usual intensity and while most people talk Port O’Brien’s anthem, “I Woke Up Today,” I found a new favorite. “The Rooftop Song” may be a song that you overlook on their album, but seeing them perform it live is quite an experience.
This is Tokyo Police Club.
This was my first time seeing The Morning Benders and I was really impressed. They played a tight set that included a new track that I can’t recall the name of. I think Chris Chu and the gang will continue to put out great pop music.
It’s hard to take a worse picture than this, until you see my picture of Dr. Dog. That one is really shitty. I now know what Woody was slurring to me at South By Southwest when he said “the Fleet Foxes sound like angels singing.” Their vocals are stunning.
Okkervil River took the stage and had some technical difficulties starting off. Will Sheff got a little testy and asked for “a real guitar chord” and took a cheap shot at the festival. A few of the people around me that weren’t familiar with Okkervil River were real turned off. Seemed out of character for Sheff, but my man crush remains in tact. There’s a lesson to learn from this, however. If you are a band playing at a festival, don’t assume that everyone in the crowd is there to see you. It’s your opportunity to win new fans, so smile and don’t take yourself too seriously.
Yeah, see what I mean? Those shadow puppets are really Dr. Dog, playing at sunset. You can see San Francisco in the background across the bay and this band was the perfect choice to close the day and start the night. “The Ark” was a crowd favorite.
I don’t know what the hell this is, but it walked by me twice and really freaked me out. It’s mouth is right at wang level, so it made every guy around a wee bit nervous.
I had to leave after Dr. Dog’s set, so I missed The Kills and The Raconteurs, but I walked away from the festival one happy camper. Other than a great lineup, here are five more reasons why you shouldn’t miss this festival next year…
Before boarding the shuttles from San Francisco to Treasure Island, some hippie chicks were selling pot brownies like it was a lemonade stand. I did not partake, but I’m pretty sure San Francisco is one of the only cities that has no issues with this.
No beer lines. Do I need to continue with the list?
No bathroom lines. The human to port-o-potty ratio was 5 to 1. I was expecting to use Drinking Buddy’s “Peeing at a Rock Show” handbook, volume 1 and volume 2, but it was unnecessary.
Super comfy shuttles. It was expecting school buses, but they put us up in tour buses.
The setting is about as good as it gets, isolated on a small island across the bay from San Francisco.
I can almost hear the complaints. “Enough with the stale news about RIAA and Muxtape. Bring on the music.”
I must have my head up clear up my backside. I consider myself a huge Okkervil River fan, but somehow I overlooked that they released a new track called “Lost Coastlines” for their upcoming release, The Stand Ins. I love Okkervil River because it still feels like yesterday that The Stage Names was released. Their albums have a way of staying fresh and revealing themselves over months and months of listening. You can get lost in the nooks and crannies.
I’m a sometimes contributor to I Pick My Nose’s Friday Song Obsessions series. Thanks to Natalie for contributing this track.
The Stand Ins will be released on September 9th via Jagjaguwar.
I had originally dubbed October “Rocktober” as I was fixing to see a host of shows this month. Due to some personal issues, I missed my first show, Heartless Bastards & Langhorne Slim, and then Jim James was injured and the My Morning Jacket Show at the Chicago Theatre was canceled. Rocktober was falling apart in front of my eyes. But then I went on a run of shows that I haven’t seen since before the kids started arriving fast and furious.
