Author Archive
The 'Circustry' That Is Horace Pickett
Horace Pickett are not reinventing the wheel. Instead, they take a bunch of already constructed wheels, patch them together into one rickety dust-wagon and take it for a nice, leisurely drive. They’ve recently released their first, self-titled full length and the progressive, sporadic song structure makes it a great record for the ADD-afflicted (and mustache-clad). Songs are arranged with subtle complexity and their clever hooks hang around just long enough to be appreciated and then depart just as that annoying friend of yours gets the idea he/she wants to sing along. It’s a well-crafted mixing pot of folk rock, Americana, vaudeville, big top circustry (I’m trying to coin a new word in every review I write, c’mon! stick!!) and half a dozen other seasonings. It’s impossible not to take delight in their tongue-and-cheek approach to fictional storytelling and I ain’t gonna fight it. I won’t!
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I’ll put it this way: someday in the near future you’re going to wake up and it’s going to be sunny and 75 degrees. Call in sick to work, pick up some beer, find two rocking chairs, call me, press play, and we’ll get started on that beer around 11 am. Maybe we’ll play whiffle ball. Maybe we’ll let a dog eat ice cream off our faces. Maybe we’ll paint our toenails an ironic shade of black. Maybe we’ll attach silver spurs to our Chuck Taylor’s. Maybe we’ll learn to juggle knives. Maybe we’ll wink at the garbage man. Maybe Horace Pickett will walk by and nod approvingly. It would be an injustice to listen to this album and not do one of those things. Seriously. Fucking call me. If nothing else, make them a stop on your stroll through the Folk Life Festival, and get your termite tuxedo tailored for god’s sake.
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For fans of: Tom Waits, Page France, Why?, and… dare I say… Randy Newman? Does he have fans? I mean other than me and every mom that saw Toy Story? You be the judge.
Rogue Wave @ Neumos
Before you go lauding MGMT for cornering their own brand of synthified indie pop, you should understand that Rogue Wave has been fingering the knobs since aught two. This Saturday, they’ll bring the show to Neumo’s in support of their latest release, Permalight.
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I’m not too proud to admit that Pandora radio introduced me to this band. I’ve never seen them live but this band covers so much ground that I feel pretty confident recommending them. Just from what I’ve heard, I can anticipate a very diverse show full tasty pop sundries. Just about any music fan (save death metal loyalists) should be able to find something they can sink their teeth into. And just as you’re about to climax on a sound wall of pure synth ecstasy, I think they’ll help you come down with an apt serving of acoustic guitars and shakers.
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That’s nice of them.
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SUGAR WARNING: This music contains syrupy-sweet melodies that once have found a home on such programs as Friday Night Lights, the OC, Scrubs, and One Tree Hill. In fact, their music has been licensed out so much I’m guessing they’ve had to hire a pimp to wrangle in all the dealings. Like I said, they cover a lot of ground, but I’m not very close to faulting them for slutting it up. It’s one of those instances where you’re happy to see a talented band getting paid. And seriously, what else are you going to do? Fill out your census card?
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For fans of: The New Pornographers/AC Newman, MGMT, Helio Sequence
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Rogue Wave @ Neumos
Sat Apr 10
$15 – 21+
Rogue Wave, Saturday @ Neumo’s
Before you go lauding MGMT for cornering their own brand of synthified indie pop, you should understand that Rogue Wave has been fingering the knobs since aught two. This Saturday, they’ll bring the show to Neumo’s in support of their latest release, Permalight.
.
I’m not too proud to admit that Pandora radio introduced me to this band. I’ve never seen them live but this band covers so much ground that I feel pretty confident recommending them. Just from what I’ve heard, I can anticipate a very diverse show full tasty pop sundries. Just about any music fan (save death metal loyalists) should be able to find something they can sink their teeth into. And just as you’re about to climax on a sound wall of pure synth ecstasy, I think they’ll help you come down with an apt serving of acoustic guitars and shakers.
.
That’s nice of them.
.
SUGAR WARNING: This music contains syrupy-sweet melodies that once have found a home on such programs as Friday Night Lights, the OC, Scrubs, and One Tree Hill. In fact, their music has been licensed out so much I’m guessing they’ve had to hire a pimp to wrangle in all the dealings. Like I said, they cover a lot of ground, but I’m not very close to faulting them for slutting it up. It’s one of those instances where you’re happy to see a talented band getting paid. And seriously, what else are you going to do? Fill out your census card?
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For fans of: The New Pornographers/AC Newman, MGMT, Helio Sequence
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Rogue Wave @ Neumos
Sat Apr 10
$15 – 21+
A brief history of Alex “Fobbs” DiFabio or Why You Might Care What I Have to Say.
I was about 11 terribly wordy words deep into my bio when I realized I can’t write a bio. So instead I asked my good friend Manny to say a few things about me. Since it seems that people are more likely to read lists than a few threatening paragraphs, I told him to come up with 5 interesting things about his good friend Alex. Here is his list:
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1. At age three Alex participated in a government funded genealogical experiment. The main goal was, in short, to turn 3 year-olds into 3 and-a-half-year-olds. The whole process took about 6 months but I’ll be damned if Alex didn’t toddle out of that place a full half year older. So think about this next time you see Alex: that 26 and a half year old is really only 26, but you’d never even know it. Spooky.
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2. While earning a Music Business degree at Indiana University, Alex interned at sister labels Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguar. Sometimes he would show up, sometimes he wouldn’t. It was there that he was granted the enigmatic status for which he so desperately yearned.
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3. Alex cut his teeth as a musician playing the spoons in a tribute band. The band exclusively covered music from the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. They called themselves Shitty Shitty Band Band. Reception was mixed.
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4. Alex begins everyday with a mug of Amaretto. It’s a tradition that started while playing on a prison rugby team in southern Italy, it’s actually where I met Alex. He was originally booked for refusing to pee indoors… and he hasn’t since, and he won’t. I once asked him why and he replied, “I mean, how garish is that? Peeing indoors… Who am I, the president?” So if it’s a swordfight you’re looking for, it will have to be a duel alfresco.
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5. I regularly read Alex’s journal. Here is an excerpt from a Christmas entry entitled “Fun with Santa’s Sack”:
So this year I was donned with a few wrapped treasures courtesy of a handful of thoughtful family members. The piece de resistance was my very first iPod which I think officially makes me the only laggard that will never see social security. What should’ve been an apt and useful dowry really only means I damaged my computer trying to use it. So in the box it remains, bereft of a lifetime of sonic supplement due to the ineptitude of its bearer. What came last in the mail was an intriguing artifact leftover from the bygone era of cheeky 1980s cinema: a DVD curiously titled “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.” I was familiar with the work and I must say it piqued my interest as to what led this cousin of mine to settle on such a selection. That he would not only choose for my entertainment a juvenile, mindless tandem such as Bill and Ted, but also opt for the obvious lesser of the series, was quite provoking. Should I be touched that he delved so deeply into the cracks of modern cinema to extract such an obscure title that he thought might fit the recipient? Should I be insulted that he expected this stoner claptrap to appeal to his beloved cousin? For three minutes I stood there mildly bemused by the situation trying to make ends of it all. If I was embarrassed at the possibility of this being a “good gift,” I wouldn’t regain my dignity with what I did next, which was to screen it immediately.
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Wow thanks Manny, you’ve painted such an intimate portrait. This was about as useful as a 50 cent gift card to the dollar store. The bottom line folks, is that I know music, more than I know baseball, and I know Juan Castro’s career stats. I’m appreciative of the opportunity and am looking forward to contributing a new perspective.
Ravenna Woods
If you were in a cult and you wanted a soundtrack for your seaside bonfire and kool-aid party, I would recommend you hire Ravenna Woods. Only don’t pay them in punch, we are going to want them around for a while.
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The most notable element of this band’s recent release “Lakes and Demons” is rhythm. Everything revolves around the rhythm. I immediately recall the Dodos’s use of all things percussive. Singer/guitarist Chris Cunningham’s guitar work is also noteworthy; his playing is equal parts rhythm and melody, if not more of the former. The guitartistry invokes the thought of a Jose Gonzalez LP spinning at 45 rpm. This record is ambitious, full of thought and craftsmanship that deliberately toes the line of lo-fi/overproduction. The backup vocals ubiquitously flow in and out of audibility, and for me, it’s working. This record has energy. The more I listen, the more impressed I become that this is only three people. It’s like the organic brand of Menomena. It’s an album that can be enjoyed in full, although “People in High Places” and “Ghosts” are garnering the most plays. They make the most of their sonic canvas (via healthy doses of xylophone) and I really hope they can translate this live…
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I arrived at Chop Suey to find that these twat-bots left me off the list… no matter, I’m absolutely willing to support this band and I’m curious to see the trio in a live setting. Am I a sucker for a crazy looking dude jumping around, pounding on some floor toms? The answer is yes, I am, and they have one of those. I’m also a sucker for a guitarist that plays without a pick. They have one of those too. Most of the vocals are done in two-part harmony and are drenched in delay. The third song they played, “Devil’s Coming,” made it apparent that these two gentlemen have been singing together for sometime. There is a lot of “whoa”ing. So if you’re someone who likes lot of “whoa”s, to you I give the green light. As for me, the ambition heard on the record was being delivered. I liked it, a lot. After the show, my verdict was this: the folly of creating a record you can’t replicate live does not claim this band.
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The first night I spent in Seattle I went to see a friend-of-a-friend’s band… some local upstart that was part of a bill that was drawing about 30-40 folks on a Friday at Chop Suey. At one point during the show the guitar amp quit and the singer did an acoustic song while the problem was being resolved. It was a song called “Icicle Tusk.” Since I was new to the city, and so as not to appear naïve, I wanted to disguise how impressed I was with this guy. “Is everyone this good?” I wondered. I probably offered my buddy some insightful bit of critical analysis such as “fuckin good, man,” but secretly I was thinking to myself, “These guys are not going to be playing to this small an audience for very long.” And they didn’t. I got a similar feeling at the Ravenna Woods show. File under “Band to Watch” and hope they stay together.
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For fans of: The Dodos, Bon Iver, Yeasayer, Sea Wolf
