Category

Bands

• 04.15.09
  Guest Blog: Partially Frozen’s Mark Theriault brings us Daniel Buxton   Bands (1)

  Life is a complicated thing and it’s made for a quiet few weeks here at Taking Tiger Mountain as a result. My buddy Mark Theriault, CG artist extraordinaire behind Partially Frozen is helping me out by sharing with us the evening he discovered Daniel Buxton on a Vancouver street corner.

  Look for more TTM updates coming soon…

  

  Last night, I had a moment that made me remember why music and live performances can’t be contained by a stage or venue. Daniel Buxton is something of a rarity that proves my point. As I was leaving an eatery on Granville, I heard a voice coming from across the street and I thought to myself “Wow, is this guy really singing?” My friend and I ran to see this lone man standing in the light of an Aldo shoe store. With a thin frame and hair that for sure makes women more than a little jealous, stood Daniel Buxton.

  He was playing a square guitar and using a wooden foot plank attached to tambourines, belting out a song that I can’t remember the name of, but the title of which was truly irrelevant. This man could sing and play better than most people I’ve ever seen live. Buxton embraced the emotion with his tightly closed eyes and booming voice. The street was empty but for an audience of two and he played like it was two hundred. After a few covers, he took a short break to which I used the opportunity to ask if he had any original stuff. Instantly, he lit up and said “Yeah man, for sure. Here, I’ll play two songs.” I was nervous. I have heard a lot of acts that can cover a song flawlessly but can’t bring to the table stuff of there own making.

  To this, Buxton started to play…and play he did. His original work was way better to hear then the covers. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know the covers are a valid addition to a street performers repertoire, but if I had it my way this man would play all original work. Granville St. in Vancouver isn’t the most music appreciative place on earth…the neighborhood mainly consists of Kim Kardashian-esq women and what I would consider ‘roided douche bags. When he was playing large groups of people would walk by and 9 out of 10 wouldn’t hear a lick of what he was playing. The singular guy that knew and appreciated talent that would turn his head, stop and join the audience. This happened at least 3 or4 times while I was watching. He would approach the two audience members, just my friend and I at the beginning, and say “Holy shit, this guy is so good” while frantically searching for a dollar or more to throw into the guitar case. What can be said about Daniel Buxton and his performance in the doorway of that Aldo is that he has the ability to truly pull out the best in people who appreciate music and soul.

  Check out the Candice Weapon remix of Daniel Buxton’s ‘Sex With My Ex’:

  DB Buxton Revue – Sex With My Ex (Cadence Weapon’s No Sex Mix)

  
  An article on Buxton from Edmonton’s VUE Weekly

  Daniel B. Buxton – “St. James Infirmary Blues”

• 03.09.09
  ‘A toast to the last of a dying breed…” – Tokyo Police Club   Bands (3)

  

  I’m not entirely sure why I like Tokyo Police Club the way I do. The core building blocks of the band are pretty straight forward: metronomic indie rock drumming, jagged, occasionally reverbed guitar and a thin but emotive lead singer. All the elements separately wouldn’t stand a chance , but together they coalesce and creates something that exceeds expectations.

  Tokyo Police Club – Your English Is Good

  
  

  When the tempo is pushed forward, the songs are at their best; propulsive head-nodding pseudo-anthems that catch you in their wake and pull you along. Tracks like ‘Your English Is Good’ stomp along with all the fervor of punkrock’s grandchild, but with an added attention to shifting detail. The song is littered with touches; the keyboard line glues together the clicking of the drums and the steady, fuzzy bass. It’s not repetitive; the riffs concise and incredibly efficient.

  Tokyo Police Club – In A Cave

  
  

  I’m not the type of listener who reacts to the lyrics. I tend to process the minutia of the sound production rather than respond to the worlds described by the singer. Dave Monks is an exception as very early in my discovery of the band I found myself looking up the lyrics and additionally, the meaning behind the words to ‘In A Cave’.

  The phrasing isn’t always perfect, but his choices create something that is earnest and visual. The narratives twist throughout the song, fragments of images appear and guide you along. I think the almost awkward positioning of some of his word choices are the things that draw me in. The times my ears get confused cause me to only listen closely and examine the narrative better. Like with The Ghost’s Brian Moss, the things that I initially found offputting about some of his lyric choices evolved into the things that I found most endearing about the band.

  The Interface has a few fantastic in-studio acoustic performances up as video and for MP3 download. Plus, Monks has a Maps and Atlases shirt on…you know how I love those guys. Always nice to see people you like have good taste as well.

  You can download the full set for download as an single MP3 from The Interface, but I took the liberty of chopping it up into individual tracks. Far more useful that way:

  Tokyo Police Club – Live at The Interface (Acoustic)

  01. Tokyo Police Club – Tessalate:

  Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  – VIDEO
  02. Tokyo Police Club – The Harrowing Adventures:

  Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  – VIDEO
  03. Tokyo Police Club – The Nature of the Experiment –

  Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  – VIDEO
  04. Tokyo Police Club – Centennial:

  Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

  – VIDEO

  The four songs as a ZIP (Sendspace)

  Elephant Shell is a great example of quality from a young band that will only grow as time moves on. The songs they’ve presented us are smartly produced, contemporary indie rock that is driving without being lofty or overly anthemic. The live, acoustic cuts strip away the layers and show something of exceptional craft at the core. What they do next will no doubt be well worth the listen.

  Bonus downloads:

  2007’s Daytrotter Session

  Ra Ra Riot’s stellar remix of Juno

  2007 Brooklyn Vegan Interview

• 02.13.09
  …In With The New – Andrew Bird’s Noble Beast (MP3s & Tour Dates)   Bands (1)

  

  As the pastoral album cover hints, Noble Beast is a different kind of Andrew Bird. It’s grounded in a kind of naturalistic realism, a smaller album overall. While not a bad thing, but as it’s a comedown from the dark grandeur of Armchair Apocrapha, there’s definitely a period of listener adjustment that has to happen. Most every moment of Noble Beast is fraught with restraint, lacking the soaring bombast that permeated both its predecessor and …And The Mysterious Production of Eggs. Many of the tracks on Noble Beast are gentle to the core, crafted with touches of straight piano, acoustic guitar and cautious percussion.

  It’s definitely a throwback to an older Bird, as there’s many moments where Noble Beast recall the simpler songwriting style of 2003’s Weather Systems which felt like an album of songs to be performed alone. Noble Beast has the essence of being written for someone, a touching living room performance in a house with creaky floorboards and a snow dusted roof.

  ‘Souverian’ is a good example of the new dynamic. At over seven minutes, it’s the lengthiest track on the album, and it retains touches of the more complex Bird songwriting. It begins a delicate stitch of violin, acoustic guitar and brushed drums that hang against the. The song snakes along, taking it’s time, pausing often to catch its breath; there are moments where you can feel the hints of a build coming, but it’s only a tease. An older Bird would use those moments as springboard into a looped cloud, but instead you get just a taste…a single bowed note arcs higher, reaching out of the mix, then things are quickly grounded. The song shifts in the last few minutes, the drums grow heavy and the melody somber, before taking off slowly into a glacial cloud of guitar noise. The entire song, as well most of the rest of the album is a work of patience…still quintessential Bird, but different in its approach.

  Andrew Bird – Souverian

  
  

  ‘Anonanimal’ is an incredibly subdued and interesting track that quickly grew to be my favorite on the album. It snakes around the first half with a deft tangle of prickly guitar, violin and gorgeous wordplay. After a moments pause, it leads the listener along to a pop of Dosh’s skittering drumming and a bolder guitar riff.

  Andrew Bird – Anonanimal

  
  

  Overall, we’re faced with a slow moving, intricate work that takes time to crack open and examine the majesty within. Initially, I wasn’t totally sold on the album as a whole and was prepared to just write it off as a low point in his catalog, but I needed to sit with it for longer in order for it to grow on me. I’m a very staunch Bird fan, but on the same page, I love the complexity and the dexterous layering that made a beautiful fog out of his last two albums. The absence of those elements was off putting at first, but with repeated exposure, became a benefit. The strongest element of Noble Beast stands with Bird’s vocal melodies. While the older albums sucked listeners in with the craft of the music, I think that this album marks a change in his confidence as a songwriter. He’s less afraid to hide behind technical elements and lets the small touches speak just as loud. If you’re not in love with this album instantly, do take the time to get familiar with the melodies, to peek into the corners and find the subtle details that makes this album worthy of many repeat listens.

  Tourdates:

  Feb 14 2009/ The Rialto Theatre – Tucson, Arizona
  Feb 15 2009/ SOMA – San Diego, California
  Feb 18 2009/ The Orpheum Theatre – Los Angeles, California
  Feb 19 2009/ The Fillmore – San Francisco, California
  Feb 20 2009/ The Fillmore – San Francisco, California
  Feb 21 2009/ Roseland Theater – Portland, Oregon
  Feb 23 2009/ The Moore Theatre – Seattle, Washington
  Feb 24 2009/ Knitting Factory – Boise, Idaho
  Feb 25 2009/ The Murray Theater – Murray, Utah
  Feb 26 2009/ The Ogden Theater – Denver, Colorado
  Feb 27 2009/ Slowdown – Omaha, Nebraska
  Feb 28 2009/ Hoyt Sherman Place Des Moines, Iowa
  Mar 15 2009/ The Pageant – St. Louis, Missouri
  Mar 16 2009/ Liberty Hall Lawrence, Kansas
  Mar 17 2009/ Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa, Oklahoma
  Mar 21 2009/ House of Blues – Houston, Texas
  Mar 22 2009/ Granada Theater – Dallas, Texas
  Mar 23 2009/ The Lyric Oxford – Oxford, Mississippi
  Apr 2 2009/ Allen Theatre – Cleveland, Ohio
  Apr 3 2009/ Queen Elizabeth Theatre – Toronto, Ontario
  Apr 4 2009/ Le National – Montreal, Quebec
  Apr 5 2009/ Higher Ground – South Burlington, Vermont
  Apr 7 2009/ Carnegie Music Hall – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  Apr 8 2009/ Michigan Theater – Ann Arbor, Michigan
  Apr 9 2009/ Civic Opera House Chicago, Illinois
  Apr 10 2009/ Civic Opera House – Chicago, Illinois
  Apr 11 2009/ The State Theater – Minneapolis, Minnesota
  Apr 27 2009/ La Cigale – Paris

  Noble Beast was released January 20th in North America on Fat Possum Records and February 2nd in Europe via Bella Union/Cooperative.

• 02.09.09
  Glitchy Analog Hugs – Nosaj Thing   Bands (2)

  

  Los Angeles’s Nosaj Thing was quite possibly my favorite discovery of 2008. A new guy on the scene, with just an single EP under his belt, he’s still created a work of majesty that brings along definite anticipation for currently underway, full length. His tracks are capture a kind of warm analog wonder, peppered with deft drum programming and tasteful glitchy elements.

  
  

  Nosaj Thing – Bach 1685

  
  Purchase the vinyl from Turntable Labs

  From the limited run Stussy x Turntable Lab compilation Beats, “Bach 1685″ was the first track of his that I caught, and it immediately captured my ear with the 8-bit sounding washes and wandering backwards keyboard. The above video features the dance moves of Montreal producer Lunice (who, on a side note, did one of the best remixes of Kanye’s remixes of “Love Lockdown” that I’ve heard so far – download it here)

  
  

  Nosaj Thing – Hearts Entire

  
  Video by Dugan O’Neal
  Purchase from

  There’s rarely a person that I play him for that isn’t blown away. It’s safe to say that, in a year, a ton more folks will know about what he does. I’m sad that I left LA without catching his Low End Theory appearances, but from the looks of his myspace, he’s going to be playing out a bit this year. Be sure to catch his live show if you can.
  
  Feb 5 2009 Fox Theater w/ The Gaslamp Killer, Pretty Lights – Boulder, Colorado
  Feb 6 2009 Aggie Theater w/ Pretty Lights, Savoy – Ft. Collins, Colorado
  Feb 7 2009 Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom w/ Pretty Lights & DJ Russo – Denver, Colorado
  Feb 13 2009 OBEY RADIO @ The Crosby w/ The Gaslamp Killer – Santa Ana, California
  Feb 20 2009 TBA – Richmond, Virginia
  Feb 21 2009 BeBar – Washington, Washington DC
  Feb 26 2009 Holocene w/ Eliot lipp and Michna! – Portland, Oregon
  Feb 27 2009 STS9 after party w/ Free the Robots + the Gaslamp Killer – San Francisco, California
  Mar 5 2009 Princeton: Terrace F. Club – Princeton, New Jersey
  Mar 6 2009 Zot Bar – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  Mar 7 2009 – Tribeca w/ Eliot Lipp + Pnuma Trio – Virginia
  Mar 13 2009 11 Minna Gallery w/ Mochipet – San Francisco, California

• 02.06.09
  Portland Post-Folk-Electro-Rock-ish – Talkdemonic   Bands, Social Calendar (0)

  

  I’m a sucker for anything that puts the focus on stringed instruments. Just like how I discovered Dirty Three years too late, I don’t know how Talkdemonic slipped by me for as long as they did.

  The music the Portland duo creates is a brooding, deep-woods symphony, reflecting well the terrain of the Northwest. Without lyrics, the instruments do the job of emoting, with Lisa Molinaro’s violin and cello playing working to convey the heart of the music. Kevin O’Connor handles the drums and electronics sequencing and the result is something that broodingly straddles the genres of indie rock, electronica, and post rock to a pleasant end.

  The duo released their third album, Eyes At Half Mast in late 2008 and will be playing a show this Saturday February 5th at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge. Lucky Madison labelmates Ah Holly Fam’ly and local dark folkies Nurses and will be opening up the evening.

  Talkdemonic – March Movement