Grinning Dog @ Toad’s Place
Music
America at The Ridgefield Playhouse
American performed on Saturday, Aug. 24, at the Ridgefield Playhouse.
The undiscovered genius of “Death” – “…For the Whole World to See”
Death
When considering a band named Death, it’s not hard to imagine their struggle to achieve popularity during the mid-1970s. Originally composed of Detroit-based brothers Bobby, Dannis, and David Hackney, the band never made it past the early stages of releasing a single decades ago.
Now, 40-years later, with the release of their 1970s demo tapes, the band’s revolutionary sound is finally gaining the credit it deserves.
Legend has it that the band’s demo tapes, recorded in 1975, began circulating record collectors collections via ebay in 2008, and were eventually published by Drag City Records in 2009.
Upon first listen of the bands 2009 release, …. For the Whole World to See, it is brazenly obvious Death was not only ahead of their time, but that three black guys from Detroit had essentially captured the late-70s punk sound popularized by the Sex Pistols, and the Clash three years before those bands ever hit the spotlight.
Originally an R&B band called RockFire Funk Express, an Alice Cooper show inspired the band to switch direction, and start playing “white-boy” music. Sprawling, hard-rock cathedral guitars riddle the album’s short tracks that do not shy away from the band’s gospel roots. Ethereal soundscapes overlay stunningly powerful bass lines and fast, loud, and mean harmonies.
A repeated, punctuated chorus on the fourth track “You’re a Prisoner” takes aim at social issues and those afraid to confront them. During a time when sociology and music were obscurely connected, Death were not afraid to make a statement with their music.
As brother Bobby told Soundcheck on WNYC, the band’s incarnation was a bit strange considering their father’s place as a Baptist preacher. Yet, their dad was no stranger to the continually evolving state of music in the world. Bobby specifically remembered his father dragging his brothers to the TV during the Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, telling them “you are about to witness history.”
Freaking Out, the album’s fifth track, could just as easily be a Ramone’s song, lacking neither the intensity or the innovation of the later “band of brothers.”
Especially impressive is the bass work displayed on the album, which runs faster and more intricate than most of its time. Moving up and down scales with ease and fluidity, Bobby’s ability to blend gospel, roots, and rock & roll is unchallenged, even today.
The first track seems to take an early cue from Hard Day’s Night, before running itself into a whirlwind of Neil Young on adderall. A guitar riff made for 1983 is ripped apart by David, the group’s “artist” and most forward-looking member. A brilliant melody and the track’s vocal style are both extraordinarily beyond their time. It would be no surprise for this track to have been recorded and released today.
Buy the album somewhere, don’t stream it on YouTube over and over again. You won’t be let-down.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFs11ZFLpjE]Gregory Alan Isakov at Bowery Ballroom (review by Abby Larkin)
by Abby Larkin
Photos by Chris Burns
Gregory Alan Isakov and his band performed in the northeast at two sold-out shows this past week. The first was at the Bowery Ballroom in New York, and the second at the legendary Club Passim – a small, not for profit stage in Boston’s Harvard Square. Isakov’s performance showcased his upcoming album The Weatherman, a two-year project that was released earlier this month.
Each venue staged the show deliberately to match Isakov’s contemporary folk sound. A lighted globe bathed the room in a warm glow, acting as a fitting prop for the performances.
Isakov’s songwriting related tales of long journeys, and vast landscapes with meaning and poetry. His music brought concert-goers far from tiny, cramped venues to the wide open mountains of Colorado, the golden hills of the west coast, and the busy streets of Amsterdam.
A long-time road warrior, Isakov released his first, un-acclaimed album – rust colored stones – in 2003. Since then, he’s had songs featured on multiple television shows (see: Californication) and his song “Second Chances” was recently the iTunes single of the week.
His work draws strong inpsiration from the American Singer-Songwriter tradition, but allows his sound to expand beyond generic folk motifs. Experimentation with strong harmony, and vocal distortion give his sound an added, thought-provoking element. His backing band Jeb Bows, Philip Parker, and James Han has remained the same throughout his career, providing a band cohesion that is few-and-far-between.
The real strength of Isakov’s performances came from his ability to connect with the audience throughout the shows. He began his set in Boston with “Big Black Car,” a track off his 2009 album This Empty Northern Hemisphere. As it invited the audience to lean in close, he delighted with quick profundity. A slow and melodic number, the song was infused with haunting energy that reined in its listeners
“You were a phonograph, I was a kid/ I sat with an ear close just listenin’ in.”
The audience was rivetingly quiet while the musicians collaborated on stage, Isakov on guitar, harmonica, and singing vocals, his band mates on fiddle, cello, banjo, and mandolin.
Isakov then segued into a new song, “Amsterdam,” a beautiful track that evokes images of windy Dutch streets and lonely travels. Although Isakov’s works often feature far-off locales, his performances tap into universal affections faced by travelers and homebodies alike. For example, while “Amsterdam” remained consistent with Isakov’s world-wandering themes, he more subtly conveys an insightful reflection on human issues such as loneliness and the search for belonging and home.
The song began softly, with the personification of the “howling wind, waving hi”, embedding a constant, cold presence. One of the most poignant tracks on Weatherman, the song reached a crescendo in the last verse, where the slow, easy guitar licks gave way to vocal harmonization and thoughtful closing lines:
“Churches and trains they all look the same to me now, they shoot you some place, while we ache to come home somehow.”
The effect was rattling, leaving one audience member with visible tears.
Although Isakov’s music was deep and reflective, most of the set was lighthearted. Isakov and his band mates were comfortable performing on the small stage, capitalizing on the intimate space Club Passim provided. As they bantered with the Bostonian audience about $16 dollar lobster rolls, they adjusted instruments that the New England humidity had made fall out of tune.
“These guitars are from Colorado!” Isakov laughed. “It’s funny because when you guys come to Boulder, you’re all like ‘Colorado’s killing my guitar!”
The show played host to many highlights, including a solo performance by Isakov – a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Mama, You’ve Been On My Mind,” which had been “stuck in my head all day,” Isakov told the audience.
For the Dylan track, Isakov switched to a $35 dollar guitar that he purchased in Buffalo, NY. It was the “van guitar,” he confided, which he played most often because it was kept in the van outside of a case. Isakov’s advice to musicians: “Don’t keep your instruments in a case.”
Another shining moment was an unplugged performance of the new song “Suitcase Full of Sparks”. The band moved past the microphones and speakers and sat on the very edge of the stage, only a few inches away from the front row of the audience.
“It’s about to get real folksy in here,” Isakov warned.
The room carried sound even without amplifiers. The performance’s casual, campfire feel did not diminish, but rather enhanced the profound songwriting and beautiful musicianship.
In many ways, Isakov’s performances embodied the spirit of folk, embracing the tradition of telling stories through music. Isakov and his band gripped listeners with both lyrical and musical imagery, while his effortless showmanship took the audience members outside of themselves.
Isakov wrought two phenomenal concerts. We are bound to see more and more sold-out markers next to his shows in the future.
Photos: Grinning Dog at Empress Ballroom
Check out a few pics of my friends Grinning Dog playing a show in Danbury, CT. Their new album is available to download for free! A great blend of styles that create a truly modern ‘Yes-esque’ style.
“I basically yell at the audience ‘APPRECIATE US'” Skyler once told me.
Review of Wild Belle’s Isles album
Buy it?: YES
At first glance, Wild Belle’s Isles is an exercise in overbearing pretense and musical retrogression; another oddly-dressed pair of white kids trying to blend mismatched influence into an album that touches – if only briefly – on a well supported perspective.
Yet, there is nothing on Isles that lacks the genuine feel of its intent. Instead the album (a product of siblings Elliot and Natalie Bergman) grasps a strong center of electro-funk amidst overtones of mid-century franco-pop, and first wave reggae.
Natalie’s vocals are sensual, subtle, and violent without sacrificing contemporary lyrical models that come across more poetic than musical. Each syllable is filled with the raw lust that filled the work of Francoise Hardy, and occupies a perfect reggae meter.
Each track shares a thread of funky, drum machine infused pop, turning emotional calls for love, and its loss, into soft tunes that dance their way through break-ups and obsessive lovers. Each perspective on the album comes from a different angle, as if the Bergman’s sought a creation which explored their own lives through caricatures of sentiment and stories.
As Natalie told NPR in a recent interview about the song When its Over, “”That’s the second song on the record that I wrote in a male’s perspective. It’s sort of a guy speaking to me and singing to me, but I’m using his voice.”
If there was ever a duo that could coyly flex 1st-wave reggae, funky pop, and the sexiness of Paris, France in the 1960s, it is Wild Belle. The album Isles is an excellent exploration of the widely enjoyable side of electro, where repetition speaks to a mood, and overdubbed instrumentation is more than filler sound.
Stream the album free today on Spotify, or purchase it on Itunes.
PHOTOS: Gathering of the Vibes 2013
Bridgeport’s most famous thing came back to Seaside Park this year, and brought plenty of weed, beer, and deadheads a long with it. Take a look at some of these pictures and you can practically smell the dirtiness 😉
Chris Burns Writing 