New Zealand, Australia, and Europe have it good these next few months. With the exception of the popular US music festivals, many of my favorite musicians are touring overseas. Hey Sufjan, Mumford, Stith, Tallest Man, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, etcetera etcetera etcetera: how about hitting NYC again? I guarantee you good crowds!
I, my friends, am on a concert high for the first time since my last Elvis Perkins concert (and I have been to quite a few concerts since then, let me tell you). My day (yesterday) started with a near-overdose (if such a thing is even possible) of Mumford and Sons on ipod repeat. My friend and I had been looking forward to a live show of this band, as we considered it evident from their album that they would be awe-inspiring live. And so they were.
King Charles opened with pants much too tight, but music that was clearly worthy of the first opening spot of our beloved M&S.
Then came Cadillac Sky, a band of big-boned, incredibly bearded men from the middle-of-nowhere states + Texas. Marcus of M&S came out to drum-assist for a song, getting the crowd ready for what was to come.
And then Mumford and Sons took the stage. The began the night with "Sigh No More," the perfect opener to their album (which, by the way, is the best-arranged album since Modest Mouse's Good News For People Who Love Bad News).
Of course the fact that they have been touring for 2 years worried some that the show might not be as amazing as I was expecting. However, other than a few fleetingly pooped looks from Marcus Mumford following certain strenuous blow-out songs, it seemed clear that they were honored to be there and happy for the love they were feeling from the crowd.
I can't go into any more detail than this as I need my sleep for work tomorrow, but I will attempt to edit with more detail (and concert photos!) when I have a bit more time. As I plan to indulge in the details later, I thought I'd share with you one of Mumford and Songs old compositions, which was neither performed at the concert, nor was it on their last (and first) album. New fans should not miss out on this just because it pre-dates their appearance on the charts:
While the softer album version of this song, "Upwards Over the Mountain," is beautiful and much more in the style of Iron & Wine as we know him, this live recording (which, you should not worry, is excellent quality), is a crisp take on the song. And it truly shows what Samuel Beam can really do with his voice...Niiiiice.
Ready yourselves for concert photos & regalement. Sufficeth to say, for the time being, that Elvis Perkins in Dearland puts on a damn good show, with brass marching through the audience, feet stomping, a very hoppy percussionist, swaying & rock-n-rolling bromances, and the lovely & intense vocal stylings of the talented Mr. Perkins.
"I'll Be Arriving" stole the show both nights, although the emotion behind Perkins' "Ash Wednesday" (a song about the loss of his parents), was definitely one that should not be dismissed (particularly at the Friday night show).
As I told Kinsey, the EPID drummer, I hate it when they leave. My soul, and excuse my emotional investment, reacts to their music as it would a Lost Love.
And man, oh man, it truly is better to have loved.
And in this case, I do believe I will continue doing so for evermore.
Yeah, I know...I'm a bit late on this one. These guys have been playing many of the top US music festivals this year. I was introduced to their goodness by a friend, and they fit right in with my heavy indie folk obsession (you can see the attraction once you understand my obsession with Elvis Perkins in Dearland, who, btw, I just saw at NYC's The Bell House back to back on 4/23 & 4/24).
They have a good bit of variation in regards to their style. Check out their album From Below to see for yourself.
I've had Vampire Weekend's "Horchata"---off their most recent album, Contra---stuck in my head since yesterday. After verse 1, however, I completely lose the tune to the subconscious takeover of Super Mario 3's Underground theme. Listen to "Horchata," and at 0:21 you'll see why. Now I'm working in Garageband to produce a mashup. Having never used the program before, it's taking a lot longer than I'd like, but I'll get through it. I'm always mashing up songs in my head, or with my roomie (we have completely different repertoires, so when one of us starts singing a tune, the other will join in with a similar but completely different song). I hope to produce a great number of mashups for FoP posting in the future, so I figure this is a good time to start.
There's another song that takes me back to my days of Super Nintendo funtimes, and that's Omarion's "Ice Box." Have a quick listen to the intro:
Sound familiar? Try this on for size (it gets really obvious at 0:59):
Yes, that's Donkey Kong Country's Underwater theme, "Aquatic Ambience," by David Wise & Robin Beanland.
I love music. I think I'm addicted, though I've never gone long enough without it to know if I'll have withdrawals or not. There's definitely a mad rush of dopamine when I hear it, and a dopamine overflow when I see it live.
I'll be posting my songs/artists of the day anytime I am moved to do so. This happens pretty often, whether it's a new song I've just heard, an old song I've rediscovered, or a show that I just went to.
In terms of genre, anything goes. I must warn you, however, that I've been really into chill stuff lately: stuff that relaxes and refreshes me. I have a theory that this is due to my current stress level, but we'll see how it plays out in the long-run. I believe that if you listen to these artists/songs in the right context, they can have absolutely positive effects on your being.
DISCLAIMER: If you're not into the songs I post, don't write the artists off based on those alone, because many of them have quite the range of style & emotion.
So welcome to my world of music. My hope is that you might find music that will become meaningful to you. At least, that's what my life is all about.
