Although the chemistry of a group of musicians when they are perfectly in sync and rockin' out is always impressive, for me, there is something even more impressive and emotionally transcending about just a voice and a guitar manipulating a room packed with people. Snap shirts were in full effect at Café Du Nord this past weekend of The White Buffalo, and everyone in attendance was treated to a powerful solo acoustic performance that, for the most part, entranced the spectators into silence. One nice component of the solo show, is that The White Buffalo (aka Jake Smith) can go in any direction he likes during the performance, for instance finishing his set off with a country legends medley and constantly bantering with the engaged rowdies up front. I would normally say that the The White Buffalo should be looked into, but in the case of the solo performance, I'd have to escalate my recommendation to the lofty "not to be missed" plateau.
The man is currently on tour will be making a stop in Portland, Oregon tonight (Wednesday, January 27) at Mississippi Studios. If you know what's good for you, you'll be there. Tell him "America" sent you... you'll get it when you see the video.
Showing posts with label Cafe Du Nord. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cafe Du Nord. Show all posts
January 27, 2010
November 13, 2008
War Machine's 5
After being shamed about not contributing by others, I'm going to ignore the 10 things I need to do today before leaving work and try to type this as I listen to the songs come up.
One caveat, my ipod only has about 10 to 15 percent of my music library. It is a brand spanking new ipod touch that I use mostly to keep up with my shows on the bus. I have a couple of playlists on it that I cycle through while being the douche that checks his blackberry on the bus next to you.
I am War Machine no more, or probably more correctly, I am more War Machine now than I've ever been in my life.
With that, let's begin:
White Collar Boy
Belle and Sebastian
-This song comes from the album our leader burned for me, The Life Pursuit. It is the first Belle and Sebastian album I ever really listened to from beginning to end and I really love it. I can pop it in at any moment and feel better afterward. That said, the B&S discography is so massive I've always been too intimidated to become more well read in their work. Save it for later, I guess. As a social experiment, I gave this album to my brother (a Blue Collar Boy) and he described it as modern 60s music. I don't remember if he meant that as a good thing.
Bonnie and Clyde
Luna
-Crap. Can I skip this one? It's fine, I guess. But it's all in French and I'm still holding a grudge about their votes on Iraq at the UN. Sure, they were right, but the only thing worse than a smug frenchman is a smug frenchman who is dead right about the most important American foreign policy decision of the last 40 years.
Back to the song, my friend gave this song to me on a mixtape way, way back. On that mix was Johnny Cash's cover of Solitary Man. I wish I was listening to that right now. Maybe I should go back up to the Belle and Sebastian section and check my spelling.
As a side note, my ipod thinks this song is by Ben Lee. whatever happened to Ben Lee. Did he die or something?
Rio
Duran Duran
-So, my ipod thinks that Simple Minds sings this song. I'm going to have to look into that after our experiment. Clearly, something is awry.
This falls into the category of potentially embarrassing song, save for the fact that it still f-ing rocks. Plus, it has the advantage of being retro-chic to love again. I'm cool with synths and keytars coming back in a big way, but I can do without the sax solo toward the end.
On a side note, I nearly paid $80 for a vintage Duran Duran concert T on Melrose about a month back. It was too tight, even for me. I don't know why I would have done such a thing.
Washington D.C.
Magnetic Fields
-I'm loving my ipod for playing this song right now because it gives me a chance to tell the following story:
I went to the Magnetic Fields show in D.C. a couple of weeks ago with PopQuizKid. Great show, even though it was more of a performance than a show. Needless to say, you would expect them to play this song, but they hadn't planned to. In between the show-show and the forced encore that all bands are expected to do these days, (I'm hitting pause now, screw it, I want to get this story out) Claudia returned to stage under the instruction of General Merritt to stall while he did whatever geniuses do when they are being petulant. She asked the crowd what she could do to stall. Someone yelled "Washington D.C." She asked if we would like her to do an acapella version. We said, "Well, now that you mention it, since we are, in fact, in Washington D.C., maybe you should consider it," or rather "YEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
But she couldn't remember the words.
The crowd helped her a little, but still.
Anyway, love this song because of where I live. It's actually kind of a crappy song, by Magnetic Fields standards, anyway.
As a side note, my ipod correctly identified that the Magnetic Fields do indeed sing this song. Maybe it just needs some coffee.
Hitting play again.
Opening Up
Chromeo
-I caught these guys about a month or two ago and felt really old. Like I said, I'm supportive of synths and keytars coming back, and this band is proof that that is indeed the case. Well, at least in terms of the heavy synth. No keytars to speak of...yet.
Needless to say, this is probably my least favorite song on what I consider to be an awesome album. Such fun. I know it's not exactly high art, but it's high times.
The show was a great dance party, by the way. It was sold out and there wasn't a soul in the balcony at the 9:30 Club, if that means anything to you. Crowded and sweaty and dancey. The old comment is only because of how young their target audience appears to be. Lots of sideways baseball caps, headphones worn around the neck as accessories and plastic sunglasses indoors.
One of these youngsters spent most of the evening trying to hit on PopQuizKid. It was cute.
The end of this song has one of those afterludes, or whatever you call it when a song completely shifts gears and sounds like it is another song but it isn't. Chromeo loves those. I don't.
Afterward: the next song to come up was Breaking it Up, by Lykke Li, now there is somebody I'm really feeling right now. Missed her show a month ago, but it looks like she's coming back to town in January.
So there, nothing too embarrassing, other than my ipod's confusion over who sings what, but why should I be embarrassed about that. My supposedly "genius" ipod is the one who is retarded.
One caveat, my ipod only has about 10 to 15 percent of my music library. It is a brand spanking new ipod touch that I use mostly to keep up with my shows on the bus. I have a couple of playlists on it that I cycle through while being the douche that checks his blackberry on the bus next to you.
I am War Machine no more, or probably more correctly, I am more War Machine now than I've ever been in my life.
With that, let's begin:
White Collar Boy
Belle and Sebastian
-This song comes from the album our leader burned for me, The Life Pursuit. It is the first Belle and Sebastian album I ever really listened to from beginning to end and I really love it. I can pop it in at any moment and feel better afterward. That said, the B&S discography is so massive I've always been too intimidated to become more well read in their work. Save it for later, I guess. As a social experiment, I gave this album to my brother (a Blue Collar Boy) and he described it as modern 60s music. I don't remember if he meant that as a good thing.
Bonnie and Clyde
Luna
-Crap. Can I skip this one? It's fine, I guess. But it's all in French and I'm still holding a grudge about their votes on Iraq at the UN. Sure, they were right, but the only thing worse than a smug frenchman is a smug frenchman who is dead right about the most important American foreign policy decision of the last 40 years.
Back to the song, my friend gave this song to me on a mixtape way, way back. On that mix was Johnny Cash's cover of Solitary Man. I wish I was listening to that right now. Maybe I should go back up to the Belle and Sebastian section and check my spelling.
As a side note, my ipod thinks this song is by Ben Lee. whatever happened to Ben Lee. Did he die or something?
Rio
Duran Duran
-So, my ipod thinks that Simple Minds sings this song. I'm going to have to look into that after our experiment. Clearly, something is awry.
This falls into the category of potentially embarrassing song, save for the fact that it still f-ing rocks. Plus, it has the advantage of being retro-chic to love again. I'm cool with synths and keytars coming back in a big way, but I can do without the sax solo toward the end.
On a side note, I nearly paid $80 for a vintage Duran Duran concert T on Melrose about a month back. It was too tight, even for me. I don't know why I would have done such a thing.
Washington D.C.
Magnetic Fields
-I'm loving my ipod for playing this song right now because it gives me a chance to tell the following story:
I went to the Magnetic Fields show in D.C. a couple of weeks ago with PopQuizKid. Great show, even though it was more of a performance than a show. Needless to say, you would expect them to play this song, but they hadn't planned to. In between the show-show and the forced encore that all bands are expected to do these days, (I'm hitting pause now, screw it, I want to get this story out) Claudia returned to stage under the instruction of General Merritt to stall while he did whatever geniuses do when they are being petulant. She asked the crowd what she could do to stall. Someone yelled "Washington D.C." She asked if we would like her to do an acapella version. We said, "Well, now that you mention it, since we are, in fact, in Washington D.C., maybe you should consider it," or rather "YEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
But she couldn't remember the words.
The crowd helped her a little, but still.
Anyway, love this song because of where I live. It's actually kind of a crappy song, by Magnetic Fields standards, anyway.
As a side note, my ipod correctly identified that the Magnetic Fields do indeed sing this song. Maybe it just needs some coffee.
Hitting play again.
Opening Up
Chromeo
-I caught these guys about a month or two ago and felt really old. Like I said, I'm supportive of synths and keytars coming back, and this band is proof that that is indeed the case. Well, at least in terms of the heavy synth. No keytars to speak of...yet.
Needless to say, this is probably my least favorite song on what I consider to be an awesome album. Such fun. I know it's not exactly high art, but it's high times.
The show was a great dance party, by the way. It was sold out and there wasn't a soul in the balcony at the 9:30 Club, if that means anything to you. Crowded and sweaty and dancey. The old comment is only because of how young their target audience appears to be. Lots of sideways baseball caps, headphones worn around the neck as accessories and plastic sunglasses indoors.
One of these youngsters spent most of the evening trying to hit on PopQuizKid. It was cute.
The end of this song has one of those afterludes, or whatever you call it when a song completely shifts gears and sounds like it is another song but it isn't. Chromeo loves those. I don't.
Afterward: the next song to come up was Breaking it Up, by Lykke Li, now there is somebody I'm really feeling right now. Missed her show a month ago, but it looks like she's coming back to town in January.
So there, nothing too embarrassing, other than my ipod's confusion over who sings what, but why should I be embarrassed about that. My supposedly "genius" ipod is the one who is retarded.
July 12, 2008
Port O’Brien @ Café Du Nord
It was indie folk rock night at Café Du Nord last night and the building was a shakin’. It wasn’t so long ago that I wrote this album review in anticipation for this show. Port O’Brien’s live performance was touted as a must see, and I must say, the entire show exceeded the hype. Port O’Brien played in front of friends & family with high energy and enthusiasm as expected, and plenty of team vocals and crowd participation. They certainly do put on an entertaining live show, but with lead sing Van Pierszalowski nearly out of voice, I imagine they could go bigger.The Builders and The Butchers of Portland were surprisingly awesome… surprisingly, because I knew nothing about them or their music until earlier this week. All night I couldn’t think of whom they reminded me of, and then this morning it hit me—The Decemberists! I then proceeded to find out, via other reviews, that I am not the first to draw this comparison. They folk rocked it up something serious with an abundance of yelling, drum pounding
(they have two “percussionists”—see picture—who hammer away on everything within reach, including washboards), mandolin & banjo plucking, and one of the most distinctive lead singer voices I’ve ever heard. This was my first encounter with The Builders and The Butchers, and it certainly won’t be my last. I highly recommend checking them out. Note: The red lighting made good concert photos virtually impossible.The Old-Fashioned Way had a lead singer with a deep baritone that was similar to Matt Barninger of The National. I remember enjoying their set, but after The Builders and The Butchers rambunctiously impressive set I can’t remember other specifics. I’ll have to check ‘em out again.
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