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Archive for February 2006
If you were one of the lucky ones who caught Undertow Orchestra tonight, you know the power that this group yielded on that stage. The Brad P. Family Players opened the show to a silent and friendly crowd, putting on an outstanding performance. Not to be outdone, Vic Chesnutt, Mark Eitzel, David Bazan, Will Johnson, and Scott Danbom took the stage and put in a two-hour performance that left people blissful throughout. Each artist performed songs they or their respective bands have made popular to a near-capacity crowd at the World Famous Hi-Tone. The seemingly unlikely casting of David Bazan as drummer and Vic Chesnutt on bass could not have been more special. David, unbeknownst to me, apparently played drums on each of the Pedro The Lion albums except for one of their EP’s. Vic confided to me that he never played bass before this tour. When I left, Mark Eitzel was holding down the bar with Marcus Battle (of Half-Acre Gunroom) having a friendly debate over philosophy that I really didn’t want to tear myself away from.
Memphis, I am proud to call you my home and I want to personally thank you for supporting all the great music that has been coming through the last few weeks. Now I have to sleep, I will be at work at 8am. How is this possible….
Whenever something comes to town that I just can’t drown out, it’s important to let you know that its coming. Tonight is such a night, and Undertow Orchestra (featuring Dave Bazan of Pedro The Lion, Vic Chesnutt, Will Johnson of Centro-matic, and Mark Eitzel of American Music Club) will be appearing at the world-famous Hi-Tone in Memphis. Local support will be provided in the form of Memphis’s own Brad Postlethwaite (of Snowglobe/Makeshift Recordings). From Undertow’s website:
This is a very special collaborative tour with David Bazan (Pedro The Lion, Headphones), Vic Chesnutt, Mark Eitzel (American Music Club), and Will Johnson (Centro-matic) all sharing the stage, rotating between each songwriter’s material, while serving as backing band on various instruments for each other’s tunes. Scott Danbom (Centro-matic) will join the Orchestra on piano and violin.
You really can’t afford to miss this show, so here’s a roundup of the music you’re likely to hear:
Muzzle of Bees has MP3 and a link to an album stream from Centro-Matic here.
An Aquarium Drunkard has several Vic Chesnutt tracks for download here.
Think Tank has some Pedro The Lion here.
Here’s one of my favorite recent American Music Club tracks, “Only Love Can Set You Free”.
David Bazan, Vic Chesnutt, Mark Eitzel and Will Johnson will be touring together as the Undertow Orchestra. This is a very special collaborative tour with David Bazan (Pedro The Lion, Headphones), Vic Chesnutt, Mark Eitzel (American Music Club), and Will Johnson (Centro-matic) all sharing the stage, rotating between each songwriter’s material, while serving as backing band on various instruments for each other’s tunes. Scott Danbom (Centro-matic) will join the Orchestra on piano and violin. ANOTHER SHOW YOU SHOULD NOT MISS.
Ending off an amazing weekend at The Hi-Tone was a first for Memphis: an appearance by Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters. I should have known something was going to go down when there was a line outside the Hi-Tone by 9pm, and by 9:30 people had taken it upon themselves to completely re-arrange the chairs and tables inside the venue — primarily pushing chairs right up to the edge of the stage to sit down and watch. Don’t think I’ve ever seen that move before at the ‘Tone, but whatever. For the majority of the night, it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop in the place last night. At $10 at the door, I almost feel guilty for not paying more.
After an opening set of blues-influenced roots music from Walter Gently, Kozelek took the stage and tore through a wide swath of his work. Starting with the Red House Painters song “Summer Dress” and easing into a Sun Kil Moon version of “Never Ending Math Equation” by Modest Mouse, the rest of the night turned into a furious blur of heartbreaks and lost highways. I managed to actually hold it together during most of the show, but when he launched into “Grace Cathedral Park”, I finally broke down and bawled my eyes out. Once he got to “Cassius Clay” in his encore, I finally recovered myself.
Kozelek, for his part, had some difficulty getting the audience to snap out of their hypnosis. Several times in-between songs, he would be tuning and ask the audience, “So….what’s up?” which brought on uncomfortable laughter. “Usually I’m really funny at these things and I have stuff to say but tonight I’m just…I dunno,” he told the crowd. After several attempts at getting people to talk, he finally looked over at me, sitting on the speaker stage left, and said something that sounded like, “Can you get these guys to talk to me?” So I asked him if it was his first time in Memphis. That seemed to break the ice, because he launched into an explanation about how he had never been here before, how much he liked it, and how overpriced the tour of Graceland is. We suggested a visit to Graceland Too, and when we told him it was open all night he was like, “Hey, let’s get out of here and go!”
Sometimes shows come to town that are pretty cool or kinda interesting or sorta fun. Unlike some of those kinds of shows, this show was far too good to be limited by that kind of lingo. Words like “memorable” and “unforgettable” come to mind. If you weren’t there, I am so sorry you missed out.
I really, seriously recommend attending this show. Kozelek is an incredible songwriter, and you will not be disappointed.
Mark Kozelek - Up To My Neck In You
TO: THE MEMPHIS/MID-SOUTH FILM & TV COMMUNITY
FROM: THE MEMPHIS & SHELBY COUNTY
FILM AND TELEVISION COMMISSION –
Film Commissioner Linn Sitler
Chairman Herb O’Mell
Deputy Film Commissioner Sharon O’GuinRE: SUPPORT NEEDED FOR PRODUCTION INCENTIVES LEGISLATION
DATE: FEBRUARY 19, 2006
As you are likely aware, since January, 2004, The Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission has been a strong, vocal advocate to our state legislators re: the continuing, urgent need to pass competitive production incentive legislation.
We now have well-researched and well-considered recommendations for such legislation —thanks to a report recently prepared by the Film Production Advisory Committee (FPAC) of which Linn Sitler was an ex-officio member. The report is available at The Commission’s website at www.memphisfilmcomm.org
Recently, our Board voted unanimously to endorse the recommendations in this report. As you’ll see upon reading the report, the incentives proposed by FPAC encourage both out-of-state production companies working in Tennessee and also indigenous production companies shooting in the state.
You, as members of the Memphis/Mid-South production community have everything to gain — and everything to lose — by the fate of the legislation containing these recommendations.
In the weeks to come, we’ll keep you informed of the progress of the legislation filed — and what you can do to enhance the cause.
Right now, we are asking you to email a short message of support asap for The Film Production Advisory Committee’s Report on Tennessee’s Urgent Need for Competitive Production Incentive Legislation to:
phil.bredesen@state.tn.us (Governor Bredesen)
cc: dave.cooley@state.tn.us (Deputy Governor Cooley)
david.j.bennett@state.tn.us (TN Film Commissioner)
linn@memphisfilmcomm.org (Memphis/Shelby Co. Commissioner)Additionally,with this email, we are asking for the support of the innumerable businesses and hotels in our community which benefit so greatly from production. Let’s stay “in touch and together” in the weeks to come in order to see our state come from behind to pass competitive incentive legislation THANKS!
…I decided to remedy that starting now. I get tired of hearing people say, “I didn’t know you played music,” and I realized that it’s my own fault for not talking about the fact that I do make music and have for a very long time.
Thanks to Sven, I went over and recorded a couple of tracks today at Powerhouse Studios in Memphis, and they’re (as usual) just some acoustic versions of songs. I figure I will give them away and you guys can listen & track the progress as these songs become something more. The first song is a cover of one of my favorite songs — “Twist In My Sobriety” by Tanita Tikaram/written by Pet Shop Boys. The second is one of my originals, “These City Walls”. Hey Gibbard, that was a nice attempt you made at stealing my lyrics, ass face. Enjoy them. Hopefully, I’ll be playing at a location near you again soon.
Ever since I was small, I have been drawn to the music and the mystery of Neil Young. I could not imagine my life without his music in it, without his concerts, without the inspiration his words, music, and the patterns of his career have given to me. This is the first of two rare Neil Young streams I plan to present to you.
Part of being a hunter and collector of beloved music, as most of you know, is giving in to accepting that there are some things we will never be able to find in our lives in exactly the condition we would want them. Such has been the case with Time Fades Away, Young’s critical and commercial failure of 1973 and one I long dreamed of owning. Never in my life have I eyed a truly mint-condition copy of the record, and never have I heard anything other than scratchy tapes or bootlegs of the album. That was the case, of course, until today.
Recorded during a very dark period in Neil’s life and career that seemed to begin with the firing and subsequent death by heroin overdose (the day following his firing) of friend and bandmate Danny Whitten, Time Fades Away consisted entirely of live recordings of songs from Neil’s 1973 tour with backing band The Stray Gators — songs which he had not previously released. The songs were recorded in front of audiences who had never heard the songs before, and there was frequently a chilly response. Young was known for the upbeat Harvest album and hit songs like “Heart of Gold” at the time. Time Fades Away contained very little of that upbeat flair. The disaffected live performances created an album which proved as brooding in its disposition as it was ambitious. Neil Young himself calls Time Fades Away “the worst record I ever made,” yet acquiesces that it is a document of what was happening to him at the time.
The listening public at the time was not prepared to embrace such an album, and the criticism of TFW was both harsh and swift. After peaking at #22 on the album chart, the album slowly became cut-out and soon after went out of print. To music lovers and fans of Neil Young today, the album is a monumentally important part of Neil Young’s catalogue and is referred to as the “Holy Grail” of Neil Young albums.
The honest, bare-knuckle Neil Young represented in this album begs to be heard by modern listeners. A petition was started some time ago to urge the release of this record to the modern listening public, and it has collected over 6000 signatures online. As it happens, an incredibly clean-sounding set of audio files from the album have come into my possession, and I could see no reason not to stream them here for you. What you’re going to hear is pure Neil Young at some of his most experimental, erratic and emotionally powerful. If you’re a fan of Neil Young and you’ve never heard of this album, you’re not alone. It is my hope that by making this music available to you, you’ll sign that petition or, as fate would have it, perhaps Mr. Young will see this and ingratiate himself to fans by making the album available again.
Far from being the worst thing he ever made, it is instead a historical document of an artist whose immeasurable historical and modern relevance and importance to music is still writing itself.
TRACKLISTING:
Time Fades Away [5:36]
Journey Through The Past [3:19]
Yonder Stands The Sinner [3:17]
L.A. [3:11]
Love In Mind [2:02]
Don’t Be Denied [5:16]
The Bridge [3:05]
Last Dance [8:47]
(with thanks to thrasherswheat.org for the plethora of information and the petition and to Human Highway for the complete album notes)
Click here to stream Time Fades Away by Neil Young (High Bandwidth Cable/DSL/T1)
