Archive | February, 2013

Skinny Lister Rolls Over Roseland

10 Feb
Skinny Lister at Roseland Ballroom in NYC

Skinny Lister at Roseland Ballroom in NYC

Before the epic snowstorm barreled into New York City like an out-of-control freight train, there was the reckless musical freight train of Skinny Lister. Performing last weekend at Roseland Ballroom in support of Flogging Molly’s Green 17 tour, Skinny Lister succeeding in doing what every opening act tries to do; they enlivened the crowd. Enlivened is too calm a word. Skinny Lister vivified the crowd. They galvanized the crowd. They downright shocked most of the crowd. As Lister’s set proceeded, more and more people found their way to the immense wooden floor, not because Flogging Molly was soon to be playing, but because the band on stage was embarking on the radical quest of taking the roof off the venue.

Roseland Ballroom is a homey, multi-purpose venue in NYC’s Theatre District. It’s a spacious venue with a roomy dance floor and two elevated VIP areas (one main-floor, one mezzanine) that hang to the sides of the main dance floor. The Roseland consistently gives off the oversized wooden lodge feel, and sound is effectively reverberated. Not like that would be a problem for Skinny Lister.

As you might have read in my initial review of Skinny Lister (Read Here), the band’s music is “bubbly and brainy, smart and sassy, powerful and…well…powerful!” When performing live, as I can now attest to, you need to quadruple the above praise, especially the powerful mention. Skinny Lister packs a punch. The band combines classic English folk songs with a modern folk flare, and they do this with infectious ardor that draws crowds in. Halfway through the band’s set, the whole of the crowd was dancing jigs and shouting with the band in a communal alcohol-aided throb. It was truly a sight to see. Plus, in unprecedented fashion, the upright bassist did a stage dive and crowd surfed WITH his monstrous upright bass. The kicker was he didn’t stop playing.

That’s the kind of show Skinny Lister put on. Energetic. Fun. Incredibly satisfying. It is no wonder why Skinny Lister has become masters of the road. More people should go out and see this exciting folk band. And, with news that they will be taking part in Coachella this year, it is safe to say more and more people are excited about this English band. Below are a few videos I shot at the show. Enjoy!

The Rise of Jamie Lidell

9 Feb

You never know what you’re going to get when you find an artist that doesn’t fall in the bounds of a specific genre. Sometimes it is just too erratic and “art for art’s sake.” I know there is merit in pushing boundaries, and it’s great to challenge the status quo of music, but I still need melody, and I still want to enjoy what I’m listening to. I don’t care how avant-garde you are. If I don’t like your music, my opinion isn’t going to change just because you think you’re original. You can write new stuff all day that no one has ever composed or dreamed of, but if it’s garbage then I don’t know what all the fuss is about. There is another case though.

Some artists can’t be placed into a solid genre for a better reason. Sometimes artists are just putting together albums that reach far boundaries that become a sublime blend of music that keeps you guessing the entire record. Sure, I love it when bands like AC/DC put out albums because you know exactly what you’re going to get, but I also love being surprised and finding something fresh in a new album.

I recently stumbled upon the music of Jamie Lidell. He is a solo artist from England. He currently lives in Nashville and puts on one hell of a show. He achieved his fame looping rhythm tracks with his vocals and performing as a one man show. I caught wind of this because he is featured on a Simian Mobile Disco track that I love (Off the Map). His music is incredibly soulful, super rhythmic and a complete dance marathon of melody laden music. I can’t imagine this guy being a secret in the music industry much longer.

Both of these songs are the night and day of his music so just in and check out the range of this up and coming artist.

Check out his website for more.

Tags: , , ,

The Substance of Pop Music

2 Feb

I have always wondered why, when there is so much powerful and artistically driven music in the world, are we left with the pop music we have? No one I talk to listens to top 40, but there continues to be over-saturated music that is shoved down listener’s throats. I am by no means denouncing all popular music or trying to attack certain genres of music. Everything under the sun can be held up to a particular light and shine with some merit . I have just always found it strange that while everyone I know listens to music, no one listens to the top 40. Do children have that much say in what becomes “popular music?” Are the big wigs that poor at learning the demographics of their industry, or am I the crazy one?

Well an interesting development happened to me the other day. I stumbled upon some pretty spectacular music (which isn’t really out of the ordinary at all) and the funny thing was that these were all cover songs by “top 40” artists. The kind of music that just has no connection to the real artistic community of music and is more of what I like to call “corporate-pop/hop” than actual pop music. When I listened to these covers, it brought a whole new light to the melody and the lyrics. It got me wondering: are these artists really not artistic or have we just lost the ability to produce music now that we can do it so cheaply with computers? Was the real magic behind the artists that controlled the charts 25-40 years ago the fact that real musicians had to come into the studios and lay down tracks for the album? Were the producers just that much more vital to the process? Is Quincy Jones just that good? Probably.

Check out a couple videos that I found that completely redefined their originals.

There is just something about the way this music is recaptured with an honest sound instead of a couple poor synth riffs and a drum machine. Maybe there is some hope for the music community, even if the world of popular music is continuing to head in the wrong direction.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Newer Entries →