Emperor X at the Elk Grove Village clocktower
Thursday afternoon, I attended the strangest/most awkward/probably best concert of my life.
Backstory: I had innocently contacted Emperor X (who goes by Chad in the daytime) on whether his show at Subterranean was 21+ plus or all ages. He led me to his booking agent, who replied 21+. I thanked Chad for getting me there, and he replied by offering to play a show before the show. Through a series of emails, I ended up here:
about two minutes walking from the poliice station, ready for a concert.
They arrive and survey the crowd. That is to say me, my mom, and my sister. Chad hands me a notebook and tells me to pick the setlist, and they start.
Emperor X was, that day, Chad on acoustic guitar and singing, Joel on bass and keyboard, and someone whose name I never learned (Isaac? maybe?) drumming with an assortment of things, including Joel's shoe.
They also had a photographer whose name I also never learned.
They opened with Addison Aceh and just played well. Never mind the fact they were playing for a family in the middle of nowhere with around 90 degree temperatures they just seemed to enjoy themselves. There is little I could write to give the clearest of pictures to this concert, so on with the pretty colors:
YOU MAY NEED QUICKTIME
Setlist: (As picked by me)
Addison AcehSpieltierRight to the RailsUse Your HandsDirt Dealership; no video; this is I when I took pictures
Everyone in JacksonvilleDon't Gather 'Round the Dinnertable
Here.
We love women. We do.
Hey! I shall be one of many guest bloggers participating at the
Clever Titles Are So Last Summer portion of the charity Blogathon! [2006] The idea is that you stay up and post once every half hour for 24 hours. Needless to say, Bethanne from
CTASLS is
not in fact a drug addict, so she's called out for the help of guests, (at least 13 of them so far). If you have a blog, go contact her! 48 posts in 24 hours. It shall be fun and exciting, and I've already got two posts written in my head.
It will benefit the
Global Fund for Women. DONATE HERE! NOW!
No mp3s for you; I must sleep now.
The Eraser
First things first-- The Eraser is a beautiful CD. The only color in the whole CD package, it is a vibrant purple skyline, actually also the artwork for the Harrowdown Hill single, and it is perfectly gorgeous.
Now to the music itself. It opens with "The Eraser", and the sheer brilliance of the song comes out by its first chorus. "Please excuse me I forgot to ask," he almost sneers over his C6 chord, "Are you only being nice because you want something?" Unfortunately, it follows with the much less catchy and meaningful "Analyse" which just basically has Thom following the piano with his vocals one beat later, which is a cool effect but not cool enough to warrant a full song. "The Clock" begins The Eraser's massive song improvement crescendo by starting off with some vaguely Arabic sound effects and vocals before we get to the redeeming part of the song-- the humming chorus. "Black Swan" is basically neo-funk, but it works as neo-funk IS enough to warrant a song. "Skip Divided" to me is where the album launches itself into greatness. Thom Yorke comes out with a curveball -- a humming line followed by a harmonic synth line followed by his super-low vocal line in which
he sounds like a vampire in an awesome way, and it takes the song into an awesome direction. "Atoms for Peace" has a melody line that doesn't make any sense at all until the vocals come in, and then the song beautifys your head off, especially in comparison to the last track. "And it Rained All Night" perfectly represents The Eraser as it rides both the lowest bassline and highest vocal-- "I can see you; But I can never reach you..." Then comes "Harrowdown Hill" the guitar infused track that will be the single and uses all repeated lines for emphasis-- all repeated lines except this one -- "We think the same things at the same time- we just can't so anything about it." Then it closes with "Cymbal Rush", a solid end to an album.
The one gripe I can think of is that evil what if-- in this case, what if Thom put "The Eraser" last instead of first. Just a sequencing change, but I would elevate this review's hypothetical points way up. Still an extremely solid album. Even if XL sold out it put it on iTunes.
Don't turn away.
Tomorrow, tomorrow
I'm gonna wake up early tomorrow and post. A lot. So far, I've an album review of The Eraser, random things I learned through my iPod shuffle, and maybe I can get my poet alter-ego to post.
Fun!
Also, in a related note, I set up a show. Myself. With help of a certain Chad Matheny. Come if you want. I'm gonna have some digital camera footage, quality unknown.
I believe that is all.
Anyone..?
Emperor X (who I've posted about WAY too much already) is playing a 21+ show at Subterraenean (which I can't attend) and when I emailed him about it, he offered up a crazy idea:
That means you're in high school and might have a few friends that are into music. Would you guys be into us stopping by, before our show, and playing for you at your house or in a parking lot or something somewhere? We don't need any electricity, we can play all acoustic versions if need be. If you think that soudnds fun and you think you can get a few people out, I'd be happy to drop in and play an all-ages pre-show show just for y'all! Let me know if you want that to happen and it will be done, sir. :)
So, anyone in the Chicago area wants to go to this? If so leave a comment along with how many people you can bring. If you can't, tell your friends to leave a comment. If I get around ten, I can make this happen.
This is why we do it
Today I got an email from a guy. He had tracked me down all the way from a positive Grizzly Bear review I wrote five months ago to a blog post where he deduced my address. We had a amusing conversation on whether we knew each other or not. I severely doubt we do, but it was good to talk to another guy from my spot in the 'burbs who is articulate and bored.
It's random things like this that make me love the internet.
Other things:
If you haven't yet, take the time to glance over the blogs in the link list. They're good.
Emperor X--
Addison AcehAnd hey! Its my birthday tomorrow!
Andrew Bird-- The Happy Birthday Song (live @ Doug Fir lounge)
High speed (flac) Low speed (mp3)Baby&Hide--
Sigh (Epistemological Naturalism Mix)
The other semi-love song written in the view of a 12-year old
Everyone by now knows (or should know) the song "I'll Believe in Anything" by Wolf Parade. They said during one interview that it was written in the point of view of a twelve-year-old girl. This feels like maybe it was written by a twelve-year-old boy. The lyrics talk about a deadbeat father, underachieving brother and fantastical love story.
Perhaps more importantly, it has the same build-up in a completely different format.
Emperor X-- Addison Aceh
EDIT: the link was dead so I'll come back with another tomorrow.
Halfway point-- I bow to the pressures of the mainstream, but I do it with style.
For lieu of an opening, this is the year 2006. Albums were released this year. Here are my favorites.
1.)
Sunset Rubdown--
Shut Up I Am Dreaming.
Brilliant stuff from Spencer Krug again. This man is a machine. Nevermind the fact that "Stadiums and Shrines II" is probably my song of the year, the flow and power of this music is amazing, the lyrics are top notch, and there are numerous un-pretentious guitar solos. What more is there?
2.)
Final Fantasy--
He Poos CloudsOwen Pallett takes a break from being the awesomist violinist ever to write a D & D concept album. Another Canadian with a brilliant song opener to a powerhouse album.
4.)
Destroyer--
Destroyer's RubiesSay what you want, but this man can WRITE lyrics. He has a great backing band for once. He has a drinking game. Another Canadian with a brilliant song opener to a powerhouse album. (Sense a theme here?)
3.)
Baby & Hide--
Normal PeopleI'm not sure this was released in 2006, but it was recorded in late late '05 so it's good enough to count. Jeremy Keller brings a keyboard and a ton of melody and produces something oddly unique in his own lo-fi way. Everything synth-pop should be. Oh, and IT'S FREE. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSES.
5.)
Thom Yorke--
The EraserMy halfway point is the thirteenth. This is out on the eleventh. Little needs to be said about this very good not-solo album.
Admittedly this isn't very impressive, but I'm waiting for the second half.
On the Horizon: (in partial order)
Chad VanGaalen-- Skelliconnection
Chin Up Chin Up-- This Harness Can't Ride Anything
Sufjan Stevens-- The Avalanche
Grizzly Bear-- Yellow House
There were more but I can't remember them. If you have any, comment!
Baby & Hide, Alex Lukashevsky, and Final Fantasy @ Lakeshore Theater
I’m still recovering from last night. Recovering in a good way. The Lakeshore Theater, a smallish venue not often used for concerts had its top absolutely blown off with a three-pronged sublime concert. I had never heard either of the openers before, and they were both outstanding in their own way.
I arrived at the venue early and the Theater people just let me in. I scouted out my third row center seats (same seats as last week’s Rogue Wave / Chin Up Chin Up concert) and checked my camera for fatigue and whatnot.
Around thirty minutes before Baby & Hide were scheduled to come on. The couple two rows ahead of me began to worry a little.
“Wouldn’t it be horrible if they [Baby & Hide] came on and there were, like, four people?” they wondered aloud.
Soon, though, the theater began to fill. And it was time for Baby & Hide to come on.
I had no idea what to expect. A thirtysomething man came on and began to check the sound levels of the Korg in front of him. That guy was joined by an electric guitarist and a drummer who sat down at his two-drum-and-one-cymbal set. They proceeded to play a dynamic set.
Playing mainly songs that rely on keyboard build-ups and breakdowns, Baby & Hide handled all of them well; the frontman played his part well, using his simple lyrics to play off the soundscapes, the guitarist played more like a bassist and kept things together, and the drummer mirrored the energy perfectly with excellent parts. You can't fault them for this, but my least favorite thing about the set was the sound balance-- the keyboards were too loud and the guitar and vocals were too soft.
They still could be awesome in studio-- I bought a CD (homemade and all) and haven't listened to it yet. (Get it for free
here.)
Next to the party was Alex Lukashevsky. He started off awkwardly with a meandering acoustic guitar piece about music, but then slowly and surely gained our support with his wit and earnesty. He then brought down the house with an almost childish song about getting a girlfriend.
I'm gonna get me a girlfriend whatever the cost;I'm gonna get me a girlfriend whatever the cost;
I'm gonna keep a girlfriend, even if an alcoholic,or a genius, like Jackson Pollack;
I'm gonna get me a girlfriend whatever the cost.Awesome stuff. (Note: he has an album out, called Connexions. Buy it
here.)Here is Alex in action:
Next came the act I was there for: Owen Pallett (a.k.a. Final Fantasy).
He popped onstage wearing a plaid collared shirt and jeans. After messing with sound levels for a bit, he addressed the crowd. "Welcome to the Final Fantasy rock and roll show... I'm Final."
Using an array of loop pedals and violin techniques, he built up his songs one by one. He had a couple of screw-ups though: Hey Dad had to be stopped completely when his echo pedal freaked out and he gave a funeral sort of second verse after declaring "Chicago doesn't deserve this song!" in sarcasm. I have it on digital camera video. This Lamb Sells Condos had to be stopped as well when he misplayed the opening to the piano melody and parlayed it into an improvised classical piece. "I forgot where I was going," Owen said.
He then revealed how he and Alex were going to celebrate Canada Day-- by picking apart each other's faults.
Anyway, the setlist:
That's When the Audience Died
This Lamb Sells Condos
Hey Dad pt. 1 (Owen's echoer goes haywire and he gives up halfway through)
Hey Dad pt. 2 (psychadelic chamber version;)The CN Tower Belongs to the DeadMany Lives for 49 MP
The Hands (Joan of Arc cover)This is the Dream of Win and RegineSong Song Song
Please Please Please
Better Than Worse (80+ MB)
Encore:Fantasy (Mariah Carey cover)
Note: On the Better than Worse video, Owen is explaining what happened to him in Indiana: While shooting off fireworks, he burned his thumb (the video starts with him saying 'to a crisp'). He then advertises the CDs for sale and talks about being cut from Alex's CD. It's pretty funny. I apologize for the mass distortion 3/4 into BtW, it is a camera but still is a good video.
Pictures:
That's Owen.
That's Owen with his bow in his collar.
The Final Fantasy experience.
I close with a story indicative of the night: After the show, I was in the hall waiting to buy He Poos Clouds. It is 12 dollars and I give Alex a twenty. Owen asks if I have any singles (they are running out of change) I only have one but Owen sells it to me anyway. I ask if Owen could sign it. "Do you have a pen?" he asks and I say yes and go to the side to open the CD and give him the Sharpie I brought in case he didn't have anything. It still has the top sticker that is impossible to get off. Owen just pops the CD case over the top (breaking it in the process) and I hand him the pen. "Hold my beer," he tells me and as he signs realizes the age of who he just gave his beer to. Alex and the drummer from Baby & Hide notice too.
Owen: Look at him. He's got a future. That's probably the first time he's ever held a beer.
B&H drummer: Yeah, That kid is cool. (I had just complimented him on the homemade CDs to which he replied, "That's how we roll.")
Owen (to Alex): We should take a picture and send it to his mother.
I give him the beer, he gives me the CD and I walk out smiling.
Awesome.
