I don’t really care too much for hippies; they stink and the peace, love, flower power bullshit rubs me the wrong way. We’d all love to drop out of the white collar working world and, maaaaan, just let the wind take us wherever it might, but I can’t pay my mortgage with good wishes and good karma.
Brightblack Morning Light – a duo comprised of a couple of hippies (Rachel Hughes and Nathan Shineywater) – should bug the piss out of me, all freewheelin’ and acid trippin’ and stuff but they are far removed from any Woodstock revival sound. Simply put and put simply, BBML’s forthcoming release, which I’m sure they’d prefer you buy on vinyl but sounds just fine as MP3s, Motion to Rejoin (to rejoin what? society? the tax paying nation?) is hands down one of the best releases I’ve heard in 2008 and I’ve only listened all the way through twice. On first listen, I wasn’t entirely even sure this was BBML, I thought somebody had slipped a new Spiritualized CD onto my iPod and had tagged the MP3s incorrectly. Motion to Rejoin, as it is, is a better Spiritualized release than Jason Pierce’s 2008 release, Songs in A&E.
The druggy, trippy, swimming through space sound that Spiritualized perfected so early in their post-Spacemen 3 career, along with the soul touch that was added on later recordings, comes through loud and clear on Motion to Rejoin. And it’s not just a one or two song anomaly, the space-rock spirituals are performed on all 49 minutes of this 9 track CD (do the math – there are a few 7, 8, and 9 minute slowburning jams spread throughout). It’s not hard to get lost in the slumbering organ playing, the atmospheric vocals, and steady maraca shaking (“Gathered Years” is like a funeral dirge in the middle of the desert). One song burns into the next, the tempo rarely changes, the tone of vocals remains a constant and the 49 minutes at times feels like 5 and at other times feels like 49 days, depending on the state of mind you’re in.
By no means am I advocating drug use, but it seems like this one will serve as the hypnotic soundtrack to those burnout incoming college freshman with long hair and dirty moustaches that live 14 to a 3-bedroom off-campus house and have plenty of vintage black light posters to hang in the cavernous basement.
“Hologram Buffalo” is the freebie track that BBML’s label (Matador) wants you to sample before committing to a purchase and it’s as good as any of a place to start on Motion to Rejoin. There is no bait and switch – “we’ll give you the catchy single and then you’ll buy 11 additional tracks of boring, mundane not-ready-for-primetime rock”. What you hear in this 5 minutes and 18 seconds is what you’ll hear on the other 44 minutes. So get to downloading, listening, purchasing ($10 for the CD; $12 for the LP).
Exciting news for the fellas in Everest (featuring ex-members of … deep breath … Sebadoh, The Watson Twins, Folk Implosion, Dig, Earlimart, John Vanderslice), they’ve scored the opening slot on this winter’s Neil Young tour. I’ve been a fan of the band since discovering Great Northern’s Davey Latter was a member at one point and gave the band’s debut, Ghost Notes, 5 W’s (out of 5) in my review for Wonka Vision magazine (funny … I mention both Neil Young and Wilco in my review!). Death Cab for Cutie is on the bill for the first half of the tour, Wilco on the second half.
From Thrasher’s Wheat, a site dedicated to Neil Young news, here are the dates:
October
14 – St. Paul, MN — Xcel Energy Center / on sale August 22
16 – Winnipeg, MN — MTS Centre / on sale August 22
18 – Regina, SK — Brandt Centre / on sale August 22
19 – Calgary, AB — Pengrowth Saddledome / on sale August 22
21 – Everett, WA — Comcast Arena at Everett / on sale September 12
22 – Vancouver, BC — GM Place / on sale August 22
29 – San Diego, CA — Cox Arena / on sale August 25
30 – Los Angeles, CA — The Forum / on sale August 25
November
1 – Reno, NV — Events Center / on sale August 23
4 – Kansas City, MO — Sprint Center / on sale September 12
5 – Omaha, NE — Qwest Center / on sale September 12
29 – Halifax, NS — Metro Centre / on sale August 23
December
1 – Montreal, PQ — Bell Centre / on sale September 13
2 – Ottawa, ON — Scotia Bank Place / on sale August 22
4 – Toronto, ON — Air Canada Centre / on sale August 22
7 – Detroit, MI — Palace of Auburn Hills / on sale September 12
9 – Chicago, IL — Allstate Arena / on sale September 12
12 – Philadelphia, PA — Wachovia Spectrum / on sale September 19
15 – New York, NY — Madison Square Garden / on sale September 15
The concerts will feature the same band that he has toured Europe with: Ben Keith, Rick Rosas, Chad Cromwell, Anthony Crawford and Pegi Young.
Death Cab For Cutie and Everest will support dates from October 14 through November 5; Wilco and Everest are on the bill for dates starting November 29 through the tour’s conclusion, with the exception of the December 9 Chicago date which will feature (TBD) and Everest in support.
Why, I remember back in MY day when bands would jump into a van and play 45 shows in 42 days and would hit 4 or 5 cities in Ohio alone! Those days, for the most part, are gone, at least for the “veterans” who chose to announce “tours” that consist of under 10 shows that are strategically located in major markets like New York, Chicago, and L.A.
Juliana Hatfield’s fall “tour” to promote her forthcoming CD, How to Walk Away, will bring her to the following locations:
What? You want tour dates too? Got ’em, my friends and here they are:
9/20 Detroit Bar (w/ Atlas Sound) Costa Mesa California
9/21 Glasshouse (w/ Atlas Sound) Pomona California
9/24 La Zona Rosa (w/ Atlas Sound) Austin Texas
9/26 Variety Playhouse (w/ Atlas Sound) Atlanta Georgia
9/27Â 40 Watt Club (w/ Atlas Sound) Athens Georgia
9/29Â Cat’s Cradle (w/ Atlas Sound) Carrboro North Carolina
9/30Â 9:30 Club (w/ Atlas Sound & Chessy) Washington D.C.
10/01 The Fillmore @ TLA (w/ Atlas Sound) Philadelphia Pennsylvania
10/02Â Irving PlazaNew York New York
10/03 Irving PlazaNew York New York
10/04 Irving PlazaNew York New York
10/06 Paradise (w/ Monade) Boston Massachusetts
10/07Â Club Soda (w/ Monade) Montreal CAN
10/08Â Phoenix Concert Theatre (w/ Monade) Toronto Ontario CAN
10/09Â The Crofoot (w/ Monade) Detroit Michigan
10/10Â Vic Theater (w/ Monade) Chicago Illinois
10/12Â First Avenue (w/ Monade) Minneapolis Minnesota
10/14Â Gothic Theatre (w/ Monade) Englewood Colorado
10/17Â Showbox (w/ Monade & Richard Swift) Seattle Washington
10/18Â Wonder Ballroom (w/ Monade & Richard Swift) Portland Oregon
10/19Â Commodore Ballroom (w/ Monade & Richard Swift) Vancouver CAN
10/21Â The Fillmore (w/ Monade & Richard Swift) San Francisco California
10/22Â The Fillmore (w/ Monade) San Francisco California
10/23Â Henry Fonda Theater (w/ Monade & Richard Swift) Los Angeles California
10/24Â Belly Up Tavern (w/ Monade & Richard Swift) Solana Beach California
I don’t really care too much for hippies; they stink and the peace, love, flower power bullshit rubs me the wrong way. We’d all love to drop out of the white collar working world and, maaaaan, just let the wind take us wherever it might, but I can’t pay my mortgage with good wishes and good karma.