in a nutshell: ryan, hoodoo bruise, dig it

excuse me for being slack, i never did end up writing up ryan adams and the cardinals at the palais, or the hoodoo gurus / radio birdman / the stems at the forum {sorry yoss!}.

in a few nutshells:
1. ryan adams has a beautiful, heart-melting voice and his band is amazing, but the evening was lacking a certain something. however, to my delight, the band played plenty of tracks from Cold Roses and their recent album Easy Tiger.

2. hard to believe the stems/radio birdman/hoodoo gurus originally started gigging around in the 80s - they all sounded so dynamic and present. i couldn't believe how RAWK the hoodoo gurus were. ever the consummate professionals, they even happily played requests from the very noisy crowd (this was unlike at the Ryan Adams gig where a Cardinal remarked, "we appreciate your requests. but we will not be honouring them"]
it was an all-killer-no-filler-set spanning most of their recordings and included leilani, like wow wipeout, i want you back, what's my scene and waking up tired.
to my embarrassment, i sustained my first gig injury during the hoodoo gurus - two big bruises on my right foot from the over-excited crowd. not sure if this is a testament to the frenzy whipped up by the band or my own old-aged-ness :)
maybe i'll go and see behemoth and aim for an bruise to brag about!!
[in fact, this is an extremely unfair stereotype that testosterone fuelled bands are more dangerous gigs to attend. we went to see the datsuns a few years ago, and the punters there were the most polite and thoughtful we'd met at any gig. they variously stood aside to let us through, and made sure we could see dolf de datsun striding around on stage.]

3. finally, may i present: the latest project from the shed of jfox.
a camera pouch for a lovely, generous, surprising gift (thank you bellas!). a grey, stripey sock wasn't really doing the shiny digital camera any justice!

although i wouldn't normally plan too much, it was well worth it taking a few basic measurements. this is also the first time i've tried my hand at using quilt wadding (such a deliciously odd/not-quite-right word!).

feel well chuffed with the result, though i'm not quite ready to launch into quilting territory; just not sure about all those florals and pastels ;)

:: almost finished, unplanned stitching begins... {and no idea what i'm doing!}

:: pouch perve...

:: the finished product, a snug-as-a-bug fit

silver linings: wilco, catpower and bjork's latest

maybe it was the anticipation.
maybe it was too much of a good thing.

having had a few listens to the new wilco album _sky blue sky_, it pains me to say that i have found myself skipping tracks. i don't mind a bit of country, i don't even mind the wall of noise experimenting - i could even put up with noodling...for a while..., but i should just accept that i don't dig on the 70s west coast sound.

it's true that i often expect too much (of everything!) but i must confess i'm disappointed. there's still the odd lap steel flourish and tweedy's sighing, melancholic voice is in fine form but the pace feels too slow or too relaxed; there's an intensity lacking. there are more empty spaces in the songs and the arrangements don't seem as sharp. the restlessness and turbulence at force during their recent live performances are starkly missing.

c'mon jfox, i hear you say. this is jeff tweedy as his most chirpy and happy. he's shrugged off his drug addled demons, he has a stable family, a stable band - he's h.a.p.p.y.
why doncha leave him alone!

all i can say is, i'm happy that jeff's happy...maybe it'll grow on me?

not to say it's completely unlistenable. it's a great weekend album, lazing away in bed with the papers and a cup of coffee in the mornings. overall though, this album is not as compelling as their back catalogue. looking forward to the next one...

::

in the meantime, i have been enjoying cat power's latest "the greatest" in the last few months. it's a summery, warm album with the gentle voice of chan marshall. current favourite track is "islands" which makes me want to jet off to a beach with a pina colada, a good book and a man waving a palm frond over me ;D

::

also, bjork's new album volta landed in my mitts courtesy of cobs, cheers! it's the first time i've listened to a complete album since _post_ more than a decade ago *gulp*. i don't always dig what she does (the dogme musical??) but i love that she doesn't bow to current or retro fads. in a pop culture landscape that is often monotonous or a cheap tease, the mere thought of bjork forging on and stretching herself is enough to keep searching for something new. i love that her art is undeniably of her spirit.

in _volta_, it's reassuring to hear that bjork remains agitated, dynamic and creative. this is perhaps most apparent in the opening track 'earth intruders' or 'innocence'. in quieter tracks, bjork uses simple arrangements to mix traditional instruments - indigenous or more classical- to complement her voice.

A sense of insistence is created with bjork's trademark angular electronic beats and stylings, a core element of her work and a constant undertone to this album.

it may well be that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but after listening to this latest offering, i'm tempted to revisit her more recent albums _vespertine_ or _medulla_. _volta_ is well worth checking out.

too old for band teeshirts? :: Wilco (again) at the Palais Theatre

sometimes i get carried away with anticipation.

wilco's melbourne gigs are a case in point. i marked any calendar i could get my hands on in an effort to disperse the excitement. some might argue that that only makes it worse!

for wilco's first show at the palais theatre last wednesday night, there was a palpable sense of excitement amongst the crowd milling outside the palais theatre. though this may also have been amplified by our indulgent muso spotting (look! the dudes from The Audreys! the drummer from Gersey! that guy that we always see at gigs!).

so much so was our excitement that we rushed over to join the queue to the merchandise stand - should we get a hoodie or a poster or a tee? oooh is their new album for sale here? i love checking out the merch but i must confess that i have been remarkably resistant.
snout socks? nuh.
dallas crane beach ball? nuh.
rebecca's empire tea towel? nuh.
the grates' screen printed tote bags? nuh.
you am i footy scarf? nuh.
yeah yeah yeahs rack of clothes for the karen o wannabees? NUH!
dan kelly and the alpha males sticker? ...um, OK!
see. _remarkably_ resistant.

while cass and elmo went to check out the luxurious seating in the bar upstairs, my good friend dr b and i convened to the queue where i thought out loud:
you know, i think i might be too old for band teeshirts.
she immediately pooh-poohed this idea "noooo. [waves hand. shakes head. looks generally shocked] you're never too old. I'm going to get the hoodie. i've been looking for one, it's fate"

let me provide some context about this 'too old' statement. another good friend is losing the 2 in front of her age this month - HAPPY BIRTHDAY EKY! - and this event is looooming for yours truly as well - eek. and you think of those middle aged dudes from the 'burbs on RockWiz (cass excluded of course ;p) in their Motorhead teeshirts...and i wonder if i'm seeing the future. i'll be a crusty jaded 60 year old holding onto Radiohead, Dirty Three, Teenage Fanclub, Even and Never Letting Go. Those were the days when music was music, i'll say to my grandkids. when we had analogue. none of this newfangled stuff, what do you call that anyway? and what machine do you play it on? and how do you turn it down? what makes someone choose to wear an emblazoned tee? announcing that you're such a fan that you advertise proudly on your person - i guess it's no different to those who wear their polo collars up to display their brand of choice? then again, these days it seems that you can purchase a ramones, stones or velvets tee from an alternative chain store as a fashion statement or maybe even a means to get some rock'n'roll cred (god knows, that seems a difficult commodity these days). i got a wilco tee-shirt anyway ;D

Wilco, Palais Theatre, 18 and 19th April, 2007

the second gig was awesome! wilco played a different set to that of the night before, a good sign that a band appreciates their audience.

kicking off with "misunderstood" and "via chicago", we were also treated to "passenger side" from AM and tracks from A Ghost is Born and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot such as "'kamera" that weren't aired the previous night. within the context their new album Sky Blue Sky, older songs like "jesus, etc" appeared to take on some of the new 70s west-coast styling or perhaps this was already implicit. seeing them live really made me appreciate the complexity of their music, i sat there thinking i could hear something new if i saw them every night. i love the song "hummingbird": it's so light and airy in the opening verse only to swell and swoon upon the chorus, 'she appears/in his dreams' , it is one of my favourite songs. i particularly loved the military-like drumming during 'i am trying to break your heart". it sounded so amazing, as if i were hearing it for the first time. this song also serves as a great example of how wilco play as if deconstructing each song by the distinct sound contributed by individuals in the band. they layer instrument over instruments, melody over melodies, riff over riffs to create a warm, buzzing sound that isn't exactly absent in their albums but somehow more present in the flesh.

not to say that were all bluster, they also know how to be quiet and elegant allowing singer/songwriter jeff tweedy's melancholic voice more prominence. the second night audience missed out on the gorgeous outtake from mermaid avenue and the acoustic, un-miked uncle tupelo song tweedy performed the night before. tweedy again engaged at length with the crowd, apologising for comments from the previous night, asking dancing folks to turn to their neighbours for permission 'to stare at their [dancing] butt all night' and stating 'we all want to live here [in australia]. this is what america used to be like, don't f**k it up!' it was such an enormous pleasure to see how much the band themselves were enjoying their music. really looking forward to the new record, sounds like it will make a great driving tape!