I don’t want to get into the politics of Milwaukee’s local music scene, except to say that for a city that brought you both Liberace AND The Violent Femmes – and hosts the world’s largest music festival every summer – we ought to have more of a scene than we do. A punk band here, a cover-y blues rock band there, a few flappity rappers and DJs bearing the great weight of urban revitalization, and you’ve got a lot of city residents feeling a little punchy (“I’m moving to Chicago!”) – or a little sore.
Admittedly, I copped an attitude when I moved here; after all, I’m from Detroit, a savage crater of a city that has nonetheless managed to crank out a significant percentage of the world’s most awesome music. If Detroit can do it, I wanted to shout from the top of Milwaukee’s abandoned breweries, you can too! Stop feeling so sorry for yourself and kick out some jams!
But after a while, that impulse faded. Milwaukee is a tricky city to get to know, and the music that lives here is no exception. A decade of juvenile bullying between club owners and booking agents has pushed a lot of activity under the surface, so while twinkly venues host hot touring acts and indie record shops bring in hot indie rockers, the premium-grade MKE shit is going down in basements, attics, and the back rooms of dark bars.
In this era of band reunions, I find it necessary to examine the validity of long-running or reunited acts to determine whether they’re still actual artists with points of view or if they’re simply cashing in on former glory. I’ve seen three such bands this summer, starting with Steely Dan on the opening night of Milwaukee’s Summerfest, and additionally seeing the double bill of Cheap Trick and Blue Oyster Cult at Riverfest in Beloit, Wisconsin. I felt somewhat out of place at both shows, amidst a crowd whose mean age is closer to that of my parents than my own, but an old and inactive crowd is much easier to ignore than a rowdy room of young whippersnappers and I was able to concentrate on the performances, which varied wildly in not only quality but also the performers’ apparent goals.
Cheap Trick’s performance was probably the most typical nostalgia act, but also the most immediately satisfying. The four members from the band’s heyday were all present and all pushing 60, but that didn’t stop them from ripping through an hour or so of hits, plus a couple songs from their 2006 album Rockford. But for the most part, they stuck to their most recognizable songs and performed them with the vigor you expect from a bunch of old guys. Not that anyone really needed them to look or act like a hungry young group of dudes - Cheap Trick has paid their dues, had their hits, and are now basking in the glory of being able to play a packed show anywhere, including Beloit, Wisconsin (population 35,775). And yup, they played awesome rock staples “I Want You to Want Me,” “Surrender,” and “Dream Police,” as well as their sole number one hit, the flaccid ballad “The Flame” from 1988. The whole thing was still a blast, though, and guitarist Rick Nielsen was eccentric as ever, switching guitars for nearly every song (his five-necked monstrosity was thankfully one of the many he included) and showering the first several rows in guitar picks. I think that Cheap Trick are often overlooked and they should be respected as the great songwriters they are - their string of ’70s albums is remarkably consistent and without a time machine set to 1978 Budokan, this is pretty much as good as it’s going to get for Trick fans nowadays.
Devendra Banhart, the Houston-born purveyor of the dirty hippie beard and the proverbial figurehead of the so-called Naturalismo scene, has announced that the title of his fifth studio album will be Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, which of course leads to the assumption that either Mr. Banhart has been indulging in the literature of Gerald Vizenor, or that, well, there’s no point in beating around the bush, now is there, he has been continuing to enjoy the mind-altering effects of certain psychoactive substances while composing his jittery, off-kilter dirty hippie songs. Songs with titles such as “Cristobal,” “Samba Vexillographica,” and “So Long Old Bean” (presumably a Wodehouse nod). Smokey will feature 16 new songs in all, several of which were “recorded on a sailboat on the way to Catalina” (source), with embellishments from such exotic-sounding instruments as zithers, tablas, duck calls, guitars, freedom chimes, and pots and pans. Continuing in the tradition of 2005’s magnificent Cripple Crow, the new album will showcase the various talents of a coterie of long-haired folkies, such as Vetiver’s Andy Cabic, co-producer Noah Georgeson, Joanna Newsom’s brother Pete, and others.
Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon will be released September 25 on XL Recordings. The tour, however, begins even sooner than that:
08-10 Oslo, Norway - Øya Festival
08-11 Gothenburg, Sweden - Way Out West Festival
08-13 Hamburg, Germany - Knust
08-15 Cologne, Germany - Gebaude 9
08-16 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop Festival
08-17 Biddinghuizen, Netherlands - Lowlands Festival
08-19 Brecon Beacons Powys, Wales - Glanusk Park (Green Man Festival)
08-21 Paris, France - L’Europeen
08-23 Glasgow, Scotland - The Arches
08-24 Leeds, England - Leeds Festival
08-26 Reading, England Reading Festival
09-01 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom *
09-02 Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival *
09-04 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom *
09-06 Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theater *
09-07 Berkeley, CA - Zellerbach Hall *
09-10 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre (Native American benefit) #
09-12 Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium #
09-13 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall Theater #
09-15 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue #
09-16 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater #
09-18 Chicago, IL - Portage Theater !
09-19 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theater !
09-21 Toronto, Ontario - Danforth Music Hall !
09-22 Montreal, Quebec - Le National !
09-23 Burlington, VT - Davis Center Grand Ballroom at University of Vermont !
09-25 Boston, MA - Roxy Ballroom !
09-27 New York, NY - Grand Ballroom !
09-29 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts !
10-01 Washington, DC - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue !
10-04 Nashville, TN - City Hall $
10-06 Dallas, TX - Granada Theater $
10-07 Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa $
10-09 Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater (Native American benefit) %
10-10 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater %
10-12 Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theater %
10-13 Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre %
* with Noah Georgeson
# with Rio En Medio
! with Matteah Baim
$ with Jana Hunter
% with Hecuba
Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger are Widowed
Not to be outdone, the prolific Fiery Furnaces have announced that they will soon be releasing their sixth studio album, entitled Widow City. According to the very fascinating Thrill Jockey press release, the new album was inspired in part by imaginary divinations taken from Ouija boards, Atlantic record labels, the cultural pages of local community minority newspapers, scratched Van Morrison CD jewel cases, or other found objects the compelled the siblings Friedberger to write down what object in question would want them to say, or what they imagined the object should sound like. To wit:
She [Eleanor Friedberger] would clench in her fists the names of selected lady magazine authoresses from the years 1968-1976 and, extending out her index fingers, type up what the old ladies “told” her. Or rather, “told” them, meaning her index fingers. She’d then send the notes to her brother [Matthew], who would modify and add to them according to what he imagined were their “secret intentions.” If the sister objected, the brother would assign responsibility to the Ouija board.
Makes perfect sense.
While the lyrics will no doubt be long-winded, childlike, and obtuse, the music, though used expressly for thematic purposes, has been honed to a point of “simplicity and schematism.” Indeed, with Matthew playing all of the instruments - including a rare Chamberlin, popularized by the likes of Bowie, Eno, and Brion, for his string, woodwind, and brass sounds - the style of play has an overwhelming “Paul McCartney-izing” effect. The only instrument he doesn’t play are the drums, which are being handled by the road-tested Robert D’Amico, who has played with the band since 2005. Longtime engineer Bill Skibbe is still behind the decks, as is Tortoise’s John McEntire.
While Widow City has already leaked to the interwebs thanks to the thoughtless efforts of some impatient nits, the rest of us will have to wait until Oct. 9 to hear it in its entirety. However, if you would like a peek, the band did post some hopelessly random snippets of the recording process on YouTube, which you can find here, here, over here, and, of course, here. The tracklist is as follows:
01 The Philadelphia Grand Jury
02 Duplexes Of The Dead
03 Automatic Husband
04 Ex-Guru
05 Clear Signal From Cairo
06 My Egyptian Grammar
07 The Old Hag Is Sleeping
08 Japanese Sleepers
09 Navy Nurse
10 Uncle Charlie
11 Right By Conquest
12 Restorative Beer
13 Wicker Whatnots
14 Cabaret Of The Seven Devils
15 Pricked In The Heart
16 Widow City
Documentary Schmocumentary
Finally, while this may not fit under the “news” category, Aquarium Drunkard gives us a nice, brief review of a relatively new Nilsson documentary, Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)?. Since we love Harry here at the Post-Rockist HQ, and since this is the first we’ve heard of it, we thought we’d share. You can view the trailer here:
Also check out part 1 of 5 of a strange, behind-the-scenes documentary-style look at Nilsson in his Son of Schmilsson period, called Did Somebody Drop His Mouse?:
I spent about 16 hours last weekend at Detroit’s CityFest, a celebration of music (both local and national), food, and people (the streets of the New Center district in Detroit were actually crowded. It is always a beautiful thing to see), and The High Strung were definitely one of the best bands of the festival.
Maybe it’s me. Lately, I’ve been into the rollicking sort of rock n’ roll. I’ve been needing a bassist playing lots of eight notes up and down the fretboard, pushing the song forward. And I’ve been into voices of a slightly higher timbre. And I’ve been into good lyrics, and bands who don’t just stand there, a-shoegazing. It’s summer, and I want my veins pumping, my fists pumping, my feet moving, and my heart beating. (So I’ve basically been listening to those two amazing Flashing Lights albums, Ted Leo, and Voxtrot. If you have any other suggestions for bands who sound like this, for Jesus of F-ing Christland, let us know with a comment).
Yeah, The High Strung did that for me. Sorry for not posting an mp3–I’m getting the album this week in the mail. The band’s MySpace page gives a good sample of what you have to look forward to. My personal favorite is “Maybe You’re Coming Down with it,” which offers one of the best choruses I’ve heard this summer.
Cincinnati is known for a few things: its curious taste in chili, its poor race relations, and its frequently arrested pro football players. For any number of reasons, rock music isn’t regularly listed near the top of the list of the Queen City’s popular contributions to the world at large. Lately, it seems that the names that do get out there are often equated with rhythm-section-for-hire for Detroit ex-pat Jack White.
But this doesn’t mean that there aren’t any local acts with a potential for interest outside the immediate tri-state – far from it. Heartless Bastards, with their no-nonsense brand of throwback power trio rock’n’roll, have carved out quite a name for themselves in recent years. They play hard rock without being aggressive, and they play blues rock without being, well, Clapton. With so few distractions present in their music, Heartless Bastards have managed to capitalize on a simple formula that is too often overlooked in much of today’s guitar-based bands: strong, solid songs – period. In fact, while enjoying the fruits of their relative success – rubbing shoulders with the Black Keys, playing Bonnaroo and Desdemona, touring the country, signing to Fat Possum – the Bastards have barely found time for even the occasional hometown show. So, after two years of near misses of not seeing the band perform live, when I heard that they would be playing a free show a few yards outside my doorstep, I knew I would finally have my chance to be clued into what all the other locals had been raving about since I moved in.
No opening band was needed to bring the flocks out. By 8:00 p.m. there were enough nicotine-addicted scenesters to leave 14th Street padded with a soft carpeting of half-smoked Camels for days after the event. The ratio of hipster beards to concert-goers was at a staggering 1:3, and the ratio even applied to the band itself, one being spotted on drummer Kevin Vaughn. Vaughn and bassist Mike Lamping both hunched over their instruments, wearing equally sullen, guilty expressions on their faces like a pair of boys who had just been found out looking through their dad’s dusty old Playboys. But despite the reliable talent of this hairy-fisted rhythmic duo, when people talk about Heartless Bastards, they really only talk about one thing: Erika Wennerstrom’s voice. Somewhere between a female Muddy Waters and a Midwestern Polly Jean Harvey, Wennerstrom, with a pained expression on her face, exhorts each syllable like some ghostly emanation over the surge of minor key blues rock. It is truly something, to hear that huge sound come out of a figure that is nearly dwarfed in size by her Gibson and, implausibly, stay in key the entire time. In as few words as possible, this is dirty ‘Nati rock.
The Heartless Bastards were set up on a stage outside of Lightborne Studios, the video and design firm that had filmed the music video for the title track off of last year’s All This Time, and which can be seen below. Being in the historic Over-the-Rhine district, there were a few odd disruptions that may have agitated an out-of-towner, but local Bastards merely shrugged off the wailing ambulances, the crazy lady with the inside-out T-shirt who was raving something incomprehensible about how awful rock music is, and – why not – the muscular, grey-haired man who was gyrating like an epileptic shadowboxer near the front of the stage. Ah, Cincinnati knows how to bring ’em.
HEY YO!
The Post-Rockist is based in Detroit and St. Louis, with writers also in Milwaukee and San Fran. We cover national and local music. Contact Todd for St. Louis, Scotter for Detroit, and both for everything else.
