Posts tagged playlist

10 In 20: Matt Duncan

Last month I posted the new song from Coralee and The Townies from the 10 In 20 project. Here’s this month’s from Matt Duncan. I got to see Duncan play live at CD Central a few months back. He and his band are great. Check ‘em out:

Never doubt Lexington makes great musicians!

10 In 20 - A Lexington recording project

“Ten groups of established Lexington musicians each spend two days collaborating on an original track with producer Duane Lundy at Shangri-la Studios. An organic process affirms artists’ distinctive songwriting and musical roots, while painting a broader creative landscape. Monthly debuts of new songs build toward a vinyl album release in 2012.”

Love this idea! And the first three bands? Three of my favorites: Coralee And The Townies, Matt Duncan, and Sunday Valley!

Wizard Buys A Hat

They come out to Broadway and they look for me
I’m on the red steps smoking a cigarette
Easy to recognize
Black bandages on my eyes
This is the church, these are the congregants

-Wizard Buys A Hat by The Mountain Goats

The music references get more complex in Casanova: Avaritia

Ha Ha Tonka at Cosmic Charlies

Today is my buddy Paul’s birthday. Last night, to celebrate his 29th year on this planet, he invited a bunch of his friends to join him at local music venue, Cosmic Charlies to see one of his favorite bands - Ha Ha Tonka.

My previous exposure to Ha Ha Tonka consisted solely of seeing them on my favorite tv show, No Reservations:

Frankly, that was all the endorsement I needed. If Anthony Bourdain wants to hang out and barbecue with you, I feel like I have no excuse not to like you.

It ended up being a great night. Ha Ha Tonka perform the kind of new folk/americana stuff that I’ve always been a sucker for. I’m officially a fan. And they were exceptionally nice guys - going so far as to sing Happy Birthday to Paul and then letting him join them on stage during their encore for some of the best tambourine playing Lexington has ever seen. Here’s a video of Happy Birthday, unfortunately I didn’t video the encore:

I love Paul. He brings a unique energy and personality to everything he does. I’d be lost without him. And now I love Ha Ha Tonka.

These United States

Yesterday, during one of Crossroads’ morning services, at a point where I’m sure my full attention was needed on stage, I was checking Twitter. Man, it feels good to get that off my chest.

While checking Twitter I discovered that one of my favorite bands, These United States, was going to be playing a surprise show, later that night, at a local bar called The Green Lantern.

Score!

I texted my friend Dan (yes, during the service - hey, nothing went off the rails, get off my back) and made plans to meet him there after our the final service of the night.

Best decision I made all day.

Apparently the band was driving to Lexington to do some recording this week over at Shangri La Studios and realized they had no place to rehearse - so they called up The Green Lantern and asked if they could use their space in exchange for doing an impromptu show. The result was forty or so people sitting around watching the band practice some new songs, play with some covers, and blast out some old favorites.

It was awesome.

Here’s a poorly lit iPhone picture:

It’s been a great spring/summer for live music so far - The Mountain Goats in Nashville, a table at the foot of the stage for Vandaveer, and now an intimate night with These United States! And it’s not over yet! This week and next there are shows by local favorites Coralee and The Townies and Sunday Valley. Then later in the summer Okkervil River and maybe Mates of State! (I haven’t told Sara about that last one yet… Sssssshhhhh!)

Vandaveer

Last night Sara and I went to Natasha’s for dinner and a concert by one-time Lexingtonian, Mark Charles Heidinger, also known as Vandaveer.

It was a great way to cap off a busy, but very fulfilling day. The food and music were both incredible. At one point during the show I kind of felt like my soul was being nourished - which is, to say the least, a good feeling.

Here’s a pic from the show. Our table was touching the stage:

Also, here’s the video to Dig Down Deep, the eponymous single from the new record. In which you can see some other Lexingtonians and members of These United Sates

John Darnielle on The Colbert Report

Sometimes you’re just googling around and the internet gives you a gift.

Any Time Will Do - TV On The Radio

The Avett Brothers - A Confession

I have a problem. A daily struggle with passive-aggressiveness? Well, yes. But that’s not the one I wanted to talk about.

I have this problem that when a band I’m into gets famous, I kind of stop liking them. I honestly hate it about myself and am really trying to fight it. It’s prideful and stupid.

Take the Avett Brothers for instance. A few years ago I picked up one of their live albums at CD Central based solely on a poster in the store. I’d never heard them before but they had beards and a banjo, so why not, right?

A few months later Sara and I saw them in Louisville with about 100 other people.

As great as their album was, their live show was full of energy, fun, and completely joyous. We started seeing them everywhere we could.

At the Southgate House in Newport we staked out seats right above the stage:

A whole bunch of us got to see them at the old Dame before it got torn down. That was probably my favorite:

They also played the Kentucky Theater a couple of times. At one of these shows Sara and I got to meet Scott and Seth and told them we were using one of their songs in our wedding. They seemed genuinely flattered:

Two weeks ago, like a lot of folks, I watched the Avett Brothers perform on the Grammys with Mumford and Son and Bob Dylan. It was awesome. I loved it for The Avett Brothers because obviously performing on the Grammys is a big deal. Part of me was upset, though, because I realized the days of seeing these guys play in a tiny club with a handful of people were gone for good.

I think it’s fine to mourn the loss of an experience like that - but to actually quit liking a band because they become popular? That’s wrong for several reasons:

1. Somebody has always been a fan longer than you. I was at a CD release party for a local band recently and heard a kid in front of me say, “We liked this band before they were cool - remember when we first saw them a year ago?” I laughed inside because this guy obviously had no idea that this particular band had been around since 2003. Likewise, however much I might imagine that I was into the Avett Brothers “first,” there are hundreds of people who got there before I did. I didn’t discover them.

2. If I really love the band as much as I say I do, why wouldn’t I want them to have success? They brought me a lot of joy, so why shouldn’t I want to see them rewarded for that? Am I really that selfish?

3. It means I was into them more for what it said about me than for their actual music. If I stop liking their songs because I’m no longer a special little snow flake that listens to a band you’ve never heard of, then I’m a total douche and not really a music lover. My guess is that a lot of music snobs aren’t really music lovers as much as they’re just insecure and looking for some kind of badge to wear that verifies their specialness.

So, I post all of this as a confession and as, hopefully, a preventative measure. Anybody who reads this now has permission to question thoroughly if they ever hear me say, “Yeah, I’m just not into the Avett Brothers anymore.” If I can articulate the reason for my change in taste intelligently, then you have to leave me alone. But if I stammer around and don’t really say anything, then please wag your finger disapprovingly at me.

I also post the pictures above to remind myself of the good times I’ve had seeing the band - that alone should make me a fan for life.