SXSW Thursday Daytime

Is it really only half over?

Tapes n Tapes started things off nicely on Thursday.

But let's back up.

Juan in a Million started things out wonderfully Thursday. Half a Don Juan (now a whopping $3.25) and a machacado taco with chiles and tomatoes with a pile of chips and salsa (not as blistering as usual) with coffee and a lot of water was exactly what this boy needed to get up and go.

From there we went to Austin Cycles, Eric's new shop, to check it out and say hey to Sol. Great place. A really nice setup with a long bar and the work space behind it, so that customers can sit on a stool and watch the work being done. I can see why Eric loves his new job so much.

Then came Tapes n Tapes out behind Yard Dog. Great show, really makes me want to see their showcase. Great blistering indie riffs with french horn, growly and melodic. The CD, The Loon, is really good, though I've only been through the whole thing once.

We headed home to clean up and grab the bikes, then headed downtown. Into Emo's Jr., where Dengue Fever had the room rapt and baffled. The Cambodian singer lady was belting it out to some groovy worldy stuff played by a tall trio behind her. In the main room some other band was playing, don't know who, seemed sort of like a demented Poi Dog crossed with Dexy's midnight Runners. Weird but hard to look away. We went out and across to Emo's IV to see Willowz, but they were screechy and awful and we broke the hell out.

From Emo's it was on to Room 710 where the schedule was off in our favor--so we caught WHY? again. Good show, though much the same as the night before and still without Gemini. After that Gogogo Airheart played, and they were fun to listen to. Not so great to watch, but they do rock it.

We walked from there to the Beauty Bar where we hoped to catch a set by Lady Soverign, but she was inside and invite only, so we went round back and listened to Cut Chemist spin for a while. He was good, great aftternoon music, not big dance but not downtempo. Then we walked over to the 18th floor hotel bar to see Editors, but Eric and I bolted for home instead. We were planning to see Spoon at 7 and wanted to eat and get ready.

Eat we did. The Green Mesquite. Fantastic. Bubba taco basket, one brisket one chicken, and a gallon of Dr. Pepper. A heavenly place to be on a Thursday afternoon with a slight beer buzz, sweaty from the bike ride home. Texas just like I remember it.

This is just Thursday day. The night hadn't even started. I'm writing this on Friday morning, and I'm in stunned disbelief that this is only half over.

SXSW Wednesday

Hell of a first day.

Me and Eric started it off by getting out of town with the mountain bikes, riding at Rocky Hill Ranch for a few great hours in the morning. My first time riding a 29-er, a Gunnar steel beauty, and I have to say I'm impressed. And buying one. But this is about music.

Our first couple shows were random and not great, as we stopped at the Guitar Town party just in time for all the filler. Just the Silos and some boring country stuff. Snoozola. The Gourds came on at about 7:30 or so and it just wasn't doing it for me. Packed in with a bad crowd. So we bolted. Time to get the Rock on.

We made our way to Stubb's for the New Pornographers, but got there early enough for Blacklight Morning something something. Slow and repetitive Califonish blues rawk that never really did anything but run through some nice grooves and loops. Good for background music at home, not so exciting live. But the New Pornos did not disappoint. Neko and AC were both in fine form, belting it out like pros, and by the time they hit set closer Spanish Techno they had the bass dialed in and sounded great.

From there we went to the Emo's Annex to see WHY?, but we were early and there was no line so we fast-walked it over to Fox and Hound to investigate a rumor. The rumor was true, as it turns out, and we got there just in time to stand in the alley in the rain and listen to The Flaming Lips do a dead-on and brilliant cover of Bohemian Rhapsody. What a moment. We stayed for a couple songs then headed back.

WHY? pulled off a really good set, mostly new stuff with a couple old tracks and some not yet heard new stuff. Waterfalls and Rubber Traits were fantastic, as was Crushed Bones. 3 of them, playing all manner of percussion and keys and a guitar, sounded awesome.

Cathy called as that set was winding down to let us know that she just walked right into the Parish for Art Brut, so we beat feet over there and got in just before the big line formed. They put on a great and hilarious rock show, very glad we caught them. They brought out the hits and the kids loved it.

Now it's Thursday, and we just left Yard Dog where we saw Tapes n Tapes, great show, maybe the best yet. We'll clean up and head out for the day--hopefully we'll see the Editors, Earlimart, Gogogo Airheart, Willowz, and a couple other shows, all before our dinner date with Spoon.

Here we go again.

Here It Comes

SXSW XX.

This special anniversary edition of the annual music festival that takes over Austin like an especially virulent strain of kudzu every March promises to be bigger, better, louder, and fatter than any seen previously. The band list is sick, the schedule frenetic, and the day parties are absolutely bat-shit crazy.

After missing out on the madness the last two years in a row, I'm heading to Austin tomorrow to take part in the 20th version of SXSW. The scale of this year's gathering predictably brings to mind memories of past years, but I won't delve too deeply into that now. Suffice to say that, back somewhere around 96 or so I considered myself lucky as hell to see the Poster Children, Archers of Loaf, and Red Red Meat in the same place in the same weekend. Things certainly have changed.

This year, for the first time in many visits, I'll be making the rounds purely for pleasure. While the lack of deadlines and the total freedom are no doubt appealing, I'll certainly miss the benefits of the badge. Getting into the big shows with a wristband has been getting progressively more difficult, and now I have a feeling it's damn near impossible. Like you can just show up a half hour early and get in to see Art Brut or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah or We Are Wolves--or, hell, The Flaming Lips or WHY? for that matter. I'm a bit worried, but with every act popping up at least 2 or three times around town during the week, there's got to be some way to see these folks. I'll be trying, that's for sure.

I also hope to blog the whole while, but we'll see how much time and energy I end up with. After all, outside the clock-filling music schedule (seriously, day parties all day every day, showcases every night from 7 to 2am, then late-night parties every night until dawn), there's lots of mountain biking and eating to do, too. One week just isn't enough.

Wish me luck!

Good Energy

Our man Anthony Pozeck undergoes brain surgery #2 tomorrow, Tuesday, March 14th, 2006. This is a big bad one--as if any brain surgery can be anything but--and we all will be sending our best energy toward Tony for this.

Tony's a great friend to a lot of people. And we all know the man's strength. So, by the time I get back from Austin, surgery will be done, recovery will be well underway, and Tony will be on the road back to being the person he is now--less one big ugly mass of tissue underneath the left side of his brain, that is.

Good luck Tony. We're with you. Be talking to you very soon.

Funeral

Richard Patrick Terra, a co-worker, father, and nice fellow, was celebrated and laid to rest today. I didn't know him well, though I worked with him every day and talked to him fairly often.

I don't really know that I have anything else to say about it, except that he will be missed, that he was obviously a smart man and a great father, and that funerals are horribly depressing things. Gimme a bar full of loud drunk friends and family laughing and fighting about me. Or gimme a quiet exit, unnoticed, barely remarked upon. Just don't give me a Catholic funeral in a sterile funeral home conducted by a priest who didn't even know me or my family.

If it seems tacky or out of line to be critical of something like this, sorry. It's not so much criticism as it is the inevitable reflection and projection you go through during and after attending a funeral.

The Floyd

Our man Floyd Landis, mountain biker gone pro roadie, is now in the lead in the Paris-Nice race. Good to see a fat tire kid kickin ass on the skinny tire set. In France, even.










Check out coverage: http://www.velonews.com/

Free Jazz

Stay with me here.

Ken Vandermark is amazing. He's a sax player based in Chicago and is one of the driving forces in improvised music today. I'm sure most people shut down entirely when the words free jazz flash through their mind like a signpost for a road that you never ever want to end up on, but if you can deal with a bit of discomfort, if you can pay close attention and open your mind to identify and connect influences and avenues, then there's a lot to love in this music.

When I was in Portugal, in Lisbon, the proprietor of what would become my favorite bar--a place called Bar Lisboa--turned me on to a Vandermark project called Tripleplay. It's a trio, improvised music, very powerful stuff and very connected to Portugal. (Funny that there's such a strong following for this music there--back to the Euro support of jazz in the absence of it in its birthplace.)

I recently came across a review for a record Vandermark put out last year, called Elements of Style, Exercises in Surprise. All it took was a single listen to the muscular movement, the solid riff that anchors the opening track, and I was hooked. Check the link, you can listen. Give it a shot. The whole thing is up for download on emusic--grab the track called Knock Yourself Out and see if you don't agree.

SXSW Blog

My man Oko in Austin has set up a new blog. He's working for THE man, Sr. Raoul Hernandez, laying down the info for the Chronicle's coverage of the big SXSW, and has parlayed his knowledge overflow into a blog to benefit the rest of us.

Check it out, and check back often. It's growing rapidly. Like a weed. Or a virus. Or a suburb. *shudder*

Sold Out!

McMurtry sold out the Neurolux on Friday night. The last tickets were bought during the instore that day at the Record Exchange. Great show, great crowd.

Early on, McMurtry said into his mic, "I knew there were people in Idaho. It just took me 16 years to find you." That's an amusing reference to his previous, less-than-spectacular receptions here. Just goes to show what can happen when you show up in town with a bit of motivation and a little publicity behind you.

McMurtry

We pulled it off!

Today at 12:30 we at the Boise Community Radio Project broadcasted our first live music show. James McMurtry, who's playing tonight at the Neurolux, played an in-store at the Record Exchange in lovely downtown Boise, and the whole thing was relayed live on the web at www.radioboise.org. Apparently the sound was running a bit hot, which is a shame for folks who were trying to listen, but for us that's just a matter of dialing it in.

We announced the show live on the air, we relayed the whole thing, and then we did a back announce and fed right into my show, Range Life. It went smoothly, and now we're ready to do more of these things.

Sheesh, it's almost like we're a real radio station.

By the way, McMurtry's new record, Childish Things, is quite possibly his best work to date. And for anyone who knows the dude's output, that's saying a lot. I'll write more about it later.

Heavy Ornamentals, Part 1

There's a new Gourds album on the shelves, and it is reason to rejoice. Heavy Ornamentals is a great record. I'd go so far as to call it a triumphant return to form, but I'm thinking that maybe my own form has changed more than theirs, so that may not be accurate.

Let me explain.

Anyone who is into music experiences changes in interest and fluctuations in appreciation throughout their lives. Most of the time it's as innocuous as the old "Lately I've been listening to a lot of [enter your own new genre here]." But sometimes it's more than that. Sometimes you move away from music that has been very important to you, indeed has made up much of what you consider great about music in the first place. Fads come and go, tastes change, geography changes, groups of friends change--there are reasons uncountable for why we are such fickle creatures. But still, the impact can be great.

An example: When I moved from high school to college, everything changed. I largely stopped listening to what I thought was great metal (Metallica, Iron Maiden, etc) and even not-so-great derivative metal (Motley Crue, KISS, et al) and started listening to completely different music. REM, The Cure, The Alarm, The Smiths--prototypical college rock took over my life because it was new and great and interesting and, quite simply, I realized that what I had been listening to was total crap. I mean, Bon Jovi lyrics dominated interpersonal relationships for a time, and I knew no better. Scary.

Sometimes it's not so cut and dry.

When I moved to Austin, I thought I knew it all. Armed with Pavement and REM enough to prove I knew what-for, I went down there to immerse myself in music. And my world flipped again. The Reverend Horton Heat, Ed Hall, Alice Donut, The Supersuckers, Spoon--suddenly everything was new and wonderful. So I did nothing but rock out as hard as I could.

Then I met my wife-to-be, who not only couldn't stand to have this loud-ass shit going on in the house all the time, she was also interested in that other Texas music, and we found we had this in common. Fugazi gave way to James McMurtry, The Jesus Lizard stepped aside for The Flatlanders, and a new interest took hold. This was new and fascinating to me--country was good! And there my obsession lived for a while.

The Gourds were a HUGE part of that. They were my favorite band in all the world for a long long time. In many ways, they still are. However, when we left Texas and moved to Idaho, our exposure to and cultural connection to that kind of music suffered from distance. I discovered rock again--and so did Cathy. Things changed. Doug Sahm stayed out of the carousel for a while and Franz Ferdinand stayed in. And now, as I bathe more fully in the newly acquired knowledge that electronic music doesn't automatically suck, the distance seems greater than ever.

But then, The Gourds go and do this. They make a great record. Their last few have been good, of course--but good in the sense that it takes a few listens to grab onto why it's good, while shadows of doubt over this or that track or how much I actually do love thee linger. This time, first listen. That's it. This is a great record. From the obvious singles to the deeper buried gems, it's like I'm 26 and living in Austin and hearing "Dying of the Pines" on late night radio all over again. Holy shit, this is good.

Anyway, I'd like to spend more time talking about this actual record, but that'll have to wait. Meantime, go get this album. That way we'll be on the same page for part 2 of this post.

Dirty Three

I'm not sure how this one missed my best-of year-end list, but it did, and I'm sorry.

The Dirty Three are a trio from Australia that make hauntingly beautiful instrumental music based around drums, violin, and guitars. They first entered my world as the band behind Chan Marshall's voice and songs on Moon Pix, far and away my favorite Cat Power record. Dirty Three were no small part of that record's beauty, playing perfectly off Marshall's ethereal, breathy, captivating vocals, conjuring worlds for her to sing within.

They brought out a new record last year called Cinder, and it's a thing your ears will not be able to get enough of. At times dark and moody, at others buoyant and celebratory, at all times this record embodies musicians at the heights of their powers, working with material that offers them space to do their thing with no intrusions or interruptions. You just wish you could be in the room when they get together to practice.

As a bonus, Ms. Marshall appears for vocal duties on one song, called Great Waves, that is one of my favorite tracks of all last year. I dare say it could stand up to anything on Moon Pix, and wouldn't be at all out of place on that record.

Remodel

Don't do this. Leave your home as it is, keep your life your own, and maintain the solidity of your marriage. I'm serious. This is a bad idea.

We're nearing the end of a month and a half or two month remodel process on the whole upstairs of our house. We're very close--it should all be done by the end of the week--but it has not come without cost. The financial, obviously, but also the mental, the spiritual, the marital. It's been tough. Life has been hectic and rushed and cluttered and hectic, and we've both seen the ends of our ropes come frighteningly close. But we've survived.

Our house will be transformed. The results will be dazzling. We will be much happier. But, if I had it to do over again, unless some things were drastically changed, I wouldn't. I'd slap some paint on and leave it the hell alone.

Anyway, this nonsense comes by way of an excuse as to why this blog has been so lame and inactive lately. I've been gathering loads of new music, I've had some great outdoor adventures, I've sort of got a new job, and there's been plenty to write about, I just haven't had time. But, come next week, hopefully, I will. That is, if the friggin house is done.

Much too much

Busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.

More folks fighting the odds than on payday in Jackpot, Nevada.

More shit to work through than the squeegee man at a hog farm.

Sometimes life throws so much at you that you don't even know where to begin. This time, life's taking pot-shots at friends and family, leaving me alone but fucking with damn near everyone else I know.

All you can do is all you can do. Help out, be there, keep your own shit together.

Treading water.

Meanwhile, dig this track:

http://www.myspace.com/builttospill

That's right, chirdrens, new Built to Spill is finally visible on the horizon. Keep your eyes peeled. It's gonna be a good one.

Bovaflux

Bovaflux

When There Was Nothing

This is a new one I just picked up after hearing a track on KEXP's morning show. (Incidentally, this is where I get turned on to loads of new music, so check out John in the morning on www.kexp.org. It's out of Seattle.) I've listened through a couple times and am definitely digging this. They've got it on emusic.

It's pretty lush, fairly chill electronic music along the lines of Boards of Canada. The songs feel like songs, melodies emerging from the loops and blips and moving along of their own volition, repeating phrases and evoking moods as slyly and smoothly as can be.

This is mood music. Sitting on a train, rolling through foreign countrysides, perhaps watching rain clouds gather or clear, feeling alone but alive--that's where this music takes me.

Happy New Year

We had a fantastic time out in Driggs ove rthe weekend, alpine skiing up at Grand Targhee, going nordic up Teton Canyon, and snowshoeing in and around Darby Canyon. The cabin we stayed in was out of this world--the perfect mountain getaway, and far more posh than rustic. We were blown away by the place when we got there, and we spent lots of time lounging in pajamas and slippers.

We rang in the new year watching Scarface and playing the millenium edition of Trivial Pursuit.

We're old.

So, hope y'all had as refreshing and rejuvenating a new year's as we did. Here's to a good, healthy, adventurous 2006.

New Year's

This will be me for New Year's this year.


















At least, that's how I hope I'll look, as opposed to a giant tumbling snowball with skis and poles poking out in all directions. Cathy and I are headed to Driggs, ID, way over just this side of the Grand Tetons, to spend a long New Year's weekend. Grand Targhee resort is just a few miles from where we'll be staying, so we plan to spend at least one day there. The above pic was taken there yesterday.

Both of us are pretty inexperienced skiers. Cathy's been doing it for some years, though never more than once or twice a year--not quite enough to get really good. I just learned how to ski last February, and have only been out twice this year, once up at Bogus, and once at Brundage. Both times felt great; both made me feel like I was learning and doing better than the time before. And while these trips were both in decent snow, I'm really looking forward to great snow.

So, we'll be out of town and largely out of touch until next Tuesday. Hope y'all have a happy new year's, and a great 2006.

Taking Time

I'll be honest: It's all to easy to rush and cut corners when putting together a show for Radio Boise. I'm busy, it's late, it runs tomorrow, I'm tired, blah blah. I've done it--though I know those of you who have listened to Range Life will find that shocking. I'm very sorry. I'll try my best to do better.

And, for that last part at least, I mean it. I put time into these shows. I read about music a lot, I search out new music, I log hours and hours both mobile and stationary listening to new music, and I love it all. Nowadays, I especially love the process of assembling a version of Range Life, the show. I love firing up the iBook and the Creatures and setting out in my office/bike shop for hours on end, listening to track after track and assembling playlists and listening to them and changing them and trying to create a good flow, with good transitions, with a healthy balance of new stuff and old stuff and brand new stuff and not so old stuff and whatever else grabs my attention.

So, why would I cut corners? Why would I spend less time on it than I could or should? Because I'm stupid, that's why. And so are you. We all are. We lose sight all too easily not only of the big things that give life meaning, but the little things that give each moment of life purpose and contain the potential to turn into big things or to alter or affect big things. We avoid things that make us happy for things that don't. I'm no hedonist, but I do think this happens far too often. And when you can make a small change that you're damned sure will affect big change, you do it. Or you should.

I'll be spending more time on this. It'll be better. And by this I mean both the radio show and this blog. If this is starting to sound like your run of the mill resolution, so close to New Year's as we are and all, I suppose maybe it is. I didn't set out to do it, but I think it's a natural thing to put things in order at this point of the year, to think of what was and what could have been, and to take the next step and start planning for the next year. This is just one way I'll make it better.

On Thursday, we're heading for Targhee. Friends of ours have a family cabin that we've been granted permission to use, and we're spending New Year's there. Not sure who-all yet, but it's coming soon. We're very excited. It's nice to be excited about New Year's. Staying at the cabin, taking the dogs for romps in the snow, skiing Grand Targhee, celebrating New Year's with a mess of other friends who will be out there, all of it. Can't wait. I've never skied powder before. This seems like the perfect time and place.

Top 10 of 2005

Since everyone else on the planet is doing it, why not me? In the time-honored tradition of end-of-year wrapups, here it is, my very own Top Ten Albums of 2005.

I preface this list by saying that, for me, this year has been remarkable for the depth of new music. So many great records have come out, so many exciting new bands have popped up, that it was extremely difficult to choose just ten. (So, of course, there will be a long also-ran list here.)

Perhaps this has been simply an effect of my re-awakening.

As I've written about here before, the first part of this year saw me wake up and walk out of my deep, dark, musical hole. I was and am still amazed at what I've found. I was so totally engaged in music for so long, so focused on finding it and writing about it and thinking about it and acquiring it and sharing it, that when I got married and left Austin, I just stopped paying attention. It was nice for a while. And during that time I sort of forgot what it was like to care so much about it.

Now I remember. And what a fantastic year it's been.

So, without further ado, here they are.

CHess' Top Ten Albums of 2005

1. Broken Social Scene ~ s/t
2. WHY? ~ Elephant Eyelash
3. Four Tet ~ Happiness
4. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah ~ s/t
5. 13 & God ~ s/t
6. Wolf Parade ~ Apologies to the Queen Mary
7. Animal Collective ~ Feels
8. The National ~ Alligator
9. The Decemberists ~ Picaresque
10. Brazilian Girls ~ s/t

Honorable mentions in no particular order which, in a lesser year, would have made this list easily: Okkervil River (Black Sheep Boy), The Books (Lost and Safe), Stephen Malkmus (Face the Truth), Spoon (Gimme Fiction), Art Brut (Bang Bang Rock and Roll), Wilderness (s/t), Sleater Kinney (The Woods), Boards of Canada (The Campfire Headphase), Bloc Party (Silent Alarm), Franz Ferdinand (You Could Have It So Much Better), New Pornographers (Twin Cinema), Beck (Guero), MIA (Arular), Caribou (Milk of Human Kindness), Iron and Wine & Calexico (He Lays in Reins), Death Cab for Cutie (Plans), American Analog Set (Set Free), LCD Soundsystem (s/t), Jeff Parker (Relatives)

So, there you have it. I'd love to see your lists, to hear criticism, or to share music with any of y'all who are interested.

WHY?

WHY?

Elephant Eyelash

(Anticon Records)

OK, so I've been sitting with this one for a while, soaking it up, marinating in it, and while I'm not so sure that it's "the Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain of our modern indie times" (Filter Mini, 10/05), it's a pretty damn good slab of music. Labels are lazy, but this band just invites you to try. Folk-rap? Avant-hop? Indie artrock hip-hop experimental freak folk... all of it comes into play during a listen to this record from front to back.

Yoni Wolf, who was Why? as a solo project for a few years and now heads up WHY? as a band, comes up with verse after verse of totally accessible everyman-as-freak lyrics, rolling them out in a near-deadpan singspeak that, after the necessary acclimatization, is just really cool. It's like my internal dork has found voice and form at long last.

The sound of light rain and burning leaves is the same... I'm fucking cold like a DQ blizzard, you act like a slut but you're really a freezer... Inhaling crushed bones through a dried up white out pen and writing the backwards racer in hot June rain in a matching blue and gold plastic bag poncho raincoat... In London where the sirens yelp like a helpless dog with his paw stepped on...

He goes from smart and sharp rap lyrics to weirdo free-association all a microsecond behind the beat, shifting the layers off time just a bit, making the music more dense and busy and turning the beat into a jarring shuffle that's tough to nail but wonderful to listen to.

The appeal of this record is, so far, for me, tough to put into words. If you don't think this is your kind of thing, just listen. Suspend judgement for the first few trips through, then listen to it again.