HOLY HELL IT WAS WORTH THE SIX YEAR WAIT.

The Polyphonic Spree did the impossible last night: they actually fulfilled my ridiculously high expectations, they played everything I wanted to hear, and they left me buzzing all day today. The band are just pure joy on stage and I loved every single moment of their show at the Metro last night.

From the theatrical opening (cutting a giant heart out of a giant red ribbon hiding the stage), to Tim’s enthusiasm and rapport with the crowd, to the encore costume change (the robes!), to Tim singing the night’s final song Soldier Girl amongst an adoring crowd, The Polyphonic Spree transported the crowd into a surreal, wonderful world reminiscent of the credits of The 40 Year Old Virgin.

It’s The Sun was just nutty. Hold Me Now had the entire crowd screaming every single word right back to the 21 performers on stage. And Light & Day…it just went off. And since the band have the infrastructure to play any song ever recorded, they also delighted the crowd with a trio of covers ranging from an obscure-ish Tripping Daisy song (Tragiverse), to the bombastic Live And Let Die (overheard: “This is a Guns ‘n’ Roses song right?”), and, most triumphantly, Nirvana’s Lithium which was transformed into the happiest song ever written. During that “yeaaaaaaaaaaah yeaaaahh yeaaaaah” chorus the crowd burst into the friendliest mosh pit ever as we all pretended we were in Seattle circa 1992. It was ridiculously awesome.

A night I will not forget anytime soon.

Setlist
Harp Intro
Running Away
Hanging Around
Get Up And Go
It’s The Sun
Tragiverse
Younger Yesterday
Live And Let Die
Hold Me Now
Guaranteed Nightlife
The Fragile Army
The Championship
———
Together We’re Heavy
Light & Day/Reach For The Sun
Lithium
Everything Starts At The Seam
When The Fool Becomes The King
It’s The Sun (reprise)
Soldier Girl

I’ve got some more photos up here. FasterLouder have a review up as well. Finally, here’s a quick little clip of the finale of Lithium at the Metro last night. Does not do it justice…

Download
The Polyphonic Spree – Running Away

Conor Oberst has never been one for keeping things focused and to-the-point. While I enjoy his often lengthy diversions (see: nearly every opening song on a record he has made), it seems as though Oberst has made a concerted effort at starting anew with his first solo record in over a decade.

1. The record is not being released by Saddle Creek (a label Oberst had a huge hand in building) but instead by Merge.
2. Conor himself actually graces the cover.
3. The album was made in Mexico with a quickly thrown-together band.
4. Not Bright Eyes.

You can stream the self-titled record in its entirety here ahead of its August 5 release. I’m impressed so far (it is still early). This collection of songs seems a lot more focused and direct than some of his more recent offerings. What this solo record means for Bright Eyes remains to be seen.

Download
Conor Oberst – Danny Callahan

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band will be in Australia later on this year as part of the Great Escape Festival in Sydney. But, of course, there are sideshows too. Tour dates below:

10/02 Melbourne, The Palace
10/03 Brisbane, Tivoli
10/04 Sydney, Enmore Theatre
10/05 Sydney, Great Escape Festival

And there are some great albums on it.

Adele – ’19′
British Sea Power – ‘Do You Like Rock Music?’
Burial – ‘Untrue’
Elbow – ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’
Estelle – ‘Shine’
The Last Shadow Puppets – ‘The Age..’
Laura Marling – ‘Alas I Cannot Swim’
Neon Neon – ‘Stainless Style’
Portico Quartet – ‘Knee-Deep In The North Sea’
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – ‘Raising Sand’
Radiohead – ‘In Rainbows’
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset – ‘The Bairns’

Obviously I think Radiohead are deserving of the award but I wouldn’t be all that upset if Burial, British Sea Power, or Neon Neon walked away with the prize. Your favourites?

Download
British Sea Power – Atom
British Sea Power – Waving Flags
Burial – Archangel
Neon Neon – Raquel

On September 29, Mercury Rev will be releasing not one but two new albums. Snowflake Midnight is the “proper” album which you will have to buy; but if you sign up to their mailing list (done and done!) you will also be given a free “companion” record entitled Strange Attractor. Perhaps this is sort of a Kid A/Amnesiac situation? Maybe the label opposed a double album? Maybe they are just nice people who want to give away free music but still make a living?

Whatever the impetus behind the unusual release, I’m looking forward to it. Mercury Rev are capable of making some absolutely beautiful and moving music…take 1998′s Deserter’s Songs, for example, which is one of the finest albums of the last decade. Their last record – The Secret Migration – left me a bit cold but the first single from Snowflake Midnight has already pushed that disappointment aside.

An odd choice for a single, Senses on Fire doesn’t really feature a whole lot of lyrics or a standard song structure. But it is great song and (presumably) reflects the new direction the band have taken in the recording of Snowflake Midnight. Check it out.

Download
Mercury Rev – Senses on Fire

That works for me.

The Dark Knight opened this weekend. You may have heard about it. Amanda and myself, along with a couple friends, went to the 6pm screening at Sydney’s IMAX on Saturday night and it was perhaps the greatest cinematic experience of my life: the massive screen, the crowd reactions, the excitement…it all helped to make The Dark Knight an unforgettable film.

As for the film itself…well it’s amazing and I have a hard time trying to find a serious flaw. The performances are immense led by Heath Ledger’s performance as Joker. If you’ve ever wanted to know what might be going through a terrorist’s head then look no further than the Joker. In fact, the film has plenty of say about the recent/current political climate in the world (terrorism, surveillance, corruption, etc).

The plot takes some unexpected turns, the cinematography is beautiful (SEE IT AT IMAX IF POSSIBLE), and the score adds another layer of tension to the action…as if more tension was needed. Christopher Nolan is a genius.

I loved Batman Begins so I’d been looking forward to its follow-up ever since Batman flipped over the Joker’s card at the end of that film. Then when the viral marketing campaign kicked in last year the excitement just continued to build. The film had nearly impossible expectations to meet yet The Dark Knight exceeded every single one of them. Easily the best film of 2008 to this point.

While not essential to understanding or loving The Dark Knight, I think the more you explore the viral campaign the more you will appreciate parts of the film…in particular some of the more minor characters.

So take a turn down the rabbit hole…

Why So Serious
Gotham Cable News
The Gotham Times
Gotham Election Board
I Believe In Harvey Dent
I Believe In Harvey Dent Too
Trust Garcetti
Dana Worthington
Gotham City Rail
We Are The Answer

Critical response to the film has been nearly universally positive. Check out the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. /Film’s post about the film has garnered hundreds of glowing reviews about the film as well. They also point out that as of this moment, The Dark Knight has become the first film in a decade to knock The Godfather from the top spot on iMDB’s Top 250 list (though I expect the film will drop from that position quite soon).

I’m already planning on seeing it again.

Update: McNutt pretty much sums up my feelings with his excellent review.

Last night, two of Australia’s more enigmatic and powerful bands played the second night of their two night stand at the Annandale Hotel. Snowman and Baseball – who have each released one of my favourite albums of the year – were both absolutely enthralling last night. I’ll start with the headliners.

When I first heard Snowman’s The Horse, The Rat & The Swan I didn’t know what to make of it. One of my initial reactions was, “How will they ever pull this record off live?” Last night, they did. In fact, the band came out and played the album front to back and with a record as dark and fucked up as The Horse, that takes a lot of courage.

Opening with Our Mother (She Remembers), Snowman absolutely tore the roof off the Annandale. I was immediately struck by power of the drums. For the entire gig it sounded as though the drums were being played by the hammers of Thor. It was music you could feel in your belly. The band managed to recreate the density of the record by employing some creepy keyboard sounds, some violin, and even saxophone on one track. Throughout the gig I was just astounded at the intensity the band brought to the stage.

The band encored with a song I can’t recall at the moment…but it went on for ages. Lead singer Joe McKee ended up in the middle of the crowd where he proceeded to scream in my ear and then get the entire crowd to crouch down onto the floor as the song reached its finale. It was a memorable end to a memorable evening.

Setlist
Our Mother (She Remembers)
We Are The Plague
The Gods of the Upper House
The Blood of the Swan
Daniel Was a Timebomb
A Re-Birth
She Is Turning Into You
The Horse (Parts 1 & 2)
Diamond Wounds
———
Wormwood
The Black Tide

Earlier on Baseball took the stage…

After seeing Baseball back in April, I couldn’t wait to see them again. And last night they once again proved themselves to be one of Australia’s finest bands who really deserve to be heard by a lot more people. Tearing through a set that featured most of their great record Animal Kingdom, the band never once wavered in their intensity.

The highlight for me was the back-to-back punch of Mozart and the Whale followed by Soft Boy Factory but the entire set left me blown away again. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again:

NO ONE ELSE IS MAKING MUSIC LIKE THIS

Baseball are a revolution.

Baseball setlist (courtesy Wayne)
Gods And Stars-Priests And Kings
The Animal Kingdom
The Hospitality Song (Ode To Good Will)
Lines And Lines And Lines
It’s Gonna Be Hard Work And It’s Gonna Hurt
I Have Come To Ravish My Betrothed
The Wedding At Susa
Land Of Darkness – Land Of Dogs
Mozart And The Whale
Soft Boy Factory
Song Of The Righteous
Where We All End Up
Faith Like A Cross – Trust Like A Flag

All in all it was a very memorable gig and I consider myself lucky that I was able to see two bands that are so fiercely independent, powerful, and talented.

I’ve got some photos from the gig up on Flickr. And be sure to check out Wayne’s review of the gig too.

My favourite Australian album of the year – and one of my favourites of the year period – is Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! by some obscure little Melbourne band called Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. It’s one of those rare records that simply does not have a weak moment.

Lyrically, Lazarus was inspired by Cave’s continuing fascination with love, death, God, and America but this time the “comebacks” of the titular Lazarus and Harry Houdini are also touchstones. To say there is a lot to absorb with these songs is an understatement. It’s a record that rewards those who spend some time being sucked into Cave’s twisted tales which are equally harrowing and hilarious.

The Bad Seeds hold up their end of the bargain by supporting Cave’s poems with a broad sonic palette that mines the blues, post-punk, and straight-up rock ‘n’ roll. In fact, these guys are pretty much throwing down the gauntlet to bands half their age: this is how a rock record should sound, so either step up or piss off.

And I can’t let an opportunity to praise More News From Nowhere pass by. I friggin’ LOVE that song. It’s got this great swagger to it and despite being over seven minutes long, it could very easily just continue in that groove a whole lot longer. A perfect end to easily one of the finest records of the year. Don’t believe me?

Download
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

And you can check out three videos from the record below.

More News From Nowhere

Midnight Man

Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

I must see Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds live. Must.

Continuing with The Archives…

In early 2001, Richard Ashcroft toured North America in support of his debut solo record, Alone With Everybody. On February 7, the tour rolled into Vancouver and I seem to recall there being lots of buzz about the gig; I’m pretty sure it was moved to the Commodore Ballroom from a smaller venue in order to meet ticket demand.

The tour was more or less Richard in solo mode, occasionally accompanied by his wife (and former Spiritualized member) Kate Radley. I don’t recall much about the gig other than I really enjoyed it. The set featured a mix of Verve stuff (mostly from Urban Hymns) and songs from Alone. At the end of Bitter Sweet Symphony, Richard smashed his guitar and left the stage. It was the last gig of the tour, so perhaps he was letting out a little extra emotion.

Setlist
Brave New World
Lucky Man
Sonnet
Space & Time
On a Beach
Get My Beat
You On My Mind In My Sleep
The Drugs Don’t Work
See You In the Next One (Have A Good Time)
So Sister
New York
———
A Song For the Lovers
Bitter Sweet Symphony

Thanks to Yuki for the setlist!

Fun Fact
* After the gig we met Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland from Coldplay who were in attendance as they were playing the same venue the following night. I think meeting me was the turning point for the band who, at the time, were still kind of unknown-ish. World domination followed. Sorry about that.

I’ve always liked the video for A Song For the Lovers.

On September 23, Mogwai release their new album, The Hawk Is Howling. I’m interested to see if Mogwai continue down the road of (relatively) quieter and concise work of their more recent records or if some sort of artistic divergence is upon us. From the sounds The Sun Smells Too Loud (the first taste of the album) it could go either way.

Download
Mogwai – The Sun Smells Too Loud

I’ve read mixed reactions to the above track but I’m quite enjoying it. It’s somewhat fresh sounding for the band yet it remains unmistakably Mogwai. I do have a question, however. Why put a bald eagle on the cover of a record with “hawk” in the title?

The Hawk Is Howling tracklist
1. I’m Jim Morrison, I’m dead
2. Batcat
3. Danphe and The Brain
4. Local Authority
5. The Sun Smells Too Loud
6. Kings Meadow
7. I Love you, I’m Going To Blow Up Your School
8. Scotland’s Shame
9. Thank You Space Expert
10. The Precipice

Holy awesome song titles, Batman!

A few weeks prior to the album’s release, Mogwai will also unleash the Batcat EP on which the legendary Roky Erickson appears. Once again, check out the song titles.

Batcat EP tracklist
1. Batcat
2. Stupid Prick Gets Chased By The Police And Loses His Slut Girlfriend
3. Devil Rides

It’s a busy time for the Mogwai boys.

I’m a pretty big Beck fan. I’m pretty sure I like Guero and The Information more than most people. I picked up Modern Guilt over the weekend and I’m enjoying it. But…

Beck. Just. Sounds. Tired.

If you’ve heard the record, let me know what you think of it.

Chemtrails (Live in Amsterdam)