bardo 49: May 2009

but i'm gonna make it home tonight

hi. the only way to start it up again, is to start it up again.

bardo49
is back...

i think

if you are wondering what this blathering spam is about... i sporadically write about music. usually upcoming shows. i think you like music, therefore i am copying you on this. if you don't want to receive this/these... let me know. i won't send it to you.

i try to only write about music i like, and ignore music i don't.

having said that... some music can't be ignored.

in short, these emails will try to update you on upcoming concerts that i like. sometimes, rarely, i will write about recordings.

and so begin again>

ryan bingham | 05.08 | hotel utah : bingham was born in NM but raised in west texas. apparently lived a somewhat hard scrabble west texas life and then tried the rodeo circuit for a couple of years. after that, he started playing bars... until he was noticed. sounds like the bio of someone my age, but the kid is 25. so he is, like, 4 years younger than you'd think. ahem. anyway... he is not doing anything ground breaking. but it is refreshing to hear someone new who seems to be doing true outlaw country. the real props he earned, in my book, came with having terry allen (and bukka and joe) record on his first major album. he also did some guest vocals for a recent live joe ely album at this little club in austin called the cactus cafe.

booker t, bettye lavette | 05.09 | independent : i haven't seen booker t in a long time. and i've never seen bettye. i gotta imagine this would be a great time.

destroyer | 05.08+09 | cafe du nord: dan bejar is the driving force behind destroyer, who has released some amazing albums. he's canadian, and due to his penchant for "electric folk" often draws comparisons to early bowie, but to me his singing bears more resemblance to robyn hitchcock. a bit of a brit accent and a tad nasal. also, if you are a fan of new pornographers, he basically co-wrote their sublime album, "mass romantic". nodzzz is opening on saturday... more on them later. having said this, destroyer are also playing the starry plough in berkeley next month.

blowoff (bob mould) | 05.09 | slims : i have yet to see this, but here is what i gather... blowoff was/is a DJ event that bob mould began hosting in DC with friend rich morel. morel is a producer/mixer/etc who has worked with or worked over tracks by new order, the kills, etc. bob mould, if you don't know, is a god. bob's last solo works started leaning towards electronica and apparently these DJ events in DC was a mixture of him spinning electronica mixing in his own work and layering live instrumentation. last time i saw bob solo he played gamh (with his signature blue guitar) and layered electronica behind it.

the shins | 05.09 | fox : gold teeth and a curse for this town were all in my mouth

the vaselines | 05.11 | bimbos : the scottish quartet from the late 80s early 90s have reunited and are playing san francisco for the first time, apparently. borrowing heavily from the velvet underground's sound, the vaselines mined the rich possiblities of almost a cognitive dissonance... combining opposing ideas at the same time (naievete + obscenity, harshness + tenderness, delicacy + imprecision, manipulative + unplanned). in short, they were often as genius as cobain made them out to be.

cornelius, deerhoof | 05.12 | fillmore : when i first saw this pairing, i thought it odd. but then i saw some connection. they both make music much like a patchwork quilt, layering patterns and elements carefully. deerhoof tends to unique treble vocals, jangular and jarring. cornelius leans toward the atmospheric. yeah, i don't know what that means, really, either, so look them up. they are both incredible, but you should be ready for them, as both are explorative musically.

loudon wainwright iii | 05.14 | fillmore : one of my favorite songwriters, loudon explores his life, his choices and his emotions so thoroughly through his songs, it can take you aback. initially it may feel too much, as though you happened to drop in on a therapy session. before long, however, you are connecting and experiencing it as your own. these sessions run deep, but loudon is a master of making you smile and laugh with it. father of rufus and martha, and cameo in many a movie or tv show (mash, but most recently in knocked up, as the obgyn that disappeared)

steve earle | 05.14 | amoeba in store : steve's latest album is a collection of townes van zandt covers. i miss townes. i love steve and am looking forward to hearing the album. am always a little wary when someone does something like this, but i figure it IS steve and they ARE townes songs, so it's kind of hard to go wrong, right?

loney, dear | 05.15 | both : i have only heard one song from these cats. have not researched them. the one song is called "i am john". it's simple and clean, bright and cheery and childlike. belle and sebastian without the dark undertones. jens lekman without the baritone magnetic field.

sean hayes | 05.16 | independent : i'm not sure of hayes lineage, but he lives now in san francisco (or at least the bay area). a singer songwriter that with the next note tends to defy the category you just put him in. leaning towards the acoustic and soulful, he weaves between many an era of music. how deep can roots get in the windy dustbowl?

m ward | 05.16 | fox : imagine a dinged up old trumpet with a worn patina and a mute shoved in the bell. now imagine that trumpet being played by chet baker. that's m ward's voice. if m ward only had that voice, he would be making beautiful music. but he doesn't stop there. he puts care into what he sings. i cannot believe he is playing a place as large as the fox. he is the him in "she and him" and he is playing without "she".

i had intended to write more, but these will have to wait:

mogwai | 05.17 | regency :

doves | 05.18 | fillmore :

the kills | 05.19 | fillmore :

decemberists | 05.20 | fox :

pelle carlberg | 05.21 | rickshaw :

kings of leon, the walkmen | 05.21 | bill graham :

tv on the radio | 05.22 | fox :

kelley stoltz | 05.22 | cafe du nord :

the flatlanders | 05.23 | slims :

stars | 05.23 | uptown (oak):

the dears | 05.24 | independent :

lady sovereign | 05.24 | rickshaw :

animal collective | 05.26 | fox

rodriguez | 05.26 | slims :

peter bjorn and john | 05.26+27 | gamh : butch walker opens on 27th.

st vincent | 05.27 | bimbos :

m83 | 05.27 | mezzanine :

jenny lewis, the sadies | 05.28+29 | fillmore :

sun kil moon, mia doi todd | 05.29 | gamh :

isobel campbell and mark lanegan | 05.30 | bimbos :

the roots | 05.30 | davies :

graham parker | 05.31 | freight + salvage :

the field | 06.06 | mezzanine :

nodzz | 06.06 | hemlock :

erykah badu | 06.06 | warfield :

rogue wave | 06.007 | independent :

camera obscura | 06.08 | fillmore :

neko case, jason lytle | 06.09 | warfield :

the felice brothers | 06.09+10 | independent :

the lemonheads | 06.10 | slims :

constantines, crystal antlers | 06.11 | rickshaw :

she wants revenge | 06.12 | bimbos :

the church | 06.12 | slims :

the oh sees | 06.13 | independent :

bat for lashes | 06.13 | gamh :

au revoir simone | 06.13 | bimbos :

art brut | 06.15 | independent :

pj harvey | 06.19 | warfield :

destroyer | 06.20 | the starry plough (berk) :

grizzly bear | 06.21 | fillmore :

david byrne, devotchka | 06.26 | greek :

wilco | 06.27 | greek :

eric clapton, steve winwood | 06.29 | oracle (oak) :

deer tick | 07.01 | independent :

asia, yes | 07.02 | warfield :

rev horton heat | 07.06+07 | gamh :

duran duran | 07.07 | fillmore :

nodzzz | 07.10 | hemlock :

death cab for cutie, andrew bird | 07.11 | greek :

tortoise | 07.13 | gamh :

amadou and mariam | 07.13 | shoreline :

trespassers william | 07.19 | hemlock :

no doubt | 07.21, 25 | bigass pavilions :

handsome family | 07.23 | both :

wayne hancock | 07.24 | uptown :

jarvis cocker | 07.28 | fillmore :

stellastarr | 08.01 | slims :

sonic youth | 08.02 | fox :

mirah | 08.16 | somarts :

al green | 09.02 | warfield :

bonnie and taj | 09.16 | paramount :

jesus lizard | 10.17 | fillmore :