St. Vincent’s minimal-aesthetics detail-obsessed new video is an excellent excuse to check out her new album, Actor. Furthermore, once you do that, make sure to also pay her debut album, Marry Me, a visit, it’s a true gem. tinyways plans to cover St. Vincent later on after we see her live in February.
St. Vincent in a Glimpse
22-Dec-09Mixed Feelings: Regina Spektor, On Tour
05-Nov-09
It took me a while to fall for Regina Spektor a few years ago. Her anti-folk sound of Soviet Kitsch evoked Ani diFranco, Suzzane Vega and a bunch of other Contemporary Folk female artists. It just belonged to a different time. It was actually the more pop-ish sound of Begin to Hope that “discovered” her for me. Come to think of it, it was the visual language of Fidelity. I admit her last album, Far, is not one of my favorites. It’s a good catchy album, but it lacks the spark of Begin to Hope and the quirkiness of Soviet Kitsch.
The first time I saw her live was about 2 years ago. She performed solo in Tel Aviv. It was a real treat and gave way to all her quirkiness galore and piano virtuosity. Last night I saw her for the second time, in Seattle’s Paramount Theater this time. This time she performed with a proper band and it felt like the Regina-only charm was somewhat lost. Her piano just didn’t express itself the way it can and should. This all changed halfway through the show when she was left alone on stage and I just fell for her all over again. This is one darling that does it charm best when left alone.
The crowd, by the way, in both gigs was made up of an incredible amount of iphone-itweet-teens. Singing with her (did I come to listen to the screaming sweet sixteen next to me?) and screaming to her whatever came to their mind (there were quite a few “love you”s and a few suggestions regarding children). In some odd way, Regina has been positioned by her record label to attract this crowd.
Another note of warning: do yourself a dear favor and try to skip the warming act of Jupiter One. It varied from plain boring to just being pathetic.
Future tour dates:
10 Nov 2009 20:00 Verizon Wireless Theater Houston, Texas
11 Nov 2009 20:00 Stubbs BBQ Austin, Texas
12 Nov 2009 20:00 Nokia Theatre Dallas, Texas
14 Nov 2009 19:00 Pershing Arena at Truman State University Kirksville, Missouri
16 Nov 2009 19:30 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, Tennessee
17 Nov 2009 20:00 Thomas Wolfe Auditorium Asheville, North Carolina
19 Nov 2009 20:00 Louisville Palace Theatre Louisville, Kentucky
30 Nov 2009 20:00 O2 Academy Birmingham
1 Dec 2009 20:00 Academy Glasgow
3 Dec 2009 20:00 Apollo Manchester
4 Dec 2009 20:00 HMV Hammersmith Apollo London
7 Dec 2009 20:00 Cirkus Stockholm
8 Dec 2009 20:00 Cirkus Stockholm
10 Dec 2009 20:00 Rockefeller Oslo
11 Dec 2009 20:00 Lisebergshallen Gothenburg
13 Dec 2009 20:00 KB Malmo
14 Dec 2009 20:00 Huxleys Neue Welt Berlin
16 Dec 2009 20:00 Gasometer Vienna
17 Dec 2009 20:00 Kaufleuten Zurich
19 Dec 2009 20:00 The O2 Dublin
Indie Supergroup: Monsters of Folk
20-Oct-09
Don’t be fooled by the seemingly ridiculous moniker Monsters of Folk. Thursday night live at Paramount Theatre, Seattle (third show of their U.S. tour), the supergroup featuring M. Ward, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, and Bright Eyes‘ Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis proved to be real folk monsters, bursting with energy for their nearly 3 hours long show. The show varied from folk to Americana, from rock to country sounds. During the performance the band members would come and leave the stage and change dozens of guitars. MoF kept things dynamic and musically intriguing by joining each other for duos, trios, solo efforts, just as well as for their songs written together as Mosters of Folk. Oberst’s, Ward’s and James’ vocals and guitars blended flawlessly in a variety of styles and rhythms, while the group’s multi-instrumentalist Mogis could play pretty much everything from keybords to mandolin. From up-tempo tracks (“Whole Lotta Loosin’ “) to breezy playful folk tunes (“Goodway”) and Southern vibes (“Man Named Truth”) the Monsters of Folk enchanted the audience.
Fall Tour Dates
October
14 Portland, OR- Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
15 Seattle, WA- Paramount Theatre
17 Oakland, CA- Fox Theater
18 Los Angeles, CA- The Greek Theater
20 San Diego, CA- Spreckels Theatre
21 Phoenix, AZ- Orpheum Theater
22 Santa Barbara, CA- Santa Barbara Bowl
28 Omaha, NE- Holland Center
29 Minneapolis, MN- Orpheum Theatre
30 Chicago, IL- Auditorium Theatre
31 Louisville, KY- Louisville Palace Theatre
November
02 Toronto, ON- Massey Hall
03 Boston, MA- The Orpheum
06 New York, NY- United Palace
08 New York, NY- Beacon Theater
09 Philadelphia, PA- Academy of Music
12 Stockholm- Philadelphia Church
14 Berlin- Huxleys Neue Welt
15 Copenhagen- Vega
17 London- Troxy
18 Paris- Elysee Montmartre
19 Koln- E-Werk
21 The Hague- Crossing Border
22 Antwerp- Crossing Border
Stranger [MP3]
Puke [MP3]
To me it feels like Bang! is full of wishes. It evokes the image of the Dillinger Girl begging and wishing in front of her Baby Face Nelson. Musically, this record exists somewhere between Jazz and Contemporary Folk. Our Dillinger Girl is a demanding woman, craving, lusting, sexual and warm. This record has a wonderful voice, the voice of a lustful love with all its fear and hope.
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