Radiohead at Blossom outside of Cleveland, "It brought me to my knees"

Read a concise and collected review at Cleveland.com...

SET LIST: "15 Step," "There There," "Morning Bell," "All I Need," "Pyramid Song," "Nude," "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi," "The Gloaming," "The National Anthem," "A Wolf at the Door," "Faust Arp," "Exit Music (For a Film)," "Jigsaw Falling into Place," "Idioteque," "Climbing Up the Walls," "Bodysnatchers," "How to Disappear Completely"
FIRST ENCORE: "Videotape," "Paranoid Android," "Dollars & Cents," "Reckoner," "Street Spirit (Fade Out)"
SECOND ENCORE: "House Of Cards," "Lucky," "Everything in Its Right Place"

I start this review with the setlist (DUH you are saying, we are here, now, reading this, aren't we?)... So, let me explain this absurdly placed addendum.

Radiohead are Magicians. The type of mind-fucking, poetically-speaking, know-it-all (and show few cards) types that have been notorious for being lynched or burned at the stake throughout history. They get into your brains, under your skin, deep inside your heart. They pet your deepest desires and then smash your ego in with itself.

They flat-out rock.

The first time I saw them, in Boston circa 2001 was perhaps the single best concert I'd ever seen to date. Things I'd never seen at concerts before were happening as if it was part of a master plan.

For instance... The community: While I'd been to a lot of concerts for a teenager, I had yet to see an audience so diverse. Not only were there obviously different tastes in music being represented (from the bondage-pantsed goth kids, to dead-heads and metal-heads), but there was such a variety in age, race, and visible social status. There were people smoking pot, people drinking beer, and people (like myself) who remained sober for the entirety. And we were not simply peacefully coexisting, but communing in a way that only those there could understand. If only we could do this as naturally on the streets...

The respect: This was my first Radiohead show. Most of the people I knew who revered them were junkies or just generally a bit psychotic. I had a respect for the Bends, and for the newer albums that had come out, but... well, I guess I just didn't know then. Well, during Pyramid Song, the crowd became silent. Not nearly silent, as I've seen a few times since, but like "i'm in church, communing with god, and getting high off of the preachers words. amen!". I could hear *everyone* in the venue, and when some guy, probably 40-50 feet behind me, whispered "Dude, I dropped my bowl", there were quite a few chuckles from the, oh maybe 200 of the people who heard this also. Then, back to pin drop silence.

And, as is known to happen at Radiohead shows, the essentially supernatural: During the "Rain down... from a great height" bridge in Paranoid Android, a plane passed overhead. Big whoop? We were so close to the airport that this plane blocked out almost the entire sky. It was inaudible, even at such a soft part in the song. And, it was blinking in time to the percussion. Did a plane-looking UFO simply come to take us all home? It seemed entirely possible at the time.

Listening to a mixwit by the author of the article above. I love moments like the "wooh!" "shut up!" "WOOH!" "SHUT UP!" moments in You and Whose Army? There is no better way than trying to shush someone else's experience to embody your own pet peeve.

I digress. My whole point in putting the setlist first is to say that Radiohead weave a story. They build up their lyrics, which may seem naturally divergent, a bit wacky, and deeply enlightened. The lyrics are merely the backbone for a body of art that includes all the fleshy, ethereal musical layers that make them demi-gods. The halo of light is their stage-show, which is more psychadellicaly there than any I've seen, while using a (relatively) simple light show with live video feed.

What is the story they are weaving? IMHO, it is a dawn-of-the-apolcalyptic evolution of mankind tale of lobbyists, lovers and loners, as told by a centaur from the center of the galaxy who is here on vacation and winds up getting trapped in a zoo and his only way to escape is to call home to his people by joining up with some other inmates set on becoming a big motherf*cking rock stars. He says "get me out of this dodge" while, on occasion, sympathizing with a bunch of kids who are broiled in fear, ecstasy and personal economic crises.

Will the centaur make it home? I'm not sure, but he did predict this whole thing. A voice of reason in an unstable time, he is pointing out our flaws, pushing our substance abuse in our faces, laughing at the spaces between us. What causes a human to feel? Because it certainly can't be these things we think. TV? Things upon things upon things...

What they're after is probably akin to Burning Man in the way that life goes beyond these material stockpiles which own our lives and dictate future experience. It is about letting things go, be them perceptions of how people should act when they are having an experience, or little hand-held devices that never leave our iron claws. Write on the sky, and let the clouds roll away.

What other experiences could you have? There were plenty of young people on psychedelics, smoking pot, drinking. There were also quite a few older folk there doing the same thing. There were just as many people who were straight-sober, perhaps a few like myself that were somewhere in the middle. You could be watching the stage, diving into the light show, absorbing the music, studying the musicians or the melodies. No matter what your preference, you would not be disappointed. Perhaps this is what a group experience should be about.

A group experience. A mobius concept. Something that can be perceived. Something unmangled by your individual perception. The truest experiences are like sharing a bed with god. Things make sense without any one person having to put any thought into them. Tears because of pleasure, tears of utter comprehension. A ride on the wave, a drive on the plains. "All matter can be reduced to a single vibration". To be experienced is to understand this, and, well, experience it.

Here was my connection to this experience (and links to lyrics so you can find yours. Find music clips HERE):
15 Step "It comes to us all / It's as soft as your pillow"
There There "we are accidents / waiting waiting to happen" ... and I'm thinking, what, will this be a "best of" set? not that you could avoid it, given the solid state of all their songs... But I've seen them start the show with TT before. Frustration with the crowd sets in. Everyone is silent and non-moving, like they're waiting for Pyramid Song.
Morning Bell "Everybody wants to be a slave / walking walking walking..." I've taken it in my own hands to dance like the goofass I like to be here.
All I Need "I am a moth who just wants to share your light / I'm just an insect trying to get out of the night / I only stick with you because there are no others / You are all I need"
Pyramid Song "All my lovers were there with me / all my past and futures / and we all went to heaven in a little rowboat / there was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt" For a minute, I was here before (again). Thinking of you, thinking of me, thinking...
Nude " You paint yourself white / and feel up with noise / but there'll be something missing"
Weird Fishes / Arpegi " I'll hit the bottom / Hit the bottom and escape"
The Gloaming "Murderers / you murderers / We are not the same as you"
National Anthem "Everyone is so near, it's holding on" Conductor waves, here's where you all start dancing now.
Wolf at the Door " dance you fucker dance you fucker / don't you dare" ("i'm glad someone else is feeling this")
Faust Arp "You've got a head full of feathers / you got melted to butter"
Exit Music (for a film) " Today we escape, we escape." don'tlooseyournerve
Jigsaw Falling Into Place "This place is on a mission... just as you dance, dance, dance"
Idioteque "This is really happening.... Here, I'm alive"
Climbing Up the Walls "I am the eyes in the cupboard" Right before this song started, everyone shifted after dancing to Idioteque. The sea of people parted. I was left with a straight-on view of Thom Yorke and his guitar center stage. No one moved back into this plane of vision. He was in my head.
Bodysnatchers "Has the light gone out for you?" (this - "I've seen it coming" is when I affirmed that Thom can time-travel, as I found out later to be verifiable)

How to Disappear Completely "I walk through the walls, I float down the liffy" Look for the lighthouse, follow the beacon - we arrived by beeline to our friends in a sea of 20,000 people.
Videotape "You are my center / When i spin away"
Paranoid Android "Why don't you remember my name?... The panic, the vomit / God loves his children"
Dollars & Cents "All Over the Clovers" This is, perhaps, when most people get it.
Reckoner "We seperate like ripples on a blank shore"
Street Spirit "Be a world, child, form a circle / before we all go under (immerseyoursoulinlove)" Thom still humbles me, i was singing along at the top of my lungs. No one told me to shush, a subtle affirmation.

House of Cards "No matter how it ends / no matter how it starts" Chad and I were being goofy during this song, making our dino-APU/ABA noises that seemed to freak some people out, but was well worth the laughter of others.
Lucky "Pull me out of the aircrash / pull me out of the wreck / cause i'm your superhero / we are standing on the edge"
Everything In It's Right Place " What, what was that you tried to say? " ... The crowds fade out, the trash is everywhere. People come to start cleaning up, they shut down the doors, they look at the tripping stragglers with a "you don't even get it" look. Who are you? "Have you seen my friends in the green shirts and khaki shorts" / "No, I haven't" / "They're right THERE!" (swings arms around to display three of them).

Radiohead must have had at least 50 full time tour people with them, sounds lights stage techs alone. Someone to pick out the stylish clothes they were wearing. Plus all the management and producers that coordinates such a presentation. Bravo to each and every one of them. So, perhaps it wasn't the best Radiohead set I've seen, but the worst radiohead show I've seen was still one of the best concerts of my life, and the best go well into the realm of Zen.

After the concert, my blotto friends and I sat on the lawn til they kicked us out. Everyone around us seemed to have stayed too, perhaps trying to ward of the XX,000 people who had attended the show. Everyone around us seemed to just sit there, nodding and occasionally verbalizing "yeah. yeah." That was about all we could do too. Many great moments with people, many

Got back to the car (miraculously, considering the mobs and the way a parking lot changes when it's half empty). Spun some fire while listening to Consider the Source. If I prevented a few people from driving while too intoxicated, then I did my job, I suppose. Got a chance to talk with some great people, including Melanie, who says that the three pinnacle bands of our generation are Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails and Tool. I think I have to agree with her. Though, despite my love for all three bands, Radiohead may have gotten a head above with me over the years.

Other shows setlists (more for my own record-keeping and the future possibility of making mixtapes to hear these stories again): Suffolk Downs circa 2001; Tweeter Center in Camden, 2003; Blossom 2003; Blossom 2008.

Consider the Source - best thing to do on a sunday

These guys are just flat-out awesome. If you see ONE more YIV show for the rest of the summer, for your own sake, make it this one. I will personally refund anyone who leaves unsatisfied, whatever your musical taste may be. This is the first stop outside of NYC on what will be a monumentally amazing 2-month tour.

Gabriel, a herald in his own right, played a double-neck guitar. But if I hadn't seen it, one may have thought it was a sitar. It also sounded like it may have been Jesus himself playing guitar. These are not compliments I throw out lightly. If he had not looked like an angel on stage, these would not be my chosen words. And the music he was making was even more impressive than his stage presence.

The caliber of musicianship in this three-piece does not decrease by order of appearance in this story. Instead, the three musicians interwove their instrumentation to a degree that was moving. Like shake-the-ground-you-walk-on moving. Like this-is-the-feeling-I-get-when-I'm-on-top-of-the-world moving. I applaud these guys for finding harmony within themselves that extends out in every direction to the corners of the universe.

John keeps the funky bass backbone going through all variants of quick turnarounds and polyrhythmic variations, and is one of the few electric bassists I've seen do a truly kickass bass solo. Like "wow, is that Jimi reincarnated as a bassist or what?" He seemed to be having a really great time on stage too, enough to almost spark a "man, I wish I were singing with these guys" twinge of jealousy.

James has a set full of various percussive elements, and you can hear him play doumbek on "Dumbekistan". Being able to switch off on the pieces of his kit without batting an eye, and still keep the foundation of the rhythm so solidly tight is a truly amazing feat. There is no lack of drummers who are able to do only one or the other, but this will not be a case of that. Instead, he gave me renewed excitement that, given enough dedication and love for an art, anyone can be a (musical/painterly/dancing) DaVinci.

Did I mention that they're also very friendly, humble guys? This is, again I reiterate, something I *never* take for granted.

The fact that Club Cafe wasn't sold out was obviously no measure of their skill. Of the uncountable shows I've seen at Club Cafe, this is one of the two best ever. The other, being very stylistically different, was John Hayes' Midnight Cabaret live. CTS could easily sell out the Peterson Center, give it a few years and 2 more albums. And, while their recorded music is really great, their live shows are even better. How often does that happen??

Honestly, if they're not picked up by a major label on this tour, I will lose all hope for the major players in the music industry. Or perhaps I'll offer to pick them up on my label, though there is simply no way I could do them the justice they deserve at this point in my career. They are Consider the Source, from NYC, after all.

PS - if you want to see me spin or eat fire at the show, just make a request here!

"See how it feels when we're water once more"

Thanks to a conversation about Mazzy Star, I was reminded of a recording session with the lovely Amanda Standalone.

One slow night at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern open stage, John is getting ready to shut down, when in walks a bubbly girl with a funny midwestern accent and a smile the size of lake Michigan. Earlier in the evening, I borrowed John's guitar and had a conversation during this process about how he rarely trusts people to play, but he wanted to hear me, and he could mostly trust me, "just be good to it". These are all sentiments I can relate to, as my guitar is at least a decade older than myself, so when she asked to borrow John's guitar to play a few tunes, I could understand his skepticism. It probably didn't help that she was self-described as buzzed off a few beers and had been walking around Pittsburgh all day (literally - from Regent Square to Bloomfield after god-knows-where).

John, being of the skeptical-of-his-own-skepticism breed, very slowly handed over his guitar. Or was it someone else's guitar? I forget. Either way, as soon as this silly girl from out-of-the-blue got on stage, we were all hooked. She sung a sweetly sad song about her brother off in Iraq, as well as a song about walking all day. If she made a mistake, she would laugh, that kind of "oh, well shit on me, guess I'll keep playing" giant and carefree laugh that can warm even the coldest hearts.

There were a few other chance encounters... the first Globalista Jam, a performance of her "Lady in the Window" for Art All Night the following night, the first-ever recording session at avienani studios a few nights spent hanging out... and then, just as quickly, she was headed back to michigan...

So I'm done reminiscing, and insist that you now go check out her music. Be impressed, unless you can somehow avoid it. I couldn't!

Rob helped with the description: Jolie Holland and Jenn Gooch gave birth to Mazzy Star.
Is this a style of music? If so, call me a fan... Add to the bands in this genre: hope for agoldensummer Any other suggestions? Leave a comment!

Who's in the Header?

Just designed a new header for this blog. It features some of my favorite performers, producers and projects from the city. OK, it's a bit sloppy, I'm working on it... This whole blogging thing is a lot harder than I thought it was gonna be! 

In the meantime, here are the people pictured. Thanks to Kevin Ross, among many others, for being members of the Pittsburgh Paparazzi Project.

Agnes Wired for Sound

Between Liberties

Black Market Body Parts

Button Pusha

EMay (that's me in the top left spinning fire)

Iron City Underground Music

Ishtar

Jalsah

Jazzam

Joy Ike

Phat Man Dee

Pittsburgh Skyline

Ukulucky (Buddy Nutt and Ukulizzy)

Your Inner Vagabond

Zafira Dance Co.

My one hope, by doing this blog, is that my list of favorite things in Pittsburgh will expand well beyond this list (though it is much longer already, to be sure... these were just photos I had available). OK, my second hope is that fans and musicians and promoters and spaces can coexist in perfect harmony to create a perfect pittsburgh scene.... Did I mention I'm an optimist?

Best in the 'Burgh showcase

Between Liberties was invited to be a part of a series called "Best in the Burgh", whose fourth event occurred last night. Typically, I am skeptical about singer-songwriters getting together to promote the singer-songwriter genre, for the same reason my college poetry professor abhorred poems about poetry: self-referential rarely means insightful or inspiring. People who want to pay a few bucks to see music want to *enjoy* it, and unless you're REALLY F*ING TALENTED, they don't want to see your up-and-coming days (c'mon, you know all S/SW's want a full band backing their songs) . Plus, I'm talking talented like Tracy Chapman, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen... you see? These kind of talents are few and far between, and take a lot of honing to become the stars whose names we all recognize (or, in LC's case, a mishap during surgery which accidentally changes the timbre of your voice). They don't show up at every singer-songwriter jam, they just don't.

This is why open stages are a great thing for singer-songwriters: they give a chance for an audience of (primarily) musicians to see them, critique their work, network, perhaps band up and play together (this is how Between Liberties formed, after all). But, when we're talking "showcases", singer-songwriters just don't draw a crowd beyond friends and family. And, if you're not a performer, let me tell you that it flat out sucks to pay to perform. It sucks to have your friends pay the venue for "giving you a stage", when you have to pay your tab, for your SO's ticket, in addition to your guitar and years of therapy. That's why many of us stay on the songwriting end: the energy and charisma it takes to perform often and well enough to draw beyond this built-in crowd is draining, not always rewarding, sometimes humiliating, and almost always life-consuming. Performers are a rough and tough breed, because we have to be to pursue our dream.

With that said, I typically choose not to be a part of a show which bills itself as a singer-songwriter showcase unless I think it will be awesome (I had this accurate hunch with the BitB show), or if I have something to do with the project. Like the Calliope Songwriter Circle CD release parties, the last of which put Sam Flesher, Peter Donovan and David King on stage at Your Inner Vagabond. While I'm on this subject, what a fantastic show: 2 of the 3 performers brought along accompanying bands; the crowd was of moderate size, but VERY APPRECIATIVE of the witty, engaging songs that these performers wrote. They audience came to listen, something which, for the reasons above, can be hard to come by for the singer-songwriters.

And as a mid-side note, one which will negate most of what I've said already, I've always been impressed with the caliber of the songwriters in Pittsburgh. Many of the older guys in the Calliope SWC have their heritage in the steel industry (like the wonderful Bruce Hoffman, who has kindly asked me to appear on his upcoming CD), and write songs about the working life and hard times in a way just as convincing as Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. These folks are not concerned about "hitting the big time" like a lot of the young folks, but about sharing their stories with other people who will listen and share their own stories. Now, like myself, there are a handful of women and young folks in the crowd, and many of their songs are likewise very honest and touching. Sue Gartland's sweet brand of folk music/stories of growing older and reflections on having children make me excited, nervous, and glad about eventually doing the same; Cathy Stewart's gritty country ballads are just flat out rockin'.

The Songwriter Circle's open-mic host and fearless leader, John Hayes, not only writes some of the most amazing songs I've heard come out of a Pittsburgher (like my favorite, with the chorus line "You can fuel the fight or you can fuss all night, but people have the right to be wrong", about socio-political differences and how it's divisionary nature is humorous, albeit painful at times), but he also provides insight to artists who are pursuing their dreams, helping them to recognize strengths and weaknesses that are not easily perceived from the inside. He has been a great mentor for me, and I know am not the only one who can say the same. John's CD release party for Midnight Cabaret shows just how good he is at picking up on talent: with four of the finest singers in the city appearing on the album, he had each of their personalities and strengths on display simply by giving them the songs which suited them best (Gail Novak got the sassy, funny songs; Autumn Ayers sang the songs of youthful honesty; Daphne Alderson sang songs that reflected depth and knowledge of a seasoned professional; and Christine Laitta got the theatrical character-pieces). If you know any of these singers, or you are a musician who has talked with him yourself, you know how spot-on John Hayes is.

Ahem...

With that (excessively) full disclosure out of the way, let me say that last night's BitB showcase was *phenomenal*. Joel Lindsey, a man of excessive talent himself, managed to pick a wonderfully diverse and exceptionally talented group of performers for the showcase. Joel's band was a lively accompaniment to them, and his addition of a Djembe player (not just a guy with a djembe, but one who makes music with the instrument), was perfect, really. As a duet, Joel and Jim were almost too talented for this small city, and when news of their 3rd piece came about, I thought to myself "he's got to be at least as good as these guys to have them stay afloat". Last night, I was not disappointed in the least, and I have a hunch that Boulevard of the Allies will travel a distance much farther than Downtown-to-Greenfield.

In addition to Between Liberties, the project I live and dream, there were (in order of appearance):

Sense in December - What a talented group of teenagers. Yes, these guys are bound for glory. As I assume they just graduated from high-school, their future is bound to be uncertain. However, I have no doubt that these guys, individually or in whatever form they pursue, could continue writing excellent pop-rock tunes for a long time to come. Their lead guitarist seemed to have an ear well beyond-pop-rock, throwing in a bits which were perhaps flamenco-inspired, perhaps inspired by rock and roll from well before they were born... These guys are who I am listening to while writing this blog, and while I can't say I've ever been a big fan of the emo-inspired genre, it is appropriate for that age group at this moment in time, and their singer was singing good lyrics which fit for the genre. It is a great amalgam of talents, and they meshed well, which is really the most I can ask for from any musicians, age aside.

Exit 57 - Molly Rae and her band came straight from music school, it is no surprise, they were a solid group of musicians writing songs about sensitive and important things most songwriters won't address. During their set, though, I was having problems with the sound: it's hard to take excessive boom out of a vocal performance when the voice is already a high-pitched one. It seems weird to take out all the low-ends on a voice like Molly's, but it would have made the most sense. My props to the sound man for doing a damn good job with all these performers, though. And I'll just tell you now that it sometimes really sucks to be a sound-tech while watching a show, just for these nit-picky reasons that most people will never think to notice... Still, Molly's expressive performance distracted me plenty from my sound-girl ears. Think Tori Amos, I think.

Derek Dysart - I can't really say anything pro or con about these guys, just that we must think on the same plane. Two days ago, Wytold (BL's cellist) and I found ourselves in front of a store display advertising color-therapy sunglasses. After many jokes about gonads and seeing god, we decided it would be fun to wear all-black and these sunglasses while on stage. Derek Dysart performed before us, however, donning the same sunglasses (one pair even the same color as my own), and it fit their cock-star all-the-girls-want-me persona way better than ours. So, half ashamed and mostly amused, we left the sunglasses off (we forgot to wear all black anyways). I could see people enjoying DD's songs, but I just couldn't get over the synchronicity of the sunglasses.

Christopher Laughry - we were getting ready for our set at this point, but what I caught of Chris and his companion, they were tried and true musicians who loved what they were doing. It came through in their songs and their performance, which was really nice!

The Lost Sea - Touching music, really. I enjoyed these songs thoroughly, despite having packed away most of my cry-myself-to-sleep music for the winter. I was disappointed, perhaps, with the fact that the singer wasn't at all interested in tuning his guitar on stage, and announcing this to an audience which contained a lot of musicians ("so rock and roll" said Chris of Boulevard of the Allies... but was it that kind of music?). Really, it's just nice when musicians value their music enough to value their audience's ears. Also, I can totally appreciate an artist not wanting to chit-chat with riff-raff after a show, but when I say "hey man, really enjoyed the tunes" and the response is a "here's our demo. it's not mastered yet" as a free, un-packaged CD gets pushed in my hands, well, it kind of turns me off to the idea of, you know, going to the release party, or approaching him again for, say, booking a show together. Perhaps they just weren't in the mood to make good first impressions, though, and I'll try not to hold it against them.

Nik Westman and the Central Plains - What a pleasant surprise, an old pal from open mic's past joins with his full band (a more acoustic-version than usual, apparently), and had such a great sound. What do they sound like? Well, the Central Plains, of course, perhaps the view from the back porch. A real and honest sound, gritty at times, bluesy at others, but mostly a low-key rock (not soft-rock, mind you, there were no keys or excessive backup vocals), chill and good spirited. Nik and his band mates are talented, to be sure, and are also good and kind people too, something I never ever take for granted.

The Deceptions - While I was perhaps too warm and burnt-out of good music (my ears get tired after hour 3) to truly appreciate their set, and instead mostly appreciated fresh air, I will say that the songs I saw of the Deceptions were rockin. The accordion was a great addition to a rock-and-roll set (who would've thunkit?). Solid, good ol' soft rock sound.

So, hurrah Joel, for an excellent evening of entrancing music, and I wish you continued success in your musical career. I will use my enjoyment of the evening as an excuse to ignore the bands' misguidance of the financial particulars of the charity... Just, as constructive criticism, try not to announce these accidentally during the show.