The Raveonettes at the World Cafe FAN

Recorded part of "The beat dies" but I was too close to a speaker so the sound's bad and unfortunately I moved too much, still it's a beautiful song, so there it goes.
(Still you can listen to the whole concert here on XPN's website)


For setlist click here.

A fine frenzy concert, 24 March, Philly + Chris Stills + Ferras

My pics from yesterday night's concert.


I'm posting even vids this time! (about time I figured out that button in my camera!!)


This guy rocked in English and French!!. Plus, any guy who's capable of looking at the crowd and say a girl "got me good" like he did wins my gold star. Avec une couple d' ... comme il faut, chapeau.
Concert was at the World Cafe (I sort of spend half my life there!).

Ok, video nr 1: A fine frenzy -"Whisper" (first time ever I uploaded a vid on youtube, btw) (and not me shouting at the end!)


Video nr 2 I made: Chris Stills' Landslide:


Video nr 3, Stills rocks the guitars


I'm sorry but I didn't get any decent pic of Ferras. I recorded a short vid though, if anybody's interested let me know. Otherwise I won't post it since I've almost run out of space in my youtube account because of the quality of the AFF vid I posted.

As for a review, I'm sort of lazy these days so just a couple of notes:

1. Sorry but Ali was not having her best night, I was surprised at how many times she came this close to actually yelling, and a few of the songs almost bored me (hence the amount of pics I took). I saw her in August last year, liked her more then. Still she's more than talented and she pulled up some tricks that left me mesmerized (like the "buuut" in Ashes and wine, not on the cd, that alone was worth the whole night).

2. Daxx oh Daxx, where were you? (Nielsen, lol). There was this different guy at the drums, was efficient but not nearly as classy or intense as Daxx, who plays the drums with that air I've seen in nobody else, like he's sipping down martinis in a crisp white shirt at a bar in the French Riviera, he's thaaat cool. I was looking forward to seeing him play again, bummer.

3. Wasn't the bass player for Chris Stills the one playing with Rufus Wainwright last summer?. I wish I could find out for sure. Seems Stills is a wise guy when it comes to choosing band mates!

Lizz Wright at XPN's Free at Noon

Some pics from last Friday's Lizz Wright concert

A very beautiful woman, a strong one too, not one of those nonsense blah girls this one. Great body expression, she sang so effortlessly and with such a beautiful voice it was cool to watch. Seven people onstage, great vocals, lots of people there to see her!.

"My heart", first single for the new album, is a pretty good song, soaked in rythm.

Lyrics to new Carina Round song

*UPDATE AUG 29th: Carina has posted the words here.

(*Note: there's probably quite a few mistakes, tried my best.)

See me down and see me out
See those wings you gave me
Watch me fly across the sea
Count the ways you made me

I walked in circles
Walked the line
Tripped through tangled heart strings
Made an enemy of time
Made a mess of all things
All things

Well I have thought, I think about
What and how to tell you
I have lived it seems without
Learning how to be true

That I mean every word I said
From deranged to divine
That I would do it all again
As if for the first time
The first time

Chorus:
The hoping
The head forgets
The heart will always remember
The hoping
The hand regrets
The heart remembers forever

I am sorry I am so
Full of things you don’t know
And as for the things you do
I am sorry for those too

Out of every broken heart
Broken rule and promise
I have made a rescue raft
I sail towards you on it
On it

Chorus

Do you
Do you want me
Do you know how to show
How to show these things
I just didn’t want to have to ask
I just didn’t want to
Least of all people, you

Well, should you find someone with whom
There’s no sugar or ?
With whom never to assume too much rain or a draught
Scratch your name into her heart
Scratch away all the doubt?
Scratch my memory from your brain
Scratch your fucking eyes out
Eyes out

Well I was put together wrong
Still I was made for you
When all stitches come undone
They’ll come together like glue
Like glue

Posted April 11th 2008

Lightspeed Champion XPN FAN

Just when you think you’ve listened to it all along comes a guy like Lightspeed Champion...such great tunes, voice, so much talent.
Act was him on the guitar (and piano for a minute when there was one available) and a violin player (Tom Clarke?). Band was not missed (though the additional vocals in the cd, by Emmy The Great, are more than worth mentioning -to die for when they take turns at the end of Dry lips ).
I don’t think he realizes how strange he looks in the pics and vids he posts. But after listening to him for a minute that stops being of any importance. And when he’s in front of you he’s just a guy with a funny furry hat, not scary, who I bet has a great sense of humour.
Then you come across the lyrics, that’s dare nr 2. I still remember when I was like 12 and this teacher made us write an essay on whatever would cross our minds during some minutes, our train of thought. I took it literally and wrote down what passed through my head, and unfortunately later it was me who she randomly chose to read the composition to the whole class. I got the most what’s-the-problem-with-her stares I’ve ever experienced, felt so exposed. That’s what I think Dev is about to a much higher level, he says what comes to his mind, just writes what he feels without censoring nor disguising it, one has to be thankful for such pure sincerity, it's so brave. More so when his is a peculiar world too, he’s been different since he was a child (health problems, trouble sleeping, you name it). Still, I can relate to most of what he expresses. There's pretty much nothing he doesn't dare to do (all sorts of instruments, made up words, even a 10 minutes song... I guess they call him a mad genious for a reason!) But (unbelievably) he's only 22, so there's also room for some goofy teenage nonsense (a tiny little bit). He did some censoring on his lyrics on the XPN gig though, told me laughing shyly it’s not easy to sing that to some crowds.
Sorry for my personal blabla that is of no interest, but I didn't know how else to convey the idea-
Another fact I love about his music is that although what he writes about is tough times & tough issues, it's in an upbeat mood full of irony that makes you deal with it in a different, hopeful state of mind. You won’t end up sad and depressed, he’ll actually make you feel better-
Songs like Dry lips, with tension escalating till it chokes you and then releasing it all with a big bang are such a triumph. Wow. Plus, who hasn't had one or two two year relationships that ended up a mess?
So this one’s going to be one of my favourites for a really long time. It was great to get to meet him (so good when the musicians you admire are not “famous” and you can talk to them like that, a world of difference...).
And kudos to him: World cafe concert, he was there with everybody else before going onstage (a bit hidden) listening to a quite terrible supporting act. That says a lot about what kind of person he is.
Said they’ll be back in Philly in June with the whole band. Looking forward to it.


PS Clues to his music:
*Relates to the world of comics (cosmic superheroes,...he's a big fan), also likes to draw a lot (turns up in some songs). See this for his favs.
*He suffers of chronic cramps in his stomach (hence the boiling guts,etc...of Dry lips, etc) and many food allergies (alcohol too, he drinks..it's not pretty, so goes the line in Galaxy of the lost), problems with sleep too (brought up all the time in his songs).
*He talks openly about all this and more in many interviews.
*He's super prolific, from time to time he posts free songs to download in his blog, myspace etc.
*As said, he's very comunicative (but shy); he's a blogger. He did a post on the "Philadelphia day" on the 8th of March, brough back funny memories (fire drill!!!!)!!.
*I wish he wouldn't use words like guts and motherf*cker though. Hmm

Cool

I don't normally post this type of things but this one's too good not to -plus, music at the end rocks-. It takes like 5 seconds to start, click here (love the flying sock toast!).
And this way to clean your computer screen's not too bad either!!

George Stanford at the WCL

Pics from this morning's XPN George Stanford mini concert.
Drummer's not in the photos but he was so good, I was this close to go up onstage and start hitting at the drums with him!!! (joke!!!!!!!!!!).

Setlist and other links here.
Next week Lightspeed champion is on, guy is like really strange/? but I liked his music at hello. Reeally talented, some "questionable" verses as far as lyrics go ( a bit too much) but so upbeat and ironic, a pleasure to hear. And the week after that they're off to Austin, so no FAN.