2008: Truths and Recollections

It is appropriate that as I write this I am recovering from the worst bout of the flu I think I've ever experienced. I say this because I haven't felt this awful, or lost so many body fluids since having seen Iggy & the Stooges perform this summer at Montreal's Osheaga Festival. 

As any festival goer knows pace is the trick. Having entered the festival grounds a good six hours before Iggy & the Stooges took to the stage meant a couple of hours of soaking up too much sun with friends, seeing some great bands and of course the suds. Nothing says "I'll regret this tomorrow," like a steady flow of cheap festival beer that has spent the better part of the day in the August sun. 

By the time Iggy & the Stooges walked out on stage I was in what could only be described as the perfect state to see this legendary firestorm of a band perform. Inhibitions having been diluted till they were all but gone had me screaming at the top of my lungs and fists pumping. Although the set list is a bit of a haze, I do remember it revolving mostly around songs from the  album Fun House (1970) and the seminal punk rock blue print The Stooges (1969). To say that Iggy Pop and Co. delivered a sonic Molotov cocktail thrown in the face of all who were there is an understatement. While Ron Ashton's riffs brought to life those bedroom air guitar fantasies, brother Scott on drums and auxiliary member Mike Watt on bass (of The Minutemen fame), kept the songs chugging along at breakneck speed. Iggy not only performed... he danced shimmied and contorted his body onstage like a young man a third his age. With every twitch and vein pumping scream, you could not help but notice that Iggy was sweating pure Rock and Roll. As I watched Iggy climb the equipment and eventually hump the monitors , I could not stop thinking that here is a man roughly my fathers age, shirtless and poised to attack like some sort of punk rock predator looking for his next conquest. Eventually Iggy invited whoever wanted to join him onstage...resulting in a mob of hugs and cell phone camera flashes, transforming the front man into a modern day Pied Piper of sorts. Iggy probably could have led them into the St.Lawrence river and they would have followed.

Upon returning home I spent the better part of the night throwing up and sitting on the can simultaneously (thank god for tiny Plateau bathrooms). Was it hours in the hot August sun? Too many skanky beers and over priced shitty hot dogs? No. Ultimately , I believe The Stooges shook me like a rag doll and then sent me home to lose bodily control.

  Rock 'n Roll has lost one of it's punk rock innovators with Ron Asheton's passing this January 6 2009, I feel very privileged to have witnessed such an awesome spectacle.

2008: Truths and Recollections

R.E.M. , Modest Mouse and The National

June 8th Molson Ampitheatre, Toronto

Ever since coming across the National's breakthrough album Alligator (2005), they have held a space on my virtual cd shelf alongside lifetime favorites R.E.M. There is a similarity between the type of music driving both these bands. The prospect of having your new favorite band open for your all time favorite band, mid-summer at an outdoor venue seemed too good to be true. The National's live show has come a long way since I first saw them supporting Alligator. They came across like a band possessed, playing as though something larger was at stake. The sound coming from the stage provided by brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner and brothers Scott and Bryan Devendorf, as well as multi intrumentalist Padma Newsome was overwhelming, especially for an outdoor venue. To the spectator, it could well have been their own living room. Matt Berninger commanded the stage while the band provided searing renditions from a set list that seemed to be picked with the idea of winning over all of R.E.M.'s fan base. The National can rock with the best of them, but they can also build a song emotionally, a quality that seemed to fit the sunset and and welcome in the cooler summer night.

R.E.M. has been my favorite band for over 18 years. They are akin to an old friend who gives more than it takes. No relationship in life is perfect and well, people change. The band's last couple of albums were tests of patience for the truest of fans, some wondering was the best behind them? With this years release of Accelerate R.E.M. proved that despite being spun around by Bill Berry's departure in 1998, it has again found it the energy and creativity that made the band a success story of 80's underground. The 2008 Accelerate tour was a celebration of their vast catalogue of music that it has created since 1983, Changing set lists nightly so that no two shows were the same. The band came to the stage playing new material such as "Living Well Is The Best Revenge" and "Houston" resting nicely between the fan favorites such as "These Days" and "Maps and Legends". As the show drew to an end, the band broke out into a stripped down version of "Let Me In ", a song written for Kurt Cobain from the 1995 album Monster, which made for an unexpected surprise. Other surprises came from Jonny Marr of Modest Mouse when he came out to guest on "Fall On Me". Witnessing Peter Buck's Rickenbacher backed by Marr's Rickenbacher made a daydream I probably had in high school come true.

Unfortunately I completely missed Modest Mouse due to an altercation at the beer stand. Apparently buying a beer as a thirty three year old adult in Toronto isn't cut and dry. 

Arcade Fire Miroir Noir

"Hello thanking for calling Neon Bible...."

The latest release from Montreal's Arcade Fire is a visual companion to their last album Neon Bible. Miroir Noir, Neon Bible Archives pieces together short films of Vincent Moon, which were shot between 2006-2007. Those familiar with Vincent Moon's previous work, whether it be the Take-away shows from his website or short films he has done for R.E.M. and The National, will no doubt know what to expect. Dark, grainy fly on the wall scenes unfold throughout the hour and fifteen minute film, offering snapshots of the writing and recording process that took place for their second album Neon Bible, as well as down time and live performances along the way. Although the film reveals a band in the process of creation, it does not reveal all that much. Fans of the band and their music perhaps looking for the gospel as to where these songs come from or perhaps a definitive live concert film, will find no answers here. What they will find however, is a glimpse of a band behind the scenes, playing, and recording what was to become a classic modern album by one of the most driven and artistically creative bands around today. Towards the beginning of the film each band member is depicted falling under hypnosis until all members are are lying on the floor. The footage that follows for the duration of the film plays out like abstract memories, blurred and incomplete, depicting the whirlwind of activity that the band encountered and lived through at home and on the road during that 2006-2007 period, as though it is emerging from their collective subconscious. There are  some great performances throughout the film, impromptu performances in elevators abound, backstage warming up, within their recording studio and of course on various stages doing what the do best, collectively blowing the minds of their fans through performance. One of the best parts of the film are voice messages left for the band through a 1-800 number used during the promotion for the Neon Bible album. Fans praise the band. Non-fans leave harsh messages and of course the lost souls... are just looking for answers. 

         This is the first DVD released by the band and therefore a must have for fans. The film is available as a download in various formats from the Mirioir Noir Website. This means you can immediately watch it on your computer while you wait for the actual copy to be shipped to your address. Downloading the double DVD limited edition with accordion packaging means you'll have to wait to watch that second disc of live performances until it arrives in the mail. Not a bad compromise for those who are torn between download purchases and owning the real deal.

Something here soon....

My carpenter's out and running about talking to the street 
My pockets are out and running about 
Barking in the street to tell what I have hidden there 

-R.E.M. "Life And How To Live It"