::Special Note::  Most of the blogs for the next several months are going to be about my life through the audition process.  I plan on being incredibly candid…and I plan on complaining, and being incredibly self important, as blogs tend to go.  But, I also intend on being incredibly honest.  I am auditioning for MSM, NEC, UMD, UNT and Stony Brook.

The grad school scramble has began for many of the people here at Peabody.  Everyone trying to get in their apps, papers, audition materials, et al. into schools, symphonies, and our ever-demanding professors.  :)  And, I can’t help but think (maybe it’s the gaping hole in my checking account)  that these Colleges are milking us for all we have.  I spent $500 on applications this year.  JUST applications.  This is the “thanks for letting me audition” money.  This isn’t counting the amount of money it’s going to take to get to the auditions!  AND the fees they will charge for an accompanist.   When did schools all of a sudden start asking for accompanists for auditions?  Do you really need to hear me with my accompanist for you to assess how well I play?

I really think the whole thing is this big hoop, lit on fire, set 30 feet off the ground.  I suppose this is just me, jumping through the hoop in my tired, fuel-less motorcycle.  Oy.  All of it is just to weed you out….How badly do you really want to go to the conservatory you’ve been dreaming of going to your whole life?  $100 bad…that’s how bad.  How long have you been dreaming of getting a doctorate?  $500 long…that’s how long.

All in the name of pursuing our dreams, yes?

On the bright side, Auditioning for 5 schools brings me closer to that dream.  And I get to audition for some awesome people!  I mean, the faculty at MSM is amazing.  Martin Kuuskmann is possibly my idol.  And then Frank Morelli…I don’t think I would have a complete bassoon recordings collection without his sound in it.  Oh his sound…ohhhh goodness…I want it.  And of course, the whole bassoon studio faculty at NEC is incredible!  I mean, who wouldn’t want to study with members of the Boston Symphony?

I will continue stretching, scrambling, and warming up for what I consider to be the most exciting 6 months of my life (so far)

As I stated earlier, my sister is also having the vertical sleeve surgery.  Brenda is now just days from her surgery date of December 2nd, just 4 days away!   She’s 8 yrs older than I am and such an inspiration to me in this.  I’ve always looked up to her. She is incredibly intelligent and thinks things through. She’s also a nurse so has some deeper understandings of things than I do. We joke often about what a pest of a sister I was following her around, copying her and generally being a nuisance. LOL Guess some things never change cause here I go following and copying again.   What can I say, I know a good role model when I find one!

Per Dr. Gluck’s instructions, she is on a liquid diet. Dr. Gluck requires this 2 wks prior to surgery and for 3 wks after surgery.  She says it’s really not that bad and the protein shakes are okay. She shared the tip with me that vanilla shakes are the way to go so y0u can flavor them any way you like.  She’s used sugar free jello to flavor her’s. That’s genius. Fruit would also be a good additive prior to surgery but after surgery, you aren’t allowed any ‘bits, pieces or chunks’ in your liquid diet.

The reasoning for the liquid diet before surgery is to help shrink the liver, which sits like a hat on top of the stomach. This greatly helps the surgeon to do his job and further protects yourself from possible injury to this fragile organ.

The reasoning for the liquid diet after surgery is to promote healing and prevent leaks. You must remember that 80% of your stomach is now gone and that means you have a large incision on your stomach. Putting chunks of food in there could spell disaster.  Time to be kind to your body. Besides, I doubt it will be that hard anyhow. I really don’t think food will seem that appealing for awhile anyhow. I’ll share what Brenda has to say about this later.

Jolene, Brenda’s daughter, is scheduled for her vertical sleeve gastrectomy on December 23rd. Hopefully, her Christmas gift will be going home from the hospital to begin her brand new life.

We had guests again during this weekend and we decided to try the *industrial path*: We showed them what the meatpacking district is all about popping into 1)a bar 2)jolene and 3) karriere bar. The next day we had a visit at Carlsberg’s factory.

Meatpacking district is located below Istedgade in Vesterbro district ( really close from the central station Kobenhavn H). Former or still a bit existing place where the meat is packed and maybe a bit processed. Among all those warehouses during the weekends you can discover many clubs/bars with a bit of different style.

We had been to Jolene before ( always a surprise because it is always different music in there!), we were always wondering about Karriere Bar which is just near by. Usually we just get rejected due to their unexplainable rule of 21 or 23 years old barriere- our group is diversified therefore there is always someone with a lower age.

This time we made it and it was great. Beer, music etc.

amazing lamps in karriere bar

Actually, the age difference was quite visible. It looked as if the average was about 35/40 years old. However, the music was really good to have fun to and at about 2 o’clock it became packed.

If you ever get in there watch out for your belongings- despite sway looking suits and shirts sometimes your posession can get missing and the night is not as fun as it could be before.

Sample from last night:

website: http://www.karrierebar.com/en/

While – for the most part – I’ve been fairly disappointed with the concert scene in Boulder/Denver over the past few years, there is one artist on this earth whose presence MORE than compensates. Ladies and Gentlmen, I’d like you to meet Ray LaMontagne. My good friend Chris and I have been lucky enough to go see Mr. LaMontagne a couple times in concert, and when we saw him perform earlier this week at the Opera house in Denver, well….let’s just say it’s good to know that there’s still music that can give an entire theater goosebumps.

Thought I’d share a little video with everyone of him “performing” one of my favorite tunes. This clip is funny, though, considering it’s a recording session taped for some AOL radio gig — He spent a solid five minutes at the concert talking about how much he hated radio gimics. Sorry Ray, but this video is just too good to not share.

Når noget godt går hen og dør ud, bliver man nogle gange nødt til selv at tage initiativ. Det var det mine to veninder, Danielle og Michelle gjorde sammen med et par venner, da den populære klub Indie Night på Stengade 30 løb ud i sandet. Og med henblik på en hel festival i Råhuset til foråret, laver de derfor nogle prøveaftener inden under navnet The Banana Hold-Up, hvoraf den første foregår i aften på Jolene inde på Vesterbro. Hvor de fire venner vil stå bag pulten og spille en blanding af lækkert indiepop, C86, britpop, twee, 60′er pop, northern soul og yé yé, eller som de selv beskriver det på deres facebook gruppe:

Vi spiller en smuk blanding af forskellige rariteter, naturligvis af utroligt høj kvalitet og som helt sikkert vil få alle ud på dansegulvet!

Der er lagt i ovnen til en superfestlig aften, så kom friskt! Jeg håber i hvert at jeg selv kan nå og opleve noget af den.

Hvad: The Banana Hold Up
Hvornår: 14. november kl. 22-03
Hvor: Jolene, Flæsketorvet 81, Vesterbro.
Hvordan: Gratis

earlier this week, i droned on in a post about my ears being blessed with the sweet sound of william fitzsimmons. from there, a twitter exchange began between myself and two other ladies, janey and mia, a blogger, writer and interview-extraordinaire for all things music, tattoos and lesbians (read some of her interviews and hilarious quips here: afterellen.com and chicagonow.com — am i missing any?)

what i found out during this exchange: apparently, i have a penchant for bearded men. and thus, this week’s top 5 bearded beasts of wanderlust was born.

joe cocker :: delta lady

i would be remiss to not include the legendary joe cocker. my absolute number 1 of his, is delta lady. in fact, if ever my buds and i step inside the infamous dive bar tin-n-lint here in ‘toga (THE very spot where don mclean wrote american pie. no foolin’.), i MUST play this song on the jukebox. if someone threatens to leave before it plays, all hell breaks loose. viva el cocker!

ray lamontagne :: jolene

(come on, you obvy knew i’d include him.) jolene was my initiation into ray. it is what made me fall madly in musical love with him, and i will never forget how it hit me right in the ticker with such a powerful thud. i mean, who writes this beautifully? “a man needs something he can hold onto / a 9-lb hammer / or a woman like you / either one of them things will do.” STOP IT.

the black keys :: things ain’t like they used to be

this song really needs no explanation. maybe it’s the emotion behind his voice, maybe it’s just the incredible way he manages to soothe a broken heart. all i know is that i play it over and over and over and …

bob schneider :: a long way to get

i posted this song before, i know. but yes it’s so good, it deserves a double-take. when i think of schneider, i think of home. and i think of her. but mostly, i think about how much life–even at 31–is left to live. this song just manages to keep my head above water, and there are many days when i need that as much as leo needs to drop boonies in eli’s box immediately upon arrival at aunt carey and uncle robby’s.

the black crowes :: nonfiction

if i would be remiss not to include joe cocker, i would be a bloody fool to leave out the man, chris robinson. this beauty of a song makes me want to lie down in the warm summer grass and make out between sips of beer.

enjoy, friends. and happy friday.

Getting into the Autumnal Spirit. And other spirits as well. As it is snowing here.

Veronique Samson | Amoureuse

Dolly Parton | Jolene

Nouvelle Vague | Too Drunk to Fuck

Del the Funkee Homosapien | Get it Right Now!

The Avett Brothers |Die Die Die

and if you’re feeling Pumpkiny,

World Inferno Friendship Society | Pumpkin Time

PS: If you like Del, (yes he is the guy from the Gorillaz songs) download the stimulus package here.

]]> http://jamtex.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/saturday-at-austin-city-limits-festival-2009/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:35 +0000 jahue http://jamtex.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/saturday-at-austin-city-limits-festival-2009/

Saturday at Austin City Limits the rain came down and drenched Zilker Park. Festival goers went undeterred as the puddles turned into seas of mud. The first band I saw was Mute Math, who played a mean version of 
”Spotlight.” MUTE MATH mashes electronica and hard rock. These New Orleans musicians are excellent entertainers putting on quite the show. Lead singer and keyboardist Paul Meany literally did flips while playing his keys. Also MUTE MATH has a wonderful collection of interesting instruments from space-age synthesizers to wild effects pedal boards. Following Mute Math, I caught part of Canadian singer-songwriter Sam Roberts’s set under the tent. I heard someone describe Sam Roberts as the Canadian Bruce Springsteen and certainly the comparison seemed apt.

The rain really started to fall as Citizen Cope took the main stage. Despite the rain Citizen Cope served up some spectacular music. His laid back flip-flop rock lightened the mood with   “Back Together“
  and
  ”107°.”   And a mean version of the protest song “Bullet And A Target”  brought energy to the wet crowd.
 Clarence Greenwood aka Citizen Cope capped the set with the ballad  ”Sideways.”

Next Jamaican reggae superstar Eek-A-Mouse filled the Wildflower tent with reggae lovers and good vibes.  This unique singjay performed his smash hit  ”Ganja Smuggling”  to a most appreciative audience. Interesting enough the Mouse also performed a cover of Dolly Parton’s classic country song
 “Jolene.”  It was amazing. The Mouse soaked up the Texas outlaw sound dropping gun-slinging rhymes and rawhide whips.
 Eek-A-Mouse is quite the entertainer demanding crowd participation and ensuring sweet reggae grooves. With the crowd shouting “Irie” the Mouse dropped the reggae classic  ”Wa-Do-Dem” and closed with  ”Sensi Party.”

Mos Def performed on the AMD stage playing a red hot version of 
”Casa Bey”  from the new album The Ecstatic. The Brooklyn rapper also covered one of Bobby Brown’s love songs “Roni.”  The smooth voice and bass heavy beats of this young rhyme sayer leaves fans bobbing their heads.

Devotchka turned out to be the highlight of the evening. In fact, I consider Devotchka to be the nicest surprise at the festival this year. I knew certain bands would kick ass. But I wasn’t even planning on seeing Devotchka until some of my friends talked me into seeing them. The Denver-based band of gypsies rocked and rollicked. One amazing performing burlesque artist glided above stage on a giant red curtain. Devotchka includes multi-instrumentalists Nick Urata (vocals, guitar, trumpet), Tom Hagerman (violin, accordion), Jeanie Schroder (sousaphone, bass), and percussionist Shawn King. I highly recommend seeing this band. You will not be let down. Their music is beautiful and fun. One of my friends said she liked to listen to this band when she cleaned. I can see why. It doesn’t matter if your are cleaning or standing in the mud Devotchka deserves a listen.

The Dave Matthews Band headlined Saturday night. The group played my favorite song off the new album Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King entitled  ”Funny The Way It Is.” Also from the new album the boys kicked out “Shake Me Like A Monkey” and “Spaceman.”  The Dave Matthews Band played some classic tracks, including “Jimi Thing” and
 “Cornbread.”
 And after a brilliant cover version of the Talking Heads song “Burning Down The House,” launched into the crowd pleasers
 “So Much To Say,”  
”Ants Marching,” and  ”Two Step.”

Ray LaMontagne

Royal Albert Hall – Autumn Tour 2009

It’s an ambitious solo artist (or a solo artist’s ambitious management) that books two consecutive dates at such a venerable institute as the Royal Albert Hall, especially when most of that artist’s fan base still don’t really know how to pronounce his name.  In any case, by the time legendary alt. country producer Ethan Johns arrived on stage to entertain Ray LaMontagne’s (pronounced /laːmɒnˈteɪːn/, according to Wikipedia) audience with acoustic styled country love ballads, the Hall was looking disconcertingly bare.

After Johns had dutifully filled his slot with what can only really be described as amenable warm up patter, it was time for Josh Ritter to woo the crowd with his own particular brand of alt. country, (what a manner of sins that genre covers!), yet woo he did.  With the type of closed harmonies usually found in barber shop quartets, Ritter, his guitarist and a truly adventurous double bass player performed a choice selection from his extensive back catalogue, ranging from the soft protest of the Dylanesque ‘Girl In The War’ to the vitriolic barnstorm of ‘Harrisburg’, before closing with ‘Kathleen’, vamped up in true glorious style.

During Ritter’s support act, the rest of the seats had been filled by audience members, either drawn to the country troubadour’s engaging performance or capitulating to the polite but incredibly firm warnings from the overhead speakers, announcing that Ray was soon to take the stage.  When he arrived, complete with a full backing band he could see that his prestigious name, no matter how difficult to enunciate, had managed to fill the house.  Opening with the sparse epic that is ‘Be Here Now’, he moved quickly on to ‘Empty’, which, as fans will know, are the inaugural two tracks on his second album ‘Till The Sun Turns Black’.  Uh oh.  This wasn’t going to be one of those gigs that sounds as if someone has just put the CD on really loud, was it?  Never fear, for as soon as he had cut loose those two beautiful albatrosses from his proverbial neck, La Montagne led his band through a set that at once soared, floated, touched and crushed the audience with emotion, with the music of a seasoned bluesman, lyrics of a heartbroken vagabond and the voice of a dusky angel.

Set highlights were not the ones that were to be expected; sure, hits like ‘Trouble’ and ‘Three More Days’ were delivered with the style and panache that one expects from a performer who has spent the better part of a decade on the road, but it was the ‘album’ tracks that turned out to be the real gems, with ‘Till The Sun Turns Black’ offering the audience a five minute exposure to the type of open heart surgery only available to man and a microphone.  His reputation for not engaging his audience with the standard ‘Anyone here from out of town?’ fare that many musicians feel it necessary to proffer had obviously proceeded him, with screams of, “Talk to us, Ray!” being warbled by the more restless members of the audience.  His own silence was actually the key to quietening these interruptions, allowing his music to speak for him; to the man who began singing ‘Wonderwall’ at the stage, please return whomever’ ticket it was that you stole and never again return to a crowded place, as you are essentially an oxygen thief.

The encore opened with a wonderfully appropriate cover of Dylan’s ‘The Man In Me’, then the desolate ‘Jolene’ ended what had been a beautiful night, a halcyon, Dorian Gray type of song, one that never grows old no matter how many times it is visited.  With LaMontagne’s ability to host nights like this night and continually put out such music of pure, unequivocal emotion, perhaps for his next record even two nights at the Royal Albert Hall won’t be enough.

David Harfield

(http://www.roomthirteen.com/live_reviews/6172/Ray_Lamontagne_at_Ray_LaMontagne_Tour_Autumn_2009.html)

This is the first gig I have been to where I scrawled nothing useful on the page besides “A-fucking-mazing!”

The troubadour was as packed as I have seen it.  There were young folks, old folks, tattooed, pierced, formally dressed, country and city folks: everyone was there.

On the stage sat a plethora of beautifully maintained and acutely loved instruments patiently waiting for their strings to be picked.

Through the crowd, all with a drink in hand, came the band everyone had been waiting to see.  They looked such a diverse bunch of men at first glance, all differing in appearance and stance.

Once the first song was played (Can’t Steal My Love) the visual diversity dissolved and was replaced with a unanimous sense of passion.

Everyone who could, jostled to the front of the intimate stage to get as close as possible to the magnificent bluegrass-like sound.  It couldn’t be helped, toe slapping, knee knocking and arm swinging country moves were taking place in every direction.

The best song of the night was “Jolene”, I had to subtly wipe a tear from my eye as the five man harmony filled every void in the venue with hauntingly perfect pitch – Dolly Parton was far outdone.  I don’t think there has been a better combination of artists since Crosby, Stills, Young and Nash.

They not only created unarguably the best music I have heard all year, they also made me laugh.  How can five individually brilliant men come together without a little onstage banter?  Their jovial disagreements and light hearted sense of humour was hilarious and somewhat endearing.

Sime Nugent, Danny Widdicombe, Ben Salter, Andrew Morris and John Bedggood who initially formed ‘The Wilson Pickers’ as a sideline gig to their solo careers are touring Australia at the moment to release their new album “Land of the Powerful Owl” (wherever you are get out to see them).  I have not stopped playing it (although it is not as good as seeing them live and absorbing their over-powering energy), it has now taken number one on my “must own” list for the year.

Check them out on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thewilsonpickers

Since the movie Whip It opens today, here is After The Show’s overview of Whip It’s soundtrack.

The soundtrack has 21 songs — most tracks are album only, so it makes sense to purchase the entire album on iTunes for $9.99.

Tracklisting:

1. Pot Kettle Black – Tilly and the Wall

2. Sheena Is a Punk Rocker – The Ramones

3. What’s the Attitude – Cut Chemist, Hymnal

4. Bang on – The Breeders

5. Dead Sound – The Raveonettes

6. Blue Turning Grey – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

7. Your Arms Around Me – Jens Lekman

8. Learnalilgivinanlovin – Gotye

9. Boys Wanna Be Her – Peaches

10. Jolene – Dolly Parton

11. Caught Up in You – .38 Special

12. Never My Love – Har Mar Superstar feat. Adam Green

13. Black Gloves – Goose

14. Crown of Age – The Ettes

15. High Times – Landon Pigg, Turbo Fruits

16. Unattainable – Little Joy

17. Lollipop [Squeak E. Clean & Desert Eagles Remix] – The Chordettes

18. Doing It Right – The Go! Team

19. Breeze – Apollo Sunshine

20. Know How – Young MC

21. The Road to Austin – The Section Quartet

Highlights:

“Pot Kettle Black” by Tilly and the Wall:

“Dead Sound” by The Raveonettes:

“Your Arms Around Me” by Jens Lekman:

“Jolene” by Dolly Parton:

“Doing It Right” by The Go! Team:

Literally just got back from a sneak preview of Fox Searchlight’s new potential sleeper Whip It! Gotta say, I really enjoyed it. Good job, director-lady Drew Barrymore. Good job, cast of rad ladies. If you follow this blog and like what you read, I think you should see it. Let’s watch that trailer one more time.

I’ll admit that certain things are problematic, like the “hey, we’re at Waterloo! Hey, we’re watching The Jerk at the Drafthouse,” feel of certain scenes. And there’s certain a potential argument to be formed out of how white roller derby appears to be, based on the movie (Eve is the only woman of color I saw represented, playing Rosa Sparks, a member of the Hurl Scouts). Also, Hurl Scout teen rookie and protagonist Bliss Cavender has a coming-of-age romance with an indie rocker named Oliver that, while it ends up being far-from-idealized, is unnecessary to me. Finally, I think the movie gets a little too plot-heavy at the end — I really don’t mind a movie that focuses more on character development instead of pushing action forward. Though most of the movie was shot in Michigan, it takes place in and around Austin. We keep it relaxed here, and I feel like the movie really flies when it keeps story structure loose. 

That said, I found it to be a delightful, feel-good movie with a great feminist message: be your own hero. So let’s run through why I think you should see it when it comes out later this month.

1. Ellen Page brings it as Bliss. I still don’t know if it’ll catapult her to mega-stardom, but these sorts of roles fit her like a worn-in pair of jeans.

"Oh, I got this part down"; image courtesy of aceshowbiz.com

2. Alia Shawkat plays Bliss’s bestie Pash. She a) is totally awesome and funny, b) should be in more things, c) rocks a hot vuluptuous body, and d) should be my friend.

BFFs Pash and Bliss; image courtesy of aceshowbiz.com

3. Ellen and Alia are totally convincing as friends, both on- and off-screen.

4. To that end, all of the female homosocial relationships are interesting — especially the intergenerational ones Bliss forms with mentor Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig), nemesis Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis), and her beauty pageant enthusiast mother, Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden). Most of the characters, almost all of whom are female, are thoughtful and well-developed.

Juliette Lewis's Iron Maven and Bliss Cavender's Babe Ruthless don't meet cute, but in the end make friends; image courtesy of trailertracker.wordpress.com

5. Some good dude allies, particularly coach Razor (Andrew Wilson) and proud papa Earl Cavender (Daniel Stern).
6. Interesting class touches as well. Bliss is decidely lower-middle class. Her mother works as a mail courier. Bliss’s team-mates seem to suggest similar class backgrounds. Wiig’s Mayhem is a single mom. Kick-ass stunt woman extraordinaire Zoë Bell, who plays former Olympic figure skating contender Bloody Holly appears in scrubs, suggesting that she is either a nurse or a med student. And Drew Barrymore’s Smashley Simpson plays Austin’s most popular Whole Foods bagger.
7. Neat little feminist music geek touches abound. Note that Bliss gets Oliver to start talking to her by escaping a house party scene to play an album in an empty room upstairs. Giggle at the scene when Bliss and Pash dance together at their part-time job at a local greasy spoon, reconfiguring the words to Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” to be about the sad failure that is their hometown of (fictitious) Bodeen. Show your Texas pride by clapping along to Bliss and Oliver’s a cappela version of “Deep In the Heart of Texas” (we did at our screening). And beam at the realization that Bliss’s beloved Stryper t-shirt comes from her mother’s closet.

8. Girl-on-girl dancing and, I believe, implied girl-on-girl romance between Rosa Sparks and Ari Graynor’s Eva Destruction. When they shoo derby emcee “Hot Tub” Johnny (Jimmy Fallon) away from the jacuzzi at a house party after a meet, I think it’s just as much because they’re into each other as they aren’t into him.
9. Girls fall down and get bruised and get right back up. Sometimes someone helps them. Sometimes they help themselves. But they never stay down, even if they don’t have their next move plotted out yet. Always a good lesson, one that I hope will inspire many ladies to join a derby league or start playing some other sport. Fuck, now I wanna strap on some skates myself.

The Rumour Said Fire: The Life and Death of a Male Body (A:larm), VÖ: 21.9.2009

The Rumour Said Fire-Releaseparty im Jolene, 24.9.09

Die großartige EP von The Rumour Said Fire hätte ein besseres Releasekonzert verdient, doch das Debut der Kopenhagener wird sich wie ein Lauffeuer im ganzen Land und darüber hinaus verbreiten und kein Regen wird es löschen können.

Der Herbst hält endgültig Einzug in Kopenhagen. Ein dunkler, kalter Donnerstagabend. Es gießt in strömen und es wird wohl die nächsten Wochen so bleiben – aber „your mouth taste like sunshine“, denn The Rumour Said Fire feiern heute die Releaseparty ihrer EP im Jolene.

Seit Liedschreiber und Sänger Jesper Lidang mit dem Gitarristen Søren Lilholt, dem Bassist Kasper Nissen und Schlagzeuger Christian Rindorf im Maj 2008 das erste Mal zusammen die Bühne betraten, hat sich das Gerücht dieser Band in kürzester Zeit wie ein Lauffeuer in der Stadt verbreitet. Und nun soll das Gerücht mit ihrer EP The Life and Death of a Male Body, die am 21. September erschien, also Bestätigung finden.
Laut der Band beschreibt ihre Musik Ausnahmesituationen, den Zustand zwischen dem Moment, in dem ein Gerücht entsteht und dem, wo sich dieses Gerücht entweder be- oder entkräftet.

Das Jolene in Kødbyen, dem alten Schlachtereiviertel befindet sich momentan im Zustand der Bestätigung. Diverse Bands haben im letzten Jahr ihre Veröffentlichungen hier gefeiert und so gemütlich der Laden im Alltag auch ist, so schlecht ist hier der Sound. Die knapp 200 Menschen, die sich hier heute versammelt haben, tragen das ihre bei – das Konzert ist eine Schweißtreibende Angelegenheit. Dicht gepackt bis zum Ausgang drängeln sich die Schaulustigen. Sie hängen noch im Nieselregen draußen am Fenster, als die Band um 21:30 die Bühne betritt. Und einige Fotografen, die verzweifelt versuchen anzunehmendes Bildermaterial durch die Scheibe zu knipsen, werden wohl Ärger mit ihren Arbeitsgebern bekommen.

Die Lieder, eigentlich wunderschöne Beschreibungen, in der die Alltagswelt des permanenten Ausnahmezustands verarbeitet wird, angereichert mit Simon and Garfunkel-Harmonien, Lalalas und Ahs und Ohs, gehen im allgemeinen Soundmatsch unter. The Post Mortem Makes Us Man war wohl irgendwann zu hören. Ansonsten kommt da von irgendwoher ein coldplayartiges Riff.

Warten auf die Verbreitung des Gerüchts

So auch das nächste Lied – The Balcony, Opener der EP – das vom kopenhagener Publikum überschäumend gefeiert wird. Die Leute bewegen sich sogar ein wenig, tanzen schon fast, was in Dänemark nichts Alltägliches ist. The Balcony beginnt ganz sacht mit einer akustischen Gitarre, dann die Mundharmonika, das Bild des Liebespaares, auf dem Balkon stehend, es wird gewaltsam zerstört: „And the scent of your heartache, baby, and the taste of your blood, run within me / And there are red flowers in your spit when you enter my mouth under the bed / Down on the floor.” Vom Balkon aus sieht das lyrische Ich die Schulkinder, verloren in einer menschenfeindlichen Ausbildungsmaschenerie, „Take me back to the retards; cause the world just make me sick“ – vielleicht ist nur hier, bei den Verrückten, Normalität zu finden.

Die restlichen vier Lieder des Abends, darunter das fabelhafte Dance, gehen über die Boxen verloren und, nein, dazu wurde nicht getanzt, denn Danes don`t dance. Und ich verlasse bald – die Wolkendecke, nun aufgerissen, entblößt einen Pechschwarzen Himmel – das Jolense, um ein schlechtes Konzerterlebnis und eine großartige EP reicher. Das Gerücht wurde bestätigt: In Kopenhagen brennt es lichterloh und das Feuer wird sich auf die umliegenden Länder ausbreiten, wenn im Frühling das erste Album erscheint.

“There’s a band in our cellar, baby, and they’re / Playing a song of the drunks in the street / And I can hear when they’re playing their love songs cause the / Kids in the yard stop playing with their toys”

The Rumour Said Fire auf Myspace

Now it would be fair to say that the original of any product is the best, right? Well, sometimes we can be pleasantly surprised by a copy, cover or remake and music is no different.

I love a good cover especially when the band/artist reworks the original into their own interpretive music piece or style. With this entry I plan to regularly post music covers that I really love and hope you do too. So let’s begin.

Since my last review about Jack White’s new project ‘The Dead Weather’ I started listening to the ‘White Stripes’ again. There is something about Jack White that I find really fascinating both musically and as an individual. So my first pick for this new entry is Jolene covered by the White Stripes (original signature hit by Dolly Parton in 1974).

The White Stripes version of Jolene was covered and recorded among other White Stripe songs and chosen covers for a special DVD music film called ‘Under Blackpool Lights’ in 2004.

I remember when I first heard this song on a live radio recording. I got that instant music buzz. I don’t know what it is but there is something about this cover that makes me want to play it loud and on repeat.

What do you think?

To hear the original Jolene by Dolly Parton click here. 

This week, we’ve gone a bit country and dedicated The Fashion Office Recommends to none other than Miss Dolly Parton.  Obviously, it’d have been rude not to have included the amazing ‘9-5′ and after a rather ’special’ day in the office, here’s to a lovely long Bank Holiday weekend.

Enjoy.

Sostylistic recommends a track named after little lady called Jolene.

Sartoriology chose the essential, Working 9 to 5.

A Work In Progress opts for: I Will Always Love You.

Emily selects: Jesus And Gravity.

Soldiersailor: the cool and cute banjo track, Little Sparrow.

Last week, we donned our flares and dug out the glitter balls in The Fashion Office Recommends – Disco.  Look out for next week’s edition, same place, same time.

Jack White is Dolly Parton. I love this Blackpool recording.