[scroll to the end for some beautiful pictures of The Decemberists' performance]

If you dislike raving reviews you might want to avert your eyes dear reader, for I feel a few coming on. The second night of Crossing Border was sublime in my modest opinion. Where to start…

I started the evening with Londonders Mumford and Sons, up in the unbearably hot room suggestively named Paradise. Although I like their debut album Sigh No More, I didn’t know what to expect live. As it turns out these four fetching young folkers managed to get everyone dancing in no time, what an infectious bunch! Yes they use the simple but effective method of building up layers of instruments and gradually picking up speed in most songs and yes the lyrics can be a bit twee, but who cares when it sounds like this? Plus, they can say appelbollen.

There was no avoiding my dear beloved Patrick Watson, I gave in to my slight obsession yet again. What a venue for Watson and his Wooden Arms, perfect for their favourite party trick: the acoustic song (this time Man Like Me) on the edge of the stage. It wasn’t their best show I’ve seen, a bit too short too, but they still make my Crossing Border top three.

I love the way the band plays the songs differently each time I’ve seen them. The only one that has lost its sparkle in a new rendition is The Storm, too rushed an none of the wonderful backing woooo’s. Luscious Life and Beijing still the golden nuggets for me.

No time to waste, off to the venue next door to get in for The Decemberists nice and early. The great thing about Crossing Border is that there is always something going on, and so we managed to catch three poets/ authors in between bands (Flemmish rock ‘n roll poets Andy Fierens and Stijn Vranken and Dutch columnist and language buff Paulien Cornelisse). I would recommend reading all three of them; funny and ripe with sharp observations.

The atmosphere in front of the stage before The Decemberists was one of giddy anticipation. Right in front of me stood a gorgeous little 4 year old girl dressed up like a fairy and her mom, who turned out to be Becky Stark’s sister. They had flown out especially to see the band perform The Hazards of Love in its entirity for the very last time.

The band came on without being announced, I guess to keep the atmosphere of a performance piece rather than a Decemberists gig, and did as promised: they played the Hazards of Love from start to finish. There was the blossoming love between faun and white fairy (Colin Meloy and Becky Stark), there was the jealous mother come forest queen (the absolutely amazing Shara Worden) and the tragic trade off so the lovers can once more be together. Drama! Passion! Tragedy! Guitars! Drums! (one drum even broke from sheer force of pounding) What’s not to like?

The band were obviously really enjoying this last performance together, smiles all round. The girls were an absolutely amazing addition and were clearly sad to be ending their collaboration with the band, Colin Meloy gave them a warm thank you at the end. We were lucky enough to get a six song encore after The Hazards of Love, what a great perfomance. 

After all that excitement there was one more must see on the list: Monsters of Folk. When we walked in the room there was a really cool juxtaposition of the poshness of the room with the excitedly hollering and dancing crowd to be seen. We caught the last 40 minutes of their near 2,5 hour set (!), and I’m glad we did.

As a band I think their material is a bit all over the place and not all of it is particularly good, but what a joy to see Conor Oberst and Jim James on stage together! They were clearly having a great time playing, Conor in particular bouncing all over stage and jumping up onto the drum kit, their energy spreading to the crowd. I was glad to hear a few Bright Eyes songs in the set and sad not to have seen the whole show. 

In fact, how dare those Bordercrossing organisers, having Decemberists and Monsters of Folk play the samen timeslot! Though to be honest, that would be my only complaint about this great little festival. Next year a little less folk perhaps?

Thanks to Guus Krol here are some beautiful pictures of The Decemberists with Becky Stark and Shara Worden:

You put a big bird in a small cage it’ll sing you a song

Big bird ina small cage, Patrick Watson

İki gişe rekortmeni filmin soundtrack’leri de en az filmin oyuncuları ve çekimleri kadar konuşuluyor.

Birinin adı ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon‘. Vampir trendinin sorumlusu, Edward fanlarının kan çanağı… Cuma günü ülkemizde de vizyona girecek olan filmin başarılı soundtrack’inde bir sürü tanıdık isim var! Victoria Legrand ile Grizzly Bear’ın etkileyici birlikteliği, Lykke Li’nin ilahi melodisi, Thom Yorke’nin kanımı emen parçası, Bon Iver ve St Vincent’ın sakinleştici etkili düeti… Ve ayrıca Death Cab for Cutie, Editors, Band of Skulls, The Killers, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Anya Marina, Muse, Hurricane Bells, Sea Wolf, OK Go, Alexandre Desplat…

Diğerinin adı ‘Where The Wild Things Are’. Seneler önce masalın başında Maurice Sendak, seneler sonra kameranın başında Spike Jonze… Patrick Watson’ın çocukluğundan beri hayran olduğu masala yazdığı parçayı film için Jonze’a yollaması,  fakat kendisinin soundtrack’te parçaya yer vermemesi ile küçük çapta sansasyonunu da yaratan albümün baş kahramanı Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)… Karen O’nun Deerhunter’dan Bradford Cox, The Dead Weather’dan Dean Fertita, Liars’dan Aaron Hemphill, Gris Gris’den Michel ve Yeah Yeah Yeahs’den Nick Zinner ve Brian Chase ile bir araya gelerek oluşturduğu ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ topluluğu ‘Karen O And The Kids’ parçaları en az film kadar ilgi çekmişe benziyor.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

1. Meet Me On the Equinox // Death Cab for Cutie
2. Friends // Band of Skulls
3. Hearing Damage // Thom Yorke
4. Possibility // Lykke Li
5. A White Demon Love Song // The Killers
6. Satellite Heart // Anya Marina
7. I Belong To You (New Moon Remix) // Muse
8. Rosyln // Bon Iver & St. Vincent
9. Done All Wrong // Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
10. Monsters // Hurricane Bells
11. The Violet Hour // Sea Wolf
12. Shooting the Moon // OK Go
13. Slow Life // Grizzly Bear (with Victoria Legrand)
14. No Sound But the Wind // Editors
15. New Moon (The Meadow) // Alexandre Desplat

Where The Wild Things Are

1. Igloo
2. All Is Love
3. Capsize
4. Worried Shoes
5. Rumpus
6. Rumpus Reprise
7. Hideaway
8. Cliffs
9. Animal
10. Lost Fur
11. Heads Up
12. Building All Is Love
13. Food Is Still Hot
14. Sailing Home

Ca me trottait dans la tête. Thierry sort un bel album et là j’ai envie de le crier sur tous les toits, car c’est mérité. Depuis Marc Morvan & Ben Jarry, je n’avais pas autant apprécié de sortie nantaise. Mais force est de constater que là, il a bien travaillé le Titi. Je réecoute ”Dimanche de chien en boucle et c’est un super morceau qui m’incite fortement à laisser son album tourner en boucle. Je suis Le coq depuis près de huit ans maintenant et là, j’ai fondu. Les arrangements réalisés par Erwan Fauchard mettent idéalement en abîme les textes et la voix discrète de Thierry. Il chante en français (c’est à signaler lorsque c’est bien fait !) et  il se paye le luxe d’orchestrations qui donnent juste envie de prendre sa voiture et de traverser les immensités verdoyantes de l’Amérique éternelle, celle qui n’existe que dans nos esprits. “Dimanche de chien” et “King kong” sont deux excellents morceaux qui accrochent l’album dans ma playlist. Bravo Titi.

Je prépare une interview et une chronique du disque “D’Arradon” de Le coq, si j’ai le coeur et le temps à poser des mots sur un aussi joli disque. J’ai passé un peu trop de temps hier soir à nettoyer une installation de jeu sur mon vieux pc et les nouveaux mods ne sont pas hyper fiables, donc ça bugge, ça reboote, ça bugge et ça reboote…zzzZZZzzZZz °_0. Est-ce mon pc qui est trop vieux ???

En tous les cas, ce soir je penser aller voir Patrick Watson à l’Olympic avec ou sans Yann. Jeff m’avait prévenu ”Watson, c’est un peu tout ce que tu aurais souhaité que M.Ward fasse sans oser lui demander”… Ouh, voila une appréciation qui place la barre assez haut.

En attendant, j’attends la confirmation pour ce soir. Si concert > Live report, sinon Capoeira.  je vous laisse entre de bonnes mains avec l’ami Thierry.

www.myspace.com/lecoqmusic

Patrick Watson + Thus: Owls,
La Laiterie, 12/11/2009

La soirée se présente à la bourre, comme d’hab’ et là je m’en veux beaucoup (même si c’était pour une bonne cause) car ça a été un des points d’orgues musicaux de cette année.

Tout d’abord, inconnu au bataillon, les suédois de Thus: Owls. Ils nous viennent de Stockholm, un quintet avec une véritable diva discrète à sa tête, Erika Alexandersson. J’arrive pour le dernier quart d’heure mais je vous avoue que j’ai été véritablement transporté. Une qualité impressionnante sur l’exécution où on a envie de rester complètement silencieux pour apprécier le moindre scintillement qui sort de la scène jusqu’au explosion presque opéresque ! C’est du très grand talent sur scène et une voix extraordinaire, avec des montées aigues dans les reverb à mourir sur un extraordinaire The Atlantic, à peine soufflée dans le micro que je croyais seule Shara Worden de posséder ce genre de capacités vocales avec autant d’émotions. Le final explosif sur Eagles coming in est la conclusion de 15 minutes de bonheur à 10 000 pieds…

A découvrir absolument !!

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Petite pause pour reprendre son souffle et aussi pour offrir le cadeau à la grande gagnante du concours de podcast, on repart pour une plongée monumentale dans le talent à l’état pur : Patrick Watson !

Reglé comme du papier à musique, il fallait encore 3 ans pour qu’il nous ressorte un opus, le 3ème qu’il vient en grande majorité nous présenter sur scène. Voila un artiste malheureusement méconnu qui est une plume génialissime doublé de performances lives d’une densité assez inexplicable. C’est pourtant pas un artiste évident sur album, il demande du temps. Sur scène, par contre, la magie opère tout de suite avec le public. A peine quelques titres du dernier album que la foule amassée dans la petite salle (sic) hurle à la fin de chaque chanson.

Il faut dire que ce qu’on nous sert sur scène est un vrai caviar pour les oreilles. Accompagné de 4 compères (il n’a pas sorti les violons et violoncelles ce soir), c’est un bonheur, que Patrick se retrouve au piano ou debout au milieu de la scène devant son micro. Il a un son très touffu, très travaillé, que ce soit sur sa voix ou sur les instruments, le tout redoublé par des samplers qui sont utilisés à la volée, reverb à 200%, retrituré en direct, boites à effet à la main. On a une impression de volume et d’espace occupé sans pareille. Et pourtant, ça arrive en mourrant à vos oreilles de temps en temps avec quelques sons cristallins posées sur sa voix à peine poussée.

Les constructions de morceaux sont phénoménales : on est loin d’une pop classique, plutôt une pop cabaret, parfois disonnante, parfois d’une douceur mélodique extraordinaire. Quasiment tout le dernier album y passe à 2 exceptions près. On remarquera particulièrement peut être Big bird in a small cage, chanson qu’il avait écrite pour Dolly Parton, la magie hypnotique d’un travelling salesman avec un solo fait avec un méga phone et une sourdine de trompette, ou Down at the beach qui est tout simplement inexplicable (surtout ce qui se passe aux percus). Evidemment, The Great Escape fait sa sortie aussi, toujours aussi poignante.

Le climax du concert sera probablement la partie sans micro où il descend avec son guitariste dans le public, le batteur s’amusant avec une scie musicale : Patrick est arnaché d’une sorte d’arbre à mégaphone lumineux doublé d’un mini ampli dans son dos et la rencontre est presque mystique, lumières éteintes dans la salle. Man under the sea… Avec le public qui fredonne tranquillement pour soutenir… Les poils qui se dressent sur le cou !!!

Ah non, j’allais presque oublier le pur génie de reprendre les Gnossiennes d’Erik Satie dans une version dub tout bonnement impressionante. Je suis bluffé… Le final sera fait sur une toute nouvelle chanson, en duo avec Erika du groupe précédent, les dernières phrases à 2 a capella… De toute beauté !!

Donc bref, rien de mieux à dire que j’ai vécu là une de mes 10 meilleures soirées concerts de l’année sans aucun doute. Incroyable qualité pour les 2 groupes qui m’ont vraiment transcendé et emporté bien bien bien loin…

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The “Linked” post is a hodge-podge of the latest intriguing things I find on the Internet. Think of it as a breath of fresh air. A break from all music all-the-time. You’ll find posts to good articles, maybe a link to a slick piece of artwork, or a cool new blog, mixed in with the tunes. I figure a music blog can’t help but touch on all cultural things, considering that is often the best source and inspiration for creating songs. Enjoy. – David D. Robbins Jr.

• Patrick Watson – Live at the Mercury Lounge, Oct. 22 (npr.com): Listen to, then download a free copy of the concert. Gorgeous. I’ve been a Watson fan for years. (Photo above from www.nielsvinck.nl) The talk of him being like Jeff Buckley is not far off. (Hold on there Buckley fans ― Jeff can’t be replaced―but Patrick can be that good at times.)

• Fashawn & Exile – “Life as a Shorty” (sideonetrackone.com): A sweet hip-hop mix. Fashawn remembering his youth. Huge female hooks.

• The Wooden Sky – Oh My God (rawkblog.net): For fans of simple roots Americana with sweeping harmonies and harmonica. Pretty. Lyrics: “You gotta take all the little pieces and put ‘em in one big box and just … throw away the key. And don’t you ever show it to me. Said, I made that mistake before. And came home to find my life, just spilled upon the floor.“

• Nancy Elizabeth – Feet of Courage (vimeo.com): The song is from Elizabeth’s sophomore album ― the recently released “Wrought Iron” (Oct. 5). She seems to live confidently in her own unusual musical world of hurricanes, ruins, cat-bells. But equally as cool as the song is this underwater video, shot over two days in Portishead, by Bafta award winning Esther May Campbell and John Milton.

• Glass Ghost – Like a Diamond (westernvinyl.com): Okay, so it sounds a bit like Thom Yorke’s solo work ― with the straining high falsetto and sparse instrumentation, drum loops. But it creates a pretty atmosphere and I like the tempo. Good track. Album is called “Idol Omen”.

• Jill Hennessy – Mountain Stage concert (npr.com): Yes, this is the actress from “Law & Order” and “Crossing Jordan”. Yes, I kinda sighed too, thinking about actors trying to make the bridge into music. But the song “Save Me”, written for her father, is a stunner. It’s a track good enough to have been written by Rosanne Cash, full of heartfelt lyricism, soaring blues-guitar interludes, with Hennessy on acoustic. It seems the song is a true story about how Hennessy and her father struggled with her mother leaving the family when she was a child. Some of the lyrics: “I’m just stuck here watching myself / on the stained carpet floor, / by the broke plywood door / So we made the crawl, / to smoky basement halls / I’d chase your car in bare feet / Down the cold morning street / We roam the school halls, the parking lots, / Hide ourselves in makeup she left behind / Playing a secret game of invisible and wanting to be seen; / Can you see me? / Do you really … do you really see me? / Sing with Joni and James / In those kitchen floor days /We had something, we all lost something, we all gave something.” Also, watch this video as she sings “Save Me”, sans band, out promoting her album “Ghost in My Head.”
  

Written By: Lindsey Hecht

Label: Secret City – Rating:

Though the name Patrick Watson might sound like a one-man show, think bigger; more extravagant. This four-man band is comprised of Robbie Kuster on drums, Mishka Stein on bass, Simon Angell on guitar, and frontman Patrick Watson who lends his vocals while also playing piano and harmonium. Experimenting with sounds, Patrick Watson guides the listener through ‘Wooden Arms’ with a sequence of strings, effects, and acoustic landscapes.

Their newest album opens with ‘Fireweed,’ leaving little to no words and letting a string of noise reverberate in my ears. Though the first track depends heavily on sound cascading from speakers, the few words sung are not lost, as they are powerful and with a message. Watson croons, ‘So we dug us a hole / And planted our skin / Like a seed in the ground /To grow again’ and fast as this song ends, I wanted another to begin.

The transition from ‘Fireweed’ to the second song on the album is barely discernible, and I’m once again spinning in a fantasy as I listen to ‘Tracy’s Waters.’ During this song I find myself more focused on the music and less on the words, as they trail behind like a streaming sidekick companion. ‘Beijing’ follows and is by far the most experimental track on the album. I’ve pressed my ear to the speakers countless times, with closed eyes, wondering what objects are being manipulated to make the hullaballoo I’m hearing. Pounding on chests, legs? Drum sticks on glass cups? Bicycle wheels spinning as the track rounds out? Your guess is as good as mine, but it draws me in – and I’m wanting more.

Next up is the title track ‘Wooden Arms,’ which reminds me of the cobblestone streets and boat rides of Italy’s Venice. The rhythm of his voice is especially unique in the way it draws its listeners in, and his ability to capture a French mystique seems only natural as Watson himself composed the entire soundtrack for the French-Canadian film, ‘C’est pas moi, je le jure!’

Though the band emphasizes the word ‘experimentation’ with their inimitable style, their versatility is remarkably evident in “Hommage,’ which accentuates strings and angelic orchestral tunes. This song, specifically, forces me to visualize the closing scene to a grand play in a theatre. Without any lyrics at all, and even as the shortest track on the entire album, this grandiose theatrical moment of suspense buries me in its beauty. As a band, their ability to provoke thought with their echoes and strings is remarkable; the fact that they achieve the same effect with playful, staccato songs such as ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ is even more impressive.

Like Patrick Watson? Check out: , ,

Ik zever nog maar even door over muziek. Want ik heb nog wat concertjes staan deze maand. En verder toch geen zak te melden. Weet u trouwens wat verbazingwekkend is? Dat WordPress wel de optie biedt om audio te plaatsen, maar dat de bestandtypen die je daarvoor kunt gebruiken geen van allen audiotypen zijn. Typisch, nicht? U zult het dus weer met joetjoepjes moeten doen. Bijvoorbeeld van het altijd wonderschone I am Kloot, waar ik woensdag heen ga. Over deze band hoef ik intussen volgens mij niks meer uit te leggen, daar heb ik al genoeg over gezegd. Liefhebbers kunnen overigens nog mee, het is nog niet uitverkocht!

Bij het dubben over of ik al dan niet nog een passepartout ga halen voor het Le Guess Who? festival in Utrecht eind november, stuitte ik op een ander pareltje: Patrick Watson. Deze eigenaardige Canadees met een groot gevoel voor filmische sferen komt namelijk speciaal voor dat festival weer even langs. Ik trok zijn album Close to Paradise weer even uit de kast waar onder andere dit fijne nummer op staat:

Ook hier zijn nog kaartjes voor verkrijgbaar (ook voor het losse optreden), dus schroom niet en ga gezellig mee! Wat wel is uitverkocht is deze act:

Maar als u heel lief bent mag u op mijn tweede ticket mee. Want laten we eerlijk zijn. Snoop is niet mijn eerste keus als het om muziek gaat. Hij staat niet eens in mijn top tien. Maar om hem een keer in Tivoli te kunnen zien spelen, dat is dan wel weer de moeite waard natuurlijk! Wel vreemd dat de website meldde dat het concert binnen 15 minuten was uitverkocht, maar ik uren later toch echt nog gewoon een kaartje kon kopen.

Dus. Dat was mijn novembermaand concertmaand. Tenzij ik me bedenk en toch nog even naar Bell X1 ga:

En nog even ga kijken bij Moss.

Don’t be afraid

just eat up all the grey and it will fade all away

- Patrick Watson

J’aurais jamais vraiment pensé dire ça un jour, mais il y a un chanteur québécois que j’aime beaucoup. Désolé Diego.

Je suis retombé dessus en découvrant une formation anglaise carrément époustouflante. Il parait que cet orchestre est hyper connu. J’en ai jamais entendu parler, vous pouvez jeter les pierres : The Cinematic Orchestra (ici, c’est Eska qui chante avec eux).

Le bonhomme s’appelle Patrick Watson. Il est plutôt pas mal brillant dans son genre. Si je te parle de lui, c’est qu’il commence à faire très froid ici. Je sais… tu vois pas trop bien le rapport. Il y a beaucoup de SDF dans le centre-ville de Montréal. Et il fait -7 °C ce soir. Je ne sais pas si il y a des foyers pour les sans-abris, des centres d’accueil, je ne sais pas comment ça se passe pour eux. Dormir dehors par -10 dans un sac de couchage d’un an d’âge, sur le béton. Je remercie je-sais-pas-qui pour ne pas faire l’expérience de cela tous les soirs.

Patrick Watson a chanté une chanson avec le Cinematic Orchestra qui s’appelle “To Build a Home“. Je te laisse réfléchir…

Sinus infection, you go to hell. You go straight to hell and you die. I’ve missed the past two days because I’m sick again, but at least I have been able to work from the comfort of my bed, writing in a sinus-medication-induced-coma…

Rather than making two separate posts, I’ll just mash them all into one giant post of awesome. That was a bit Barney Stinson-esque of me, and for that I do not apologize.

Whistler 2010 Arts Programming

MTV European Music Awards

Blue Rodeo Free Show

Patrick Watson Tours

New Leonard Cohen Bio Coming

Sum 41 New Album Details

Attention, le mois de novembre est historiquement un mois important pour les concerts et pour moi aussi. Cette année ne déroge pas du tout à la règle alors ouvrez grands les yeux (et les oreilles) parce que ça décape !! (désolé de ne pas avoir pu écrire avant mais j’espère que ceux qui voulaient voir Coeur de Pirate ou Vitalic ont fait ce qu’il fallait)

Je n’ai pas ajouté de sélection particulière pour Jazz d’Or 2009 mais du 6 au 20 novembre, Strasbourg est envahie par des concerts de jazz de grande qualité. Tout le programme sur www.jazzdor.com !

Samedi 7 Novembre
Nouvelle Vague + Melanie Pain
La Laiterie

En voila un groupe français qui brasse du talent à tout va ! Les spécialistes de la reprise classe sont de retour avec un 3ème album et ça risque de valoir le détour. Quant à Melanie Pain, elle n’est autre qu’une des chanteuses attitrées du collectif et elle a fait quelques productions solo dans un style un poil retro.

Lundi 9 Novembre
Grand Corps Malade
Illiade

Le plus populaire des slammeurs français, très sympa à écouter pour ceux qui aiment le genre.

Jeudi 12 Novembre
Patrick Watson & Wooden Arms Band
La Laiterie

Attention : Enorme talent ! On avait déjà prévenu, il est déjà passé à Strasbourg et il a fait un show phénoménal mais bien trop court. Cette fois, il revient pour un set plus long. Vous êtes prévenus, c’est du très pointu.

Vendredi 13 Novembre
Ebony Bones + Dub Pistols + DJ Vadim
La Laiterie

Pour avoir vu le show d’Ebony Bones cet été, je peux vous certifier que c’est haut en couleur et bourré d’energie ! Un sacré spectacle à voir. Musicalement, c’est très dense et ça part dans tous les sens, c’est du ton sur ton. DJ Vadim, signé chez Ninja Tune, et les Dub Pistols qui n’ont pas une sale réputation sur scène animeront le reste de la soirée.

Vendredi 13 Novembre
The Bloody Beetroots + Elisa Do brasil
La Laiterie

La soirée précédente n’est pas incompatible avec ces concerts là qui viennent plus tard dans la nuit. Une release album party d’un côté et un DJ set de furieux en vue. Un programme plus que correct pour lancer le WE !

Samedi 14 Novembre
Les Cowboys Fringants
Zénith

Les plus fêtards des québécois vont faire trembler les murs du Zénith. Un gros coup de coeur !

Samedi 14 Novembre
Grande nuit Argentine
L’orangerie

Nuit très spéciale dédiée à ce fabuleux pays et surtout à ses danses incroyables…

Samedi 14 Novembre
INOX
Rhénus

Grosse soirée techno house avec des DJs tels que Josh Wink, Bob Sinclar, …

Mardi 17 Novembre
Marcel et son orchestre
La Laiterie

Marcel restera éternellement Marcel, avec ses costumes de ouf, son ambiance déjantée football bière.

Jeudi 19 Novembre
The Dodos
La Laiterie

Ovni plutôt agréable à écouter mais pourtant pas évident d’aborder : une sorte de pop expérimentale et psychédélique… Surpenant !!

Samedi 21 Novembre
Miossec
La Laiterie

Un songwriting de qualité, un rendu excellent sur scène, Miossec fait partie de cette ancienne génération qui a traversé les âges sans prendre une ride.

Mardi 24 Novembre
Pura Fé
Cheval Blanc

Soirée assez exceptionnelle avec l’ambassadrice de la nation indienne Tuscarora de Caroline du Nord qui va passer pour déployer des compositions qui risquent d’en faire voyager plus d’un dans les grands espaces…

Mercredi 25 Novembre
Indochine
Zénith

Est-il nécessaire de présenter le groupe de Nicolas ?

Jeudi 26 Novembre
Olivia Ruiz
Zénith

La petite a bien grandie pour pouvoir s’autoriser un Zénith. Tant mieux pour elle, au risque de se noyer sur une grande scène comme ça.

Jeudi 26 Novembre
Toy Dolls + uncommonmenfrommars
La Laiterie

Un grand classique de la scène punk avec un show survolté assuré. Malheureusement.

Jeudi 26 Novembre
Wild Beasts + Dan Black
La Laiterie

2 flèches montantes outre manche. Wild Beasts a sorti l’un des albums les plus remarqués de l’année et Dan Black, ex The Servant, fait partie de cette nouvelle vague d’electronica anglaise.

Vendredi 27 Novembre
Emilie Simon
La Laiterie

Tout le monde sait que je suis fan d’Emilie et en plus, elle me sert un concert à domicile pour mon anniversaire ! C’est-y pas adorable ?! Pour ceux qui aiment ce qui se passe sur album, sachez que le spectacle sur scène vaut largement le détour aussi. Elle compte clairement parmi les artistes français les plus impressionnants de cette décennie.

Samedi 28 Novembre
Wax Tailor
La Laiterie

La France est toujours à la pointe de l’électro mondiale et des petites perles comme Wax Tailor ne font que le confirmer. Un show vraiment très sympa à vivre, aussi raffiné que ses albums !

Aujourd’hui,p je vais bloguer léger.. En raison de la courte nuit post-ADISQ que j’ai eue.

Semble qu’encore une fois mes prédictions ont été plutôt justes. Seule la prédiction du meilleur auteur ou compositeur m’a échappé, mais il y a parfois des fois où l’on est content de s’être trompé. Ce cas-ci en est un. En effet, je suis vraiment content que le talent et surtout le dernier album de Yann Perreau aient pu être souligné par un Félix.

Une légère déception par contre due a l’absence de prix remis à Mara Tremblay et Marie-Pierre Arthur. Qui ont selon moi livré (avec Perreau et Watson) d’excellents albums qui se retrouveront assurément dans mon top disque de l’année.

Pour le reste voici la liste complète des gagnants;

Révélation de l’année: Coeur de pirate

Album de l’année – Folk contemporain: La ligne orange, Mes Aïeux

Album de l’année – Populaire: Fais-moi la tendresse, Ginette Reno

Album de l’année – Pop-Rock: Sentiments humains, Pierre Lapointe

Auteur ou compositeur de l’année: Yann Perreau

Groupe de l’année: Mes Aïeux

Interprète féminine de l’année: Ginette Reno

Interprète masculin de l’année: Nicola Ciccone

Spectacle de l’année – Auteur-compositeur-interprète: Le volume du vent, Karkwa

Spectacle de l’année – Interprète: L’héritage, Renée Martel

Chanson populaire de l’année: Fais-moi la tendresse, Ginette Reno

“Get the fuck off the road!”

— Dr. Christopher Thompson to cyclist Patrick Early, as told by Asst. D.A. Mary Stone

After two weeks of testimony, it all came down to this.

Two talented attorneys facing off before the jury, summing up days of impassioned first-hand testimony, complicated technical evidence and the insights of expert witnesses — in some case, highly paid experts — to direct them to a single inescapable verdict.

Guilty.

Or not.

And now the Good Doctor’s freedom, and his career, hangs in the balance.

“This coat can inspire trust”

According to cyclist/attorney DJwheels, the biking community’s eyes and ears in the courtroom, Assistant District Attorney Mary Stone offered an effective closing argument delivered through a series of well-chosen props.

She began by donning a white medical coat, and asked the jurors if they remembered questioning during jury selection about what it means to be a doctor, and if doctors can commit crimes. She then offered a series photos of showing well known TV physicians wearing a similar coat.

“I don’t want you to get confused,” she said. “Because this coat can inspire trust.”

She showed a photo of the Grand Canyon, explaining that there is a big, wide line that you just don’t cross, because “there’s a canyon in between.”

“You don’t use your car to hurt people.”

That was followed by a recap of the testimony offered by Patrick Early, the first cyclist Dr. Christopher Thompson is accused of threatening with his car, though he was not charged with that encounter.

According to Stone, the doctor offered a long list of dates when the incident could not have happened because of work or travel. Yet he left a number of days unaccounted for — days when he could have yelled at Early to get off the road, then slammed on his brakes directly in front of the rider’s bike, just as he is charged with doing twice more in the following months.

She noted that Early worked in the auto industry and had an in-depth knowledge of cars, and so was able to identify the color, make and model of the vehicle that nearly ran him off the road, as well as recalling Thompson’s personalized license plates months later.

“The cry of an honest man”

She moved on then the next incident, which occurred the following March.

Cyclists Patrick Watson and Josh Crosby were riding down Mandeville Canyon, at or near the posted 30 mph speed limit, when Thompson again slammed on his brakes, forcing Watson off the road.

Stone told the jurors that Christopher Thompson chose to break the law. He was already speeding when he encountered the cyclists, she said, and he chose to engage the cyclists even though he had other options. He could have left; he could have kept going.

She noted the beginnings of a pattern. “We now know what enrages him.”

Stone went on to say that the defense will tell you that Watson had a grudge against Thompson, and that the angry emails Watson sent to friends and other cyclists after the incident show he wanted to get even with the doctor.

She played Watson’s 911 call for the jury, pointing out that Watson stayed at the scene waiting for the police for over an hour and a half after the incident, and gave his name and phone number to the operator. If he was a rogue cyclist, as Thompson claimed, why would he identify himself to the police, she asked?

And she described the emails as “the cry of an honest man.”

“Have a good laugh at that”

As for the incident with Ron Peterson and Christian Stoehr, she reminded the jurors once again that he could have kept going. If you slam on your brakes in front of two cyclists, she explained, you have to expect that they could hit you. “That’s just common sense.”

“He wants you to believe that he just wanted to take a picture,” she said. “That’s ridiculous. When you get back into the jury room, have a good laugh at that.”

At that, defense attorney Peter Swarth objected — one of three times he defied judicial courtesy by objecting during another attorney’s closing arguments; like the other two times, he was overruled by the judge.

She continued by saying that even if he did want to take a picture of the riders, as he claimed, it was his choice to stop in front of them. He was also “disdainful” of the injuries the riders suffered as a result.

“What if you went to the emergency room and your loved one was bleeding from the face, and the doctor told you it wasn’t serious?”

Because of what had happened to his childhood friend, Stone added — reminding the jurors of Thompson’s earlier testimony about a friend who fell from his bike and was run over by a car — he should have had a heightened sense of the fragility of cyclists.

“He knows what can happen.”

She added that the doctor can’t escape the fact that he was driving recklessly. And reminded them about the testimony of LAPD Officer Rodriguez, who said Thompson’s admission that he slammed on his brakes to teach the cyclists a lesson was “burned into his brain.” Who is more believable, she asked, an experienced LAPD officer or the doctor who had just injured two cyclists?

Thompson knew exactly what was going to happen, Stone said. She finished by showing photos of the injuries suffered by Peterson and Stone, ticking off a list of the charges, and asking the jury to find the doctor guilty on all counts.

“No crime occurred”

DJwheels didn’t consider defense attorney Peter Swarth’s closing argument nearly as engaging or effective as Stone’s.

Swarth began by projecting a single word — “Accident” — onto the screen, explaining that this may have been an unfortunate event, but, he insisted, it was not a crime.

“The prosecution says my client is full of rage, but there’s no evidence of that,” he said, adding that only Patrick Early claimed to see an enraged Thompson behind the wheel — and he only saw Thompson through the car’s rear view mirror.

And that event never happened, according to the defense; no charges were ever filed “because no crime occurred.” The other riders never saw the doctor’s face until he exited the car, thanks to the tinted windows on his Lexus.

He also claimed that Early’s identification of Thompson was tainted. According to Swarth, the LAPD detective investigating the case showed Early an old DMV photo of the Good Doctor, part of a photo lineup designed to get the result the police wanted.

Early’s credibility was also strained, Swarth said, since he couldn’t even remember if the incident occurred in December 2007 or January 2008. And while Early testified that he didn’t know any of the other riders who testified in this case, he had worked at the Ground Zero advertising agency in 2001, at the same time Christian Stoehr was there.

“Their actions belie their testimony”

Watson and Crosby weren’t credible, Swarth claimed, noting that they testified they had moved over once they became aware of the car behind them.

“Why would my client tell them to ride single file if they were already riding single file?”

“They say ‘This guy tried to kill me.’ But why would they stand in front of the car of someone who had just tried to kill them?” He added that it just didn’t make sense to ask someone to get out of his car if he had just tried to kill you. They were mad, he said. “Their actions belie their testimony.”

And he insisted that the speeds recorded by Watson’s Garmin proved that he never left the roadway and bunny hopped onto the grass as Watson and Crosby had testified.

According to DJwheels, however, that argument didn’t seem to make any sense.

“How can a horn be angry?

Swarth then moved on to the incident with Watson and Stoehr, asking where the evidence was that proved the intent necessary to support the criminal charges.

He reminded the jury they had testified that Thompson honked his horn in an angry and aggressive manner. “How can a horn be angry? It’s just not true.” He also noted the gruesome photos of their injuries, asking the jury not to convict his client based on those photos alone.

He then attempted to discredit various aspects of the rider’s testimony.

Swarth said that Stoehr had testified that when Thompson slammed on his brakes, he clipped the back wheel of Peterson’s bike, hit the back of the car, flipped over it and landed in the street in front of the vehicle. “That just did not happen,” he said.

According to Swarth, what really happed was that Stoehr looked back after passing the car, saw what had happened to Peterson, then lost his balance and simply fell over.

He said that Thompson told the riders to get their bikes out of the street because emergency vehicles were on their way. And he asked what kind of cycling coach — referring to Peterson — teaches his student to respond in an angry manner, reminding them that Peterson had said “I’m going to fuck you up” immediately following the collision.

If Thompson was so enraged, as the riders claimed, why did he call 911 to get them help? Maybe he just used the wrong words in claiming that the injuries weren’t serious, Swarth suggested. “He was just trying to get the right help to arrive.”

“How can 30 years of trying to help people just disappear in a moment?”

He displayed a photo showing Thompson’s Lexus next to the curb. “Doesn’t it look like he was just trying to park his car?”

Then he turned his attention to the third rider on the road that day, asking why Chris Parker wasn’t injured. The answer, he claimed, was that Parker was simply more careful.

He finished by asking about Officer Rodriguez’s testimony, in which he said the Good Doctor admitted he did it intentionally. Rodriguez never asked the follow-up question, Swarth claimed.

“What do you mean you wanted to teach them a lesson?”

He added that maybe someone else in the crowd had said that, and Rodriguez mistakenly attributed it to Thompson.

It was all a tragic accident, Swarth concluded.

“Sometimes the thing that you seek to avoid becomes the thing you can’t avoid.”

“This is exactly what happens”

Stone then followed up with a powerful rebuttal, holding a baseball bat in front of the jury.

Let’s say you go into a grocery store, she suggested, and someone is blocking the aisle you need. So you threaten them with the bat, and say “Get the fuck out of my way.”

Then the next time you go in, it happens again. But this time, the people blocking your way say “Fuck you.” So you swing your bat at them. You miss, but they get out of the way. Then it happens a third time — and this time, you connect with the bat.

“That’s what happened here,” she said.

She paused to put on the white doctor’s coat she’d worn earlier, suggesting that the Good Doctor had wrapped himself in that afterwards to deflect responsibility.

Then she concluded by picking up Peterson’s shattered bike and holding it in front of the jury. “This”, she said, “is exactly what happens when you slam on the brakes in front of someone.”

According to DJwheels, one of the doctor’s supporters could clearly be heard responding in the gallery.

“Bullshit.”

Jury deliberations resume this morning at 9:30 am. DJwheels says he doesn’t expect a verdict until sometime Tuesday, or late today at the earliest. I’ll post it on here as soon as I’m able to get it online. VeloNews has a well-written summary of closing arguments, and the L.A. Times offers an overview of the trial, saying cyclists have a lot riding on the case.

I’ll post my usual links to articles later this afternoon.

I download many of the iTunes singles of the week; I appreciate the chance to get a taste of an artist before deciding whether or not I want to get the entire album. So, today, as I went to download the latest single of the week by Carolyn Mark and NQ Arbuckle , I was reading through the comments left by my fellow downloaders, and I couldn’t help but cringe at some of them. I usually scan the comments section and it’s pretty much the same old song and dance every time, with comments like “so, has anyone else realized that, all of these songs, sound like elevator music?” (extra commas left in for added hilarity), “that’s two bad choices in a row. My life is going straight downhill”, “I can’t even listen to 1 second of this song. Such bad vocals”. My favorite one (all spelling mistakes from the original, of course) has the subject line: CAN ITUNES STOP GIVING AWAY FREE CRAPY SONGS!!!!!?????!!! and reads “I THOUGHT THIS SONG WAS TERRIBLE IT MAKES NO SENCES AND ITS JUST STAIGHT UP WEIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!”. And, yes, it is written in all caps.

While the above comments are just ridiculous and petty, what really gets to me are comments like “..the U.S. store gives you well known artists… As usual, a Canadian website lags behind it’s U.S. counterpart.”. Well, my friend, I must disagree and assure you that iTunes Canada has got it exactly right. The beauty of the free single of the week is that it exposes the average person browsing the iTunes store to music that they will probably never hear on mainstream radio. All (or at least the majority) of the singles are by amazing Canadian artists, many of which are underappreciated and underplayed even within their own country. I’ve gotten some great free songs from the iTunes store this way, including the amazing Lucious Life by Patrick Watson and, more recently, The Wooden Sky’s When We Were Young (as an aside, if you don’t have The Wooden Sky’s album If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone you should get it immediately. It’s absolutely beautiful.). There was also a Said The Whale track available a couple of weeks ago that I would have snapped up in an instant if I wasn’t already planning to buy the whole album. This type of exposure can vault an artist from obscurity into the direction of greater reknown, and even if few people end up buying their album after hearing the free song, the value of getting their name out there just a little bit more can’t be underestimated.

So, to all of you naysayers out there, I staunchly support iTunes’ decision to spotlight lesser-known Canadian artists. I’ll willingly admit that I don’t love everything that they feature but at least downloading the free track lets me discover that rather than trying to figure it out through the 30 second snippets that iTunes normally provides. And to everyone who feels that iTunes should be catering to their specific tastes, get off your high horse, and realize that this is FREE MUSIC! If you don’t want it, don’t download it. It’s as simple as that. Music, like all art, is a matter of personal taste, and just because you or I or Joe Schmoe over there likes a certain song or artist doesn’t mean that that song or artist is the be all end all for everyone. That being said, I encourage everyone to listen to some of these singles for more than “1 second” (like our friend up there), and give them a chance to blow you away. Some of them will.

P.S. The title of this post comes from the song Just Listen by Two Hours Traffic.
Listen here!

It is rare to experience the kind of intimacy with musicians as can be found on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.  Different bands or musicians come in to this NPR studio, which is really more of an office space than a recording studio and perform a short concert.  The vibe is casual and relaxed, and tends to capture a side of the musicians that is hard to come by.  I only discovered these little jewels just a few days ago and have been glued to my computer ever since, watching such legends as Vic Chestnutt and Jim White, as well as underground eccentrics such as Dr. Dog and Thao Nguyen.  Genius idea NPR.

The one I have posted here is from my current favorite musician.  I discovered him about two years ago and it really pissed me off.  The album, Close to Paradise, featured the combination of electronic and beautiful, organic orchestrations that I had been trying to achieve.  The band I had assembled was talented but did not understand the idea.  Watson, essentially, beat me to it.  His next album, Wooden Arms, proved far more beautiful and strange and has become my current obsession.  This video shows the amazing depth of sounds that this band is able to achieve with just four musicians playing very standard instruments.  Enjoy:

“This case is just stupid. When people are blocking you, you get mad. This is because they said ‘Fuck you.’ It’s just male aggression. They’re both at fault.”

— Overheard during a break in the Mandeville Canyon trial

Thursday was an interesting day, to say the least.

In a courtroom packed with both cyclists and supporters of the Good Doctor — and yes, there are people who support Christopher Thompson, despite everything — the defendant took the stand in his own defense.

According to Dr. Thompson, it was all just an unfortunate accident. The cyclists were rude and riding dangerously. He pulled over, slowly and carefully taking his place along the curb. And he has no idea why those careless, reckless bikers smashed into the back of his car.

Well, one anyway.

According to his attorney, the other one just fell over on his own.

No, really.

“I’ve saved a lot of lives.”

Cyclist/attorney DJwheels, who attended the hearing, said testimony began with a recap of the Good Doctor’s career as an ER specialist, including his work as the head of emergency services at Beverly Hospital for the past three years prior to the incident he’s charged with.

According to Thompson, he’s treated over 100,000 patients in his career, including “hundreds” of injured cyclists.

Under questioning by his attorney, Peter Swarth, he explained his understanding of the medical definition of “serious” injuries, in an attempt to address the comment clearly heard on his 911 call, in which he said the cyclists injuries weren’t serious, “but they’ll tell you that.”

He said that by definition, a serious injury requires admission to the hospital in order to stabilize the patient, and can be determined by simple observation. A close examination of the patient isn’t necessary to evaluate them by ABC — Airways, Breathing and Circulation — while a simple neurological exam be performed by observing how the patient responds to questions.

He continued by describing how he moved into his home in Mandeville Canyon on October 1, 1987; memorable as the day of the Whittier Earthquake. And noted that Gov. Schwarzenegger and his family moved to the canyon about 5 years ago.

Swarth asked why Thompson doesn’t live there anymore, and why he no longer works at Beverly Hospital; however, both questions were disallowed as a result of previous rulings by the judge.

Thompson described the canyon in detail, including the length of the roadway, elevation gain and the exact number of speed bumps and stop signs. According to him, it wasn’t necessary to step on the gas to reach the bottom; coasting and braking was enough to maintain the 30 mph speed limit downhill.

Since 2001, however, the canyon has been progressively overrun by cyclists, he said.

“I don’t have a problem with cyclists,” Thompson said. “I just don’t like their behavior.” He even claimed to ride a bike himself, though he couldn’t describe it in any way — by brand, type, color or number of gears.

The Good Doctor explained that he doesn’t like to drive behind cyclists in the canyon because they run stop signs, ride side-by-side and in large groups, and won’t allow drivers to pass. But he doesn’t get mad, he claimed; just frustrated and concerned for their safety, due to their own reckless actions.

He nearly came to tears as he related the story of a childhood friend named Bobby who went for a bike ride, fell over and was run over by the car behind him. That’s why he believes bicycles are inherently unstable, he said.

Thompson went on to explain how he had spoken to other canyon residents, as well as the chairman of the local neighborhood association safety committee, about what could be done to rein in cyclists since they can’t be identified to the police. The conclusion was that the best option was to take pictures and videotape the riders.

“I wasn’t there.”

Thompson explained that he couldn’t have been the driver who had the earlier encounter with Patrick Early, for which he wasn’t charged.

He was too busy with work, he claimed, and frequently out of town on business. He never had such an incident at that time, doesn’t know Early and couldn’t identify him — despite the fact that Early had picked Thompson’s photo out of a lineup and recalled the Good Doctor’s personalized license plate months afterwards.

“Ride single file”

The incident with Patrick Watson and Josh Crosby, for which he is charged, wasn’t so easily explained.

According to DJwheels, Swarth lead him through his testimony, explaining that he came up behind two riders going downhill side-by-side, honking once as a polite warning. When the cyclists failed to respond, he attempted to pass, but was blocked by an oncoming car.

On his second attempt, he crossed over the yellow line and accelerated, passing about three feet from the cyclists. And as he did, he extended his arm and index finger out the passenger side window, saying “Ride single file.”

They responded by yelling “Fuck you asshole!” and “shot him the shaft,” as the doctor put it — explaining that was his preferred way of saying they flipped him off.

Thompson claimed he then came to a normal, controlled stop in order to get their names. By his account, the cyclists rode safely past on either side of the car — he denied that Watson ever left the road, despite the earlier testimony by both riders. When they started to approach the car, he became frightened because the cyclists “were acting crazy,” and so he accelerated in order to get away as quickly as possible.

He was surprised to receive a call from a police detective about two weeks later asking about the incident, after Watson had reported it to the police.

“Here we go again”

Last year’s 4th of July started out a good day, as far as Dr. Thompson was concerned. He was expecting a normal, if busy, day because of the holiday, and said he wasn’t angry or in a hurry.

That lasted until he encountered three cyclists riding side-by-side as he made his way down the canyon.

They were about 50 feet ahead when he tapped gently on the horn; the center rider looked back at him and dropped slightly behind the other riders. So he honked again, and the outside rider “shot him the shaft.”

“Here we go again,” he thought, briefly accelerating up to 45 mph and crossing the yellow line in an arc-like pass. He called out “Single file please,” and was met with “a hail of ‘fuck you, asshole!’”

Again, he claimed that he braked to a controlled stop, this time in order to take photos of the cyclists as he had discussed with other residents. By his account, he had time to come to a full stop, set the parking brake, take off his seat belt and open the door before he felt an impact at the rear of the car.

As he stepped out, he saw one of the cyclists removing himself from the glass of the rear windshield.

Thompson said he identified himself as a physician and offered to help. The response he got was “Fuck you, asshole.” So from a distance, he began assessing their condition, concluding that their injuries were not life-threatening, and therefore, not medically serious.

The third rider approached, telling him to turn off the engine.

“I didn’t slam on the brakes”

The Good Doctor continued, explaining that he then called 911 for assistance.

Swarth stopped him at that point to ask about the 911 recording in which he said he “slammed on the brakes.” Thompson answered that he braked, then increased his pressure on the brakes, but never “slammed” on the brakes.

Another person soon stopped and tried to control Peterson’s bleeding using his own shirt; Thompson said he offered medical advice before the other man identified himself as a physician. He tried to flag down a paramedic unit that was coming down the canyon with cyclist injured in a previous accident. After pausing to assess the situation, they decline to stop and help; Thompson explained that they would have stayed if they thought the situation was serious.

Once the police, fire and paramedics arrived, he tried to give his statement to the investigating officer. However, Officer Rodriguez seemed distracted, and simply walked away as he was finishing his statement.

Thompson said he never told the officer that he wanted to teach the cyclists a lesson. Yet shortly later, more police arrived and another officer patted him down and cuffed him.

Again he got emotional, saying he didn’t try to hurt anyone, and didn’t think he’d stopped in an unsafe manner. “I thought I had a reasonable plan, but obviously I didn’t execute it effectively.”

And now he wakes up every night upset about what happened. “I don’t hurt people,” he said, “I help people.”

“I didn’t think it through”

The prosecution then took over for cross examination.

Assistant District Attorney Mary Stone didn’t waste any time with her cross, finishing just 15 minutes after she started.

She began by confirming that the Good Doctor was the only driver of the car in question. And that he doesn’t know Patrick Early, owe him money or is owed money by him — clearly attempting to establish that Early had no reason to lie or get even with Thompson.

He then agreed that because of what had happened to his friend as a child, he is even more aware of cyclists on the road, and that he had treated many cyclists as an ER doctor. He also agreed with her that cyclists are fragile and, unlike drivers, have nothing around them to protect them.

“You know the speed limit,” she continued, “and know it’s not just a suggestion?”

“Yes,” Thompson responded.

“You could have kept going if you wanted to?”

“Yes.”

Thompson admitted that he was annoyed by the confrontation with the riders, but denied being angry. He also said he knew more or less where the cyclists were, even though he lost sight of them for a few moments when passing.

Stone then played the portion of the 911 tape where the doctor told the operator he’d “slammed on the brakes,” asking if he now denied that. “That’s correct,” he said, “I did not slam on the brakes.”

Her next question hit hard, even though the judge sustained the defense’s objection to it. “You got teary eyed when you talked about how you felt about this. Is that something you worked on with your attorney before you testified?”

She continued, “Do you have experience taking pictures of cyclists riding at 30 miles per hour using a cell phone?”

“I guess I didn’t think it through,” he answered.

She also asked if he seriously expected Watson and Crosby to give him their names after they “shot him the shaft.”

She then went through the testimony provided by LAPD Officer Rodriguez line by line; Thompson agreed he had said everything that Rodriguez reported about the incident with Peterson and Stoehr, with the single exception that he never said he wanted to teach them a lesson.

And she concluded by saying once again, “You could have kept going, but you didn’t.”

Read more about Thompson’s testimony in the L.A. Times and VeloNews.

Click here for a full report on Thursday’s closing arguments; click here, here, here, and here for previous reports on the trial.

The jury began deliberations late Thursday, and will resume on Monday morning; the courthouse was closed on Friday.

I can’t get past my relationship with trees.  I live in a house made of what used to be trees.  The bed I sleep in was fashioned from a tree, bought by some great grandparent of mine.  All of my guitars and drums were once strong trees, birch, maple, spruce, ash.  The living trees of my city build a canopy over my head, starting from the time I walk down the (wooden) steps of my home and step onto the ground, where the leaves all crunch when I step on them.  Down the street, lined with cottonwoods and aspens, across an intersection of busy cars.  Trees don’t get near the train track, but as I cross over it, looking both ways out of habit, I wonder what it looked like here before trains and people cut into the landscape to build this city.  The trees stretch over my head as I keep walking and cross the oval, three old rows of different species that stood still through two world wars.

Putting out my pipe, I step onto a campus boldly self-proclaimed as “green”.  I don’t think we know anything about green, we think green means turning off the lights when we leave the house.  I think green is a color.  I also think green is beautiful, and smells like summer, and looks like when I was ten or so, planting rows of little pine trees with my dad somewhere in Elbert County, Colorado, by a house he built for us to live in.  I wonder how many of those trees are still alive.   This thought process brought to you by Patrick Watson and the Cinematic Orchestra.  Listen to “To Build a Home”.  ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjjc59FgUpg ) Then listen to it again.  Then call me and we’ll cry and talk about it.

Out in the garden where we planted the seeds
There is a tree as old as me
Branches were sewn by the color of green
Ground had arose and passed it’s knees

By the cracks of his skin I climbed to the top
I climbed the tree to see the world
When the gusts came around to blow me down
I held on as tightly as you held onto me

I think God put more of his character into trees than we realize.  They don’t move from season to season, they don’t stop being there.  We stop noticing them, but trees are the houses we live in, the chairs we sit in, the beds we sleep in, the tables we eat on.  In spring they bloom or release cotton to fill the air and glow in the afternoon sun.  All summer they grow green, we climb in them, and they give us shade.  In fall they light up and glow a different color on their way to winter.  Then they paint themselves white and sleep in colorlessness until spring.  Like God, we see them differently as we go from season to season, but we don’t see them move, so we don’t always think about them.  We only notice them when they signify the changing seasons.  Oh, notice your God, climb to to top of the tree.  When the wind comes to blow you down, hold on as tightly as He held on to you.

CMJ, Mercury Lounge, 10/22.

I’ve pretty much have just been staring off into space today. just shutting everything off for a short bit because…well, all that i’ve been feeling today is frustration & exhaustion. i’m dying for some relief. i sound like such a baby at the moment, because the reality is: life isn’t that difficult right now. i’ve only been spent for the past weekend and today. its not like years and years of bs.

my preferred source of comfort isn’t available and the fact that she isn’t available is making me feel worse. i hate that i have that expectation and dependency (right now). that’s the most frustrating part. i never want someone to feel obligated, but damn it – i just want to hear her voice right now. oh well, good time to learn self-pacifying and coping skills.

its selfish, really, because life doesn’t revolve around me & i know that. she’s with her family for fuck’s sake, teadough. seriously, get a hold of yourself! i think its just because i’m at a pinnacle of frustration and she’s the most calming thing i know.

i think i’m tired of hearing myself whine.

here, listen to this.

Night three of CMJ went by in a blur. I somehow managed to make an appearance at no less than four music venues: Mercury Lounge, Le Poisson Rouge, Bowery Ballroom, and the Suffolk and all without an official CMJ badge! (Thanks, Bob Boilen.)  The sheer randomness of the evening was delightful. This is what a music festival should be like–flitting madly in between venues when the mood strikes, making new contacts, and running into people you haven’t seen in a while.

That said, I have to say that my favorite act of the night also happened to be the first one I saw–Patrick Watson. In many ways, Patrick Watson reminds me of sparser Andrew Bird–his music is beautifully orchestrated with a piano (which they literally wheeled through the audience and onto the stage), interesting percussion parts, and often a barrage of tubas, trumpets, trombones, bass, violins, guitars, bass, pianos, and guitars. His show last night, however, was more sparse.

Check out this video from NPR Music + WNYC to get an idea of Patrick Watson’s style. It’s pretty long, but the first song, “Beijing” from his recent album Wooden Arms is one of the best.

I have to admit though, Patrick Watson was not what I expected. The Mercury Lounge had the lights down low. I don’t know if it was the lighting or Watson’s demeanor, but the show was much edgier and more rock-oriented than I had thought it would be from listening to the album. If this was Andrew Bird, it was Andrew Bird with a kick.

One of the highlights of the performance was the song “Traveling Salesman.” The melody was creepily upbeat and carnivalesque, and Watson sang through a Megaphone, which distorted his voice in strangely gorgeous ways and made the vocals sound like a mesmerizing stream of propaganda. The track “Man Like You,” which I first heard in the great little French film C’est pas moi je le jure! was also fantastic. Watson’s falsetto in the song reminds me a bit of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon.

Then, something strange happened. A man started walking through the audience carrying what appeared to be one of those lamps with multiple heads, only in addition to being a source of light, these heads were also PA systems of some kind. Basically, it was a tree of megaphones coming out of a rucksack. I almost got hit in the head with it as it made its way to the stage. For the dramatic finale to his set, Watson then strapped on the contraption and proceeded to walk off the stage to the center of the floor, and there, surrounded by CMJ-goers and accompanied by a tambourine and a drum, he sang through this contraption, which made for quite a memorable performance.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Smelser

Tonday – day four – should be fairly eventful. I’ll be sure to report back when it’s all over…

Τρία χρόνια πέρασαν από τότε που εκείνο το τηλεφώνημα διέκοψε τον ύπνο μου. Τρία χρόνια από τότε που η παγωμένη φωνή της αδερφής μου με ενημέρωσε για την αναχώρηση σου. Προσπαθώ μάταια να επαναφέρω όλες τις λεπτομέρειες εκείνης της μέρας. Το φαγητό που έφαγα, την ταινία που είδα ή το τελευταίο τραγούδι που άκουσα πριν πέσω για ύπνο. Τρία χρόνια δεν είναι και τόσο μεγάλο διάστημα αναλογίζομαι και συνεχίζω την ανέλπιστη προσπάθεια ανάπλασης μιας θλιμμένης μέρας. Προσπαθώ να θυμηθώ τον εαυτό μου προβάλλοντας την εικόνα του στο μυαλό μου σαν μια παλιά φωτογραφία, να διαπιστώσω πόσο διαφορετικά ήταν το πρόσωπο μου, τα μαλλιά μου,
η επιδερμίδα μου. Προσπαθώ να ανασύρω όλες εκείνες τις σκέψεις, τα
συναισθήματα και τα σχέδια που στοίχειωναν τα όνειρα μου πριν από
εκείνο το τηλεφώνημα και διαπιστώνω με απογοήτευση πως θυμάμαι
μόνο όλα αυτά που ακολούθησαν αυτού. Όλα τα δάκρυα και τις δυνατές
φωνές που τρυπούσαν τα αυτιά μου, τους θεατρινίστικους θρήνους
και τα λόγια συμπαράστασης που έμοιαζαν με το χειρότερο σενάριο
ελληνικής τηλεοπτικής σειράς. Ένα κακόγουστο αστείο που περίμενα
καρτερικά να τελειώσει θέτοντας τον εαυτό μου σε κατάσταση απόλυτης
αδράνειας, μια αδράνεια που στάθηκε ανίσχυρη στην μετέπειτα αίσθηση
της απουσίας σου. Κανείς δεν με είχε προετοιμάσει για κάτι τέτοιο, κανείς δεν μπορεί να σε προετοιμάσει για κάτι τέτοιο.
Τρία χρόνια πέρασαν από τότε που εκείνο το τηλεφώνημα διέκοψε τον ύπνο μου.
Τρία χρόνια πέρασαν από τότε που ένα τηλεφώνημα με ξύπνησε στο πιο
θλιμμένο όνειρο.

Written By: Jim Markunas
(Editor-In-Chief)

Photos by: Sarah Yeo

View all of the Patrick Watson Live Photos here.

Patrick Watson was quite the treat! I walked into the concert not knowing anything about the artist and his band, but I left a complete believer. Patrick Watson is a combination of John Mayer, Coldplay and Radiohead (From the “Kid A”-era before they got boring and drippy). Not only are each and every one of the musicians in the band, Patrick included, multi-instrumentalists and exceptionally talented, they also put on a hell of a show. They brought in James Brown’s old sound guy, and had a light show that could go toe-to-toe with any of Coldplay’s arena theatrics.

Patrick is by no means lazy – In addition to having a sultry Mayer-esq voice, strong enough to be heard without a microphone, he understands the value of showmanship. He made quips and jokes to the audience, and made us all feel as if we were part of the show. At one point, Patrick jumped off stage and sang to the audience, from the audience, without the aid of a mic.

Even more unbelievable was Patrick’s band. The drummer was the embodiment of percussion, as every move was executed as if he and his drums were somehow cosmically connected. He also backed up Patrick’s beautifully orchestrated piano playing with tonal chimes (while at the same time playing the drums), creating a sonically-beautiful and unique atmospheric effect. The bass and guitar managed to seamlessly blend with the music, yet stand out at the same time; this is hard to pull off well, and is a rare quality that can’t be over-looked.

The song that stood out the most to me was “I Like You,” the band’s lover’s ballad. This song has major cross-over potential, and gave me the urge to make out with a hot chick… and I would have too, if the sound booth hadn’t been such a sausage fest!!!!

Patrick Watson and Co. are extremely popular in Europe, and are starting to make a major push in the US. My only concern is that Patrick’s music may be too sophisticated for mainstream American audiences, as it lacks the standard pop structure (verse, chorus, verse, solo, chorus, etc.) However, Muse was misunderstood by American audiences on their first US release, but eventually ended up as a household name. I whole-heartedly believe that Patrick Watson may be the next Coldplay or Radiohead if given the right opportunities and hooked up with the right producers.

Patrick’s performance was so unbelievable, my review can’t possibly do it justice. If you have the chance, check out Patrick and his band in San Francisco on October 20th or New York on October 22nd. These are the only US dates remaining on his tour.

View drummer Robbie Kuster playing the saw.

Threes and Nines opened, and were also a stellar act – kind of like The Violent Femmes with happier lyrics – gritty/pretty music that could easily find a home in and David Lynch film or Las Vegas drinking binge.

Daha önce Lykke Li ve El Perro Del Mar’ın San Francisco sokaklarındaki performansını müzik defterine koymuştum. Ama blogotheque ekibini çok da araştırmamıştım. Ama bugün sitelerinde girdiğimde ve birkaç röportajlarını okuduğumda aslında ne kadar mükemmel bir proje olduğunu fark ettim..

Paris’te yaşayan bu guerilla ekip, müzik ve filmi sokaklarda, değişik mekanlarda bir araya getiriyorlar. Take Away Shows adı altında çektikleri bu canlı performansların özelliği farklı mekanlarda, spontane olmaları. Seçtikleri isimler de, çektikleri mekanlar da çok etkileyici! Bir asansörün içinde Arcade Fire, bir gitar dükkanının içinde Eric Truffaz, Teksas sokaklarında bir kamyonetin arkasında Jose Gonzales, nehrin ortasında bir teknede French Cowboys, kocaman bir mutfakta Efterklang, hareket halindeki bir minibüsün içinde Vampire Weekend, tuvalette Grizzly Bear veya süpermarkette Bowerbirds performansı izlemeyi kim istemez?

Fikir ortaya şöyle çıkmış.. Proje sahipleri Moon ve Chryde, Arcade Fire’ın Paris’teki konserinde sahneden inip herkesle birlikte sokağa çıkmasından ve performansını sokakta sergilemesinden çok etkilenmişler. “Aslında hepimizin müzikten istediği bu” diye düşünüp, Blogotheque’i, 2006 yılında kurmuşlar. 

“La blogotheque presente un concert a emporter” ibaresiyle açılıyor tüm video’lar. Ve her videonun çekim hikayesini okuyabiliyorsunuz site üzerinden..

Take away show’ların birkaçından bahsedeyim…

Yo La Tengo - Sokaklarda çocuklar eşliğinde With a girl like You, tek kelimeyle muhteşem bir performans (ekip de onları best of the best olarak ifade ediyor)

Eric Truffaz - Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner’ parçasının performansını bir gitar dükkanının içinde gerçekleştiriyor.

My Brightest Diamond - büyüleyici bir performans; ormanda ağaçların arasında yalnızda ksilofon eşliğinde bir Disappear performansı veya New York’ta suyun ortasında L’Hymne A L’Amour seslendirişi izlemeye değer.

Sebastian Tellier - Şahane! Belfort’ta gece nehirde bir iskelede, ateşlerin arasında eğlenceli bir performans.

Animal Collective - Alışveriş arabaları ve kukalarla Animal Collective’e yakışır bir performans.

Patrick Watson - Ekibiyle birlikte cadde üzerinde bir camekanın içinde veya metroda veya gece sokaklarda etkileyici performanslarını sergiliyor.

Architecture in Helsinki - gümbür gümbür bir şov. Heart it Races’ı apartman pencerelerinden sokağa bağırarak seslendiriyorlar. Sadece biraz daha iyi çekilebilirdi sanki..

Fleet Foxes - Armonilerini en güzel yankıyı veren Grand Palais’de sergiliyorlar.

Jose Gonzales - Teksas sokaklarında, hareket halindeki bir kamyonetin arkasında Hints’i seslendiriyor

Sigur Ros - La Closerie des Lilas’nın içinde Vid Spilum Endalaust performansı çok keyifli.

French Cowboys - ‘A Sall Away Show’ bu kez.. Nehrin ortasında bir teknede çok keyifli bir performans.

Vampire Weekend - Otoparkta Kids Don’t Stand A Chance performansı veya hareket halindeki bir minibüsün içinde Mansard Roof seslendirişler çok keyifli.

Beirut - Paris sokaklarında kalabalık orkestrasıyla kur dolu performansı çok güzel.

Arcade Fire - Bir asansörün içinde Neon Bible seslendiriyor. Mutlaka izlenmeli.

Efterklang - Grafitilerle dolu duvarların arasında, merdivenlerde Mirador performansı veya Bottom of the Hill mutfağında Echo Wave performansı çok güzel.

Lykke Li ve El Perro Del Mar - San Francisco sokaklarında After Laughter, Dance Dance Dance ve Somebodys Baby düetlerini yapıyorlar.

Grizzly Bear – Küçücük bir tuvalette Shift’i seslendiriyor veya Paris sokaklarında yürüyen bir a capella korosu olarak The Knife’ı söylüyorlar.

Tom Jones – Otel odasında We Got Love, If We Should Ever Leave You, Green Green Grass of Home parçalarını seslendiriyor.

Bloc Party – Bar kapısının önünde This Modern Love’ın akustik performansını sergiliyor.

Stephen Malkmus - Kapanmış bir barın içinde, ters çevrilmiş sandalyelerin arasında We Can’t Help You seslendiriyor.

St Vincent – Çatı katı bir odada yatağın içerisinde Marry Me parçasını seslendiriyor.

Xiu Xiu – şişeler, kutular ve bilimum aparatlarla değişik bir Improvisation performansı gerçekleştiriyor.

Bu yazdıkların sanırım sitede bulunan performansların sadece 4′te biri.. Diğerlerini bizzat vatanında görmek üzere buraya tıklayın..

Favori videolarımı eklemek istiyorum ama liste çok uzar. O yüzden sadece birkaçını aşağıda ekliyorum, izlemenizi şiddetle öneriyorum. Yakında dvd de basarlar herhalde.. Basarlarsa her müzik severin koleksiyonuna gireceğinden eminim! Peki ben Blogotheque olsam kimi nerede çekmek isterdim acaba? Bunu bir düşüneyim……..