They Might Be Giants w/Young Rival @ The Mod Club

Well, I relived my teen years by FINALLY seeing They Might Be Giants in concert last night at The Mod Club. I was a rabid fan back in 1990, when I played the heck out of my cassette copy of "Flood," simultaneously amusing and irritating my friends at the time. Well, the long-time fans and newbies all congregated together in one massive throng as the band did everything they could to please both camps. They started the night off with a couple of songs from their better-than-average latest CD "The Else" before pulling out some old favourites, some older favourites, a few more new ones, some surprises and a couple of encores. Among the surprises for me, were hearing them perform "Minimum Wage" in all its 47 second glory. One of my best friends back in the day used to tell everyone he knew that it was the best song of all time, just to see what reaction he would get. If there was ever a time to pull out the silly dancing, that was it. They also played the absolutely convoluted "Fingertips", which Flansburg introduced as "only 3 minutes in length, but somehow much shorter." If you know the song, then you know what he means. During the "I'm having a heart attack" portion of the song, Flansburg also played up the crooning boy band angle to gut-wrenching effect. Another nice surprise was hearing them perform "Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head" for apparently the first time in several years. And finally, the encores consisted of classics like "Particle Man," "The Famous Polka" and "Twisting." I've always viewed the band as witty, clever, oftentimes silly, but always entertaining. The concert simply entrenched those feelings even further, as they put on another one of the "best shows I've seen this year." (I do realize that if I don't stop saying that, it's going to get increasingly more difficult for people to take me seriously...)

Opening band Young Rival is one of the best bands I've seen all year. (D'oh!) Fact is, when I lived in Burlington, I used to go to Hamilton on a regular basis to see these guys perform. This is back when they were still known as The Ride Theory. At that time, they really played up the 60's garage band angle, and it was entirely convincing. I was curious to see what changes came along with the name tweak. Well, the biggest difference is that now they are simply playing up the rock 'n roll band angle. The zoot suits and skinny ties may be gone, but the energy is still there in full force, and their performance never slagged, not for a moment. They've still got it, from the classic riffs to the appealing hooks. I sincerely think that if bands were promoted properly, the way they were back in the days when rock 'n roll was still in its infancy, then Young Rival would have girls screaming and fainting in the aisles, the way they did for The Beatles back in '64. Every time I see them in concert, I catch sight of someone completely losing it on the dance floor, head shaking and hip shaking their lives away. Their music continues to be invariably contagious and if you haven't yet had the chance to see them live, please do. You won't regret it.

Hear They Might Be Giants on myspace.
Check out my pics of TMBG on flickr.
Hear Young Rival on myspace.
Check out my pics of Young Rival on flickr.

St. Vincent and Other Exciting Things

There are several music related tidbits that I have found out about recently that have me as excited as a music freak can possibly be.

First off, I'm going to be seeing St. Vincent (or Annie Clark to her parents) at The Horseshoe tomorrow night. Her album "Marry Me" has been in constant rotation on my ipod for the past week in preparation for the big show. I was completely blown away by her, when she opened for Midlake back in February, and then, after further research, I realized that I was already sort of a fan, thanks to her association with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens. Her performance that night was quite a bit different than the way she sounds on this release, but I'm a big fan of both. Live, she was just a crazy, brilliant and endearing performer with a guitar and piano, shifting easily between hyperactivity and sensitivity. She does the same on the album, only with a much fuller sound. Apparently she plays the bulk of the instruments herself (and there's a heckuva lot of them) and, for me, she comes across as sort of a Kate Bush for the new millennium.

Download:
Now Now mp3
Visit St Vincent on myspace.

Also, on Monday, I'm finally seeing They Might Be Giants, which is something that I've been wanting to do since my late teens. But what has recently added to my excitement is the news that Hamilton's Young Rival (formerly known as The Ride Theory) are going to be opening the show. To this day, I still consider them to be one of the most fun bands to see live. It's like entering into a time warp to the late 60's, perhaps dropping into one of the club scenes in Antonioni's Blow Up. A mod show at The Mod Club. Hmm. Interesting.

Speaking of opening acts, I also recently found out that The Last Town Chorus will be opening for Camera Obscura on August 26th. That is going to be one outstanding double bill. Sadly, it's being held at The Phoenix, in all of its glorious packed in like sardines-ness. That means we'll have to get there early so that we can stand at the front so that I can see something. Because I'm short. Either that or everybody that goes to a concert is tall. Whatev's.

As I've been mourning the absence of The Weekend in my life (I'm speaking about the band, although I often miss the literal weekend as well,) I've recently discovered that frontchik Andrea Wasse (who is apparently residing in L.A these days) has started another side project called Macleod. Judging by the songs on their myspace, Andrea's still got it man. Purrfect pop that everybody would be better off listening to.

And finally, I recently heard from the Pop Kulcher blog, who recently heard from the I Am Fuel blog, that R.E.M. has been debuting several new songs at their Olympia Theatre shows in Dublin. One of those shows is available for download on that site. If the final songs sound as good as the live versions posted here, than R.E.M. will officially have made their third comeback, in my opinion, which puts them one up on U2. I haven't heard them sound this exciting since 1986. That's pretty significant. Huzzah!!!

They Might Be Giants - The Else

At one time, They Might Be Giants were actually the biggest alternative band in America. Of course, this prompted John Flansburgh to remark that being the biggest alternative band is “like being the world’s tallest midget.” I think it’s safe to say that the glory days of TMBG have long since passed us by. The nostalgia that drapes over me by way of memories of listening to 1990’s “Flood” over and over and over again to both the amusement and annoyance of my friends is one of those moments in time that can be revisited often but never repeated.

However, that doesn’t mean that the two Johns (Flansburgh and Linnell) have lost their ability to coin a witty phrase and a catchy melody. They may have dabbled a bit in the world of children’s music in recent years but the new CD “The Else,” although flawed, is probably their best adult release in a little while. Having it co-produced by The Dust Brothers (Beck, Beastie Boys) does give it a slight edge, but overall this is a straight forward TMBG album. The first two songs, “I’m Impressed” and “Take Out The Trash” are very good and hark back to the “Factory Showroom” era of the band. Set to a funky backdrop, the lyrics “Girl, why not take out the trash / and once you get him out/ tell him not to come back again…” may read like they should be in an Aretha Franklin song or something, but having the boys sing it just adds to its charm. Other highlights are “Bee the Bird of the Moth” which is filled with more of TMBG’s trademark kooky wordplay and goofy round-like background vocals, coupled with Motown-style horns. The best song is definitely the last one, “The Mesopotamians” which is a unique tale of a fictional band, featuring the band members “Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal and Gilgamesh.” Only TMBG could sing those names in any kind of poetic fashion. The CD is already available for download on iTunes, but if you wait for the official hardcopy release on July 10^th, you get a bonus disc chock full of more TMBG-goodness.

Visit TMBG on myspace.
Their official website offers free and exclusive mp3’s, podcasts and all kinds of nest stuff.