Gig 9: Okkervil River @ Northsix 11/12/05

第九弾: Okkervil River ライブ ＠ Northsix

It took some effort to see this gig. First off, I invited some friends to go see Okkervil River on the night of the 11th at the Knitting Factory (where I saw Velvet Teen live). I was pretty sure there was no need to buy tickets in advance online, so we decided to buy the tickets at the door. It turned out the tickets were sold out 3 hours before we got there. So we lingered around and sneaked inside the venue, and got kicked out. The guy at the door was pissed to see us coming out of the venue when he told us 30 min before that we weren't allowed in. Who cares, he was being a total jackass anyways. And then I found out Okk was playing the next day as well, just at Brooklyn. So I dragged my ass across the bridge into the heart of darkness to see the damn show. And it was worth it.

11日の夜に友達とOkkervil Riverを見に行った（ちなみに場所はvelvet teenのライブで行ったクラブKnitting Factory）のだが、その場でチケット買おうとしたらまさかの売り切れ。衛兵が注意を逸らしてる間に潜入ミッションを試みたけどあえなく発見され叩きだされてしまった。中から出てきた時のドアマンの 「 ! 」なリアクションは言うまでもない。「テメーら二度とチケット買いわすれんじゃねーぞkf＃％ｊはういお３３２あぎゃーふじこ」って叫んでたし。それで次の夜わざわざ橋を越えブルックリンでのライブを見にいきましたとさ。




Charles Bissel (of the Wrens) was the first of two opening act bands to play that night. Interesting guy, though I couldn't hear a single thing he said even through the mic because he spoke oh so softly. He does the real-time-layering technique where he layers guitar tracks right in front of the audience. It was pretty cool he covered Okkervil River's "It Ends With a Fall".

And then came MAN MAN. These obnoxious boys totally rocked the house. Call them wild boyz. Crazy dudes, danger high voltage material, funny as hell. The picture above is of them.

Charles Bisselのソロが最初の前座ショー。マイク通しても声が聞こえないほど静かに喋る人。生レイヤーテク：リアルタイムで次から次へと自分で演奏した音に更に音を重ねていくテク、を駆使したプレイ。Okkervil Riverの"It Ends With a Fall"をカバーしてたのが印象的。

そして今回のダークホース、Man Man登場。こいつらイ・カ・レ・テ・ル！！！いやホント、おもわぬ笑いっつーか狂バンドっつーか。鎮火気味だった会場の熱気も一気にハイボルテージに。



Horns and an accordion. Can't really see the horns.

CDの音を再現するためブラス系楽器やアコーディオンもしっかり配備。



The place was completely over-popluated, swamped with people. I understood instantly how they managed to sell out the tickets the night before.

文字通り寿司詰め状態。前の晩のチケットが完売したのもうなずける。



Number of injuries among the band members. The frontman just recovered from hurting his vocalchords and the drummer still has a fractured wrist bone. Yet they played an extensive setlist of 22 songs with hyper-energetic, intensive buoyancy.

ライブ中のMCでも説明してたけどフロントマンはつい最近まで喉を酷く痛めていたらしく、更にはドラマーまでも手首の骨にまだヒビが入っているというケガ人集団。それでも22曲もの長セットリストを最初から最後まで超ハイテンションで演奏しやがったよ、素晴らしい奴等め。







Apparently, the Brooklyn gig had one the best setlists, and was one of the best live performances by Okkervil. I could agree though, that was some awesome gig. They should play at larger venues to accomodate the large number of fans they have acquired.

どうやらブルックリンでのライブはオカビル史上最高のセットリストとパフォーマンスだったらしい。確かにとてもいいライブだった。かなりの曲数こなしてたし。これだけファンが増えたんだからこれからはもっと大きい会場で演奏して欲しいもんだ。








-Setlist-
01 - Velocity of Saul
02 - Down the River of Golden Dreams
03 - It Ends With a Fall
04 - Red
05 - A King and a Queen
06 - The War Criminal Rises and Speaks
07 - The Latest Toughs
08 - A Stone
09 - Song of Our So-Called Friend
10 - Seas Too Far To Reach
11 - Blanket and Crib
12 - Some Weird Sin
13 - Black
14 - No Key, No Plan
15 - For Real
16 - So Come Back, I'm Waiting
17 - Westfall
----------ENCORE-----------
18 - Missing Children
19 - Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas
20 - Lady Liberty
21 - A Favor
22 - Okkervil River Song

Gig 8: Gravenhurst @ Webster Hall 11/10/05

第八弾: Gravenhurst ライブ ＠ ウェブスターホール

Gravenhurst is Nick Talbot, singer-song writer from Bristol, England. I picked up his first album some time ago back in Japan. Interesting thing is, the CD was re-released from Warp records in 2003, and his music - dark, lonely acoustic guitar music - was totally out of place for a electronica-oriented label like Warp. His latest album, Fires In Distant Buildings, detaches somewhat from his previous material in that it is more band-sound style rather than a one-man acoustic guitar singing style.

イギリスのブリストル出身、Nick Talbotが暗くて寂しい曲をアコギ一本で弾き語る...これが今までのGravenhurst。それが何故か新アルバムでは趣向を変えてノイジーなギターを多く取り入れ、よりバンドっぽい音に。




The place was furnished like a fuckin haunted house. Weird dolls above doors, wine-red curtains, glow-in-the-dark bathroom doors, gargoyle like sculptures, antique furniture, black-and-white tiled floor...Goths would love the place. It had to be at least 5 decades old.

古びた洋館を発見。入りますか？＞はい。
…この館は呪われている！写真に写る悪霊の群れが！！そして人をゾンビに変える恐ろしいウィルスが…！！！（略

不気味な内装の古洋館といったところ。そのままお化け屋敷として使えるくらい。変な人形やらなんやら、ゴスの巣っつーか溜まり場にはうってつけですな。ゴス集会場。



Nice layout.

ビリヤード台もあり、バーもライトアップされている。



There were two other bands playing that night: Broadcast and Tralala. Broadcast also released a new album from Warp records, and most of the peole were there to see her performance. Tralala was this girl-power band that featured four (or was it five?) girl vocals.

BroadcastとTralalaも登場。前者はGravenhurstと同レーベルで活動中の人。もう片方は初めて見たけど五人の女の子ヴォーカルをフィーチャーしたロックバンドだった。





All the songs except for the last one were from his new album. When played live you can see clearly that his new material is more kraut rock / post rock-ish than his previous acoustic music.

最後の一曲以外は全て新しいアルバムから。ライブで聴くと新しい曲が今までの彼の音楽と全く違う（どっちかっていうとクラウトロック・ポストロック系）ってのがよく分かる。



He did a Kinks cover, which is also included in the new album.

Kinksの"See My Friends"を演奏。このカバー曲は新アルバムにも収録されてる。



After the gig, Nick Talbot himself and his bandmates went to the fan merchanise booth to sell shirts. I picked up an edition of a Japanese music magazine called "Cookie Scene" a while ago and it featured an interview of him, so I asked him about it. He's like, "Ooh, I'm not too sure, I did quite a few interviews". Oops.

演奏後、ニック自らファングッズを売っていたので、ちょっと話してみた。

「あなたのインタビューこないだ読みましたよ」

「へぇー、どれ？」

「日本の音楽雑誌で「クッキーシーン」ってやつなんですけど」

「んー、悪いけど覚えてないや」


本当にありがとうございました

ダメじゃんクキシンｗｗｗ

注：Nick Talbot自身は気さくでとてもいい人でした。ただちょっと忘れっぽ（略

-Setlist-
01 - Down River
02 - Velvet Cell
03 - Cities Beneath the Sea
04 - Song From Under the Arches
05 - See My Friends (Kinks Cover)
06 - Black Holes In the Sand

Gig 7: The Silent League @ Rothko 11/08/05

第七弾: The Silent League ライブ ＠ ロスコー


Orchestral pop band from Brooklyn. Somehow manages, although not so elegantly at times, to fit ten people on a small, underground club stage. The frontman Justin Russo worked as a keyboardist for Mercury Rev for the albums "Deserter's Songs" and "All Is Dream".

Btw, this was also a 21+ live but I devised a simple and absolutely free way to get past the age check. So, I successfuly fooled the bouncer and walked in. I OWNED YOUR ASS! Call 1-800-FUCKAGELIMIT for more information on how to get into age restricted gigs.

ブルックリンで結成されたオーケストラルポップバンド。まだ新しいバンドだからクラブの小さいステージで演奏するのに妥協しないで無理やり10人の演奏者をステージ上に詰め込むその意気込みには思わず脱皮。

ちなみにこのライブも21歳以下立ち入り禁止だったけどとある方法で潜入に成功。前回失敗した分最高の気分だね。




The gig was actually the first of a monthly showcase of NY bands called Friction.

毎月NYのバンドを集めてクラブやバーでライブを開くFrictionっつーイベントの第一回だったそうで。他のバンドは聞いたこともなかったけど。



Welcome to Rothko.




My photo's didn't turn out good at all so the pictures posted here are taken from the site run by the guys who organize the Friction event (without permission).

帰って写真を見たら暗すぎて全く撮れてませんでした。
一人だけハッキリ写ってるけどどう見ても目の前に立っていたババアの後頭部です。
本当にありがとうございました

っつーわけでFriction関係者のブログから勝手に写真を拝借＆掲載。








With the brass instruments and the two violinists, it sounded like a pop jazz band with a string instrument section.

ジャズバンドにストリングスを足したような感じ。




They really cram a lot of players on a small stage. At one point near the end of the gig, the side guitarist knocked over his mic stand and barely held it up with the neck of his guitar. He just decided to drop it in the end though.

最後の方でサイドギタリストがマイクスタンドを倒してしまい、なんとかギターのネックで持ち上げてたけど、結局あきらめて床に落としてた。





















Can't believe they didn't play "Breathe". The music video is totally weird for that song but the song itself sounds pretty good. But at least they played The Catbird Seat in the end. Krazy trumpet solo for that song.

残念ながらBreatheはスルー、演奏してくれなかった。一応The Catbird Seatは演奏した。










-Setlist-
01 - Intro
02 - ？？？
03 - NEW SONG 1 (新曲 1)
04 - Time
05 - NEW SONG 2 (新曲 2)
06 - NEW SONG 3 (新曲 3)
07 - Linus
08 - Aeroplanes (new song? 新曲？)
09 - ？？？
10 - Goliath
11 - The Catbird Seat

Random Disk Review - 適当ディスクレビュー

Went to see Swords (formerly known as The Swords Project) play at Mercury Lounge with opening act Say Hi To Your Mom....and the attempt ended as a failure. Apparently, the place has a strict age limit of over 21 to enter. Letting anyone under 21 in is as illegal as buying a TV without license in South Africa. I had no form of ID, fake or real, I'm underage and that was the end of the story. So I'll just do a random disk review.

えー事の顛末を語ると、旧The Swords Project現在名The Swordsのライブ（前座にはSay Hi To Your Momの名も）が行われる会場マーキュリーラウンジに行ったはいいけど21歳以下は立ち入り禁止のバーということであえなく門前払い、拍子抜けして適当にディスクレビューでも、と。入り口の黒人用心棒をなんとか説得しようとしたけど20ドル払ったら裏口からとかそんな事言い始めたからやめにした。ケチ。


Swords (ex The Swords Project)
Metropolis


So this is the latest Swords album. They changed their name with the release of this album, making it harder for people to search for them online. They are a 6 piece, atmospheric rock band from Portland. Surprisingly, it seems less new material than I expected compared to their "Entertainment Is Over If You Want It" album. I had the idea these guys were the innovative type, and since they changed their band name with the release of this album, I thought they would come up with a completely new approach. Either way, Metropolis offers some note-worthy points: similar to their previous album, they have compiled all their sounds - guitar, drums, strings - in such a fashion that all the sounds are mashed into one, creating a wall of sound without any one prominent sound standing out from the others. Unlike many atmospheric rock bands, these guys incorporate a lot of actual singing in their songs. At times, they layer vocals, contributing to the songs with an almost instrument-like quality. I really liked "city life" from their previous album with its abrupt funky breakdown without a warning, but it seems as if they eliminated that option for this new album.

これがそのSwordsの新譜。このアルバムをもって正式に改名、検索エンジンでほぼ確実に引っかからなくなった。6人のメンバーが織り成す空間系ポストロックの音はどこか未来っぽいサウンドだが普通の空間系と違って歌も入れたりしてる。前作と比べてもあまり音楽的に違ったものはないと思う。残念なのは前作の"city life"みたいに途中からガラッと音が変わるような仕掛けの曲が無いこと。このバンドの特徴としては全ての音をまとめてでっかい音の塊にしたような感じで、なにか一つの楽器が他より目立つとかそういうのは無いこと。ストリングスも他のストリングス入りポストロックバンドに比べて控えめで、どっちかというとほとんどギター音が独占してる。是非ライブで聴きたかった…惜しいことを。



Giardini Di Miro
Punk...Not Diet!


Here it is, Italian Postrock. And it's good. Giardini Di Miro succeeds in recreating God Speed You Black Emperor!-esque brass instruments/loud drums/soaring guitar/strings compilation music with an addition of electric bleeps but without too much of the gloomy ambience that many post rock bands have. It still does have an underlying somber tone to it though, yet it is cleverly covered with lush soundscapes.

イタリアのポストロック。これまた珍しい。でも内容は他の国のポストロックに負けず劣らず…どころかむしろかなり良く出来てる。ブラス楽器にドラム、歪みギターにストリングス、更に電子音全てがうまく調合されていて、ポストロックにありがちな暗い雰囲気もない。　




Jens Lekman
When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog


"Did you eat your banana from 7-11?"

"Tram no.1 is full of fun, Tram no.2 is cootchie-coo, Tram no.3 is misery, Tram no.4 knocks at your door, Tram no.5 I'm still alive, Tram no.6 I think I'm fixed, Tram no.7...Tram no.7 to heaaaaveeeennn"

"Yeah I got busted. In custody I imagined our melody being played on the piano...Yeah I got busted. I painted a dirty word on your old man's mercedes benz because you told me to do it"

"When people think of Sweden I think they have the wrong idea. Like Cliff Richards who thought it was just porn and gonorrhea. And Lou Reed said in the film "Blue in the face" that compared to New York City, Sweden was a scary place"

Imagine all these lyrics sung in old-fashioned, dreamy, acoustic pop songs with a deep but clear voice. Swedish bands kick ass.


タイトル「僕が君の犬になりたいと言った時」


「セブンイレブンのバナナは食べたかい？♪」

ほう！バナナ！
ほう！

歌詞が最高だよ歌詞が

「一号車は楽しさ一杯
　二号車はコチョコチョ
　三号車は悲惨
　四号車はドアをノックする
　五号車は僕まだ生きてる
　六号車は僕直ったと思う
　七号車は……七号車は天～国～♬」

これ全部さわやかレトロ調の夢見心地アコースティックポップに乗せて低くて抜けのいい声で歌い上げられてて絶妙にハマってる。

終いにはスチールドラムまで…ってスウェーデンアーティスト？ええっ？ｗ
もうこれからスウェーデン産のバンドは無条件で応援してやるよ。




Set Fire To Flames
Sings Reign Rebuilder


Here's another post rock band with a total of 13 musicians. They're from post rock central, Canada, specifically Montreal. 5 of those 13 gangstas are actually former Godspeed You Black Emperor! members. Heavily string-oriented with numerous environmental sounds infused (i.e. sound of traffic, wooden windmill creaking sounds, etc), but yeah, strings are most prominent I'd say. The songs are definitely not as long as GYBE! songs but they follow a similar sort of ambience with overlayering of warm-sounding string instruments.

13人のメンバーの内五人が元Godspeedメンバーっつー正統派ポストロック形式バンド。もちろんポストロックセンターであるカナダ産、具体的にはモントリール出身。音もそのまんま五人分の濃厚凝縮Godspeed成分を残りの8人が薄めた感じ。Godspeed程ひとつひとつの曲が長くはないが、ストリングスを多用してる点ではかなり似ている。あと渋滞の音だとか木製風車の軋む音だとか環境音を一杯取り入れてる所も面白い。全体的にはアンビエントな雰囲気だけど温かなストリングスの音色を上手く重ねているのでバランスの取れた仕上がりになった曲が多いといった印象。




Dead Meadow
Feathers


Stoner rock. Fuzzy guitar sounds stretch lazily across the air while the drum apathetically produces uneven beats and suddenly a dirty sounding guitar bursts in with a random, half-assed solo, ending in a jumble of noise. Also, nasaly vocals. It was made when the musicians were stoned and it is meant to be listened to when you are stoned. No twinkley-twinkley here, just muffled buzzes all the way from beginning to end.

ヤク中毒者ロック。ベッタリくっつくようなヴォーカルに毛羽立ってぼやけているギター、やる気のないドラム。いまいちサイケな感じがしないのは音数が少ないからだろうか。あと全体的に凄くテンポの遅い曲が多い。ただひたすらモヤモヤした質感の曲が次から次へと続く。正にドラッグ野郎ご用達バンド。



DELTA FORCE
Starring CHUCK NORRIS


"Dis iz a haijak! Open cockpit or I'll blow plane!"

"I was in Beirut 20 years ago. You should've been here then. It was beautiful! Beirut had casinos, dances, parties, concerts. It was the Las Vegas of the Middle East."

"It's a go. TAKE THEM DOWN!"

Classic. Totally classic.

デルタフォースは俺の中では歴代「90年代よく見た安っぽい映画」に勝手に殿堂入り。