Ryan Adams & the Cardinals Live @ the Arlington Theater

Photo by Joker Style Productions
Ryan Adams must have a crazy calendar or something where he lays out his shenanigans for the year: December was his month off, but in January, the onslaught of YouTube videos began. I haven't been keeping up with them much, but apparently being single hasn't been so bad (musically, anyway), if his show at the Arlington the other night was any indication.

This Ryan Adams tour seems to be all about the Cardinals, and that's working well, if tonight's show was any indication. Adams has been saying he wants to be considered just one of the Cardinals in interviews for awhile now, and he's making good on his word. The whole band seemed to have a lot more energy than when I saw them play in July in L.A., and Adams wasn't sitting down or slouched over the whole time. Neal Casal contributed lead vocals to one of the songs (which I thought was pretty cool but a lot of my fellow audience members took as a signal to rush to the bar). Some of the songs were reworked a bit, with a much louder and aggressive version of "Bartering Lines" or a piano-driven, acoustic "Halloweenhead."

And guess who opened the show? Ryan Adams, acoustic and solo, was onstage before the show was scheduled to start, which was a real treat since usually you arrive to shows and have to wait 45 minutes from the scheduled start time. Masquerading as J.J. Bouillabaise, he claimed that "Ryan Adams wouldn't let me open for him unless I played his songs. That guy is such a prick... I hear he's great in the sack, though."

So obviously the sense of humor's still there, only this time, more coherent and audible. There could be an entire blog devoted to things Ryan Adams says in between songs, but it's probably more of a "you had to be there" sort of thing (necrophilia, anybody?). He made fun of reported "meltdowns," laid down on the floor and asked his band to "come pick me up," and muttered about how he couldn't figure out if he was feeling too hot or too cold... "Just like my last relationship," he quipped, "Except not that cold." ZING!

The thing about playing in Santa Barbara is that you're going to draw a comparatively older crowd than you would in, say, L.A., so unfortunately nobody stood up or anything (save for that one guy who ran to the front and rolled offstage). A little more enthusiasm on the part of the audience wouldn't hurt.

OPENING:
Call Me on Your Way Back Home
Damn Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains)
Blossom

SETLIST:
Bartering Lines
Cold Roses
Blue Hotel
Off Broadway
The Rescue Blues
Nightbirds
Everybody Knows
Goodnight Rose
The Sun Also Sets
Halloween Head
Freeway to the Canyon

SET BREAK
When The Stars Go Blue
Beautiful Sorta
Peaceful Valley
Dear Chicago
Happy Birthday Spacewolf
A Kiss Before I Go
Shakedown On 9th Street


ONE FINAL QUESTION: How many times am I going to have to go see Ryan Adams before he plays a Whiskeytown song? Heh.

My Morning Jacket @ ACL - One Hell Of A Beach Party

I'm back in California! And I've got Internet! And about 4 hours of sleep and jet lag! Let the blogging on the 2007 Austin City Limits fest begin! No pictures yet, though. I'm hoping mine turned out okay. It's my first time taking pictures at an event of this magnitude.

Wilco vs. My Morning Jacket... Wilco vs. My Morning Jacket -- a fairly matched battle (I mean, I wore my Wilco shirt home on the plane the next day) ultimately tipped by my desire to be up close for the Bob Dylan performance on Sunday night as well as the fact that one of my cousin's friends claimed that the MMJ set at Bonnaroo was better than Radiohead's. I don't care who you are, surely you cannot beat Radiohead's live show, right?

After cramming back into the crowd during Bloc Party's set at the AT&T stage (stocking up on water was mandatory and ultimately incredibly well-advised, given the claustrophobia and slowing of time that was to follow), we were in for another five hours before night's end. After Bloc Party was over, we managed to finagle "spots" about five rows back, front and center of the main stage. I use "spots" loosely, because they were more like specks... but that's the fun of festivals like this anyways, eh?

I thought My Morning Jacket just had an incredibly eccentric stage manager when a man in black wearing goggles on his head walked onstage and checked the set-up (that, or he'd been taking lessons from Mystery -- The Pickup Artist DID shoot in Austin, after all). Things got weirder, though, when several saronged men walked onstage with metal detectors. Then MMJ walk out, bedecked in water wings, fully sunscreened noses, bermuda shorts, leis, and Jim James's remarkably well-attached blonde wig (I mean, that wig musta been on tighter than Indiana Jones's legendary hat).

Yeah, it was hot down in the crowd, but all of a sudden, it didn't matter: this was all one big beach party, one end-of-summer hurrah (especially for me, since I don't start school again til next week!). The beach balls were flying, the pineapple girls were dancing, and most of all, the band was ripping through an amazing set that I didn't think could get any better... until out steps Andrew Bird accompanying the band on violin during "Gideon."

And we still had Bob Dylan to go.

The Immaculate Machine Hits Santa Barbara Saturday!!!

Immaculate Machine: Brooke Gallupe, Kathryn Calder and Luke Kozlowski

Last minute surprises! Immaculate Machine comes to town this weekend... and of course it's the weekend I'm going to be in Long Beach. Man oh man. the Immaculate Machine will be playing at the Biko Co-op on Saturday night at 8, with local bands Mouth and Clitorectomy and the Mutilators!! Amazing indie pop from Mint Records.

I complain a lot about not being close to the LA shows, but the great thing about Santa Barbara is that when bands do come around, they often play in our (by our, I mean college students) backyards here in Isla Vista! I saw the Advantage (the "8-bit Nintendo band," which is way more awesome than it sounds, and far less gimmicky) play last night at the Pink Mailbox. Great show. The crowd was really enthusiastic and captivated, especially when the band got gradually softer and softer until they were basically inaudible... "I can't hear you!" some drunk person jeered from the back, but it was all in good fun.

And, don't forget to go and check out Sea Wolf play downtown at SoHO this Thursday, Sept. 13, or Modest Mouse, who will be at the Bowl next weekend while I'm in Austin for ACL (and Hot Freaks! on Sept. 15). Enjoy the multitude of awesome musical events happening in Santa Barbara. You've earned it, neighbors.

LISTEN:
Immaculate Machine: "Dear Confessor" [MP3]
Modest Mouse: "Dashboard" [MP3]
Sea Wolf: "You're A Wolf" [MP3]

Agent Ribbons Plays Tonight In Santa Barbara!!!

Natalie Gordon and Lauren Hess are Agent Ribbons

...And since I'm not yet 21, I can't go to the show at Elsie's Tavern. If you are, or if you have a reasonably convincing fake ID (hey, I'm not endorsing that or anything, I'm just saying), head over there tonight to watch Sacramento's Agent Ribbons (with San Francisco's Little Teeth) @ 9 (that's like, RIGHT NOW! GO!). I saw them play earlier this year, and Natalie Gordon's got some stage power! And when I say some, I mean a lot.

I would make some sort of Jenny Lewis comparison, because of course all 20-something women who are cute and play indie rock have to be compared to Jenny Lewis (not that I don't appreciate Jenny Lewis, usually, but come on people, how lazy are we?), but really, I'd be lying and doing both ladies a disservice. The girls in Agent Ribbons are badass and I refuse to stereotype them (if that can be correctly used as a verb).

Seriously, though, their D-I-Y album, On Time Travel and Romance (2006) is a killer blend of Gordon's often sweet but just as often snarling vocals and some sharp, incisive but still poppy lyrics set to very catchy melodies that WILL get stuck in your head all day. And you probably won't mind.

LISTEN:
"Chelsea, Let's Go Join The Circus" [MP3] from On Time Travel and Romance
"Birds And The Bees" [MP3] from On Time Travel and Romance

ON THE WEB:
Agent Ribbons on MySpace

The Ladybug Transistor, Live @ Muddy Waters

I forgot to mention how much fun it was to see the Ladybug Transistor on Friday night at Muddy Waters in Santa Barbara. It's a really small little venue (small but really cozy and wonderful), and it was packed with dancing Santa Barbarians (yes, we are quite barbaric) enjoying the sounds of the Papercuts (great, great opener) and the Transistor itself. Muddy Waters is basically the only 18+ small venue in the area (other than the enormous Santa Barbara Bowl, which is all ages, and the various locations throughout Isla Vista), so it's great to see acts like these getting booked. Future attractions: the Spires, Mount Eerie, Saturday Looks Good To Me, The Coral Sea...

EDIT: and my good friend over at Foggy Ruins of Time has reminded me that the Lonesome Architects and always wonderful Watercolor Paintings will be playing this week!

ON THE WEB
The Ladybug Transistor's website
The Papercuts' MySpace
Muddy Waters' MySpace

Listen to some MP3s from THIS PREVIOUS POST.

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Bishop Allen: Live @ the Echo, 7/31

Bishop Allen just released its second album, The Broken String, last week, and it would be sufficient to say that quite a few were broken last night at the Echo. The openers weren't bad, despite Castledoor's ongoing war on the sound system and Page France sadly not making it, with Secretary Bird filling in (not to mention competition from the M.I.A. show going on downstairs), but it was BA who made my night. The band played with an intensity that their albums can only suggest, powering through most of their songs (aside from the lovely "Butterfly Nets," which I'm sure was a welcome breather for the band) in a way that was way more rock 'n' roll than indie pop (which I think might be many peoples' conception of them). It's so refreshing to see a band play that actually looks thrilled to be playing -- that excitement channels into the audience. Nobody who knew the lyrics seemed capable of refusing to sing along, and even the people behind me, who had no idea who BA was at the night's start, were dancing. I had fun seeing Bishop Allen last November at the Troubadour, too though -- don't know if this band is capable of performing a bad concert. Guess I'll have a chance to find out -- Christian told the audience BA would likely be back in Los Angeles in October.

THE SETLIST
The Same Fire
Busted Heart
Click Click Click Click
Middle Management
Choose Again
The Chinatown Bus
Things Are What You Make Of Them
Like Castanets
Rain
Butterfly Nets
Clementines
Corazon
The Monitor
Flight 180
Charm School

ON THE WEB:
Bishop Allen's website
Bishop Allen on MySpace

Ryan Adams: Live @ The Wilshire, 7/19/07

[Yes, Row U - this is the glamorous life of a low-level blogger.]


Though last night’s show at the Wilshire got started off slower than most people in the crowd expected or desired, last night’s Ryan Adams and the Cardinals show was a good one. It was nice to see him play a ton of songs off his latest release, Easy Tiger (amazing album, by the way), his voice sounded great, and the acoustics left nothing to be desired . However, the show’s overall weakness was its set list. I would have liked to hear Adams dust off a Whiskeytown tune, would have enjoyed hearing at least one song from Heartbreaker, and felt that he spent a little more time on 29 than was necessary... Despite these things, the show really picked up towards the end, especially when Adams got up front for "Is This It." "Magnolia Mountain" was amazing to hear live as the last song of the night, leaving everyone wanting one more song. Especially entertaining were Adams' playful remarks inbetween songs - he'd bark/growl, tell us that collectively, our hair looked really good (true), and referred to the silence as "first date silence." Nice to see that he's doing well and is enjoying performing -- can't wait to hear what he's going to be putting out next (after December's rumored box-set).


SET LIST:
"Please Do Not Let Me Go"
"Blue Sky Blues"
"Oh My God, Whatever, Etc."
"The Sun Also Sets"
"Blue Hotel"
"Dear Chicago"
"Let It Ride"
"Elizabeth, You Were Born To Play That Part"
"Two"
"Off Broadway"
"Dear John"
"Nightbirds"
"I Taught Myself How To Grow Old"
"Starlite Diner"
"Cold Roses" (<-- one of the songs I really wanted to hear)
"Wildflowers"
"Peaceful Valley"
"Goodnight Rose" (forgot how good this song is!)
"This Is It" (<-- re-energizing!)
"Goodnight Hollywood Blvd."
---
(ENCORE)
"How Do You Keep Love Alive?"
"Games"
"A Kiss Before I Go" (<-- sounded great)
"Magnolia Mountain" (<-- blew everyone away)

P.S. -- You have to check out I Am Fuel, You Are Friends this week if you're a fan of Mr. Adams. They've got some great Easy Tiger alternative versions not to be missed.

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Candle: Acoustic Live @ UCSB, 7/17/07

Candle, Jon Crocker, Iamb and All Year Snowstorm all played an acoustic show outside UCSB’s Storke Tower Media Library last night. I wish I had written about it when I got back last night, so you guys could maybe have a chance to get to their show at the Knitting Factory in L.A. tonight, but I was on my way home. I’m sure they played a great show this evening, if last night was any indication. Candle concluded the show, playing some of their alt-country-ish tracks from their 2006 Real Love Records release, Birds Were Meant To Fly. The guys usually play with drums (the drummer was relegated to playing Jon Crocker’s washboard), but the acoustic set seemed to suit their music pretty well, allowing singer Kevin Coons‘ voice to stand out.

LISTEN:
"The Wind Out There" [MP3]

ON THE WEB:
Candle's MySpace
Real Love Records website

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