Music – Page 8 – helenthura.com

February 18, 2008

My three top albums of 2008, part 1

It is Feb 18 and I have known what my top three albums of 2008 will be for about the last six weeks. These are three albums that I have been looking forward, one for years, the others not so long. These are albums by three artists who have each made significant thumb prints on my musical taste. I have vivid memories of the first time that I heard/saw each of these artists. I remember sitting in front of the TV watching a clip on RAGE and going woah! Or listening to some random US college radio stream and googling the song lyrics with more haste than I ever have before. The other I remember sitting on the floor at The Troubie grinning and going Man oh Man, where has this person been hiding? These are albums that will be played and are been played endlessly on repeat. Those albums that you make numerous copies of so that you have one beside every CD player you frequent. The album that no matter how many times you listen to it through you still smile at the opening strains of a track.

This post was originally planned as one large post with all three albums in it. However, one album came out today, the other comes out in two months and the third sometime in June and as a result I have typed a fair bit about the album that was released today but not much about the other two. Which is not very fair is it? The album that came out today I have been listening to on non-stop repeat ever since I got the leaked copy, the others I have heard a 60 second clip of one track and the other I know some songs due to a promo single. Anyone who knows me and has actually listened when I have talked about music in the past few years will quite possibly know the three albums I am talking about now.

I rang a few stores today to see who had this album in stock, Rocking Horse told me that they had it on the shelf since last week! The other stores were still waiting for it come in. I went to Rocking Horse after work today 🙂

That album, the first album on my top three albums of 2008 is Heretic Pride, The Mountain Goats.

As soon you read that line though you knew didn’t you. The ‘Goats (as I refer to them) show back on September 10, 2005 at the Zoo marked a turning point for me. I was so hungry to see this band play that I bit the bullet, walked into Rocking Horse bought a ticket and went to my first real gig by myself. Just after the second time I witnessed them play in April 2006 I made this comment in a blog post. It was also probably my first time taking gig photos.

However, there is small group of bands that you love on a whole other level. They are the ones where the songs reverberate through your soul, you smile/frown/cry/get angry/laugh at their songs. They are bands in which you feel connected to every other person at the gig, knowing that you are a select group of people taking part in something special. They are the bands that donâ€™t need pyrotechnics, fancy lighting or 99 costume changes to make music. All they need is themselves and their instruments to create music that you can feel in the air. Itâ€™s music that tells a story, itâ€™s what makes me live.

JD put a copy of the opening track Sax Rohmer #1 on the ‘Goats blog. I googled it to see what others had said and found out that the album had leaked. My fingers quivered over the keyboard, to grab a copy or not, I got a copy. Man o Man x 254. So looking forward to the ‘Goats tour in April. The Zoo will go off and wherever else I might see the show…..

Back to the album.
This is one hell of an album. It is no Sunset Tree that doesn’t mean it is bad it is anything but. I think I love it more than Sunset Tree, to my ears it flows together better as a whole album when playing it through. It is a few years after The Sunset Tree. It is an older album. It is grown up. I hear promises in it. I hear life and love and lost love in it. Stereogum posted a premature evaluation I agree with parts of it but not with other parts. Perhaps because I just disappear into a smile when I listen to the CD, I love that album unconditionally.

Hearing the opening strains of San Bernardino my heart starts to flutter at the joy that song holds. Then there is Sax Rhomer #1 that just whispers to me to sing the chorus line “I’m coming home to you if it’s the last thing that I do”. and oh the video clip for Sax Rhomer #1 is such an interesting clip.

Michael Myers Resplendent is perhaps the song that has grown on me the most. It has those grand orchestral feelings. I can just see JD and PPH in my mind doing a Tim Freedman/Ben Folds with any of the state orchestras. It just feels so grand.

The press kit is a comic. It is oh so Goaty. Well worth looking at.

I have a feeling if JD was born a 100 years ago, he would have been one of the great novelists or poets of the modern world. We would not talk of Hemingway or Huxley but of Darnielle. His lyrics are just so perfectly written, so illustrative yet full of hidden meaning.

The Mountain Goats are not for everyone but oh if you love them you love them so much it hurts.

February 5, 2008

The three Ts and I

Thursday arvo, Tom and Tiana/Tiana and Tom arrived in town after making the drive from Canberra. The Hotel Chelsea show of Tom, Ange and Cam was going to be playing Joes Waterhole in Eumundi on Saturday night. Thursday night though we hung out at Thor’s, I bang up my ankle, we laugh etc.

Saturday, Thor was working. I spent the day resting my foot to conserve as much energy as possible before the marathon of Saturday night started. Tom and Tiana went up early in the afternoon, they are from Canberra…they had places to explore. Thor and I made the trip up after Thor finished work. No trip happens without a saga, the day before Thor’s car broke down, this meant that she was bussing to work. A bus trip that takes the better part of 90 mins. I had a new car and a tank full of petrol so I drove south and we rendezvoused at a bus stop. We made it back to Thor’s and then after getting organised we were back on the road a while later than we had originally planned but most importantly we were all going to be up there for the show. We had a really good run up the highway and it was only a little more than an hour to get up to Eumundi. Talking, eating fruit and chocolate, making the most of the mini-road trip.

I had a great night in hanging out with the three Ts and Ange, talking, laughing, whatever else we do. Musically and Photographically I didn’t get into the night till Tom played. Mostly a case of wanting to be able to enjoy Tom’s set 100% which meant that I couldn’t give anywhere close to that for Ange and Cam. I had to take photos because how could I not. I see photos everywhere I look, bung ankle or no bung ankle I was going to take photos. However, there was pain. Pain that made it difficult to get into the positions that I normally find myself in when taking photos. I only took a few photos of Cam and Ange. I did however take up a film camera and a roll of Fujipress 1600, it will come with me for the next few gigs, really looking to see how it fares. Cam and Ange played first. Both played good sets. I really can’t tell you much more than that though 🙁 due to my brain not been fully aware of the happenings.

Cam Elliot

Ange Takats

Then it was Tom. and Tiana giving some backing vocals for a few songs. Lots of new songs. Good Stuff. There was one song, it was really new and I was listening to and thought to myself, that is the song. The song that will most likely stick to everyone who was in that room. I mentioned it to Thor afterwards and she said the same thing. I can’t tell you what it was called or even what it was really about due to my brain and the fact that it does not like to remember songs.

Tom Woodward

Then the three joined together for a Ramblin Jack Elliott song and of course I Shall Be Released. The crowd went wild.

Rest of the photos are in a gallery here.

Post gig chatter, enjoying a few moments out on the footpath, before we headed to the cars and started the trip south.

Before we knew it, we pulling over just south of the Pine River for Thor to jump into Tianaâ€™s car and to go back to her house and there were hugs and laughs and plans made.

Speaking of Thor’s house/flat/home, I must share this photo of her ceiling. The plaster on her ceiling is raked. I swear every time I have visited, I tilt my head back and say your ceiling is sooo cool.

This is sort of what my ankle looks like at the moment – the bruise is a whole lot darker in real life than it looks in the photo. I also have a bruise on the inside of my ankle as well. oh joy. No it is going good, less swelling, less pain and haven’t popped any pills today.

January 28, 2008January 28, 2008

New week, new concert

Last Monday night, gee a week ago, I went along to The Zoo to photograph Enter Shikari and The Amity Affliction. I am really watching every dollar at the moment so am not going to any gig where it is going to cost me money to get in. It means I have got a lot of housework done 🙂

The Zoo has two new lights. They are LED arrays and are on either side of the drummer. They don’t seem to actually provide any light though. mmm. It was my first gig where I spent the entire time at iso 3200 and oh it hurt, it hurt so bad. However, I much prefer noise to blur so I have to accept it.

Lots of rude punters. I think that the odds of crowd rudeness increase significantly based on the music. mmm. It is not like you have any desire to steal their spot hanging off the front of the stage, all you want is 10/20 seconds to pop in front of them or lean over them, take a picture and move on. You have a big sticker on your shirt saying media and a camera in your hand that you can use as weights practice. The common answer at the gig however as you politely tap them on the shoulder, raise your camera and ask if you can duck in front of them for a few seconds was Get lost, Get or a grunt or shove.

Other than that it was a fine night, by no means my style of music but the crowd seemed to enjoy it. Photos are here.

The Amity Affliction
Amity
Amity

Enter Shikari

January 24, 2008

Jan 24

Andrea and I got together tonight for some retail time. Well really time spent socialising at Chermie and not really buying anything.
I am after a pair of black pants. It sounds so simple. Anything but. I want black, 100% cotton or similar, real pockets, nice cut. I tried on pants after pants after pants. There were one pair that were sort of ok, probably about a 7/10 on the like factor. I came home pantless. The problem is that I have a pair of stoney camel Country Road pants that I got off the sale racks at Myer a little while ago. I love them, decent pockets, Italian cotton and most of all a really nice cut. This of course means that any pants I try on are held up against them. Do they have that same feel? Do they fit as well as the Holy Grail pants to? The answer was no, it always seems to be no. I am thinking that perhaps I need to make a trip to a tailor in SE Asia with said pants and ask for X copies in X different fabrics. Moving away from my tale of looking for that perfect pair of black pants.

One of the things Andrea had for me was this CD (click image for the track listing etc).

Andie knows that I have a slight thing for covers. I now have 7 or 8 Beatles cover albums. This is a really good album, feels very Sunday arvo BBQ. A more alt, slightly folk, with a hint of Americana style Beatles, it works.

and some photos.

today.
Backlit Leaves, aren’t they so pretty?

yesterday.
some cool yarn.

the day before.
Made in India. My most hippy skirt. I picked up this skirt many trips round the sun ago for a school dance. I never ended up wearing it to the school dance. It has sat at the bottom of my wardrobe all that time, with me not feeling flowers in my hair enough to pull off the skirt. I went to a party the other night and decided to wear it. Now I very much feel flowers in my hair enough to wear it.

January 11, 2008January 12, 2008

Vans Boys of Summer @ The Arena

Tuesday night I had nothing better to do so headed along to The Arena to photograph the Vans Boys of Summer Tour for The Dwarf. Was a big change from what I normally photograph so that was fun still totally not the music I listen to but fun and a challenge to photograph (thank goodness for Raw and the ability to push the exposure). The Arena was only about half full which made it easy to move around, instead of other times when it is packed to the rafters. I managed to sit in gum though 🙁 which was not nice.

Capeside

Deez Nuts

Set Your Goals

The Amity Affliction
Amity

Silverstein

Boys of Summer Gallery

January 6, 2008January 7, 2008

Soul Food

The gig last night was quite possibly one of the most soul enriching gigs I have been to since the Misery and Redemption Fun back in August. I started to write some notes about the music of the night but that is not what the night was about. It was about this eclectic mix of people enjoying a really fine night of music that all falls under the wide Reggae umbrella some was on the Hip-Hop end, others were more on the rock end and others moved about the middle. I ended the night having been exposed to a wide range of people and really just had a really good night. It was also a night of the Watussi shirt as well.

I had a poke round Newstead on my way into The Valley scoping out some places I want to take photos of, walked round the Valley/New Farm observing the street life or more likely getting some exercise since the last week of rain has killed the morning exercise. Another night in The Valley. Another night at the Step Inn. The stage lights at the Step Inn work ok for your standard rock band with three or four members, however when you start putting reggae bands up there with perhaps six, seven, eight members the light just doesn’t work. It means that you get a number of decent photos of anyone who is in the centre front of the stage and the success rate diminishes as you move away from that. Back to photos and music though as that is what we are here for.

Shisha.
A jam band that was there just to provide some background music. A guy jumped up from the audience with a Sax to join in, after a while, I realised that I knew him. It was Jonathan Sri. He was three years below me at school but we were both in the various bands at school together, although then he was playing Clarinet and I was able to hit him on the head from where I was sitting with my Bassoon (sigh I miss her). Was nice to be able to catch up and do the required high school gossip exchange/catch up. Back to Shisha, it was fun stuff and a good start to the night.
Shisha

Cool Calm Collective.
The horns section never appeared and keys lady was late. It worked though (of course). Some of those lyrics are stuck in my head again. A nice change to Don’t Mess With The Dragon that I have had up there since April. This was a “shot that I have wanted to take for a while” and given the light I am pretty happy with the result, band framed by crowd.

Georgia

De Jah Groove.
Having seen this guys a couple of times in the last few months I had a photo planned. A photo that I have attempted to take the last few times but have not been happy with the result. I was prepared for it this time. The photo was going to be Dave throwing the Shekere up in the air. I was waiting. I was 99.9% that it would happen. However they didn’t end up playing the song so I didn’t get the photo. I was talking to Dave afterwards and mentioned it, he told me that it was on the set list and they just didn’t play it. Next time I will get it.

Harl

Grass Roots Street Orchestra.
GRSO were something. It was reggae with some hip-hop elements and I really loved it, which bowled me for six.
GRSO

GSRO

1:10am, the music is over and the instant mood swings security guy starts kicking anyone out who is not in a band. We all promptly step outside and some of the Poetikool Justice and some other guys start a beatboxing circle after a long while someone decides to take the next step and some words, it was really impressive. More chatting and then it was time to bid the St Pauls Terrace farewell.
jam

A crowd shot
crowd

The rest of the images are located in a gallery here.