The Animal Show » Nickel Creek

Wilconey Island and Other Elisions

Edward — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:30:12 +0000

Greetings from the Scariest Place on Earth!

Last night, I had the good fortune to see Wilco at Coney Island’s Keyspan Park, home to the brilliantly-talented and usually-sober Brooklyn Cyclones. With new Show staffer David by my side, I blocked the view of everyone behind me, towering over the competition in a way I’m capable of doing when not standing next to the 6-6 behemoth Marquis Meowmers IV, which really heightened the experience. (Hoho!) Seriously, if you ever get a chance to be the tallest person at a concert, you should capitalize on it. It’s quite an experience. There’s nothing like making the 5-6 kid behind you furious. Or the 5-9 girl with the drunky-eyes who just elbowed her way to within 15 feet of the stage after arriving 30 minutes after the opener but, like, seriously dude, you’re so tall and she’s so short and why can’t you just trade places with her? And then you’re all like, hey lady, I’ve been here for 3 hours in the sun inhaling the Brooklyn barf that trails across from the boardwalk, and I totally hear you and all but I really have trouble seeing how that’s fair to any of the other 17000 people here who are shorter than I am. And the 5-9 girl whines that maybe if you worked a fucking job you wouldn’t have the time to stand out here for 3 hours and that’s why you should give her your spot. So you’re like, lady, keep insulting me and maybe I’ll have to go to the Port-a-Throne (Registered TM) and cry, leaving my spot for you, even though I have a job and it’s probably better than yours. And then David the Rookie (registered TM) is like, you should probably write about this, because it could be funny. So you do. With long, unedited sentences. All are great experiences, and I recommend them. But even if you can’t do all that, at least go see Wilco. And here’s why:

They rock as hard as anyone in rock right now. Period. Last night’s show was an almost 3-hour tour-de-force, coming in at 26 songs and featuring a few choice Indie Rock All Star guests, like the beautiful and talented Feist (joining for “You and I,” “California Stars,” and tambourine on “Hoodoo Voodoo”), Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste (Vocals on “California Stars” and maracas on “Hoodoo Voodoo”), and all three of the members of Yo La Tengo, who opened for Wilco and then returned during Encore #1 for a raucous and rocking “Spiders (Kidsmoke).” The band is a tight, cohesive unit, and are note-perfect live, while still retaining their noisy daring. Glenn Kotche is one of the most energetic and phenomenal drummers I’ve had the opportunity to see, and I’m sure I don’t need to say anything about the brilliantly innovative Nels Cline.

However, no concert is without its flaws, and this one certainly had a couple. These flaws were mostly in song choice, though. And that’s not to say the setlist wasn’t good. In fact, they played a pretty awesome cross-section of their fantastic back catalog. I just wish they’d played more from 2001’s breathtaking Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which is probably one of my 5 desert island albums. In particular, I had requested the rara avis “Magazine Called Sunset” on the Wilco site (they have a “request” feature, which is a fantastic idea), and was disappointed it didn’t make it into the show. But it was a long shot, and such is life. Lucky for you savvy readers, I’ve provided a few of my Wilco highlights below. Almost as good as the live experience, and all without having to peer over my tall, strong shoulders.

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Heavy Metal Drummer (Live) – Jeff Tweedy (YSI)

From Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest

This version features the alternate verse “She lifted up her shirt/at the battle of the bands/he twirled his sticks/she helped him to his van,” which Tweedy sang last night, causing Rookie of the Year David’s eyes to almost pop out of his head.

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A Magazine Called Sunset – Wilco (YSI)

From the exclusive YHF-era EP, More Like the Moon. (I can help you find it, if you’re at a loss.)

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Poor Places – Punch Brothers (YSI)

Recorded at their Daytrotter session, this may be the best version of this song I’ve ever heard. Better even than the original. That’s right — I went there. You know how much I love Chris Thile covers, and this is his finest, hands-down.

And if you like you see, turn off your tv and ZOOM!

A Reintroduction

Edward — Sat, 30 May 2009 20:34:57 +0000

New suits in space!

Once upon a bible, Jesus spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness. I could tell you why, but I’m too lazy to ask my dad (getting told bible stories is the worst). I’m not going to call myself Jesus because we all remember why John Lennon was shot, but I will say this: I have returned from my own 22 days in the wilderness (or 317 blogdays), and, as I remember Jesus did, I’ve returned bearing a domain name. Yes, as you may have noticed when you clicked your old animalshow.wordpress.com bookmark, we’ve set up shop over at theanimalshow.org. And though my absence may have led you to frequent tears and repeated questioning of whether life is worth continuing, rest assured I’m back and badder than ever.

If your continual frantic facebook messages, emails, and drunken tweets are any indication, you haven’t taken the absence well. You want to know why it is I’ve abandoned you. Well, folks, there’s a joke answer and a real one. One is that I’ve been busy building an Uncle Fumerous entirely out of purple, green, and orange Play-Doh.

The other is that I’d simply burned out on mp3 blogs. For a little while now, I’d been feeling oversaturated with new music. The dozen odd requests for listens and mp3s I get sent daily don’t help, but I felt like it was time for me to take a step back and reevaluate what it was I wanted to do as a blogger, or whether I wanted to continue at all. It was becoming very clear that the need I felt to post 6-sentence blurbs daily to maintain my position on hype machine was sucking most of the fun out of this, and I ended up posting the sort of stuff I would normally sit on in order to keep a new post on the front page. The hours I spent on the top 100 songs charts on hype machine waiting for my songs rank among the time I spent playing one-suit spider solitaire as the time I consider most uselessly wasted. And they provided less entertainment at the time than spider solitaire.

Guess which answer was the joke!

Anyway, I’ve decided that, from now on, I’m only posting material I’m really excited about. I won’t put stuff up in order to have stuff up. And I’m not going to try to be on the verge of something hot and new. If I like it, I’ll post it. Old, new, obscure, mainstream, remixed, original — who cares. Just good material, and just when it speaks to me.

That said, I think I’ve got enough stuff from the past weeks to continue posting regularly for some time, so don’t take this as a “yeah, I’m back, but only when I want to be.” I’m still here for you, and I still want feedback, as always. Besides, we’ve got a number of pretty cool additions we’ll be sending your way. Longtime spiritual advisor Louis Weeks will be joining the staff to provide live reviews of up-and-coming bands he finds in the scene this summer, and that super-secret surprise Marquis Meowmers alluded to some time ago is still on the way. Keep your mouses pointing here, dudes. This is the summer of the Show.

Until we meet again (and it will be soon, I promise), here are some sweet summer songs for you to scarf down, including the song I listened to 57 times since we last spoke: Nickel Creek/Chris Thile’s phenomenal “If You’re Gonna Leave Me (Set Me Up With One of Your Friends).”

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If You’re Gonna Leave Me (Set Me Up With One of Your Friends) – Nickel Creek (mega) (YSI)

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Blame It (feat. T-Pain) – Jamie Foxx (mega) (YSI)

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Forgot About Coke & 11th (Starters Remix) – Eminem & Spank Rock (mega) (YSI)

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The Reeling (Calvin Harris Remix) – Passion Pit (mega) (YSI)

Another Reintroduction (and more Thile)

Covers that Reinvent the Wheel: "Spit on a Stranger"

Edward — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:30:14 +0000

Yes, he's pudgy and hilarious now, but in a few short years he'd be all heart-throbby and virtuosic. Don't you feel sorry for snickering now?

I’ve been thinking a lot about covers recently. Because I’ve been listening to a lot of covers recently. And I think that the best variety of covers (not to repeat myself) are those that show a fresh and new perspective on the original song. No artist comes to mind who does this as ably as Chris Thile. From his roots in Nickel Creek to his outstanding solo album to his fantastic new band, he’s shown an ability to bluegrassify covers with grace and ingenuity, making other people’s songs his own.

The best way to start in this is to discuss the cover that first got me thinking about Bluegrassification: Pavement’s “Spit on a Stranger.” As a musically precocious 12-year-old, I fell in love with Pavement, particularly Terror Twilight. One day, I was singing “Spit on a Stranger” to myself, and my 10-year-old brother started to sing along. I was heartbroked — how had he forayed into uncharted indie waters before me? I asked him how he knew the song, and he told me about Nickel Creek, a band one of his loserish friends had turned him onto. He played me this cover, and my tiny little brain was melted. What are these mandolins doing in my Pavement? I still ask myself this question, but the cover is delicious. In a fried-cookie dough kind of way. Yes, I’ll eat it because I’m obligated to eat anything I like that’s been deep-fried, but I’ll enjoy it, because, what is this, some sort of french fry cookie? Enjoy the original and the cover, and then tell me which one you like better.

Spit on a Stranger – Pavement

Spit on a Stranger – Nickel Creek

I’ll ride this covers thing into the dirt, don’t you worry. And expect at least 2 more Chris Thile-based covers. They’re all delicious. Like deep-fried Twinkies or Zebra Cakes. Or deep-fried pickles. God, I need some boiling oil right about now.

Also, please let me know if you think there are any covers I should investigate. Comment; it makes me feel loved.

The Best of the Rest: Christmas on E Street

Edward — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:34:43 +0000

10 points to the person who can best describe what those children behind Bruce are doing.

As I was planning this, I asked myself, “isn’t this completely gratuitous?” Then I realized that yes, it is, but so is blogging. And I’m not about to stop now — that would be a complete waste of everything I’ve worked so hard on today.

In a Christmas song, I look for 3 things:

singability
youthful spirit
overwhelming loneliness

As you can imagine, it’s difficult to find all three. So I picked one song that I think highlights each of the three best.

Singability: All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey: Version upon version of this has been performed, by any number of dubious artists, but I think the greatest testament to its immensely catchy singability is the fact that, no matter where you hear this, you or someone near you will start singing along. Take, for example, today, when I was mailing some packages at the post office and this was playing on the radio piped through that hall of misery. I started singing along (in what I thought was a relatively discreet manner), and the portly woman behind the desk gave me a big ol’ “mmhmmm” and told me to “belt it, boy!” Post offices are scary places this time of year.
Youthful spirit: Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town – Bruce Springsteen: I live for Bruce. True story. And this live recording shows the raw power of the Boss. Recorded in 1978, this shows him and the E Street band at their best — I like to think that they never rehearsed this before performing it, and through sheer musical ability and amazing unity managed to scrap together what I consider the definitive version of the song. Listen for Bruce’s chuckles during the lyrics, and you’ll see what I mean.
Overwhelming loneliness: I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Nickel Creek: You’re probably thinking, “why the hell is overwhelming loneliness a criteria for an essential Christmas song?” Let me tell you why: because I write this thing, and I said so. I was trying to fit this square peg in a round hole, when I realized that I’m the boss around these parts, and I make the rules. I like this song, which means you have to, too. That’s how this works. Really, though, I think this is beautiful, and I’m just acting tough so you won’t see how sensitive I am. Sorry, I know it’s not fair.