It's no secret that I take a lot of pictures. What's becoming less of a secret, though, is that I'm becoming less bad at it.
Having spent so long as a photo editor, I'm naturally a bit more critical of photographs -- and especially my own. But thanks to lens upgrades (purchasing a 50mm prime, renting a 70-200mm) and software (Lightroom, Picknik), I'm getting awfully close to taking photos that I can hang a hat on (and I have a lot of hats, so...).
Anyway, here's some of my favorites from a great year of live music (note: In the Summer Bonfire series collage, half taken on Samsung Focus mobile phone.)
Jon, Brendan & Ken in full harmony mode (more pics here)
I'm still picking up the pieces from the flood that greeted me at home Saturday night, but there's no need to clean up after the flood of harmonies that rained on us at the Showbox earlier in the evening. Saturday marked the final night of the tour for this all-star power pop lineup of Brendan Benson and The Posies. Besides being the final night, it was also a homecoming for The Posies, so Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow were especially on fire, and pulling double-duty as half of Brendan Benson's band, they had a lot of stage time to for their musical theatrics.
Stringfellow backing up Benson
The witty banter and in-jokes between Ken and Jon sometimes had the stoic Benson shaking his head (as if to say "ah shucks, Ken!"), but when the songs were playing, the three (along with Benson's drummer/neighbor Brad Pemberton) played like they'd been singing and playing together for years. Benson's set drew a lot from the great songs of the past, reminding me what a shame it is that more folks don't know about his pre-Raconteurs work. From the opener of "Folk Singer" to "Spit it Out" and "Tiny Spark" (and, my God yes, "Crosseyed"!) there are so many great songs in his quiver to draw from. When his set ended, Ken and Jon conferred briefly and negotiated another song to end on, as they rightly surmised that "A Whole Lot Better," from 2009's My Old, Familiar Friend, absolutely needed to be played. For each and every song, Ken and Jon added punch and incredible background harmonies, adding even more life to Benson's already exquisite songcraft. I really do hope they revisit this connection again in the future so we can find a way for more folks to get a chance to hear the magic. (The video below is the only one I could find from the night... it is shaky and barely representative, but it is.)
Auer backing Benson
This being Seattle, The Posies got to end the night, and while relying heavily on the latest (and near greatest) Blood/Candy - seven songs, there was plenty of room for nostalgia and songs rarely heard (for instance, the entirety of the 1996 UK single for "Please Return It," which includes the b-sides "Sad to be Aware" and "Terrorize"). Despite playing a full set with Benson, Jon & Ken came out white hot, moving all over the stage in quick dashes and leaps galore. All eras were well represented and unless your night hinged upon hearing something from 1989's Failure or 2005's Every Kind of Light, Posies fans had to be thrilled at the song choices. The encore of "Definite Door" running into "Burn and Shine," complete with Auer's guitar strings no longer being able to withstand the onslaught, gave me flashbacks of performances from the mid-90s, when angst was in full bloom*. In a year filled with 90's nostalgia, leave it to The Posies not to just revisit fondly, but to tear it up and re-arrange it anew.
What's better than seeing The Posies play tomorrow night at the Showbox? Seeing them play with Brendan Benson*.
Besides sharing the bill with the prolific Detroit power pop rocker, Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow also will be half of Benson's backing band, making for a lineup that should trump The Raconteurs, Benson's other 'project.' Here they are tackling Big Star's "September Gurls" in tribute to the late Alex Chilton:
Those who are there purely for nostalgia be warned... The Posies are going to be relying heavily on their latest album, Blood/Candy (review). It's their best since Frosting on the Beater, though, so you should get yourself familiar with it if you're indeed a fan.
Hopefully, I'll have some photos to share early next week, if I haven't exploded with power pop glee.
If two weeks ago was Super Tuesday, this must be Ultimate Tuesday, as there are at least four albums likely to make more than a few year end top 10 lists (there are two likely to make mine -- I'll let you guess which ones). So you'll forgive me if this week's post is late, as the word count has spiraled out of control laying praise on the latest from The Posies, Deerhunter, No Age and Neil Young. Other notables this week include new releases from Abe Vigoda, Women, Glasser, Nellie McKay, Owen Pallet, Ben Folds/Nick Hornby, The Corin Tucker Band, Owen, Grandchildren along with a greatest hits comp from Soundgarden and a deluxe reissue of 2009's list topper Bitte Orca from Dirty Projectors.
I've been a Posies fan going back to 1988, when you could catch them playing the occasional house party near the University of Washington campus. In terms of bias, familiarity can make a sub-par record seem better, but by the same token, it's also fairly difficult to be surprised by someone you've known for nearly 23 years. So when I say the greatness of Blood/Candy shocked me, it's not just hubris void of perspective.
Stringfellow / The Posies / Sasquatch 2010
Initially inspired by a 2009 performance of 93's Frosting on the Beater in it's entirety, B/C was going to be a 'return to roots' rock record for Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum recording the album... the songs just weren't going to cooperate with the initial box laid out for them. The restless Stringfellow has been harder to pin down creatively since the Posies first broke up (and thank God breaking up is the one thing The Posies are horrible at) and his song contributions here seem like they'd be especially difficult initially to button down. Witness the theatrical "Licenses to Hide," the zany Pet Sounds-inspired "Enewetak" - name for the Marshall Islands in the North Pacific which were abused by the US for nuclear testing - and the soaring "For the Ashes." Meanwhile, Auer had his own left-turns up his sleeve, unleashing the challenging "Accidental Architecture," after which it must have become obvious that this was not going to be a 'return to' anything album.
Auer / The Posies / Sasquatch 2010
Sure, there are a couple songs here that fall into the classic Posies sound, and those have always tended to be Auer's contributions, whose confidence in his McCartneyesque songwriting has made him Mr. Reliable (see "The Glitter Prize,""So Caroline" and "Notion #99"). But even the classic (and the almost nursery rhymish "Cleopatra Street") have so much going on that it begs, nay demands, repeat listens to get the full effect. To my ears Blood/Candy is the first album since Auer and Stringfellow's styles started more noticeably diverging (around 1996's Amazing Disgrace) where the potentially conflicting styles mesh in perfect harmony, with both artists reaching forward and out to each other, and it's a wondrous thing to behold.
The slow and steady progression for Deerhunter from damaged art rock to accessible (yet still damaged) pop band has been fascinating to witness. In some respects, we've been witnessing frontman Bradford Cox's split personality gradually merging together, with the tripped-out art of Deerhunter now almost impossible to distinguish from the pop ambitions of his solo project Atlas Sound.
Cox / Deerhunter / CHBP 2009
Witness the Cox's cooing bedroom vocals on the pop nuggets "Revival" and lead single "Helicopter," two highlights from the album (that still don't eclipse Microcastle's "Nothing Ever Happens," but that's to be expected). Cox's lyrics are still kind of a downer and purposely obtuse, but on the final track, the sprawling 7 1/2 minute "He Would Have Laughed" (dedicated to the late Jay Reatard), he comes as close as ever to letting us inside this thoughts. Cox pleads "Where do your friends go?/ Where do they see you?/ What did you want to be? Ah shut the hell up... shut your mouth" and then the song peters out, ending mid-note, much like Reatard's life. It's a powerful coda to an endlessly fascinating release.
Watching No Age play Bumbershoot a year ago, I got the impression that the duo (Dean Spunt on drums/vocals, Randy Randall on guitar) was perhaps a bit bored, drawing mostly from 2008's well-received Nouns. Everything In Between, the band's 2nd proper full length), kind of reinforces this opinion, with No Age mostly amputating nearly all the punk-fueled up-tempo elements ("Fever Dreaming" and "Shed & Transcend" remind us they still have that in their arsenal) that made their last album a dizzying affair.
Spunt / No Age / Bumpershoot 09
The aptly named "Positive Amputation" is a drum-less instrumental that explains this theory better than words can, built as it is from loops and sonic experimentation. Lead single "Glitter" is the perfect distilling of No Age's strengths, combining looping sonic landscapes with Spunt's simple repetition on vocals. The only weakness here for No Age (and it barely can be called that) is that with their leap forward in sonic sound, unfortunately Dean Spunt's vocals just don't seem strong enough at times to hold their end of the bargain. Spunt's laid back Cali skate punk feels at home riding the wave of their punkier numbers (again, see "Fever Dreaming"). Even with the tempo ratcheted down a notch, it's still another dizzying affair.
Neil Young is in the enviable position where he really doesn't need you to like him, which makes his album choices always an event of sorts. Take Le Noise, an album that is very recognizably a Neil Young joint (it's just Neil and his electric guitar playing within his idiom) and yet manages to be kind of out there through the funky mix job by Daniel Lanois. The result is a swirl of guitars and echoing vocals dancing around what are otherwise superb Young songs. Compare this with fellow rock legend Eric Clapton, who's vanilla offering this week challenges nobody, and we're reminded again why Young is such a treasure (I'd say national treasure, but some Canadians might scoff at the thought). In concert with the album, Young's YouTube channel is streaming the album as a short film, with artful black & white footage of Neil in the studio intercut with some crazy effects (much like the album itself) - see below:
