Pearl Jam Wash away Indifference in Cleveland

I very rarely attend concerts in venues that hold more than a few hundred people. For me to go to an arena show is almost unheard of. But when Pearl Jam hit the Q on Sunday, I was there. They're the only band I would not hesitate to shell out the money for to see at an arena show. (They're not quite my favorite band, not anymore, but none of the handful of bands I like better would have any business playing an arena.) Pearl Jam are actually the only band to be counted among my favorites in middle school, in high school, in college, and still today, as my tastes in music have changed quite a bit over those years. This was my third time seeing them live, and they can always be counted on for a great show.

Opener Band of Horses played a good set. I hadn't really listened to them before. They reminded me somewhat of My Morning Jacket, who opened for Pearl Jam the last time I saw them, although I'd say I prefer MMJ. The highlight of BoH's set was "The Funeral" (I had not heard the song before, but recognized the title).

When Pearl Jam took the stage, the excitement in the arena was palpable. To my surprise, I didn't immediately recognize the first song they played. Once it clicked, though, a wide, somewhat shocked, grin appeared on my face. They opened with "Wash," an old B-side and not a song I would have expected to hear at all. And it was a stunning opener.

A cool thing about Pearl Jam's website is that you can view setlists for every show they've played (here is the Cleveland setlist), and you can also view a list of every time that any given song has been played. So I can see that before Sunday, "Wash" had only been played once live since 2006. Talk about good luck! And that was just the beginning.

Pearl Jam always mix up their sets a lot, with a good mix of their big radio hits, tracks from their recent album, and older fan favorites. At any show, there's a good chance you'll hear a song or two that rarely comes up in their live rotation. Of course, some of those songs are better than others. If I had been tasked before the concert with making a list of songs I most wanted to hear Pearl Jam play live, "Sleight of Hand," a track from the under-rated album Binaural, would have been near the top. It had been played just twice since 2006, barely more than "Wash." Partway through the concert, Eddie went into a description of the next song, saying something about people going to work and living their lives while putting on false exteriors... I don't really remember exactly what he said, but the description sounded familiar. Sleight of Hand, Sleight of Hand... I silently pleaded... and then they played "Sleight of Hand," and I was floored. It's one of Pearl Jam's more experimental tracks, incredibly atmospheric in sound, and fantastic live. After that, and "Wash," and lots of other great songs like "Corduroy," "In Hiding," and "Immortality" (which would have thrilled me even more than "Sleight of Hand" did, except they also played it last time in Cleveland), this was already my favorite Pearl Jam concert yet.

They ended up playing for almost two and a half hours. Pearl Jam have a reputation for being a great live band, and it's well earned. They've been around for twenty years, and they're still capable of rocking out with high energy for two-plus hours a night, while putting together truly unique sets for every show. Eddie Vedder and company truly deserve to be thought of as rock legends.

In the second encore, I was delighted to hear "Black" and "Alive" - yeah, they're the big radio hits, but that's due largely to them being genuinely great songs. It was also great to hear "Smile," another of those tracks that doesn't come up so often live, although it had been played the last time in Cleveland. "Smile" was a fan request, and Eddie had the woman who was holding a sign for it come up to the front of the crowd when they played it. He then gave her his harmonica after he was done with it for the song. Lucky girl!

So it was a night packed with fantastic performances, but there was one more surprise in store for me, and it was the best of all. That list I might have made, on which "Sleight of Hand" would have appeared? "Indifference" would have been at the top. And the last song they played? After "Alive," I was expecting "Yellow Ledbetter" to close the show. When I realized they were in fact closing with "Indifference," I got giddy. The last track on Pearl Jam's second album, Vs., it's my favorite Pearl Jam song ever, and one of my favorite songs period. The mood the song creates, and Eddie's vocals ("I'll swallow poison until I grow immune/I will scream my lungs out 'til it fills this room")... wow. It was the perfect way to end an amazing evening.

Kaki King concert (or: Mind Status: Blown)

I have decided that this blog, despite all appearances to the contrary, is not dead.

Among other things, I'd like to get some concert reviews written. Here is one of them!

After seeing Kaki King at the Beachland Ballroom on May 4th, I commented, "That show pretty much blew my mind."

I've seen a lot of good concerts recently, but it's especially cool when a show is not only amazingly good, but also far exceeds any expectations I had going in. That was the case here. I only very recently started listening to Kaki King. What got me into her was hearing her new single "Falling Day" in the car on WRUW. I was instantly enthralled by the song, and although I did not catch the name at the time, I decided I would have to go check out the show playlist when I got home and see who it was. After seeing the name Kaki King, I remembered a friend had told me about her a couple months before, and that she would be playing the Beachland. I decided to get Kaki's new album Junior before deciding whether I would go to the show. I liked it - a lot - and also checked out ...Until We Felt Red for good measure. Having thus familiarized myself with a decent portion of Kaki's catalog, I was very much looking forward to seeing her live, but I had no idea what was in store.

Kaki is an amazing guitarist, and also employs an amazing variety of musical styles, all of which she pulls off very well. She opened the set with the previously mentioned "Falling Day," to my delight. Admittedly, I didn't find the live version quite as good as the album version on this particular song; I didn't think her vocals sounded as confident live. She may be getting used to singing rock vocals; her previous albums have had less singing and not really in this style. Still, it was a good opener, and things really picked up from there.

The most impressive part of the set was when Kaki's two bandmates left the stage and she played a few solo acoustic songs. This was a part of the show that I did not know to expect, and her complex finger(nail)picked and fingerslapped instrumentals were simply jawdropping.

Although her technical skills on these songs were absolutely stunning, several other songs left me even more in awe. The first of these was when she created a mini-suite by placing the fantastic new song "My Nerves That Committed Suicide" in the middle of an older song which I unfortunately do not recall the name of. This was a more epic post-rock performance than anything I saw at the Caspian and Red Sparowes concert last month. Almost as good was main set closer "You Don't Have To Be Afraid," the ending of which rocked way harder than the also fantastic album version.

Kaki did not make us wait long before coming out for a several song encore. The final song, "Gay Sons Of Lesbian Mothers," was another definite highlight. She started it off solo with a lap steel, on which she built up the various parts of the song with looping. After she played for a few minutes, her bandmates joined in, and she set her guitar down while the looping continued. She had said before the song that we were going to dance. True to her word, she came down off of the stage and danced with the delighted crowd. It culminated with Kaki dancing on a table.

Kaki played for almost two hours, and the whole show was pretty much brilliant. And as if her singing and guitar wizardry weren't enough, she also had plenty of genuinely interesting and amusing stage banter, including a story of her crazy German friend telling Kaki about a song the friend had written called "Skypefuck," which Kaki hilariously imitated with a couple seconds of exaggerated metal vocals.

So to sum up, if you get the chance to see Kaki King live, do it. And check out her albums, too.

Music roundup

It's been too long since I wrote anything here, but I've been quite busy recently.

Yesterday Woodpigeon's new album Die Stadt Muzikanten was officially released in the United States some two months after the Canadian release. It's an amazing album that anyone who likes artists like Sufjan Stevens or Belle and Sebastian should definitely check out. I wrote a review a while back. I hope this album does well, because I really really really want Woodpigeon to do a U.S. tour and come to Cleveland!

Also yesterday, Family of the Year put out a new five-song EP. I first became aware of this young band when they opened for Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros in Kent last fall. I was impressed with their performance and thoroughly enjoyed their album Songbook. The new EP Through the Trees is a solid followup. I especially enjoy "Princess and the Pea," which is highlighted by some sexy horns, and the catchy "Chugjug."

Family of the Year will be playing at the Beachland Tavern tomorrow night, opening for Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore, who are touring in support of their new album Dear Companion. I saw Ben Sollee in a stripped-down performance (just him and a female vocalist) at the Spot last fall and was impressed by his soulful voice and cello playing. This should be a good show. Conveniently, a Daytrotter session with four songs from Dear Companion was recently posted.

And here's a new Daytrotter session that shouldn't be missed: Megafaun. These guys put on one of the best live shows I saw last year. They'll be playing at the Beachland Tavern again on April 7, just four days after Shearwater. There are a lot of good concerts coming to Cleveland in the next few months!

Sledding is awesome

It's been another snowy winter here on the North Coast. When I was a kid growing up in Columbus, I absolutely loved to go sledding, but was frequently disappointed at the amount of snow we got in the winter. Here in Cleveland we tend not to have that problem (although they've been getting hammered in Columbus too!) and I'm not at all ashamed to say that, at 26 years old, I'm still very into sledding.

Cara and I have gone out sledding several times over the past few years, and had a few adventures along the way. We'll never forget how ridiculously cold it was the first time we went at Forest Hill (which also happens to feature a half mile trek from the parking lot to the sledding hill). And then there was the time that we wanted to go sledding after a big March snowstorm, but had no sleds here, and were unable to find any in the stores. We ended up buying some foam insulation at Home Depot and cutting off pieces on which we slid down the hill. This proved only moderately effective, and we were lucky when someone took pity and let us use their sled for a few runs.

This year we've had our best sledding yet. We seem to have mutually decided that we prefer sledding at night, mainly because of the lack of crowds. While it's fun to observe kids enjoying themselves on the sledding hills, it's less fun to have to constantly look out/wait for people sitting at the bottom or walking up the middle of the hill. It's also not fun to cringe at kids nearly smashing into each other, or parents sending their three-year-old down the massive and steep slope at Forest Hill. Plus, sledding at night has a really cool atmosphere to it.

A few weeks ago we hit up the Cain Park hill, and it was the best sledding I've experienced in maybe a decade or even more. It reminded me of some of the great times I used to have at Wyman Woods in Grandview. The sledding surface was nicely packed down, a bit icy, and very fast, and if you were so inclined you could hit some bumps and receive moderate to huge air. Speaking of Cain Park sledding, I found this picture from 1970. I see a lot of Flexible Flyers - that was my favorite sled as a kid.

Tonight we went to Flavor Tripping at the B-Side Liquor Lounge, which was also a lot of fun (and I think Cara may write about it). Yet another snowstorm was picking up in intensity as we headed out. After the party (the highlights for me were lemons and goat cheese), we walked over to Coventry Peace Park with our sleds. This is a relatively small hill, but it's still quite fun. At least an inch or two of fresh powder covered the previously packed down snow. As we rode, our sleds carved smooth paths into the glistening hillside. It was really rather beautiful to look at.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for the best places to sled in Cleveland? I've read that some of the Metroparks have good hills.

Trying out some new toys and nearly freezing to death

For Christmas my parents got me some new accessories for the road bike that I had gotten from them three years previously (and which is probably the best Christmas present I've ever gotten, come to think of it). I finally have clipless pedals and a pair of cycling shoes. For anyone who is uninitiated in the world of cycling and may be reading this post, this means that the shoes lock in to the pedals while riding, enabling a somewhat greater transfer of power with each pedal stroke. I got the pedals installed on my bike last weekend, then promptly got sick, and then went through a few days of weather that was snowy and/or bitterly cold. I had been itching to give my new toys a try, so today, with the temperature a balmy 26, clear streets, and very little wind, I thought conditions were good enough and went out for a ride.

In previous cold weather rides, I have experienced some extremely cold hands and feet (even with two pairs of socks). I recently picked up some toe covers for my cycling shoes, so I put those on. To protect my hands, I equipped myself with two pairs of gloves.

My ride started well. I haven't done much outdoor riding recently, but I'm pretty sure that, thanks to the new pedals, I was riding in higher gears than I typically would with the same effort. Unfortunately, my bike computer doesn't like cold temperatures, so I could not actually see how fast I was going. Hopefully I'll get a chance for that in the not too distant future.

I ended up going about 23 miles. About halfway in, I realized that my fingers were getting very cold. Unfortunately, I was over ten miles from home; I had no choice but to suffer through the return leg of my route. My fingers grew increasingly numb. Two pairs of gloves were obviously not enough - I definitely plan to pick up some hand warmers before going on any more lengthy rides in this sort of weather. (The toe covers, on the other hand, proved effective.) I surged through the mostly downhill last few miles and was greatly relieved to reach home. The worst part, though, was yet to come.

My fingers were extremely cold and numb. I needed to warm them up, and I ran some warm water over them. I knew this would be painful, but the pain was far more excruciating than I can ever remember feeling in similar situations in the past. But it went away in a few minutes.

Hot chocolate has never tasted better.

My top five albums of 2009

It's a little late to put together a tops of 2009 list, but since I just started this blog, I felt like making one. Also, I'm home sick today. My criteria for this list are simply which albums I considered my most favorite. It couldn't truthfully be called a "best of" list, because I did not make an effort to listen to every critically acclaimed album of the year. That's not to say that I don't seek out new music, but I would rather give extra attention to the albums that I do really enjoy than try to listen to as many different albums as I possibly can. (Looking at my Rate Your Music account it appears I have about 30 2009 albums in my collection.) First, a few honorable mentions: Songbook by Family of the Year, Backspacer by Pearl Jam, The Hazards of Love by The Decemberists, and Sainthood by Tegan and Sara. Now, without further ado:

5. Afternoon Naps - Parade

This album is twee pop at its finest, and we are lucky to have such a delightful band here in Cleveland. With ten songs and 31 minutes of music, Parade barely qualifies to be Afternoon Naps' first LP. It's also their most accomplished work. They expand their sound in several ways, even adding some disco influences on a couple tracks. It's still full of the great hooks and boy-girl vocals that made their previous EPs hard to resist. Key tracks: "Mitten Fingers," "Beach Bums," "Catholic School"

4. Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind

It's a Mono album. If you've listened to the band before, you have an idea of what you're getting. Some might see that as a bad thing, but on this album, they take their style of post-rock and execute it really, really well. Music doesn't get a whole lot more epic than these seven tracks. Key tracks: "Ashes in the Snow," "The Battle to Heaven"

3. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast

Andrew Bird is an incredibly talented man. If you haven't seen one of his live shows, you should do so at the first opportunity. He has really created his own unique sound, notable for his superb vocals, his fantastic violin playing, and his amazing ability at whistling. The Mysterious Production of Eggs and Armchair Apocrypha are very good albums, but Noble Beast tops them, and is the first one that I feel really does justice to his immense talents. Key tracks: "Anonanimal," "Oh No," "Not a Robot, but a Ghost"

2. Megafaun - Gather, Form and Fly

I saw this band live over the summer, and I was mainly there to see Bowerbirds, but Megafaun blew me away. Their sound is a mix of experimental folk and more conventional folk rock with some country and bluegrass elements. They do it all very well, and their vocal harmonies are something to marvel at. Key tracks: "The Longest Day," "The Fade," "Kaufman's Ballad," "Guns"

1. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Up From Below

I must say that the people who book the bands to play at The Spot at Case Western Reserve University have done a very good job. This merry folk rock troupe rolled into town for a show just as they were beginning to blow up in popularity. I personally had no familiarity with them before going, and it turned out to be possibly the best show I saw all year. With nine or ten musicians on stage, it's quite an impressive spectacle as they fill your ears with joyous music that would have been right at home in the late '60s. The live show sets a very high benchmark, which the album very nearly lives up to. If you haven't heard "Home," a duet that is surely one of the happiest love songs ever, go listen to it now. Key tracks: "Home," "Desert Song," "40 Day Dream," "Janglin"

Woodpigeon: Die Stadt Muzikanten and Balladeer

It's unfortunate that Balladeer / To All the Guys I've Loved Before, the new album just released by Calgary band Woodpigeon, is likely to be largely overlooked. It's another collection of indie folk gems by Mark Hamilton, Woodpigeon's amazingly prolific and talented leader. This is a quieter album than Treasury Library Canada or Songbook, Woodpigeon's previous full-lengths. It's more reminiscent of the Houndstooth EP, with songs primarily driven by acoustic guitar and vocals, although additional flourishes from instruments like violin or clarinet are employed masterfully.

Hamilton has a knack for great melodies, and great lyrics to match. He conjures up some nice imagery in "So Hold": In a flat tin box/Your first letter to me, five years on/Didn't read what you wrote/Cuz I'm sure by now, it's not what I'd want. Album closer "Beth Jeans Sleepover" is just a really gorgeous song, while the haunting "An Entanglement of Weeds" deserves special mention. It clocks in at nearly seven minutes long and tells the tale of a twelve year old boy drowning after falling into a river while attempting to rescue his friend, recounting his thoughts as he realizes that he is going to die.

Why is this fantastic album almost undoubtedly going to receive little attention? Well, despite containing 12 songs and 44 minutes of all new material, Balladeer is merely a bonus disc attached to Woodpigeon's other new album, Die Stadt Muzikanten (did I mention that Mark Hamilton is very prolific??).

And while Balladeer is an excellent piece of work, Die Stadt Muzikanten does deserve top billing. It's a masterpiece, Woodpigeon's best album yet. I've previously written that the main elements that make Woodpigeon's music so appealing are the catchy melodies, lush instrumentation, and boy-girl harmonies that I can only describe as delicious. All of that is still present in spades. Die Stadt Muzikanten, though, just sounds bigger than any previous Woodpigeon release. While comparisons to artists like Belle and Sebastian or Sufjan Stevens may still be appropriate, Woodpigeon have really found their own sound here. They're equally adept at infectious chamber pop ("Empty-Hall Sing-Along," "Enchantee Janvier") and heart-achingly beautiful balladry ("Spirehouse," "Our Love is as Tall as the Calgary Tower"). They rock harder than they have in the past on "The Street Noise Gives You Away" and "My Denial in Argyle" (the most danceable Woodpigeon track yet). And I would be remiss to leave out a pair of nautically themed numbers. "Redbeard" is a clever song in which the protagonist hunts down a pirate who "stole and burned most everything, the life that I once knew," for the purpose of revenge, only to fall in love. "...And as the Ship Went Down, You'd Never Looked Finer" is a tour de force. It contains the most interesting arrangements and instrumentation on the album, building from a simple, repetitive percussion and piano intro to a rousing climax with violin, banjo, accordion, and stirring vocals playing key roles along the way. It's interesting that on both Balladeer and Die Stadt Muzikanten, a strong contender for the title of best track is about drowning - Colin Meloy would be proud.

Die Stadt Muzikanten can be streamed in full on Woodpigeon's website. The album won't be officially released in the U.S. until March, but is available to purchase from digital retailers, and the CD version can be ordered from Boompa. I would highly recommend the latter; the bonus disc alone is worth the price of admission, and Balladeer is only available with physical copies of the album.