The description on the Barbican website:

‘From the outer reaches of the country landscape comes the muse of Howe Gelb, the most prolific man in alt country (yes, even more than Ryan Adams) and head honcho with Giant Sand.’ BBC on Giant Sand’s Cover Magazine

2010 is the 25th anniversary of the [...]]]> Barbican – Giant Sand plus special guests

The description on the Barbican website:

‘From the outer reaches of the country landscape comes the muse of Howe Gelb, the most prolific man in alt country (yes, even more than Ryan Adams) and head honcho with Giant Sand.’ BBC on Giant Sand’s Cover Magazine

In Their Own Worlds is an exclusive invitation to see Giant Sand performing songs old and new, a solo set from Kristin, and Giant Sand providing a unique score as Kristin reads from Paradoxical Undressing.

‘I’ll jump at any chance to be on stage with the wild and wacky, kooky and cozy Howe. With Howe, I never know exactly what will happen, but it’s always great to be a part of it.’ Kristin Hersh

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I first heard him on stage at Howe Gelb’s Upside Down Home 2000 at the Barbican, and that was enough to get me to buy It’s A Wonderful Life. I got to see Sparklehorse as a band in 2006 when they played [...]]]> Such sad news that Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse took his life this weekend.

I first heard him on stage at Howe Gelb’s Upside Down Home 2000 at the Barbican, and that was enough to get me to buy It’s A Wonderful Life. I got to see Sparklehorse as a band in 2006 when they played the Fez Club in Reading just after Dreamt For Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain came out.

There’s a lovely tribute to him at the Guardian.

It’s a Sad & Beautiful World, alright – made more beautiful by his music, and more sad by his passing.

Efterklang - Magic Chairs

Remember Efterklang?  Their new album, Magic Chairs, is out on 22nd February, and is currently available to stream from both MySpace and Soundvenue according to this post from the Efterklang blog.

There’s a review of the album here.  I’m only a couple of tracks in so far, and it’s sounding very good [...]]]>

Efterklang - Magic Chairs

Remember Efterklang?  Their new album, Magic Chairs, is out on 22nd February, and is currently available to stream from both MySpace and Soundvenue according to this post from the Efterklang blog.

There’s a review of the album here.  I’m only a couple of tracks in so far, and it’s sounding very good – more song orientated than Parades.  Might have to buy this one.

The bit I’m particularly interested in (aside from it being a sf movie) is this:

With a sountrack written by Howe Gelb and including performances by Howe Gelb, Giant Sand, Neko Case, Victoria Williams, Jason Lytle, Kristen [...]]]> Just came across this on the Giant Sand comments board – Mars, described as “[...] feature length,
animated romantic adventure MARS!”

The bit I’m particularly interested in (aside from it being a sf movie) is this:<.p>

With a sountrack written by Howe Gelb and including performances by Howe Gelb, Giant Sand, Neko Case, Victoria Williams, Jason Lytle, Kristen Hersh, John Convertino, Bill Elm, Mark Smoot, Nic Koller, and more.

Here’s the trailer:

MARS – The Movie [HD Trailer] from Geoff Marslett on Vimeo.

The Imagined Village

Last Friday we went to see The Imagined Village at the Reading Concert Hall.  I’d seen them on Later… last year, and was particularly impressed at the time with their song Cold, Hailey, Rainy Night, so managed to persuade a couple of (slightly skeptical) friends that it would be a good gig.

It [...]]]>

The Imagined Village

Last Friday we went to see The Imagined Village at the Reading Concert Hall.  I’d seen them on Later… last year, and was particularly impressed at the time with their song Cold, Hailey, Rainy Night, so managed to persuade a couple of (slightly skeptical) friends that it would be a good gig.

It kicked off with Chris Wood doing a solo set.  My better half wasn’t impressed, but I thought he was interesting.  It was a bit more “folk” than I was hoping the main set would be (and, to be honest, a bit more “folk” than I tend to like), but he only did half an hour or so and he can certainly play and sing very well.

By the time the interval was done my better half was getting restless, so I was hoping that she’d enjoy the rest of the set, or I might have been in trouble…

I wasn’t.

The Imagined Village played a blinding set. Martin and Eliza Carthy shared vocal duties with Chris Wood.  There were a few numbers from the previous (eponymous) album, and most of the new album, Empire and Love.  Highlights were the gorgeous Scarborough Fair, the previously mentioned Cold, Hailey, Rainy Night, and a song that was very similar to one Springsteen did on the Seeger Sessions, My Son John. The encore started with Hard Times of Old England, which ended with Martin Carthy alone on stage.

The final number, which he started on his own, was a little familiar.  In fact, it was number one in the month I was born.  I certainly had never heard Slade’s Cum On Feel The Noize played quite like that – and it was a somehow very fitting way of ending the set.

I will definitely go and see them again – and I got the new album from Amazon the next day, so I must have liked it…!

There’s a review of the album here.

Glitter And Doom Live

This morning, waiting on my desk at work, was a copy of the new Tom Waits CD, Glitter and Doom Live.  I’ve just finished listening to it, and it’s great – definitely better than the audience recordings I downloaded in 2004 after seeing Tom at Hammersmith, and which I still regard [...]]]>

Glitter And Doom Live

This morning, waiting on my desk at work, was a copy of the new Tom Waits CD, Glitter and Doom Live.  I’ve just finished listening to it, and it’s great – definitely better than the audience recordings I downloaded in 2004 after seeing Tom at Hammersmith, and which I still regard as the best concert I’ve ever attended.  It was such a shame (to me, anyway) that he didn’t play London on the Glitter And Doom tour, but this recording is the next best thing.

I’d almost say it was a bit short – it’s a single CD, after all – but there are 17 tracks on the disc, and since the between-song stories and banter are provided on a second disc (Tom Tales), it’s probably representative of his main set.  Obviously I’d have been even more happy with a double album, but that’s just down the to fact that I can’t get enough of his music.

The tracks are mainly drawn from his more recent albums, including a few from the box set Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, and the oldest looks like Singapore, from Rain Dogs.  There are storming renditions of Going Out West and Make It Rain, a sprawling 6:25 version of Get Behind The Mule, and a lovely Fannin Street.

If you like Tom Waits, get this album.

Mind you, if you do like Tom Waits, then you’ve probably already ordered it anyway.

Laurie Anderson

I had a very odd dream last night, in which I was interviewing Laurie Anderson.  I don’t remember many details, but she did tell me that  there isn’t a release date yet for the DVD of Songs and Stories from Moby Dick…  Now, after a quick look around her website, this does seem [...]]]>

Laurie Anderson

I had a very odd dream last night, in which I was interviewing Laurie Anderson.  I don’t remember many details, but she did tell me that  there isn’t a release date yet for the DVD of Songs and Stories from Moby Dick…  Now, after a quick look around her website, this does seem to be true, though there’s a comment about its possible inclusion in the forthcoming DVD box set.  So, looks like my dream was accurate!

It’s extremely rare that I remember any dreams, so this was an odd one to stick out.  It’s not like I’ve even been listening to her stuff recently.  I wonder who else I’ve interviewed in my sleep without remembering it..?

Howe Gelb

Last night Howe Gelb played at the Luminaire in Kilburn (“London’s most agreeable live music venue”, apparently).  I can’t decide if it was 2 sets he played, or if he was supporting himself…  Buy One Get One Free, however you look at it!  Anyway, Howe came on a little after 8:30 and played [...]]]>

Howe Gelb

Last night Howe Gelb played at the Luminaire in Kilburn (“London’s most agreeable live music venue”, apparently).  I can’t decide if it was 2 sets he played, or if he was supporting himself…  Buy One Get One Free, however you look at it!  Anyway, Howe came on a little after 8:30 and played just short of an hour, then had a brief break and did a second hour-long set.

The first set was played exclusively on guitar.  He started with Stuck (which I don’t think I’ve heard live before) and Robes of Bible Black, then lots more that I can no longer remember but which included Stranded Pearl and Paradise Here Abouts, with lots of chat and Howe-isms, and a couple of verses of A Whiter Shade of Pale…

The second set started with a couple of instrumental piano pieces (during which he encouraged us to talk amongst ourselves), and included Temptation of Egg (again, I don’t believe I’ve heard it live before) and Bottom Line Man from Chore of Enchantment, and Jason’s List from The Listener (well, I think it was!).  He ended the set back on guitar, with a couple of numbers from Confluence, Saint Conformity and 4 Door Maverick (which he said he’ll be playing with the flamenco band this week). He ended with Shiver, played on both guitar and keyboard.

It’s always a pleasure to see Howe – and being solo seems to let him play whatever he wants, however he wants.  You really get the feeling that he’s making it all up as he goes along, which works well most of the time, works wonderfully some of the time, and fails completely on the odd occasion (he did stop playing one song to remark how that the thing he’d just played didn’t work at all).  I can understand how this would be incredibly infuriating for people who just want to hear the songs they know played just as they are on record, but Howe isn’t that kind of artist.  If you are prepared to go along with him as he wanders through his material, it’s never less than interesting, frequently fascinating, and sporadically superb…

Edit: There’s a good review of the gig at Penny Black Music.

Sno Angel Film

Last night I went to see one of my favourite musicians at the cinema.

Howe Gelb, the man behind Giant Sand (among others!), released an album in 2006 called ‘Sno Angel Like You, which he recorded with the gospel choir The Voices of Praise.  It was one of my favourite albums that year, [...]]]>

Sno Angel Film

Last night I went to see one of my favourite musicians at the cinema.

Howe Gelb, the man behind Giant Sand (among others!), released an album in 2006 called ‘Sno Angel Like You, which he recorded with the gospel choir The Voices of Praise.  It was one of my favourite albums that year, and is still one of my favourites out of Howe’s (vast) back catalogue.  The show the performed in Reading when they toured the UK in support of the album remains one of the best gigs I’ve been to as well – there’s something about the blend of the choir’s voices with Howe’s material that was just magical.  So, I was rather excited to hear that there was a tour movie in the works.

It’s described on Howe’s website:

‘Sno Angel Winging It is a music documentary which follows the collaboration of alt-country troubadour Howe Gelb, his band and Voices of Praise gospel choir. Filmed in the UK, Spain and Canada over 2 years by Maria Mochnacz (film-maker, PJ Harvey – On Tour: Please Leave Quietly (2006)), it shows the coming together and subsequent recording session and tour of musicians from very different backgrounds. In the words of choir director Steve Johnston, “Taking a gospel choir, with what we stand for – our beliefs, out on the road with a rock and roll band; you have absolutely no idea what to expect!” They released a studio album ‘Sno Angel Like You in 2006 and will be releasing a live album with a DVD of this film, later this year.

My ticket...

Howe and Maria are taking the film around the UK over this next couple of weeks, last night being the second showing, at the ICA in London. It was a small cinema, and probably around 100 people were in the audience. The movie itself is great – it’s not a concert movie, nor is it a documentary about the tour, but more of a montage of clips of the band performing the songs interspersed with interviews. The audio of each song was from a single performance (I think), but the video was usually from a number of shows. In the Q&A after the show Howe and Maria discussed how this was done and Maria made the point that Howe never performs a song the same way twice, and frequently changes the words as well, so that really must have been a challenge – but one that worked perfectly.

There was a question from the audience after the show that emphasises how well this works. Someone asked Howe how he got the sound of a prepared piano out of the keyboard he played on stage – the answer being that he hadn’t. The sound of the performance was from a totally different show where he did have a proper grand piano to chuck his batteries in, but Maria had edited the film so well it looked seamless.

The movie was about 50 minutes long, and had most of the songs from the ‘Sno Angel Like You album on it, plus a few extras, including a lovely and stately Astonished (from Chore of Enchantment). Howe did ask if it was too long – I think the general opinion was that it could have been another 30 minutes longer and we wouldn’t have been bored!

Howe said that they were hoping to release the movie on DVD in a digipac along with the live CD, and to get it out before xmas – so I know one thing that’ll be on my list this December!

Edit: Now looking forward to the show at the Luminaire on the 4th Oct!