Today begins Free Press Summer Fest and we will try to cover as many artists as possible from Best Coast to R3hab. Make sure that you come back during the course of the day for live blogging of the show and always remember that It Sounds Better Live.
Bloc Party Sneak Peak
Bloc Party is working on their fourth studio album and has yet to release any insight of what they are doing, until now. The compiled snippets of their tracks in-studio. Fans of this band from British band have been waiting for this album since their last release of, Intimacy in 2008. We have seen the evolution of the band since Silent Alarm and can only hope for some splendor in this senior album. Hopefully we see this album come out later this year but for now here is a bit of their tracks.
Jeff Buckley
Today marks the anniversary of the passing of Jeff Buckley and we commemorate all of the work he has done and ways he revolutionized the industry.
1993′s Live at Sin-e EP gives the best idea of what Columbia’s A&R; rep must have seen in Buckley at the time. At shows, he was the picture of a high diva: sprawling, boundless and with more than a pinch of self-conscious glitter. However, as he revealed in The Making of Grace, the behind-the-scenes feature that leads off the third disc DVD in Columbia’s new “Legacy” edition reissue of his debut full-length, he needed a band. He already had Grondhal, met drummer Matt Johnson through Grace executive producer Steve Berkowitz, and, midway through recording the album, brought in guitarist Michael Tighe (who eventually contributed “So Real”, to which Buckley added a chorus and put on the record in place of the bluesy “Forget Her”). Producer Andy Wallace speaks on the documentary about his concerns over how much of the record should reflect Buckley’s solo performances, but true to form, the singer wanted it all.
Somehow, despite an overflow of ideas– they needed three different band setups available at all times to accommodate Buckley’s various moods– the record got done. And it was released. And thousands of open-heart romantics heard their ship come in. As it happened, Grace was received with mixed feelings from critics who probably thought they were getting the next great alt-rock savior, and instead felt they’d received dinner theater for the moody crowd. They had a point: For all its swells of emotion and midnight dynamics, Grace was not a record to rally the post-grunge alternation. It made a jazz noise where a rock one was expected and a classical one where a pop one might have sold more records. MTV snagged “Last Goodbye”, Grace‘s most radio-friendly song by a considerable margin, but Buckley was predestined for a cult stardom.
Grace‘s strengths have been well-documented over the years: The flawless choice of cover songs, including the definitive reading of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (that we learn on the documentary was actually chosen based on John Cale’s 1991 version from the Cohen tributeI’m Your Fan); the mystic, blue textures of “Mojo Pin”, “So Real” and “Dream Brother” that seemed as related to Led Zeppelin as to Scott Walker as to Buckley’s father; Wallace’s sympathetic, intimate production and the band’s equally sensitive following of Buckley’s lead. And of course, he sang the hell out of those songs. His voice turned upward songs that naturally leaned inward; his reading of Nina Simone’s “Lilac Wine” transformed from misty cocktail lament into transcendental experience, and the unlikely recasting of English composer Benjamin Britten’s “Corpus Christi Carol” into ambient lullaby.
And, as this reissue proves, for every bit of lightning trapped in a jar, Buckley was willing to try his hand at many songs with which he held a weaker grasp. Firstly, he fancied himself a rock star, and the second disc of this set includes endearing, but ultimately inessential readings of the MC5′s “Kick Out the Jams”, a pretty silly Screamin’ Jay Hawkins impersonation on Leiber & Stoller’s “Alligator Wine”, and a speed-metal take on “Eternal Life”. His version of Big Star’s “Kanga-Roo” nails its weary grandeur, but goes overboard on the ensuing 11-minute jam session, effectively transforming it from intimidating wall of drone into a meandering, albeit unfinished and tentative giant. He sounds best interpreting songs like Bukka White’s “Parchman Farm Blues”, Simone’s “The Other Woman”, and Bob Dylan’s “Mama, You Been On My Mind”, though his own take on the blues– the previously unreleased “Forget Her”– sounds comparatively pedestrian.
So, the question becomes how frustrated you are willing to be with Buckley. His posthumous releases suggest what Grace did: that he was one of the most talented musicians of his generation, while also being one of the most impulsive and, often, maddeningly inconsistent. Is he really being served by the uncovering of outtakes, B-sides and live performances? Fans certainly think so, but I won’t cop to listening very beyond his lone completed record these days. And it bears emphasizing that its rewards have lost nothing in 10 years. Grace remains one of the most engaging, inspired records ever made, and its 10 original songs serve as the best possible portrait of Buckley as a diva, songwriter and artist.
On the evening of May 29, 1997, Buckley’s band flew to Memphis intending to join him in his studio there to work on the newly written material. That same evening, Buckley went swimming in Wolf River Harbor, a slackwater channel of the Mississippi River, while wearing boots, all of his clothing, and singing the chorus of the song “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin. Buckley had gone swimming there several times before. A roadie in Buckley’s band, Keith Foti, remained on shore. After moving a radio and guitar out of reach of the wake from a passing tugboat, Foti looked up to see that Buckley had vanished. Despite a determined rescue effort that night, Buckley remained missing. On June 4, two locals spotted his body in the Mississippi River near a riverboat, and it was brought to land.
Excerpt taken from:
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/995-grace-legacy-edition/
Austin City Limits Lineup
The lineup is out and well its a bit surprising considering the artist other festivals have booked. Take a look for yourself:
Snow Patrol
Make sure to see the review I wrote for Fallen Empires at: http://wp.me/p1Jn8q-b3
The band from Ireland Snow Patrol stopped by Bayou Music Center on May 18th to promote their latest album, Fallen Empires. Snow Patrol reached the international market with their album Final Straw which came out in 2003 with the famous single, “Somewhere a Clock is Ticking.” Though they were only still some band from the UK at that time, they finally hit the radio waves and became a more household name with, “Run,” which is on their album Final Straw.
When the lights dimmed at the venue, the restless crowd headed towards the stage and filled in any small gaps between the as Gary Go took the stage. Though he is currently working on mellower piano based tracks, this artist grew to his fame for being the vocals behind the international hit by Benny Benassi, “Cinema.” As he began playing his tracks off of a few pieces of equipment on the stage which were mainly used to loop and a piano, there was a realization that this show will only be the solo work he has been working on. His set lasted only a half an hour with some audience participation ending it the final track to his set list.
A half an hour later that Gary Go left the stage, Snow Patrol emerged from the side of the stage as the loops for the first song they were going to play began. The audience screamed and applauded as the main acts began playing their tracks.
The majority of the tracks were from their album Eyes Open such as, “Chasing Cars, Make This Go On Forever, Set the Fire to the Third Bar, Open Your Eyes,” and finally a track which called for the audience participation, “Shut Your Eyes.” During that track, lead singer Gary Lightbody asked for complete silence from the audience not continuing the track until the audience ceased to talk. He claimed that a silent audience gave him, “a hard on.” Then the audience was told to whisper, “Shut your eyes and sing to me,” taking turns with him singing and then the audience. The intensity built as he began to sing louder and the audience following his lead ending with the crowd screaming the lyrics.
Since they were on tour promoting Fallen Empires they played the radio hit songs from that album, “This Isn’t Everything You Are, Called Out In the Dark, Fallen Empires,” and finally “New York.”
The live performance of this group does not even resemble a fraction of energy and power that is established on their album. The show its self was only a large sheet behind the band showing projections which were always on during the entirety of the show. Though this band has been around for nearly a decade, the audience consisted of people of all different kinds varying in ages listening for their one favorite track.
The last time the band came to Houston was at Warehouse Live on October 5th 2009, with the band then having released, A Hundred Million Suns. With the lack of an intimate venue the audience lacked the energy and enthusiasm that the one from their previous stop by Houston had.
With such intricate architecture and lyrically driven tracks, there was somewhat of a lack of appreciation felt towards the band from the crowd. Overall Snow Patrol can always put on an amazing show that held a touching moment to fans of the band. They played everyone’s favorite song making sure to entice the new and old fans alike allowing them to keep the audience entertained through this nearly two hour set. Snow Patrol has grown to become more than just a concert but an actual experience.
