These are in no particular order, and the only criteria that these albums satisfy are that I like them. I’m afraid that I’m not going to make any hyperbolic statements of greatness, but what I will do is run down some records that for me were memorable, got played a lot, and that I basically loved. You might disagree. Well, I forgive you.
When I was a teenager, Weezer came to my hometown. They were supporting Pinkerton, an album that I loved dearly and would continue to love dearly all the way through the writing of this review. On that night in Knoxville, TN, they played a healthy balance of Blue/Pinkerton songs, and we danced and sang and jumped up and down in unison- all the things you do when a band you like is killing it in the 90′s. And now, too, I suppose. Anyhow, Weezer closed with “Surfwax USA” and it was perfect and we all felt great and relaxed as they left the stage. THEN No Doubt played.
Last night, Midlake visited Knoxville’s beautiful old theater, the Bijou. After a charming opening set by Minneapolis bluesy-twosy Peter Wolf Crier (which actually featured some pretty compelling vocal looping) a giant picture was lowered behind the instruments. It was the druid-as-hell cover of the new Midlake album, The Courage of Others, featuring a trippy mirrored image of a few of the cloaked Jesuses of the band. Shortly after, Midlake took the stage, looking awesome and period-specific to their 70′s soaked songcraft. They were beardy, they were stoic, and underspoken. They launched into a very well balanced set of new selections and favorites from their previous album, The Trials of Van Occupanther, with a few long, jammy intros to the hits….which only worked (and they really worked) because this band LOOKS like they’d be all jam.
Read the rest of the review and check out more photos by Jeff McClain after the jump… (Read the article)
Watch ‘Fortune’ below. Be certain to catch Midlake on their NA journey.
Catch all three acts at:
9/18 Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre
9/19 Lawrence, KS – Granada Theatre
9/20 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue Mainroom
9/21 Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall
9/22 Grand Rapids, MI – Ladies Literary Club
9/24 Toronto, ON – The Opera House
9/25 Syracuse, NY – Westcott Theatre
9/27 Boston, MA – Royale
9/30 Philadelphia, PA – Theatre Of The Living Arts
10/1 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
10/2 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
10/4 Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
10/5 Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre
10/6 Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge
In April, Peter Wolf Crier dropped by Daytrotter.
Today’s set featured:
“Winter Dies”
“Small Mountain”
“Rulers, Ruling All Things”
“Acts Of Man”
Stream the full playback here.
Catch Midlake on their US trek.
Catch ‘em at:
MAR 31 – Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theatre
APR 1 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
APR 2 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
APR 3 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
APR 4 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
APR 7 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
APR 8 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
APR 9 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
APR 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Of Living Arts
The Courage Of Others will see daylight on 2/1/2010. It includes:
Acts Of Man
Winter Dies
Small Mountain
Core Of Nature
Fortune
Rulers, Ruling All Things
Children Of The Grounds
Bring Down
The Horn
The Courage Of Others
In The Ground
Visit Midlake at their official site.
MP3: Midlake – Roscoe
Brace yourselves for The Courage Of Others.
It’ll see daylight in early 2010.
Visit Midlake at their official site.
MP3: Midlake – Roscoe
World’s Fair reports: *Eric Pulido, guitarist of Midlake, has launched his very own brand of coffee! Cappulido Coffee was born in the Spring 2008 in the great land of Denton, TX and features six different blends of fair traded coffee, each selling for around $10 a pop. With the purchase of Cappulido Coffee, you are giving aid directly back to farmers in developing countries, lending them the financial support necessary to continue developing an excellent product and compete in the world market.* For further information, head to CC’s official site.
MP3: Midlake – Roscoe
Midlake – Young Bride (Cassettes Won’t Listen Remix)
Best-of-’06 track gets revisited.
Learn all about CWL via this link to his official site.
My review of Midlake @ Battery Park can be read here.
