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My tenure of music journal-ing in Chicago began with Kevin Devine so I suppose it was quite fitting that my first interview done as a Cincinnati resident was with Kevin again. Something about reinterviews makes me nervous, particularly if I've done a great job the first time around. It sets the bar really high and usually results in me prepping upwards of two dozen questions weeks in advance and scrapping most of them two nights before said interview on account of them not being good enough. That being said however, interviewing Kevin Devine's a breeze and I wasn't so much suffering from a case of nerves as I was a case of extreme excitement when I made my way from the new Hot Half Life HQ in downtown Cincinnati to The Newport in Columbus. I had every right to be excited - I was covering my first concert as a Cincinnati resident at a venue I'd never been to before, re-interviewing an artist I adore and seeing some friends in the process. Sunday Funday, indeed.
It wasn't my first time seeing Kevin on the Get Up Kids tour. Through a stroke of good luck, the bands hit the Metro on October 21st and 22nd when I was still a Chicago resident before making their way to Ohio right after I moved. If you happened to read about K.D. Round 6 over at Radio Free Chicago, you'll know that I wasn't exactly one hundred percent happy with the experience. I wasn't let down in any way but between the crowd (unexpectedly crazy) and the band's sets (sort of predictable), I just wasn't overly impressed.
Going in to the show, my expectations were set realistically. I was in it to have a decent time, review the sets, do an interview and head home. This time around, however, the significantly smaller (and more sober) crowd made the show alot more enjoyable. That coupled with the fact that Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band delivered a set that was just as listener friendly but more intimate and unique than they did at the Chicago show made my enjoyment factor increase ten fold.
Opening with a solo version of "Brooklyn Boy", I was reminded by the fact that out of seven times seeing Kevin, I don't believe I've once heard "Brooklyn Boy", a staple in his catalog. "I Could Be With Anyone", without the beat box intro courtesy of Brian Bonz, had a different sound that lied somewhere in between the more upbeat album version and the slower, tongue-in-cheek rendition Kevin played on his solo acoustic tour over the summer. "Carnival", as always, was a gem live and the set closer of "Brother's Blood" was predictable but not remorely disappointing. Nearly every time I've seen Kevin with the Goddamn Band this year, they closed with "Brother's Blood" and every time, it's been just as powerful.
My move across the Midwest has opened up an exciting new world for me, concert-wise. One of my favorite things to do is explore new venues. In my time as a Chicago-ite, I went to dozens of venues and there are still quite a few I never made my way to. Now, I've got venues all across Ohio, parts of Indiana and norther Kentucky at my disposal. Sunday, at the Newport, I learned that some non-smoking venues have a smoking alley for your convenience. Yes, you read that right. Although the Newport has no reentry, they do have a SMOKING ALLEY. Welcome to Ohio, indeed.
Something in regards to my move that I never did take into account however, was what I babe I apparently am by Ohio standards. I feel that in Chicago, I was just a regular girl and the attention I got from the opposite sex reflected that (Amber's adventures in dating were briefly touched on in the last entry but to say I have no game is understatement). Here, however, nary an outing goes by where I don't get treated like the most beautiful girl in the room - The whole wide room. So to say I spent most of the Get Up Kids set getting flirted at is fairly accurate. I heard the vast majority of the set from the lobby, alternately making new friends and catching up with familiar faces, but I did head into the fray for the encore with my friend Asia to get our proverbial dance on as the Kids covered The Cure. Interesting side note about said Cure cover: They played the same cover in Chicago and as I was making my way out of the scary-rowdy crowd, to the safety of the merch booth, I heard a drunk individual shout "Oh man! I love Bowie!" True story.
As for the interview, I am excited beyond words for the day that Kevin Devine Interview 2.0: The Reckoning hits TRACER. I'd like to think I knocked it out the park again and got some really good answers to my decent questions. Sadly, however, the best questions came from Miniature Tigers, who I first met when they were touring with Kevin over the spring and who I memorably interviewed on the 30th. What did they want me to ask? What a "dipe" is. What is a dipe? I'll let you know when the interview runs.
What do you do when you realize your dream only to find out it's not all that you imagined it to be? For some reason, ever since I was young, I could never imagine myself living any place other than Chicago. After doing time in various parts of Michigan for more than 20 years, I finally bailed and made my way to the great state of Illinois. But thing weren't as I'd imagined. I'm sure I built the city up so much in my head and loved visiting it so much that once I got here, there wasn't any way the metropolis could live up to my vast expectations. Talking to a friend recently, I mentioned that Chicago was going to just be a brief footnote in my existence. An important one but a brief one nonetheless.
If I could have taken a snapshot of one moment to encompass my entire Chicago experience, it would have been the evening in August when I was walking down Michigan Ave. on my way to Millennium Park to see Shearwater play. I had my earbuds in and was listening to Bad Veins, walking in between mile high buildings and feeling small. I was lonely but I was content.
I didn't take a picture of that moment, so this photo of Sara and myself in the aforementioned Millennium Park will have to do.
5. Local musicians JT Royster and Archie Powell and the Exports. Equal parts awesome guys and swell musicians, both JT and Archie and his Exports are people I would have never met if it weren't for living in Chicago. While Archie Powell and the Exports go for a more straight forward, old fashioned rock and roll sound, Mr. Royster pens sweet acoustic songs with dreamy lyrics and layered vocals. You can snag their music for free at JT's last.fm and Archie's site, respectively. Recommended tracks? JT's "I Liked You Sun" and AP&E's "Movin' To The City".
4. Venues like Lincoln Hall and Schubas. Definitely my two favorite places to catch a concert in Illinois, if not the entire Midwest, I've been giving Schuba's love for the past year and a half since I saw my first gig there. Now, Lincoln Hall joins the esteemed ranks of it's sister venue, as made evident by my recent reviews of Dawes and Langhorne Slim and David Bazan at the venue. Equal parts hip environment, delicious food, and amazing sound quality, Lincoln Hall appeals to both my love of music and my love of tater tots. When I first walked in to the venue, a fair few hours before Dawes hit the stage, they were playing Okkervil River's "Our Life Is Not A Movie or Maybe" over the jukebox, thus endearing them to me forever.
3. Dating. First and foremost, let's get the following out of the way: I suck at dating. I'm good at observing people which is probably why I like being a music journalist so much but when it comes to getting to know someone and letting them get to know me in a social setting, I falter. I went on a lump sum of two dates whilst being a Chicago resident. One went laughably bad but the second of which actually went... Well. Sadly, it took place a mere 3 days before I left for Ohio so nothing could become of it. The gentleman and myself, hopefully, will remain friends and while distance will more likely than not keep anything from ever happening, it was nice to be a normal girl for a night and spend time with a cute fella who I genuinely had things in common with.
2. All the interviews I did. Despite some of the most memorable ones not even taking place in Chicago (Sea Wolf and David Bazan were phoners, my Bad Veins interview took place at a Steak n Shake in Indianapolis and I sat down with Kevin Devine across the street from Mac's in Lansing, Michigan), none of those interviews would have happened if I hadn't come to Chicago, got tenacious and asked the aforementioned Kevin Devine if I could interview him. That one interview gave way to countless more, a gig at Radio Free Chicago (where I got to work with the amazing RFC editor, Brad) eventually, my snazzy new post at TRACER Magazine.
1. Friends. What would any place be without friends? I may have peaced out from Illinois but nevertheless, I'm still incredibly indebted and in love with my beautiful, wonderful social circle. So Sara, Rachel, Hailey, Kelli, this one's for you. I miss you already.
I think I mentioned before that I find it interesting that this October has marked my busiest month thus far into my foray into music journalism yet it's been my most quiet month here on The Hot Half Life. Nary a day has gone by that I haven't ventured out of my hole to some of my favorite Chicago haunts like Schubas, The Empty Bottle, and now Lincoln Hall. I haven't mentioned Lincoln Hall before but it's been in the forefront of my mind since early in the summer when I visited the Daytrotter studios and David Bazan. (The wonderful session I got to sit in on is available here although it is sadly lacking Bazan's mind blowing cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah".) When the conversation turned to touring, David and his manager informed me that Bazan would be playing the new Schubas venue that was opening up in the fall. I was immediately excited by the prospect of seeing one of my favorite artists of all time at a new venue owned and operated by my favorite Chicago concert joint of all time.
Earlier in the week, I got to catch new favorites Dawes open up for Langhorne Slim at Lincoln Hall and the place definitely lived up to my expectations. When I walked in, I heard Okkervil River's "Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe" playing over the speakers and, as we all know, nothing makes Amber feel at home like a good Okkervil River tune. From the atmosphere to the sound quality, from the delicious tater tots to the staff, Lincoln Hall delivers. (In regards to the staff, they really might be the nicest venue employees I've ever encountered. Very good people are running the place.)
The next night, I got to return to Lincoln Hall for the aforementioned Bazan show which not only marked my first time seeing David backed by a full band (which added an extra meaningful, fuzzy layer to tracks off Curse Your Branches) but it also marked Lincoln Hall's first sold out show. I was more than happy to be a part of the crowd and I'm certain that once word starts to travel of how gorgeous and amazing Lincoln Hall is, many more sold out shows are to come.
Those occurrences alone would make it a notable week in my hot half life but add the following to the mix and you've got one happy, tired Amber on your hands:
- The day before Dawes and Langhorne Slim at Lincoln Hall, I jetted over to the Metro to see The Get Up Kids and Kevin Devine. Sure, The Get Up Kids were headlining but it's no surprise that I was there for the opening act. You can read what I thought of Round 6 with Kevin at Radio Free Chicago and yes, my review does give slightly more attention to Mr. Devine and the Goddamn Band than the recently reformed Kansas legends. I would apologize but... I don't really have all that much to be sorry for.
- Also, excitingly, my interview with the awesome Roman Candle went live at TRACER. Producing one of my favorite albums of the year, Roman Candle have been building a steady amount of buzz since the release of their debut album and getting to hang with them at Schubas was an awesome experience. The more people I meet in the music industry, the more surprised I am at home kind and down to earth everybody is. Roman Candle is no different. What makes them special, however, is their authentic brand of alt-country and the fact that at the core, the band is comprised of family (Lead singer Skip, his wife Timshell, and his brother Logan). If I could be any one other than myself for a few days, I would probably choose Timshell. Just as talented as she is adorable, people like Timshell give me hope that functioning relationships can exist in the music industry! Roman Candle is a breath of fresh air. The band seems to be taking it easy for the time being but you'd best believe that next time they hit the Midwest, I'll be in attendence and you should be too.
The month is starting to wind down and the end of October brings another visit to Lincoln Hall to see the Great Lake Swimmers and a road trip to DeKalb to check out those lovable scamps, Miniature Tigers, not to mention another change of scenery for this Hot Half Life showrunner. The impending onslaught of free time that my move will bring already has me brewing up new blog ideas including quite a few mixes. (I'm tentatively dubbing November the month of A Mix A Week.)
Alright, let's get one thing straight: I neither condone nor appreciate the Twilight phenomenon. I have read the books so I have very real reasons behind my dislike for the series and to keep this blog from becoming a twelve paragraph rant about the feminism and morals of Twilight, I won't go into it, you'll just have to trust me on the fact that Twilight is not a good thing. A few months back, when it was first announced that the soundtrack to the second installment of the film quartet would featuring Thom Yorke, Death Cab for Cutie and Grizzly Bear, I was alarmed and slightly put off. However, when it was announced that Sea Wolf, Band of Skulls and Bon Iver would also hold featured spots, well, I started to come to terms with the fact that the New Moon soundtrack was going to make it's way into my regular rotation.
I didn't want it in my iTunes library and I certainly didn't want to like it but it was apparent that I had no choice in the matter and after hearing the soundtrack in full, it became apparent that I had no choice. As a lover of indie music, resistance was futile. Sure enough, I, albeit begrudgingly, quite adore the soundtrack to New Moon.
Gone are the poppy, angsty, punky sentiments that plagued the soundtrack to the original film (Note: The inclusion of Iron & Wine made up for the overuse of Paramore) and they've been replaced by an all star cast of indie darlings. The most mainstream things you'll find on here is by far Death Cab and Thom Yorke and while it has been quite a while since I've listened to the radio by choice, I'm pretty sure that neither of those artists are top 40 favorites.
There's nary a misstep out of the fifteen songs here but, interestingly enough, I find the most widely publicized tracks to be the least interesting. I'd take Lykke Li's beautiful, atypical ballad "Possibilities" over Grizzly Bear's sleepy "Slow Life" any day. Unsurprising is the fact that Sea Wolf's "Violet Hour" is one of the most solid songs in this collection but what is surprising is the fact that it's also one of the most upbeat tracks here. Even the more mainstream Killers hearken back to their less-obnoxious Hot Fuss days on "White Demon Love Song", a nice reminder to why I liked the Killers in the first place.
Noteworthy are Band of Skull's "Friends" and Anya Marina's "Satellite Heart" as well. Band of Skulls are a band that I've paid little attention to in the past just because other music has consumed my life so feverently. After the hook laden catchiness of "Friends", however, they're definitely going to get a revisit from me in the near future. Marina, on the other hand, delivers a Lykke Li style ballad and sounds not unlike what Emily Haines of Metric would sound like if she traded in her piano on her solo album for a gently finger plucked guitar.
Band of Skulls - Friends
Anya Marina - Satellite Heart
I imagine the New Moon soundtrack will be a great gateway album for adolescents everywhere. I know that if I were 12 currently, I would be finding myself starting a torrid love affair with most of the bands mentioned above and it makes me happy to know that somewhere, there's a awkward preteen that is looking for Sea Wolf's White Water White Bloom at her local FYE based upon the strength of "Violet Hour". I must admit that I'm slightly curious to find out how these songs are incorporated in the film. When I watch a movie, I like to think that the songs playing are the songs the characters would be listening to at the moment, ala Garden State. I have no trouble imagining Edward Cullen brooding to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's "Done All Wrong" or the most adorable vampire in the series, Alice, listening to "Friends" while carting Bella's mournful self around Washington. I do, however, have difficulty imaging any of the werewolves preferring Muse to, say, Nickelback or Kings of Leon. Face it, those "wolf pack" boys are total bros. And I've yet to find a bro who relates to the lyrical sentiments of Ok Go.
Is it sad and silly to mourn the death of a musician years after the fact? I remember years ago, I told a friend that I was embarrassed to be upset about my neighbors death. He was older and died of cancer but he was so damn cool. I had every reason to be sad he was gone but the reason I was embarrassed was because there were so many people who knew him far better than myself that had the rights to the sadness I was feeling. I felt like a fraud. My friend snapped at me and told me I had every right to feel as sad as I did and I should feel lucky that I had the capacity to feel such sadness about someone I barely knew.
The same sort of applies to Elliott Smith. I guess I said it best this time last year when I said that the day Elliott Smith died, for me, is more sad than the day John Lennon died. After all, I wasn't born when John Lennon died. I don't remember coming home from school and checking my e-mail and seeing a message asking if I'd heard about what happened which, up until then, I hadn't.
It's sad because no other musician had ever touched my life the way Elliott Smith had and no matter how much I may love Okkervil River (or Kevin Devine or Bad Veins or Dawes for that matter), it's just not the same because Elliott came into my life when I was lost and didn't know who I was. It's part of being young. But instead of turning to the dreadfully named 'emo' culture (I fear I'm a bit too old for that trend) or the grating immaturity of pop punk, I was lucky enough to walk into the record store on the right day and get the right recommendation and it changed my life.
The thing I have to refer back to is the Beatles documentary, All Together Now. Specifically, the scene in which Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono are talking about their late husbands and Yoko says that the saddest thing is that John is just a voice.
But the lives these voices affect live on and we carry a bit of them with us. I've got lyrics to Happiness on my arm. The show runner of Everybody Cares Everybody Understands, Chad, named his son after Mister Smith. Kevin Devine covers Elliott regularly and he cites him as a major influence, as does nearly every musician I sit down and talk with. Ian Metzger of Dear and the Headlights, Sean Bonette of Andrew Jackson Jihad, Blind Pilot, Daredevil Christopher Wright... And those are just some of the people that have talked to me about Elliott's impact on music.
It wasn't his time and it's not fair he's gone but we've got songs and all the memories attached to those songs. And that'll do for now.
Elliott Smith - A Fond Farwell
If you aren't familiar with Elliott Smith, then you're probably reading the wrong blog. But I do have this piece of advice: Delve into his back catalog and start with From A Basement on The Hill.
Kevin Devine - Whatever (Folk Song in C)
I usually can't stand when people cover Elliott Smith. Kevin Devine is the only person who does him justice.
Elliott Smith - Son of Sam (Acoustic)
I originally meant for this post to include one Elliott song... I should have known better.
Daredevil Christopher Wright - War Stories
Some musicians cover artists they love, others write songs about them.
Elliott Smith - See You Later
It wasn't my first time seeing Kevin on the Get Up Kids tour. Through a stroke of good luck, the bands hit the Metro on October 21st and 22nd when I was still a Chicago resident before making their way to Ohio right after I moved. If you happened to read about K.D. Round 6 over at Radio Free Chicago, you'll know that I wasn't exactly one hundred percent happy with the experience. I wasn't let down in any way but between the crowd (unexpectedly crazy) and the band's sets (sort of predictable), I just wasn't overly impressed.
