Retroselective: The Best of April 2009
April was one hell of a month. Lily hit America, new members were introduced into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, No Doubt released its first new song in roughly six years, Eminem dropped his first (hugely underwhelming) video from his forthcoming album Relapse and a group of Frenchmen played SNL. But aside from all of that are Culture Bully’s favorite things from the month of April 2009.
Bottom Feeders’ Live Show: As a rapper, it’s always tough to write about other local hip hop acts; if you’re too negative you burn bridges, and if you’re too positive people will think you’re just bigging up your friends or angling for opportunities. Because of this, I usually let other writers cover local hip hop stuff. But with the still-below-the-radar Bottom Feeders, I feel like I have to say something. With very little fanfare, the Death Ray Scientific splinter group has absolutely murdered every live performance I’ve seen of them, particularly this past April. The chemistry between motormouth Spy, punchline king Shelltoe and the manically energetic Sean Anonymous is simply a joy to experience live, especially for fans of that grimy, punch-you-in-the-face, lyric-oriented style of underground hip hop that’s taken a back seat lately to the Asher Roths of the world. And yes, I know these guys. But I’m not doing them a favor by writing about them; I’m doing you a favor. [Kyle "Guante" Myhre]
Record Store Day: While pessimistic curmudgeons proclaimed this as just aging hipsters hanging onto a dying medium, there is no way to argue with the massive list of vinyl-only exclusives that were released to celebrate National Record Store Day on April 18th. Beck & Sonic Youth covered each other’s songs on a split 7″, the Dead Weather released their first 7″, and Pavement released another slab of vinyl with a classic concert from 1997, just to name a few. And it was an opportunity to celebrate, and spend money at, independent brick and mortar record stores. There is a genuine community involved in both shopping for and providing music to people, and we need to support that tradition before it disappears entirely. [Erik Thompson]
Peelander-Z @ Turf Club: Under normal circumstances, a lineup featuring three of the Twin Cities’ best rock acts, Fuck Knights, Awesome Snakes and Birthday Suits, would typically be enough to fill out a local bill. A respectable number of fans would likely come out, have a few of the bar’s finest cocktails, blow off some steam, and head home with their ears still ringing. That being said, there was absolutely nothing normal about the night these bands played with Peelander-Z—though I imagine fans still left, as I did: exhausted from the sensory overload with my ears still ringing. No matter how stunning the pictures are or how bizarre the video footage might be from any of the band’s shows, none of it compares to actually being in the middle of the mob, bouncing around the Turf Club in an informal conga line, banging on old pots and hubcaps, and watching the band literally take over the small St. Paul venue. It was the most consuming performance I’ve ever witnessed, and certainly one of the most exhilarating I’ve seen in years. [Chris DeLine]
Peelander-Z, Birthday Suits, Awesome Snakes & Fuck Knights @ Turf Club
A Hawk and a Hacksaw @ the Cedar: While the Turf Club’s Peelander-Z show was my favorite of the year so far, April also brought us a very good Hawk and a Hacksaw set at the Cedar Cultural Center. I had not seen the band play since last year’s Pitchfork festival, and was thrilled to see them in the Cedar’s intimate confines. Along with fellow Southwesterners Beirut and DeVotchKa, AHAAH are some of the most talented practitioners of gypsy-folk in the country today. The recent addition of a trumpet player has swelled the band’s ranks to four members, making their Cedar set remarkably full and richly diverse. [Jon Behm]
A Hawk and a Hacksaw @ the Cedar Cultural Center
(video by Kyle Matteson)
The Tallest Man on Earth @ Turf Club: While I have no trouble finding folk records released by contemporary artists that I like, I have often found myself bored by these same musicians’ live shows. After loving Shallow Grave, the debut record from folk troubadour the Tallest Man on Earth (Kristian Matsson), I was a little worried that his live set at the Turf Club was going to fall flat. Luckily for sizable crowd that gathered for the show, Matsson proved to be an invigorating showman and brought to life his amazing songs with his deft finger picking and staggering singing. His wildly entertaining show made me appreciate his great debut even more and set the bar pretty high for how entertaining a single person can be up on a stage. [Josh Keller]
The Tallest Man on Earth, Red Cortez & the Parlour Suite @ Turf Club
Black Blondies Do You Remember Who You Wanted To Be: I was, unfortunately, out of town for their CD release show, but Black Blondie’s new material is really as good as City Pages and URB Magazine and everyone in the world says it is. It’s been especially fun watching how people struggle to write about the band—”hip hop-infused neo-urban gothic trip-soul” just doesn’t have much of a ring to it. But the band uses this genre confusion to their advantage; it’s just beautifully atmospheric, poetic music, definitely something the Twin Cities can be proud of. [Kyle "Guante" Myhre]
(photo by Jon Behm)
Fucked Up @ Triple Rock Social Club: Fucked Up have built quite a reputation over the last few years relaying on their abrasive but melodically dense punk music and their in-your-face live show. The band, which released two critically acclaimed LPs and countless singles during their tenure, came to the Triple Rock this past month in support of their great album The Chemistry of Common Life. The band, which is fronted by the entertaining madman Pink Eyes, played a wildly entreating set that kept the crowd’s attention both with their pummeling music and their hardcore antics. Mosh pits were formed, clothes were shed and sweat was flying as mayhem ensued in the pit in front of the stage. While the visual theatrics of both the band and the crowd would have been enough to keep me entertained, their visceral music proved just as commanding in the live setting as it has on their great releases. [Josh Keller]
Fucked Up @ Triple Rock Social Club
Bill Callahan’s Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle: In April Bill Callahan released his sophomore solo effort, Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle. Like all of Callahan’s records this one took awhile to grow on me, but with each listen I am loving it more and more. It has a much more polished and well-produced sound than much of Callahan’s older work, making the man’s gravelly musings more accessible without sacrificing the unique character of the esoteric poetry of his low-fi roots. It is also much better balanced from beginning to end than his solo debut Woke on a Waleheart. This will likely end up on my year end list of favorites. [Jon Behm]
Bill Callahan Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle Review
UK Music Takes Over Minneapolis: The month of April provided a veritable who’s who of the English music scene in Minneapolis as White Lies, Friendly Fires, Morrissey, Glasvegas, Lily Allen and Franz Ferdinand (amongst others) all played rooms much smaller than they would have in their homeland. It was a diverse mix of artists both new and old, and also a nice balance of loud, moody rock and lively dance pop. But all the shows were fine examples that incredible and innovative music is still being made across the pond, and those of us that were at these gigs were truly lucky to see these massive bands in such relatively intimate settings. Cheers indeed! [Erik Thompson]
Bat For Lashes’ “Daniel”: The precedent for consistently beautiful Bat For Lashes music videos was set early on with 2007′s “What’s a Girls To Do,” and the trend was most recently continued with “Daniel.” Creating a warped reality through interpretive dance and bizarre costumed characters, “Daniel” projects some of the most unique and beautiful images I’ve seen in a music video this year. While it’s easy to get caught up in the haunting visuals, looming beneath them is an equally gorgeous song—certainly one of my favorites thus far this year. The simple eloquence of Natasha Khan’s effortless lyrics complements the gentle electronic sounds that wrap themselves around her words. “With my arms around your neck/Into our love the tears crept.” For all the pain and anguish that can be associated with love, it’s ever so refreshing to hear such passionate, heartfelt words expressed with such grace. [Chris DeLine]
Bat For Lashes “Daniel” on E4 Fresh Saturday
Bat For Lashes “Daniel” on Later with Jools Holland
Bat For Lashes “Daniel” on the Late Show with David Letterman
fresh feature!+ I heart all thing Bat For Lashes.