10/16/10 Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar
Discography10/17/10 Pittsburgh, PA @ Garfield Arts 10/21/10 Lisbon (PT), Musicbox 10/22/10 Barcelona (ES), Razzmatazz 3 10/23/10 Madrid (ES), Moby Dick 10/24/10 Bratislava (SK), A4 10/25/10 Prague (CZ), Klub 007 Strahov 10/26/10 Berlin (DE), Marie-Antoinette 10/27/10 Hamburg (DE), Astra Stube 10/28/10 Copenhagen (DK), Din Nye Ven 10/29/10 Gothenburg (SE), Utmarken 10/30/10 Stockholm (SE), Debaser 10/31/10 Oslo (NO), Garage Upstairs 11/02/10 London (UK), Luminaire < 11/03/10 Brighton (UK), The Prince Albert 11/04/10 Bristol (UK), Cube Cinema 11/05/10 Manchester (UK), The Deaf Institute 11/06/10 Dublin (IE), Workman's Club 11/07/10 Galway (IE), Roisin Dubh (upstairs room) 11/08/10 Belfast (UK), Auntie Annies 11/09/10 Leeds (UK), Brudenell Social Club 11/10/10 Edinburgh (UK), Sneaky Pete's 11/11/10 Glasgow (UK), Captains Rest 11/12/10 Newcastle (UK), Head Of Steam 11/13/10 Coventry (UK), Taylor Johns House 11/14/10 Cambridge (UK), Haymakers 11/15/10 London (UK), Cargo 11/16/10 Gent (BE), Cafe Video 11/17/10 Koeln (DE), King Georg 11/18/10 Amsterdam (NL), Paradiso 11/19/10 Heidelberg, (DE), HDKV 11/20/10 Colmar (FR), Festival Hiero 11/21/10 Wiesbaden (DE), Walhalla Spiegelsaal 11/22/10 Wien (AT), Arena 12/03/10 San Diego, CA @ The Soda Bar 12/04/10 Merced, CA @ The Partisan 12/05/10 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
In many ways, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone’s latest album, Vs. Children, picks up exactly where the previous LP, Etiquette left off. The heart-wrenching mumbled lyrics...
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Owen Ashworth, the bearded electro-troubadour behind Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, made sure the audience at the Mercury Lounge knew he was not quitting music. Rather, he was just retiring the Casiotone name and letting himself forget all these “old ass songs.” As one of his last shows in New York, a somewhat somber tone hung over the event, but it was fitting for Ashforth’s songs, which are mostly wordy character studies of quietly desperate people in quietly desperate situations. He opened the show with “Harsh the Herald Angels Sing,” a grim narrative about a girl getting an abortion that is backed up by an eerily optimistic keyboard. It’s not the type of song that would induce a mosh pit, but the audience was well aware of Ashworth’s gloomy songwriting style, so they were expecting an ample amount of catchy heartbreak.
The setlist consisted heavily of the last two Casiotone albums, Etiquette and Vs. Children. Despite the “band” consisting only of Ashworth and a few keyboards, each song was fleshed out through a series of hypnotic beats and electronic chatter. Songs that were originally much more measured, such as “I Love Creedence” and “Bobby Malone Moves Home,” were given an edge with heightened percussion and droning feedback. Hazel Brown, from the Australian pop band Otouto, was brought out to provide vocals for “Killers” and “Man O’ War,” a song, Ashworth, explained, that was partly about a lethal Portuguese jellyfish.
It was such off-hand specificity that added comic relief between each melancholy song. Ashworth rhapsodized about New York (and the wonders of crossing the “Grover Cleveland Expressway”) and his love for Germans and John Fogarty, all in the same endearing monotone. One of the most upbeat moments of the show followed Ashforth’s anecdote about being credited for writing the melody for “When the Saints Go Marching In,” which he appropriates in his song, “Optimist Vs. the Silent Alarm.” When it came time to play the gospel hymn, he played it with an offbeat authority, as if he had indeed composed the piece. It made the audience smile, and it was one of the many small jokes that lingering beneath each song. By the end of the show, it was easy to see why Casiotone for the Painfully Alone would be missed. Then again, he wasn’t going anywhere; just changing names.
The setlist consisted heavily of the last two Casiotone albums, Etiquette and Vs. Children. Despite the “band” consisting only of Ashworth and a few keyboards, each song was fleshed out through a series of hypnotic beats and electronic chatter. Songs that were originally much more measured, such as “I Love Creedence” and “Bobby Malone Moves Home,” were given an edge with heightened percussion and droning feedback. Hazel Brown, from the Australian pop band Otouto, was brought out to provide vocals for “Killers” and “Man O’ War,” a song, Ashworth, explained, that was partly about a lethal Portuguese jellyfish.
It was such off-hand specificity that added comic relief between each melancholy song. Ashworth rhapsodized about New York (and the wonders of crossing the “Grover Cleveland Expressway”) and his love for Germans and John Fogarty, all in the same endearing monotone. One of the most upbeat moments of the show followed Ashforth’s anecdote about being credited for writing the melody for “When the Saints Go Marching In,” which he appropriates in his song, “Optimist Vs. the Silent Alarm.” When it came time to play the gospel hymn, he played it with an offbeat authority, as if he had indeed composed the piece. It made the audience smile, and it was one of the many small jokes that lingering beneath each song. By the end of the show, it was easy to see why Casiotone for the Painfully Alone would be missed. Then again, he wasn’t going anywhere; just changing names.
 ♥ Casiotone for the Painfully Alone at Mercury Lounge, New York City (10/15/10) |
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