W♥M (Archive)

Mark Kozelek at Lincoln Hall, Chicago - 12/19/13

MARK KOZELEK Lincoln Hall, Chicago - 12/19/13 Setlist Katowice or Cologne Gustavo Rock and Roll Singer I Can’t Live Without My Mother’s Love Richard Ramirez Died Today of Natural Causes Micheline I Love My Dad Hey You Bastard I’m Still Here You Missed My Heart Natural Light (Owen Ashworth cover) Sunshine in Chicago Among the Leaves Away in a Manger My Sister’s Birthday (Owen Ashworth) Caroline Truck Driver 2000 Miles Livingstone Bramble Dogs By the Time That I Awoke -- Encore -- Do You Hear What I Hear? Alesund Tour Dates 12-21 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater 12-22 Austin, TX – Central Presbyterian Church 02-20 Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater * 02-21 Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre * 02-22 Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret * 03-01 San Francisco, CA – Noise Pop 03-08 Los Angeles, CA – First Unitarian Church * Sun Kil Moon show Read More Mark Kozelek It used to be easy to keep up with Mark Kozelek. He’d release a record every couple years – either a solo album of covers or an album of original material with his band moniker Red House Painters or Sun Kil Moon … Owen Ashworth 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 … Anyone who’s followed the career of Mark Kozelek knows that the man has turned self-indulgence into an art form.  In fact, when pesky record companies balked at his ambitions, such as releasing an album of Modest Mouse covers, he simply started up his own record company (Caldo Verde) so he could release whatever he wanted.  Since that inaugural Modest Mouse album (Tiny Cities), he’s released official and special edition records at such a clip that you’d be forgiven for thinking they serve simply as excuses to feature photos he likes on the covers.  Three studio records under his Sun Kil Moon moniker (April, Admiral Fell Promises, and Among the Leaves);  two Mark Kozelek cover version albums (The Finally LP and Like Rats), countless live albums (okay, I’ll count them... hold on... nine!  Okay, to be fair most of those are limited edition giveaways when you purchase from Caldo Verde, but still!); plus Kozelek’s collaborations with Jimmy Lavalle (Perils from the Sea) and Desertshore (Mark Kozelek and Desertshore).  And 2014 promises a new Sun Kil Moon album (Benji), a Christmas carols album, and yet another limited edition live album (or ten). In some ways, this abundance of material is admirable.  After all, seeing an artist take full control of every aspect of his art and staying true to his vision is in many ways a fulfilling sight.  But there is a good reason why self-indulgence isn’t considered a virtue.  During his 22 song set at Lincoln Hall Thursday night, Kozelek seemed almost wilfully determined not to give the people what they want, and to rub their noses in it for good measure.   It wasn’t quite Metal Machine Music-level derision for his fans, but let’s just say that Kozelek didn’t make himself any friends this night.  How do you disenchant an audience of long-time devotees braving a rainy weekday night in Chicago in three easy steps?  STEP ONE: PLAY STUFF NO ONE HAS HEARD Of the twenty-two songs that Mark played, six were from the unreleased album Benji, three were from his obscure collaboration with Desertshore, four were from his equally obscure collaboration with Jimmy Lavalle, and two were written by his friend Owen Ashworth (Advance Base, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone) who came onstage to play keyboards and provide vocals.  (In fact, he sang one of his songs, leaving Mark to just strum along and sing backing vocals.)  Now, I’m not so great at math, but I believe that means that 68% of the songs played were tunes that the majority of the crowd didn’t know.  Of the rest, three were Christmas carols.  Which leaves exactly four songs for the casual Kozelek fan to get enthusiastic about: his  version of AC/DC’s “Rock and Roll Singer,” “Sunshine in Chicago” and “Among the Leaves” from 2012’s Among the Leaves, and “Alesund” from 2010’s Admiral Fell Promises.   And though those are fine songs, they’re not exactly all-time classics.  Overheard while leaving the venue:  “He played way too much from Benji.” STEP TWO: ASK FOR REQUESTS AND THEN IGNORE THEM Numerous times during tuning breaks between songs (alternate tunings + one guitar = interminable tuning breaks), Mark selected individuals from the crowd (female, of course) and asked them what they’d like to hear.  One girl let us all down by saying, unhelpfully, “Every song you’ve ever written!”  But most people had opinions.  And if they were slow on the draw, the crowd began to shout out their wish list as well.  “Grace Cathedral Park!  Trailways!  Salvador Sanchez!  Carry Me Ohio!  Glenn Tipton!”  And every time, Mark acted like he was thinking about it, then proceeded to ignore all the requests.  In fact, a couple of times, he acted like he was struggling to think of something – ANYTHING! – to play… as the song titles rained down upon him.  He tried to make excuses by saying that he hadn’t adequately practiced for the tour and that’s why he couldn’t play the requested songs – but that’s almost a bigger insult than just coming straight out and saying, “I don’t feel like playing any of the songs you’re requesting”.  As he played a lovely version of the Pretenders’ “2000 Miles” towards the end of the show, I thought of an interview I once read with Chrissie Hynde where she talked about how she hates the song “Brass In Pocket” but she plays it at every show anyway because the fans love it and it belongs to them now and you need to make them happy.  If only Mark could have had a little of that attitude and bothered to refresh himself on the chords to “Grace Cathedral Park,” “Katy Song,” “Carry Me Ohio,” “Mistress” – a little bone to toss out for the long-time fans who, like it or not, have intense attachment to some of the older songs.  But no, it was just tease, tease, tease – with no payoff.     Overheard in the balcony:  “Why are you asking us?  You’re just gonna play what you want anyway!” STEP THREE:  INSULT THE DUDES It’s well-known that Mark Kozelek strongly favors his female fans.  And it’s also known that he has a bit of a caustic sense of humor.  And although he was joking, and in some ways the things he said last night were funny, in other ways they were pretty insulting.  When one man asked him, “Mark, would you consider playing something off Ghosts of the Great Highway?” instead of, you know, playing something off Ghosts of the Great Highway, he spent about five minutes mocking the “nerdiness” of the request and suggesting the ways that this guy would ask his GF to have sex.  It was funny for about 20 seconds, then I just really felt bad for the guy.  He mocked another couple of guys in the front as well.  Being Chicago indie nerds, the men all took their insults in good nature, but I’m sure the men in the balcony beside me were quite relieved with their seating choice.  Overheard in the balcony:  “God, that was so mean!” SUMMARY Now, this isn’t to say that Mark put on a bad show: au contraire.  His acoustic guitar playing has never been better and he was in great voice.  The Christmas carols were gorgeous, especially his version of “2000 Miles” – and a few other songs were radiant, especially “Among the Leaves”.  A talent like Mark’s shines through regardless of the quality of the material.  However, after having spent a week listening to a preview copy of Benji, I can say that this new batch of songs is his weakest ever.  Having your own label gives you the ability to put out anything you want – and in Mark’s case, it also means he has lost all sense of quality control.  Although he’s always played loosely with song structure, somewhere around the April album, Mark gave up on the concept of choruses or bridges, and most of his songs now consist of verse after verse after tedious verse.  Many of the songs have a rambling talkin’ blues monotony that is light years away from the gorgeous melodies of yore, and the lyrics have taken on a “What Shall I Write About Today?” quality that makes me think of checklists and workplace drudgery.  “I’m gonna write about my family.  Let’s see – Mom…  ‘I Can’t Live Without My Mother’s Love,’ check!  Dad…  ‘I Love My Dad,’ check!  My Uncle… ‘Truck Driver,’ check!”  The new lyrics are first-draft quality: clumsy and stream-of-consciousness, plain-speak instead of poetry.  Where once he could conjure up intense emotions with a single line, he now can’t seem to stop rambling long enough to come up with a melody.  And the intense emotions he’s trying to convey – the love he feels for his mother and father, the tragic loss of his uncle, the f***ed-up state of America – get lost in the clumsy jumble. A talent like Mark’s shines through regardless of the quality of the material. Some of the sad lyrics are so ridiculous that they brought out inappropriate laughter from the crowd, especially after the portentous opening line of “Truck Driver”:  “My uncle died in a fire on his birthday”.  “What’s funny about that?” protested Mark in jest, before just managing to get through the line a second time to even bigger laughter.  The new songs focus primarily on tragedy and death which Mark said caused a friend of his to tell him, “Every song makes me feel like sh**”.  Mark’s dry sense of humor kept us laughing despite the grim subject matter of the music.  A friend suggested that maybe these ridiculous new songs might indicate that Benji is Mark’s “comedy record”.  Perhaps that’s true and perhaps I’m just being unfair.  Maybe it’s okay to say that this new style of songwriting and singing that Mark has chosen to embrace is just not my cup of tea.  I always have those old Red House Painters records to cherish forever.  Which reminds me… DISCLOSURE I’ve seen a lot of great bands in my life but the single greatest moment I ever experienced in a concert happened at a Red House Painters show in 1994 in a tiny basement club in San Francisco.  Mark came out onstage and began to play a solo version of “Grace Cathedral Park”.  The microphone was giving him issues so he decided to step away and sing sans amplification and his voice soared through that dingy little room.  As I stood there in the small crowd, I was mesmerized; from that moment, I rarely missed a chance to see Mark play.  I know it’s unfair, but I think I’m always looking for that transcendent moment to be recreated, which has caused persistent disappointment throughout the years.  And given my reaction to Benji, maybe it’s time for me to stop looking, shake Mark’s hand, say thank you for the memories, and wish him good luck.  And judging by the disappointed comments I heard as I left the venue, I think there may be others who feel the same way, too. angela ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ markkozelek.com

The Moon and the Stars

Read More Mark Kozelek Have you ever been to church and felt like the terrible seating is contrived to be as much a part of the lesson as the sermon itself? Like pain and suffering for the greater good, I hoped tonight's performance …

MARK KOZELEK
markkozelek.com

It used to be easy to keep up with Mark Kozelek. He’d release a record every couple years – either a solo album of covers or an album of original material with his band moniker Red House Painters or Sun Kil Moon. However, these days, it seems like a new Kozelek release is as frequent as a Miley Cyrus tongue shot. Last year, Kozelek released an 18-track album under the Sun Kil Moon moniker (Among the Leaves), and this year he’s released the cover album Like Rats, two live albums, the Mark Kozelek/Jimmy Lavalle collaboration album Perils from Under the Sea, and, most recently, he contributed vocals and bass to the latest album by ex-Red House Painters guitarist Phil Carney’s band Desertshore (entitled Mark Kozelek and Desertshore).

And, naturally, there’s a new Sun Kil Moon record on the horizon: Benji, which will be released on February 11, 2014 and can be pre-ordered from Caldo Verde. His recent live shows have included songs from the forthcoming album, as well as from his other recent releases, and even the odd Red House Painters tune tossed in for good measure. In any incarnation, a night spent with Kozelek’s deeply personal songs is always a bit like reading someone’s diary… if the diary came with lovely guitar plucking and a melodic voice.

The short American leg of Kozelek’s current world tour begins on December 19th at the intimate Lincoln Hall in Chicago.

Tour dates:

12-19 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
12-21 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
12-22 Austin, TX – Central Presbyterian Church
02-20 Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater *
02-21 Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre *
02-22 Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret *
03-01 San Francisco, CA – Noise Pop
03-08 Los Angeles, CA – First Unitarian Church

* - Sun Kil Moon show

Read More Moon Taxi Paste Magazine called Moon Taxi one of "12 Tennessee Bands You Should Listen to Now," this Nashville five-piece is currently on tour. …

MOON TAXI
ridethemoontaxi.com

Moon Taxi is an indieprog rock band based in Nashville, Tennessee. The band features singer/guitarist Trevor Terndrup, bassist Tommy Putnam, guitars/programmer Spencer Thomson, drummer Tyler Ritter, and keyboardist Wes Bailey. The band currently releases music under their 12th South Records label, with distribution via BMG.

Anyway, after appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman for "Running Wild" semi-recently, the Nashville band announced a six-track acoustic EP Acoustic on West 56th, coming out December 17th. The EP was recorded in New York City earlier this Summer. All acoustic version ("Running Wild", "The New Black", "Change", "River Water", "Young Journey", and "Suspicious") on the EP were taken from the band's album Mountains Beaches Cities, which was released on September 10th, 2013.

Remaining Moon Taxi 2013 tour dates:

12/05 Raleigh, NC @ Southland Ballroom
12/06 Richmond, VA @ Capital Ale House
12/08 Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
12/20 Birmingham, AL @ Workplay Theater
12/31 Nashville, TN @Marathon Music Works

SNOWBIRD
facebook.com/wearesnowbird

Snowbird is a duo (Stephanie Dosen and Simon Raymonde) with a new album called moon via Bella Union (the label that Raymonde has curated since his former band Cocteau Twins went their individual ways in 1997).

moon features a stellar various whos-who guests, such as Radiohead's Philip Selway (who I've interviewed for KFSR 90.7 in 1995) and guitarist Ed O’Brien, Midlake's Eric Pulido and drummer McKenzie Smith and Lanterns on the Lake's Paul Gregory, etc.

Although the guests are cool, Ryamonde emphasized that it's singer Stephanie Dosen that should be the spotlight, "Having them add their magic to the record was a thrill, but really, I think this is very much Stephanie's record. She's a really special singer and I feel the simplicity of my music was the perfect backdrop for her stories and her incredible vocal arrangements... Stephanie was the first singer I had worked with since Elizabeth [Fraser of Cocteau Twins] that I had a real musical empathy with. She could do anything..."

Look for moon in early 2014 on Bella Union.

SNOWFLAKE
snowflakeband.com

Speaking of snow, Snowflake is the stagename for producer/mixer D. James Goodwin, his debut album We All Grow Around the Sea is coming out December 10th. In the meantime, you can hear "Black Stars" via The Big Takeover:



Snowflake's music is said to be sound like Mogwai (who, incidentally did a fantastic job providing the creepy music for the French television show "The Returned"), but with the size of Pink Floyd.

With the release of We All Grow Toward the Sea, expect Snowflake to do a tour in 2014.

angela + vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Mark Kozelek Review - St Phillips Church, Salford 20/07/09

Sun Kil Moon - Unlit Hallway Sun Kil Moon Tour Dates 07/21/09 Colchester Arts Centre 07/23/09 Andrews Lane, Dublin 07/25/09 Summerfest, Norway 08/06/09 Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 08/09/09 Off Festival, Poland 08/11/09 Stretensky, Moscow 08/14/09 La Route, St Malo France

Have you ever been to church and felt like the terrible seating is contrived to be as much a part of the lesson as the sermon itself? Like pain and suffering for the greater good, I hoped tonight's performance would also reward for perseverance and vigilance.

The altar set, underneath a church bathed in soft primary coloured light, an interesting setting for Mark Kozelek to bare his soul. He starts up his mournful plucking and attempts to move the congregation to the saddest of places.

As the tones of the most desolate landscapes bounced off the church walls, I wondered what he was making of it all, playing well yet seeming uneasy and not quite ready to catch fire. It didn't take long for him to make his feelings known, 'I'm going backstage to get my set-list, don't start talking and f**k up the vibe' he quips just three songs in. I can't imagine any sermon being interrupted like this before, cussing aside I never knew there was a backstage in a place like this. His humour is dry and well received, but its matter of fact in a way that shows he clearly isn't happy - demanding awkwardly for the delicately arranged 'house lights' to be turned off.

'Gloomchester, Greychester...' he mutters.

     Lights down low, he admits he feels less the 'performing freak' and can peddle his act and perform with dignity in the darkness. Seemingly, it allows him to channel his sadness, and when he does, his brilliance is uncovered, never have I heard such range in monotone delivery like this. There's beauty amongst bluntness in his lyrics.

Its dark outside, a few classics are reeled out and Kozelek, thriving and exuding passion has made the place his own.

'How are you doing out there?', Now clearly enjoying himself, cracking witty anecdotes. He decides to reward the faithful below with some previously unperformed relics of the past, the indignity of sharing a bathroom queue with these people now forgotten in his eagerness. He steadily begins to indulge more and more, Red House Painter's classic 'Michael' sets up a couple of more arduous tracks seemingly caught in a spiral of excursions down endless Spanish guitar avenues. The hard angle of the chairs provide the faithful with a poking reminder, a sense of duty to suffer, and tonight it is all worth it.

 07/21/2009 17:31:00 ♥ duncan () ♥ markkozelek.com ♥ myspace.com/kozelekd ♥ sunkilmoon.com