Video: Shenandoah Davis- We; Camera

I think I already posted this, but it’s really lovely:

Both the song and the video. Directed by the very talented Clyde Petersen. Wonderful.

Review: Treetop Flyers + Alessi’s Ark at the Lexington

I quite like Lexington. It’s a pub with a music venue upstairs on Pentonville Road, conveniently close to Kings Cross and Angel. Downstairs is a bar and food area. I’m pretty keen to try the hot dog myself, but alas, I have no spare money for jumbo hot dogs. Upstairs the sound is usually pretty good, there are sofas and chairs and it’s all together quite pleasant.

First on were a band called The Epstien. It’s always a treat to see a support band I’ve not seen before when it turns out they are actually good. There were some sweet slide guitar parts which I particularly enjoyed. You can hear their songs here.

Alessi played a solo set next. My friend says I’ll tire of Nando’s before I’ll tire of Alessi, and that’s definately true. I think I’d tire of most bands before I tire of seeing Alessi play. She opened with Witch, which is a wonderful, quiet song. It was so chattery. I’m pretty weedy, but I wanted to beat everyone chattering up and tell them to SHUSH. Not really. I don’t condone beating people up. Nonetheless, it was rude and they should have shushed. She also did Albertina, Over The Hill, The Dog, The Bird, Robot, Constellations and Hummingbird. It was lovely. Hummingbird is also a quiet one, and by the time she ended that, everyone was completely quiet. They obviously came round and realised someone amazing was playing.

Treetop Flyers were headlining in support of the launch of the new EP. The show sold out completely and people were actually being turned away. The band are based in Acton, West London. It was the third time I had seen them play. They are wonderful. The crowd were super into it and the sound was good. They play folky music with some sweet guitar solos and lovely vocal harmonies. Listen to their songs here.

A Guide To: Seattle, Courtesy of Shenandoah Davis

By Kristin Tolliver

A couple of months ago I came across the wonderful music of the very talented Shenandoah Davis. She was in the UK but was heading back to the States very soon. I didn’t get to see her play but I had the pleasure of meeting up with her and she so kindly gave me her cds. They are beautiful. Listen to her songs here and also on Spotify, and make sure you come see her next time she’s in London. Here Shenandoah tells us about Seattle:

Best music venue: My favorite music venue in Seattle is hands-down the Tractor Tavern. They have the best sound guys in town, the entire staff is extremely laid-back and easygoing, the crowd is usually extremely appreciative (if at times a bit noisy), there’s a golden retriever that seems to be hanging out there most nights, and the green room is covered wall-to-wall in Sharpied alterations on band names replacing one syllable with the word ‘poop’ (i.e. the Poop Foxes, Margot and the Nuclear Poop-and-Poops, The Rolling Poops).

Best record shop: Sonic Boom…they have two stores and also do a lot of online sales, and really have their finger on the pulse of what is going on in every aspect of the local music community, from folk to hip-hop to electronica. They feature artists from the Northwest at the front of the store and on the listening stations, and have artists come in for in-store performances a couple of times a week.

Favourite Seattle bands: I don’t have the most unbiased opinions, of course, but I do have quite a few…The Maldives, KHV, Christopher Francis, Polka Dot Dot Dot, Damien Jurado, Widower, Husbands Love Your Wives, Betsy Olsen, The Whisky Swillers, Robert Deeble, Molly Rose, Sleepy Eyes of Death, Brittain Ashford…the list could go on, but I have a feeling that should be plenty for most people. But, as always, if you dig it, dig deeper.

Interesting Seattle fact: Everyone associates Seattle with the birth of grunge rock and Nirvana, but before that, it was a huge jazz town, and before that, a huge country town…I think the dismal weather encourages people to stay inside with their friends and fosters a good community of creative behavior. Regardless of genre or what is rising in popularity, all over Seattle you will stumble upon little pockets of like-minded, creative folks working on some fantastic projects together.

Anything else we need to know about Seattle? I don’t think so!

Review: Julie Doiron at Pure Groove

A lovely, wonderful lunchtime instore. Julie Doiron came and played, hailing all the way from Canada. She played with two friends. The three of them were very tired and Julie was quite shy and nervous, sweet and endearing.

The trio played songs from Julie’s latest record I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day, including Tailor and the wonderful Nice To Come Home. The songs sounded perhaps rockier than you may expect. Julie has a fragile and captivating (yet consistently brilliant) voice. For one song the drummer sang lead vocals and Julie and the guitarist sang back up vocals. It was a folk song which appears on an album the three piece recorded in a garage around one mic back in August. The CD is currently only available from the band. 

The cream on the cake, for me, was at the very end of the set. By the end the nerves were less apparent and Julie seemed more at ease, asking ‘do I dare ask if anyone has any requests?’.

I can’t even remember where I found Julie Doiron’s music, or how I came across it. It must have been over two years ago now, but the first song of hers that I heard was a song called Me And My Friend. I fell completely in love with that song and listened over and over and over. I adore it.

So as soon as she asked the question, despite quite a dislike of shouting requests, I spoke up and said ‘Me And My Friend!’ before anyone else requested anything. I was sitting on the floor and she looked down and reassuringly said ‘Me And My Friend‘. People started calling out more songs, and she agreed to play another (I forgot which) and then Me And My Friend. And she did. Rounding off the set with my favourite song, sweetly introducing it saying ‘this is a sad song’. 

It is a sad song. It’s about loneliness and reflection. Having a friend who you love and are comfortable with, and then you grow apart. Sad but beautiful. It’s such a dear song to me, I love it so much. It was an unexpected treat to hear it live. If you want to hear it too, it features on the album Woke Myself Up. Julie and her husband made a wonderful, sweet, lovely, beautiful music video for it which you can watch here. 

Fanfarlo- In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

Live in Brooklyn, at the Bell House:

I love that song and album so much. One of my favourite gig moments of the year/ever was when they unexpectedly covered it in the middle of the audience at the ICA a couple of months ago. It was such a beautiful surprise, such a treat. Especially with the horn. SO WONDERFUL. Brilliant cover of an amazing song.

Interview with Annie Clark

Here is a funny interview with St. Vincent about how she has a song on the soundtrack to the Twilight movie.

MP3: Alela Diane- Bowling Green

Go here to download an MP3 of Bowling Green. Ireally love this song from Alela’s EP with Alina Hardin.

The EP is titled Alela and Alina and is to be released on Names over here, on 10″ vinyl. Names are pretty awesome, they also released Nests this year, one of my favourites. Alela opened with Bowling Green at both Shepherd’s Bush Empire and End of the Road Festival. It was wonderful, listen to the song.

Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill

This looks pretty cool.

From American Dust:

Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill, is now available! Crayon Angel features original recordings by Beth Orton, Bill Callahan, Final Fantasy, Frida Hyvonen, Marissa Nadler, Ron Sexsmith, Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear and Department of Eagles, and many more, all covering songs by the inestimable Ms. Sill, including two compositions never before heard.

You can hear tracks on the American Dust website. Nice to hear Frida singing, she was so wonderful live earlier this year. I’d love to see her play again. Love her voice and accent. 

The song Frida does is Jesus Was A Cross Maker. It’s very beautiful and quite epic towards the end with some group vocals. The piano is lovely. I love it. Get the CD from here or Amazon or iTunes. 

Review: Hunga Munga Festival

The premise of Hunga Munga is wonderful. The space is decorated beautifully and there are arts and crafts materials laid out for you to play with, and there are lots of super lovely people there. It’s so lovely.

Throughout the day there were tons of bands and some comedy. I made a sign that said HELLO out of scrunched up paper. It was a sweet day spent with friends. I was there to see Alessi play…

She played with her band and they were wonderful. They did Robot, Over The Hill, The Horse, The Dog, Dancing Feet, Bird Song, Asteroids Collide, Ribbon Lakes, Glendora… maybe more. For the encore Alessi rustled up a song about Nando’s and played Woman. WHAT A WINNER. I see some bands three times and I’ve had enough, but I don’t get bored of Alessi.

Nice to see someone so wonderful play so often. Alessi’s Ark.

Photo: Alessi’s Ark at Hunga Munga

At the beautiful Hunga Munga Festival hosted inside the Bethnal Green Working Mens Club. 

Wonderful.