It’s been almost two months since Chocolate Bobka took over the basement of the Lutheran Church of the Messiah, and brought the sweet un-amplified sounds of Mountain Man and Alex Bleeker to this holy place.  It was a truly surreal experience to see so many people sitting quietly while these bands played their music in such a  peaceful setting.  It was the type of thing that can only happen when the people at an event want to be there, and aren’t just there because it was the cool thing to do…and that is what made this night so special.

While I had heard “Animal Tracks” before this was my first real experience with Mountain Man.  If you didn’t already know Mountain Man is actually three ladies from Bennington, Vermont who make mostly acapella folk music with the occasional use of acoustic guitar.  Their performance at the Church was nothing short of magical. From Singing with Alex Bleeker and performing a cover of “Oh, Boy” by Girls , covering  “My Roots are Strong and Deep” by Phil Elverum’s The Microphones, and even Tom Waits….

Mountain Man- “Green Grass (Tom Waits cover)” into “Animal Tracks”

Ray Concepcioñ always does an amazing job capturing Chocolate Bobka’s events.  I also recorded their cover of “Green Grass,” and while I’m not a magician with a camera like Ray is (nor do I have that type of equipment) I feel that this video captures the setting and vibe of the church.  The complete lack of light, the politeness of the audience, and what it felt like to be at such a unique event.

Mountain Man- “Green Grass (Tom Waits cover)”

I’m honestly not a Tom Waits fan, but this version can make even a person that hates Tom Waits like this song. These covers were in addition to their own beautiful musical creations.

Mountain Man was selling limited edition copies of their self titled cd-r at the show.  The cd-r’s that Mountain Man had at the Church were all made by hand out of paper bags, sewn together, and then decorated.  Every copy was different.  This version, from my understanding, is different than what they released earlier in 2009 because it has two additional songs: “Loon Song” and “Buffalo.”  I’m really happy to have been able to get a copy of one of their releases after reading about them non-stop for for so long.

If I had just heard this record without seeing them live I would have thought the music came from another time.  It’s oldtime-y in a way that feels classic, and if knew nothing about these ladies I would not be able to guess when it was released.  If you haven’t experienced them yet I’m happy to share a couple tracks with you now…  “Animal Tracks” is already a classic:

[mp3] Mountain Man- “Animal Tracks”

“Buffalo” is one of the newest tracks to emerge from these ladies, and while it still keeps the same vibe as the rest it brings us much closer to the plains than the mountains.  An ode to this glorious beast, and so short and sweet at that.  I’ve listened to this track probably a dozen times today…. follow the buffalo:

[mp3] Mountain Man- “Buffalo”

If you are interested in hearing more Mountain Man and don’t mind having a digital copy you can buy their 7 song EP directly from the band here.   This website also allows you to stream the entire album, and has a complete list of their West Coast tour…which is currently going on.  If you are in San Francisco this weekend I highly recommend checking them out.

Many of these tracks will be seeing proper release on one of my new favorite record labels…the magnificent Underwater Peoples.  Keep an eye out…it’s going to be a 10″, and is sure to be a must have.

Previously posted mp3s featuring Mountain Man:

[mp3] Alex Bleeker w/ Molly Searle of Mountain Man- “Oh, Boy (Girls cover)”

[mp3] Alex Bleeker and the Freaks- “Animal Tracks (Mountain Man cover)”

• Buy Alex Bleeker’s self titled LP here.

Mountain Man is just one of the many reasons why Vermont is such a wonderful state…maybe I will live there one day.

Links:

• the photo above was taken by Rez Avissar at the Lutheran Church of the Messiah.  More photos taken by Rez from this show can be found here.
• more on Underwater Peoples can be found here.
• more on Alex Bleeker can be found here.

——————————

I was going to a Best Of Limited Releases for 2009, and figured my energy would be better spent making this post.  Mountain Man’s cd-r is everything I look for in a limited release…amazing music, and packaging made with loving care.

There were several other releases that have made my shortlist of Best Limited Releases of 2009, and all of those have been previously covered in my posts called This Week In Mail Order.  Here is that list, and links to the original posts:

• Mount Eerie- White Stag
• Karl Blau- Baby Nettles
• Karl Blau- 96
• Cloud Nothings- Turning On

more of my best of lists can be found here.

Even though I just got the Cloud Nothings CD in the mail last month it felt like I had been waiting forever to see this band live, and this past Saturday I finally got the chance.

Another wonderful show put on by Chocolate Bobka (if you didn’t know Chocolate Bobka is the little sister to Underwater Peoples, big brother of Ray Conception, and the girl scout troop leader of Pitchfork’s Forkast) and this time he teamed up with the budding record label Group Tightener (maybe that means they are now cousins with Bobka?  If you didn’t check it out already…Jamie from Group Tightener contributed his best of 2009 list to the Great Pumpkin).

Both Chocolate Bobka and Group Tightener throw really fun shows whether it’s at a church or at Monster Island…and this time it was at Monster Island.  I got to the show right as Nude Beach ended, and Cloud Nothings took the stage.

Dylan Baldi and company put on an impressive live show for such a young band.  They played an extremely tight set, and seemed to complement each other very well.  In this bands short time playing live (the first time being about a month ago here in New York) they have already had one line up change, but that has not slowed them down.   I was particularly impressed by the fact that the guitar solos on songs like “Can’t Stay Awake” sounded as good, if not better, live.  It seems like there are only good things to come from Cloud Nothings, and I’m very happy I got to experience them this early stage.

My video camera is back in action, and I was able to capture a handful of what I’m already considering Cloud Nothings classics as well as two new songs.  I actually took a whole lot more video than I thought….here they are:

Cloud Nothings- “Can’t Stay Awake”

Cloud Nothings- “Hey Cool Kid”

Cloud Nothings- “Turning On”

Cloud Nothings- “”whaddya wanna know”

[mp3] Cloud Nothings- “Whaddya Wanna Know”

These four songs are off of Cloud Nothings album Turning On. Buy it here on tape or cd.  Keep and eye out for the vinyl here.

Cloud Nothings- “Morgan”

Cloud Nothings- “strummin”

On a slightly less exciting note I was not able to get close enough to Alex Bleeker and the Freaks to actually see them play.  They sounded amazing, and I can’t wait to get another opportunity to see Bleeker with a full band.  It was a little disappointing that most of the crowd found their conversations more important than Bleeker’s music because I would hav really like to be fully emersed.  Mr. Bleeker…I look forward to seeing you again.

Links:

• Buy Cloud Nothings’ Turning On from Bridgetown Records here.
• more on Cloud Nothings here.
• more on Alex Bleeker and the Freaks here.
• Buy the Alex Bleeker & The Freaks LP from Underwater Peoples here.
• more on Group Tightener Records here.
• the photo above  was taken by klk and I on a holga in the Calvary Cemetery in Queens.

Grass Widow have released two 12″s with in a matter of months.  Their self titled record on Make A Mess was one of those albums that I looked for for ever, but had no luck.  The first pressing of the LP went out of print very quickly, and even though I tried calling record stores in other parts of the country trying to mail order it I had no luck.  From what I understand the remaining copies of this LP floating around at your local shop are from the second pressing…that appears to be going out of print as fast as the first. It was a nice surprise walking into Permanent Records, and seeing this one up on the wall long after I had given up on it.

Girl pop seems to be king, or queen in this case, and these days there is no shortage of all girl bands…but there are three that I feel are a step above the rest, and Grass Widow is one of those.

Their debut full length on Make A Mess channels a more powerful force, at least for me. In the depths of their music I can feel the faintest hints of Beat Happening.  One might think that this would be a hard thing to pull out of their music being that they are an all girl band, and that one of the corner stones of Beat Happening is Calvin Johnson’s baritone voice, but it is more the subtleties in the music more than a direct comparison that brings this to mind….a vocal cadence or part of a drum beat.  It’s not necessary to see this, but it’s something I pick up on…and in the end anything that reminds me of Beat Happening tends to be a winner with me.

I feel that Grass Widow emphasis this on “Celebrate the Mundane” the second track off the Make A Mess full length.  Even at first listen Grass Widow are clearly different than their contemporaries in the way that they utilize every member of the band.  All three of the women in Grass Widow contribute to the vocals, and it is not just on choruses but at times all three of them are simultaneously singing different lyrics….creating harmonies that at first don’t seem possible.  This combination of lyrics, vocals, cadence, and harmony are where I truly see the connections I alluded to above, but occasionally in the beat as well.

[mp3] Grass Widow- “Celebrate the Mundane”

Grass Widow bring in the the horns later on in the LP, and overall have created a truly beautiful post-twee record. Extremely impressive as a debut LP, and one that has been spinning on the turntable and headphones for weeks. It’s looking like this is another one in my year end list as well.

Buy Grass Widow’s Self Titled album here.

A couple Sundays ago Grass Widow jumped on the bill for the Tom Tom Magazine launch party at Bruar Falls.  Grass Widow had been playing shows all weekend, but I didn’t quite make it to any of them, and when I heard this show was at Bruar Falls I couldn’t not go.  If you the Great Pumpkin you already know this, but Bruar Falls just happens to be my favorite venue right now…so the location was perfect.

I got to Bruar Falls about 20 minutes before Grass Widow went on, and the place was totally packed.  It seemed like more people were there for the magazine than the music (this was made clear by how many people just talked through the bands sets), but I guess that could be expected.  I was a little surprised by the music that was being played between sets…after all Tom Tom Magazine is a magazine about female drummers, but I’m pretty sure there wasn’t an actual drum set used in any of the dance/hip hop music that was being played (I guess a party atmosphere was the desired effect)….just thought this was odd and worth mentioning.

By time Grass Widow took the stage I was really ready to hear the music that I came for, and these ladies brought it.  With songs like “Celebrate the Mundane” and “To Where” it can be hard for a band to pull it off live, but Grass Widow were well practiced and sounded great even on what I assume, due to the distance they traveled without a full tour, was borrowed equipment.  It’s really impressive that all three of their vocals can be so tight in a live setting.  I was able to capture some of this on video, and I am now happy to share it with you.

Grass Widow- “Lulu’s Lips”

[mp3] Grass Widow- “Lulu’s Lips” off of the Captured Tracks 12″.  Buy it here.

While reviewing my recordings I realized that I didn’t know three of the tracks I taped.  I emailed Grass Widow, and Hannah was kind enough to help me identify them.

Hannah informed me that the three tracks are from their yet to be recorded album for Slumberland Records!  Grass Widow will be hitting the studio in January, and these three tracks, and many others, will be put to tape.  Enjoy:

Grass Widow- “Give Me Shapes”

Grass Widow- “Landscape”

Grass Widow- “Uncertain Memory”

Thanks to Hannah, and the rest of Grass Widow, for identifying these songs for me.  I’m really looking forward to the new record, and to your return to New York!

Links:

• Buy Grass Widow releases here.
• Grass Widows website/myspace
• more on Slumberland Records here.
• more on Captured Tracks Records here.
• more on Permanent Records here.
• more gprecs videos here.
• more This Week In Mail Order here.

Br’er came through Death By Audio back in September at the beginning of a very long journey though the United States, and got to experience the Maze installation.  The Maze was a unique set up, and while it didn’t allow for very many people to watch a band comfortably, it did make Death By Audio even smaller and more intimate.

Br’er brought their orchestral pop to Brooklyn, and the four men on stage incorporated a wide array of instruments and electronics, and brought the sounds of their recordings to life.  The Maze presented an ideal setting to capture these songs to video, and I have them to share with you now:

It was great to experience Br’er live in this setting, and you still can too…the tour isn’t finished yet.  Check out the tour dates here.

Br’er have been putting out wonderful hand made releases via the Edible Onion.  You should definitely check out their recently re-issued EP titled Filled With Guilt and Diamonds if you enjoy these songs.

Links:

• more on br’er (mp3’s and more) here.
• br’er’s myspace.
• buy br’er’s music from the Edible Onion.
• more gprecs video (Julie Doiron, Dum Dum Girls, Ted Leo, and more) here.
• photo by Ashley Wolf

Sorry for the delay in uploading these videos…the Vimeo Pro account really helps with that.  And thank you to Darian for helping me identify the songs.

It was a little unusual to go to a show and there be no opening band.  The show was billed as Julie Doiron with Herman Dune, and that was exactly what it was.

Even though the Bell House said that Julie would go on at 9:30 the show started a little early.  It was a little strange seeing her on stage by herself…in the past she had always had Fred Squire accompany her (or Squire and Phil Elverum).  Julie was a little more awkward on stage this time being up there by herself, but could not have asked for a more attentive audience.  The Bell House was not sold out, but very full and the crowd was completely attentive during her set.  Julie’s little bit of awkwardness ended up turning into conversation with the crowd, and from there into song requests.

Julie played for almost an hour, and for the most part off of older albums.  For some musicians it is hard to hold their own on stage with just an electric guitar, but Julie does this very well… even though the Bell House is a large venue the show felt extremely intimate.    She played both “Will You Still Love Me In December,” and “Spill Yer Lungs” two of my favorites:

off of the Will You Still Love Me EP. Buy it here.

[mp3] Julie Doiron- “Spill Yer Lungs”

off of I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day. Buy it here.

At the end of her set she brought Herman Dune up on stage to play a couple songs were her as well…it was nice seeing the three of them on stage together, and it was obvious that the tour had been going really well…they all looked very happy to be there.

I really am looking forward to Julie releasing new music, and after seeing her merch table delving into her back catologue…it’s not to often I got to a show and see a musician that I love have 9 cds that I have never heard…I have lots of catching up to do….but I was able to decipher this one:

from Goodbye Nobody.  buy it here.

If you haven’t heard Julie’s newest album I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day I highly recommend it.  I feel that it didn’t get the attention it deserved this year, and it is truly a wonderful album.  Pick it up here.

Links:

• more on Julie Doiron here.
• buy music by Julie Doiron here.
• more gprecs video (Dum Dum Girls, Destroyer, Best Coast, Los Campesinos!, and more) here.

End Note: the lighting wasn’t so great for my camera, but I love these songs so much that I still had to post them.  The audio came out really good though…and I’m going to see if I can rip it to an mp3.  I’ll re-post those if it works out.  Cheers.

Halloween is a holiday that always has really high expectations, and typically doesn’t live up to them…so when I heard that Mount Eerie was playing my decision was made for me…Mount Eerie never disappoints.

This was my first time hearing Malkuth and Liturgy.  Malkuth went on shortly after we got to Market Hotel, and played for what seemed like forever…and not forever in a bad way, but more like…wow this opening band is playing for over an hour.  I was pretty impressed, but as I soon found out it is hard for any band to share the stage with Liturgy. I haven’t been to a metal show in a couple months, and I really did enjoy it…even klk got into Liturgy, and the metal typically isn’t her thing.  As far as black metal goes I got more out of Liturgy’s performance on Saturday than I did out of Wolves In the Throne Room earlier this year. Liturgy can keep the underlying melodic guitars even during a full blown thrash session.  Totally worth checking out:

[full album] Liturgy- Live on My Castle of Quiet at WFMU (via FMA)

Mount Eerie took the stage in a form that I have yet to see, and this was due to the recent release of Wind’s Poem.  Not only was Elverum on stage, but he was accompanied by both Julia Chirka and Nick Krgovich of No Kids as well as two drummers.  Their set consisted entirely of songs from Wind’s Poem, and Phil let us in on something that I was previously unaware of…Wind’s Poem was written by himself and Nick Krgovich (last time I saw Nick play it was less than exciting, but he redeemed himself on Saturday night).  Mount Eerie sounded thunderous, and the amazing part was that there was only one guitar on stage.  Krgovich and Chirka both played keyboards, and Elverum stood center with the guitar. For me heavier music can sometimes get lost in the wall of sound created by too many guitars, and I think Elverum has found the perfect combination for his live set up to show off both his song writing and vocals.  With only one guitar Elverum was able to shine over the the heaviest music he has ever written.  Mount Eerie’s set was near perfect, and Krgovich even interjected a dance beat into what I consider one of the best songs of the year:

Mount Eerie still have most of their tour to go…I highly recommend catching them…only good things can come of it….tour dates can be found here.

In other Mount Eerie related news….

Julie Doiron, who collaborated with Phil Elverum on last year’s wonderful Lost Wisdom, will be gracing NYC this Thursday, November 5th, accompanied by Herman Dune at the Bell House. Julie released an excellent album this year, I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day (which will also be making my best of 2009 list), and was great when she played Cake Shop this past spring.  If you are unfamiliar with Julie she used to play in Eric’s Trip, and has been making music on her own since the early 90’s.  Check out one of my favorite tracks from last year’s Lost Wisdom:

[mp3] Mount Eerie w/ Julie Doiron & Fred Squire- “Voice in Headphones” (from Lost Wisdom, buy it here.)

Links:

• more on Mount Eerie and Phil Elverum here.
• buy Mount Eerie and P.W. Elverum and Suns releases here.
• more on Julie Doiron here.
• buy Julie Doiron’s releases here.
• more from the free music archive here.
• more gprecs video (Karl Blau, Dum Dum Girls, Los Campesinos! and More) here.

End Note: There has been a lot going on in my real, non-internet, life this week…so blog posts will be scarce until sometime next week.  My stress will greatly decrease tomorrow, and I am looking forward to enjoying Julie play in one of my favorite venues in Booklyn…beer will be calling my name.

Last Thursday Karl Blau graced Ash’s Place in Williamsburg with his presence.  This was my first time at Ash’s, and I was a little bit surprised at the vibe the Karl and his K Records crew were greeted with.  Instead of the usual quite, smallish, attentive crowd Ash’s Place was packed…half with people who were there for the music, and the rest seemed to have mistaken the show for a drunken rowdy Thursday night party.

Karl was backed by LAKE (who also opened).  This was my first time seeing Karl perform an entire set with a backing band, and it was as wonderful as I expected (despite the loud talking of the crowd).  It made possible the recreation of many of the songs off of Zebra, and even some from last years phenomenal Nature’s Got Away.

While it wasn’t possible do to background noise to capture any of the quieter songs I was able to grab the two singles off of the new album…check out the new dance Karl invented for Brooklyn at the beginning of the extended live version of “Dark Sedan.”

Karl Blau- “Dark Sedan”

Karl Blau- “Apology to Pollinateurs”

It was a pleasure seeing Karl with a full band, and I hope I have this opportunity again, but I did miss the mesmerizing loop building of his solo sets.  Karl also mentioned that they were shooting the music video for “Dark Sedan” this weekend in New York…I can’t wait to see how that turns out.

If you haven’t grabbed a copy of it yet, Karl has a new volume of his Kelp Lunacy available for sale.  This time it is called 96 (pictured above) and is limited to 175 copies.  All copies have letter pressed covers, and are printed on the back of other album covers. K Records describes it:

Those who follow Karl Blau’s prolific trail may find 96 to be of the Double Duty Booty /Dance Positive dance vein of Blauisms. Extra-hott dog.

I picked mine up at the show (along with Blau’s reggae tribute to the Nutcracker!), but you can grab one from Karl off of his website…as always with Karl this album is totally worth it. I can’t get enough of his smooth dance jams.

Buy Karl Blau’s 96 here.

To give you a taste of 96 here is a song from the previously mentioned Double Duty Booty. It is an amazing, kind of creepy, dance jam titled “Ceremonial Apple Pie.”  The song starts off with almost a hip hop or dance hall style beat and vocals, and then turns into one of Karl’s wonderful reggae influenced dance jams…full of of his smooth voice, and other vocal experiments.

[mp3] Karl Blau- “Ceremonial Apple Pie”

off of Dubble Dooty Booty.  buy it here.

Links:

• More on Karl Blau (tour dates, mp3s, release info, videos, ect) click  here.
• Buy other Karl Blau releases directly from him here.
  • or if you have other shopping needs at insound.
• More on K Records here.
• More gprecs videos here.

This past Monday Dum Dum Girls played a show at Bruar Falls.  The show might have been last minute, or at the least not very publicized, but when I got there at a quarter after eleven the bar was packed.  Monday’s are typically a free show night at Bruar Falls, but no one seemed to have a problem paying five bucks to see one of Sub Pop’s newest acts.

I picked up the Yours Alone the 12″ EP that came out on Captured Tracks back in March, and have been pretty into that record.  The songs are solid, but I didnt’ really know how it would transfer to a full band format.  In July the Dum Dum’s played with Dee Dee fronting the band, and Mike Sniper, Brandon Welchez of Crocodiles (her husband), and Frankie Rose, but this show at Bruar Falls showed the Dum Dum Girls new line up…Frankie Rose is still on drums, but they are joined by Jules and Bambi.

The four ladies on stage were dressed to impress, and their music did the same thing.  The fuzzy lo-fi sound that I was expecting totally fell away, and the Dum Dum Girls brought loud,  slightly gothy, rock and roll to the audience.  The vocals and the guitars were crisp…it was perfectly wonderful.  For a band that has only played like 10 shows (or any band for that matter) these ladies totally have it together, and I was completely impressed.  I can’t wait to hear the full length that is slated for Sub Pop…it should be a great record.

The ladies played for just under45 minutes, and a couple of the songs were from records that I have heard, but the majority were new to me.  I captured a couple of them on video to share with you…if you happen to know the name of the last song…please let me know…as far as I know it is unreleased.

Dum Dum Girls- “Don’t Talk To Me” (G.G. Allin cover)

Dum Dum Girls- “Bang Bang”

Dum Dum Girls- “Jail La La”

[mp3] Dum Dum Girls- “Jail La La”

Dum Dum Girls- “untitled” (possibly unreleased)

See Dum Dum Girls live:

• 10/30/09- New York, New York @ Bowery Ballroom w/ King Khan & BBQ Show
• 10/31/09- Brooklyn, NY @ The Bell House w/ King Khan & BBQ Show
• 11/1/09 Philadelphia @ First Unitarian Church w/ King Khan & BBQ Show
• 11/12/09- Sonoma Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern w/ The Raveonettes & Crocodiles
• 11/27/09- San Diego, CA—> Art Fag Fest w/ No Age, Crocodiles, Best Coast, Ganglians, & Pearl Harbor (all ages)
• 11/28/09- LA, CA @ Spaceland

Links:

• more on Dum Dum Girls here.
• buy releases by Dum Dum Girls (and Dee Dee’s other band Mayfair Set) here.
• more on Captured Tracks here.