For Your Listening pleasure.

MP3: Breakers-Local Natives

Oh to be this impassioned, this committed. To see Billy Bragg live is many things. Many great things. But the biggest feeling I took away from his stupendous show Saturday night at the Enmore Theatre is that I feel lazy. Lazy in my comfort zone. A nice job, a nice home. All the comforts. Safe and comfortable. But Billy inspires. He instructs. He makes us think. He makes us angry, but in a good way. He stands up for the downtrodden. He exposes the frauds and cheats. In song. In glorious song. Billy said that musicians can't change the world. But they can bring people together and in turn inspire. Inspire us to leave and go home and try to make a difference. Billy Bragg is bursting with humanity and compassion. Fiercely committed and fiercely intelligent. He reminded me of what is important in life.

This show started early (8.30), but I could see why. Billy played until past 11pm. Half the show is singing. Half the show is stories and communication. Both are equally great. Equally important. The show itself was divided too. The first half was Billy giving us Woody Guthrie songs from the Mermaid Avenue Sessions. Each song was preceded by a story, a light into Guthrie's world. I learnt much as Billy sat on stage with his acoustic taking us through Woody's life. After a 15 minute break Billy returned to the stage and gave us a rousing walk through his considerable catalogue. The crowd singing along in full voice. It brought back so many great memories of classic English songs. I especially loved "The Milkman of Human Kindness" and "Levi Stubbs' Tears". An encore was just more reason to celebrate, ending with the impossibly glorious "A New England". What a great night. In the company of a great man.


Set List
Aginst Th' Law
She Came Along To Me
Ingrid Bergman
Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key
Slipknot
Go Down to The Water
Another Man's Done Gone
My Flying Saucer
All You Fascists

To Have and to Have Not
The Price I Pay
Sexuality
Tomorrow's Going to Be a Better Day
Greetings to the New Brunette
Must I Paint You a Picture?
Never Buy the Sun
The Milkman of Human Kindness
Levi Stubbs' Tears
I Keep Faith
There is Power in a Union

Tank Park Salute
Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards
A New England 

When Girls called it a day earlier a year we were never really given a reason. But it was pretty easy to summise that main man Christopher Owens wouldn't be stopping making music. Now we can confirm that Owens was busy. January 15 will see the release of his debut solo album. "Lysandre" will be released on Fat Possum Records and was recorded at Hobby Shop Studios, Los Angeles. Owens wrote the entire album.

Lysandre Track Listing
1 Lysandre's Theme
2 Here We Go
3 New York City
4 A Broken Heart
5 Here We Go Again
6 Riviera Rock
7 Love Is in the Ear of the Listener
8 Lysandre
9 Everywhere You Knew
10 Closing Theme
11 Part of Me (Lysandre's Epilogue)

One of my favourite albums of recent years was definitely "Gorilla Manor" by Local Natives. I am excited to hear that the Los Angeles group will be releasing album number two in January. "Hummingbird" will be out on Frenchkiss Records on January 29.

Hummingbird Track Listing
1 You & I
2 Heavy Feet
3 Ceilings
4 Black Spot
5 Breakers
6 Three Months
7 Black Balloons
8 Wooly Mammoth
9 Mt. Washington
10 Colombia
11 Bowery

Without doubt one of the best songs of 2012! Directed and photographed by Rick Alverson.

Last Thursday in New York Arcade Fire, at a Partners In Health night, played a brand new song. "Crucified Again". Apparently there will be a new album in 2013. We can only hope!

The sign draped behind the stage said it all really. In Loving Memory. It was the name of their criminally under rated second album. But it also summed up the fans feeling about The Paper Scissors. We will love them and we will remember them. If you never got the chance to see them live, well you missed out. They were great and just so much fun. But no more. The band announced a while ago this would be the last show. So a wet Saturday night at The Standard turned into a warm and fun filled night. Although a bitter sweet one. Bitter sweet because this is/was a band that we needed to make more music. Alas.


It ended just on midnight. No encore. There was no time. They just kept playing. And we danced and danced. They gave their all. Ivan and Xavier were the usual tight as rhythm section. Jai Pyne led the way with his howls and infinitely soulful voice. We even had two drummers at one point and two saxophones with former members joining the stage. This was especially ecstatic on "The Bandit". Rumps were shaking on this one. Music is such a joy and a gift. It enlivens us. It makes us bold. So this was sad. But at least the band got the chance to go out with a bang. On their terms. Living the independent life is hard. If you don't get radio play it's a tough road to travel on. So please, next time you are thinking of downloading (stealing), don't. Buy some music. Next time you are home, go out. See some live music. It's pretty great you know. We need to keep this thing alive. The Paper Scissors. We will miss you with all our heart. 
 
Set List
Taller Than You Then
Lung Sum
On Your Hand
Dozens
Held Down Threw Up
Over There
Everyone's Wet
Sand Fingers Water Toes
Soft Pig
Drunk Swim
Howl
The Bandit
Tipped Hat
We Don't Walk
Disco Connect
Yamanote Line

To think close to twenty years ago I was reveling in the glory of Pavement. Their music was a highpoint in my musical listening history. A touchstone. I was lucky enough to see them live on a few occasions too. Fast forward to 2012 and Pavement is long gone. We have had 5 Malkmus solo albums and a 2010 Pavement reunion tour, but the great man released a stellar album in 2011 in "Mirror Traffic" and here is back in Australia again with the Jicks. Playing just down the road at The Factory, this Friday night was a celebration of a man whose greatness, and coolness, can never be undersold. To put it mildly they broke the mold when they made Stephen Malkmus. Not only is he a unique and revered songwriter he carries himself like no other. He can be charming and arrogant in one sentence. He is supremely confident but just so personable that he is very easy to like. Put it this way, he is the man you want to know but would probably feel intimidated by. By his intellect. His very talent. 

So to the show. Malkmus was in fine form. He seemed in a great mood. Playing up to the crowd. Welcoming quips and giving back as good as he got. Smiling lucidly through out as well. The night was very heavy on "Mirror Traffic", which was fine by me. "Spazz" was a early standout with its impossibly crazy time signatures. "Brain Gallop" was a hoot too with its rambling effervescent style. I also loved the luminescent "Asking Price" and the easy to like "No One Is (As I Are Be)". A lot of the songs featured long jams too with the distinctive Malkmus guitar style. He sure can shred a guitar. The night also featured a few new songs which sounded great. If the night was great, and it was, it was truly confirmed by a howling encore. It seemed totally spontaneous too. First there was a cover of the Dragon standard "Are You Old Enough?", followed by a cabaret style version of "Jenny & the Ess-Dog". Then he closed with a treasure. Yes, it was a Pavement song. Range Life!!!!
SCHOOL'S OUT! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?


Set List
Tune Grief
Spazz
Brain Gallop
Senator
Animal Midnight
Asking Price
Stick Figures In Love
Flower Children (new song)
Forever 28
No One Is (As I Are Be)
Phantasies
Houston Ladies (new song)
Blind Imagination (new song)
Cinnamon (new song)
Long Hard Book
Tigers
That's What Mama Said

Are You Old Enough? (Dragon cover)
Jenny & the Ess-Dog
Range Life (Pavement song)

Well this came from nowhere. Yesterday it was announced that the legendary Godspeed You! Black Emperor would be releasing a new album on October 16 on Constellation Records. "Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! is the band's first album in ten years. It features two twenty-minute slabs of epic instrumental rock music and two six-and-a-half minute drones. The new album presents definitive versions of two huge compositions previously known to fans as “Albanian” and “Gamelan”, now properly titled as “MLADIC” and “WE DRIFT LIKE WORRIED FIRE” respectively.
Exciting times!!!

ALLELUJAH! DON'T BEND! ASCEND! Track Listing
1 MLADIC
2 THEIR HELICOPTERS' SING
3 WE DRIFT LIKE WORRIED FIRE
4 STRUNG LIKE LIGHTS AT THEE PRINTEMPS ERABLE

"Bend Beyond", the brand new album from New York's Woods is, quite simply, fantastic. It continues their amazing run of producing quality, melodic awesome pop. So I am very excited to let you know that they are heading our way for a tour in January. Don't miss them!

Woods Australian Tour Dates
Friday 18th January – The National Hotel-Geelong
Saturday 19th January – Sugar Mountain Festival  – Melbourne
Wednesday 23rd January – The Bakery – Perth
Thursday 24th January – Format – Adelaide
Saturday 26th January – Goodgod Small Club– Sydney

Tickets on sale Monday 1st October