Thoughts From My Lunch Hour

Hello there,

For those of you who may have been wondering where in the hell I, your wonderful editor Andrew Daniels, have been around these parts as of late, I apologize. I've been 9-to-5-ing it as an entertainment reporter at The Morning Call in Allentown, PA, and the job hardly leaves me any time for Stark. Fortunately, the blog is left in the great hands of my two fellow editors who are smarter than me for figuring out how to juggle two things at once. Time management!

Anyway, the only time I seem to ever have to dedicate to our baby is during this, my lunch hour. So I figured that the least I can do to contribute is to offer little bits and pieces of goodness that I stumble across throughout the day - mostly via Twitter - and compile them here, with the more-than-occasional misguided musing about my irrelevant topic of choice. Let's call it Thoughts From My Lunch Hour. You can actually call it whatever you want. Today's inaugural edition begins after the jump with a surprise!

Okay, so first item of business is a good one. Thanks for following me after the jump. Your reward is a new mp3 from The Duke & The King, the folky new project from Simone Felice of the Felice Brothers. It's called "The Morning That I Get To Hell," and it's pretty much great. The band's album, Nothing Gold Can Stay hits stores August 4 via Ramseur, and I can't wait for it. Grab it: "The Morning That I Get To Hell."

Twitter told me that The Dodos' new one, Time to Die, leaked. Bummer. It's not due until September 15, so I hope the early leak doesn't hurt them. In terms of popularity, they're not quite on par with bands like Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear, whose recent albums both saw leaks month before their release but still put up great opening week sales.

My most anticipated record of the year finally has a release date and title. Brand New's fourth LP will be called And One Head Can Never Die (?!?) and is out September 22 on Interscope. Don't know what the title is in reference to, but it's appropriate for a band whose last one was titled The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me. Really can't wait. These guys change pretty drastically with every album, so I have no idea what this will sound like.

I have to give a shoutout to my favorite blog as of late: Intensities In Ten Suburbs. Former Stylus writer Andrew Unterberger has been counting down his top 200 singles of the last decade every day. The whole thing is superbly written, and has made me see afterthought pop songs - like Matchbox 20's "Bent", yesterday's pick - in an entirely different light thanks to excellent analysis and reflection.

...Shit. It's 3 p.m. already. That's it for me today. Back to Vince and Matt's regularly scheduled programming.

Tuesday New Releases! MP3s!!

Lot's of stuff out today people...lot's of stuff. Here's what we're liking this week:

Felice Brothers
Yonder is the Clock (Team Love)
mp3: Run Chicken Run

This shambling array of dusty sounds and ragged Americana is one step away from the Felice Brothers' break out album. The Felice Brothers have the talent, look and sound to move into the main stream. Compared to their forefathers, The Band, these upstate NY brothers are one "The Weight" away from stardom. This fact takes nothing away from the excellence of Yonder. It truly is a fantastic record and finds the Brothers embracing their sound fully and focusing their ideas. It's not perfect, but perfection seems to be fast approaching on the horizon.

See the rest of our picks for the week after the jump...

Micachu and the Shapes
Jewellery (Rough Trade)
mp3: "Lips"

We caught Micachu at Pianos, and the show perfectly conveyed the energy, youthfulness, and the uniqueness of this fantastic new artist. Strange sounds abound, ragged instruments are played with reckless abandon and Micachu's charming androgyny make this album and live show one of the standout rookie performances of 2009. What the album may lack in precise songwriting, it makes up for in passion, style, individuality and all around creativity.

Richard Swift
The Atlantic Ocean (Secretly Canadian)
mp3: "Lady Luck"

There's a lot of Richard Swift's product out there, but Atlantic Ocean seems a step above the rest. While we've yet to consume the album in its entirety, we've spent much time with the tracks from his excellent Ground Trouble Jaw EP, and have been streaming the rest. The songs included here (at times) recall the lo-fi doo-wop soul of some Daptone records, while others prove more danceable, singer-songwriter- based tracks. This record is very good, but it could be great with a more direct focus and vision. Perhaps deeper, longer listening will revel a more coherent vision for the album. Still, Richard is a strong talent and his music is always worth picking up.

The Veils
Sun Gangs (Rough Trade)
mp3: "Killed By The Boom"

The Veils have always held a place in our hearts. Since Vince's excellent find several years back, and one way too drunk Mercury Lounge show, the Veils have stayed on regular rotation in Stark's world. Sun Gangs finds the Veils making a strong showing on the songwriting front, honing their focus and upping their attention to detail on the production side. Their previous record Nux Vomica, swung wildly from howling screams and harder indie-rock, to more accessible, catchier, jangly songs featuring singer Finn Andrew's excellent voice. Sun Gangs has found a nice balance between the two worlds and makes for a highly enjoyable complete listen. Apparently he's still rockin' that hat though.

Kath Bloom & Various Artists
Loving Takes This Course (Chapter Music)

To call Kath Bloom an underrated songwriter is (errr) an understatement. I can't fit the reasons why Kath Bloom is great in this post, but she deserves more. Look her up...Today. As for the record, her influence is clearly widespread as evidenced by the high profile guests paying tribute to her on this record. Bill Callahan, Mark Kozelek, and the Dodos, to name a few, offer up their takes on Kath Bloom's material. As with many compilation records, some songs work better than others, but the second disc of Kath Bloom songs (performed by Kath Bloom) is worth the price of admission alone. Dig through this record, there are many hidden successes.

Saturday at All Points West

ALL POINTS WEST

LIBERTY STATE PARK

Jersey City, NEW JERSEY

8.9.08

WORDS AND PHOTOS by ANDREW DANIELS

This past weekend marked the inaugural All Points West festival at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ. Originally intended to be the "Coachella of the East" when the event was first rumored earlier this year, Goldenvoice/AEG instead delivered a less-than-stellar lineup when the performers were announced. The bill read like two Radiohead shows and one Jack Johnson show, with a bunch of indie acts ranging from notable to "who?" in the support slots. However, that didn't stop thousands upon thousands from entering the park via the Light Rail (more on transportation later) over three days; after all, it's Radiohead. It was the band's first festival appearance in the Tri-State area in what seemed like years. I was on hand for Saturday's edition, and needless to say, they didn't disappoint. But how did the other bands fare? And what about the festival as a whole?

You'll find more amateur photo and show reviews after the jump.

Much has already been made of the fact that there was no parking allowed on premises; if you wanted to get into the festival, you had to arrive to the grounds either by ferry from Manhattan ($30) or by the Light Rail system in Jersey City ($3.80 round trip.) We chose the latter.



When all was said and done, it took us approximately one hour to take the train through three stops to the Liberty Science Center and walk a mile to the festival. That's okay. It prepared us for the day ahead of being on my feet for 12 hours straight, and it provided for some gorgeous scenery:



We finally made it into the park by a little after 1 p.m., fresh in time to catch Your Vegas on the smallest stage, Queen Of The Valley. The Leeds five-piece was energized to be playing one of their first American festivals, even if an audience almost non-existent, as most of the day's crowd had yet to shuffle in or was checking out the rest of the festival's digs. The band was pleasant enough, if not a bit too conscious of adhering to the rock star handbook. Lead singer Coyle Girelli sounded like a mix between Dave Gahan and Stephen Christian of Anberlin, and the rest of the band employed U2 theatrics to get the set moving.

We proceeded to move to the Bullet stage to check out Sweden-by-way-of-New York blues band Alberta Cross. Really, really dug them. Slow moving country rock that's vintage Neil Young. Nearly every song prominently featured the Hammond, and that's never a bad thing. I believe they've either already completed an upcoming full length on Ark Recordings, or are very close to it. Look for that one.

Chromeo, Chromeo, wherefore art thou Chromeo? We ventured to the main stage, Blue Comet, to check out the party boys from NYC deliver the day's most entertaining set. Playing tracks culled mostly from last year's Fancy Footwork, the duo charmed the audience (many of which had begun to stake their place in the crowd for Radiohead, who wouldn't go on for another six hours.) Lead singer Dave 1 -- professor of French at Columbia -- charmed with his goofy white boy/Jew shtick, while sidekick P-Thugg absolutely slayed on the vocoder. The crowd was eating up everything Chromeo had to serve, myself included. The highlight had to be their take on "Momma's Boy", a standout from Fancy with a killer synth line right out of Elton John's "Crocodile Rock." Check out the track's brand new video here.

Emily Haines and Metric took the main stage after Chromeo, and we caught a few songs, but The Felice Brothers were playing the Bullet stage at the same time, and I had been dying to see them. It was the definitely the right choice; this band will slowly but surely take the country by storm. Their rustic brand of Americana is infectious, and their performance felt like being in an old barn drunk on moonshine. The three brothers from Upstate NY - Ian, Simone, and James Felice - all traded off on lead vocals. Ian's gruffy voice is a dead ringer for Dylan's, while Simone and James have slightly more polish. They were joined by a bass player who only goes by the name of "Christmas", and a washboard player/fiddler named Farley. They played songs from their excellent self-titled Team Love record from earlier this year, and very nearly stole the day from Radiohead. But that, as Liberty State Park would find later that night... was an impossible task.

There was an hour to kill in between The Felice Brothers and Animal Collective, so we spent it walking the grounds to take in the full experience. Since APW was billed as a festival for music and the arts, there were various exhibits and tents on site highlighting work from both well-known and novice artists. My favorite structure?

Around 5:00, we mosied back over to Blue Comet to check out Animal Collective. Awe-inspiring? Hardly. I may be in the small minority of those who find the noise-rock outfit more noise than rock, largely devoid of melody. I can roll with these guys for about ten minutes until it becomes tedious. I'm not calling them over-rated, but I just don't see the appeal. However, there were definitely parts of the set that moved me, particularly the closing "Brother Sport", which I connected to immediately. Or maybe it was because I knew the end was approaching. Don't kill me, Panda Bear!

Our party split up after Animal Collective was finished and The Roots were prepping to take the Bullet stage. Although it pained me to miss the Philly hip hop pioneers, they were playing at the same time as Kings Of Leon on the main stage. My brother and I stayed back to catch the Followill brothers' set and hold down a spot for Radiohead, while the others ventured off for The Roots. From what I heard, they delivered a furious, largely improvisational set, complete with tuba solos. However, I did catch a glimpse of drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson while signing autographs in the Virgin tent. Check it:

Anyway, onto the Kings. They ripped. What a great festival band in this atmosphere: perfect for delivering crowd pleasing rockers, expert musicianship, great Southern hospitality. At this point, the audience at the Blue Comet stage was rapidly increasing by the thousands, and songs from Aha Shake Heartbreak and Because of the Times served as the catalysts to mass sing-a-longs. One of my favorite moments of the day occurred when lead singer Caleb Followill, master of the creaky and wavering voice, let the audience emulate him during "Fans." The band also debuted a new song from their upcoming Only by the Night called "Sex On Fire" -- streaming now on Myspace -- and that's what their set felt like. Sex on fire. Props to MVP drummer Nathan, who never let up for the set's hour-plus duration.


And so the anticipation began. It's been more than a decade of fully appreciating Radiohead's music that I've waited to see the band, and the 45 minutes we spent packed like sardines in a tin can (sorry, I couldn't resist) amidst a hot, sweaty and tall crowd was the equivalent of an eternity. Plus, the overwhelming smell of marijuana from every direction certainly didn't help. It grew darker, and the band's stage set up was unveiled: a 3D curtain of long vertical glass strips. An amazing sight to be seen when unlit, and even more jaw-dropping when in use. Finally, as everyone in the audience collectively looked at their watches when the time reached 8:30, and subsequently back at the stage, everything went black: The moment had arrived. Drummer Phil Selway began playing the groove to "Reckoner", and guitarist Ed O'Brien complemented him on tambourine, steadily crescendoing until the rest of the band came in. They were spot-on, effortlessly locked in with each other while Thom Yorke's ethereal falsetto on the song's chorus took center stage. It was an unbelievable way to open, and they retained that energy for the rest of the night. The song selection felt perfect; In Rainbows was scattered in its entirety, and every album with the exception of Pablo Honey was represented within the confines of two hours. It's hard to pick a highlight when every song sent shivers down my spine, but their pulsating take on "The National Anthem" and the so-quiet-you-could-hear-a-pin-drop subtlety of "Exit Music (For A Film)" were standouts. Seriously, there's something magical when an entire park of 30,000 people goes completely silent. Stunning. Complete set list, courtesy of Stereogum:

01 "Reckoner"
02 "15 Step"
03 "The National Anthem"
04 "Kid A"
05 "All I Need"
06 "Nude"
07 "Weird Fishes"/"Arpeggi"
08 "Where I End And You Begin"
09 "The Gloaming"
10 "Faust Arp"
11 "No Surprises"
12 "Jigsaw Falling Into Place"
13 "The Bends"
14 "Bangers & Mash"
15 "Everything In Its Right Place"
16 "Exit Music (For A Film)"
17 "Bodysnatchers"
----
18 "Pyramid Song"
19 "Videotape"
20 "Airbag"
21 "Fake Plastic Trees"
22 "There There"
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23 "House Of Cards"
24 "Planet Telex"
25 "Idioteque"

By all blog accounts, the band's performance on Saturday overwhelmingly topped a still-incredible Friday show, and I'm glad I got to witness it. Simply seeing Radiohead made up for everything: lackluster line-up (spring for bigger bands next year, Goldenvoice), transportation frustrations (getting out of the festival via Light Rail was an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE) and claustrophobic conditions. However, because of five guys from Oxford -- is it really a stretch to call them the greatest band in the world? -- the debut of All Points West was a success. Thanks for making my life, Radiohead.