The Format rocks my socks off

I saw The Format last night in Denver as a birthday present from my sis, and what a present it was. Even though Kristy and I questioned that we somehow exceeded an unspoken age limit among the other patrons (which seemed to be about 15? 16?), I was absolutely blown away by these guys and am still smiling the next day.

Background: I have both of The Format’s full-length albums (Interventions + Lullabies and Dog Problems), as well as a collection of other tracks. I like them very much, I sing along, etc. etc. HOWEVER, as good as their CDs are, they truly pale in comparison to seeing them live, which makes everything just click together into one of the best concerts I have seen in a while.

Now, I know that I am an enthusiastic gal, especially when it comes to music that I like. I’ll give you that. And while I certainly stand behind all of the musical recommendations that I have made thus far on this site, this next one comes with a disclaimer that I REALLY MEAN IT. Like, 200% more than other times I have said “Hey, this band is really good.” I wish I had stronger words to express my strong emotion here. So listen:

The Format is essentially frontman Nate Ruess & multi-instrumentalist Sam Means, along with a host of musician friends when they tour. Nate is a fireball of charisma on-stage, with swagger and presence and a magnetism that reminded me of a consummate rockstar like Steven Tyler, oddly enough. He really connects with the crowd and got everyone singing along, jumping & clapping. It is nice to see that confidence and connection in an age of shoegazers and mumblers (nothin’ wrong with that in its place, but I’m just saying . . .)

Nate has an unusual voice, that’s undeniable. I wasn’t sure where to file it in my mental catalogue until I saw them live, and then it all makes sense and I want to hear him sing all day long. It’s a powerful instrument he’s got there in his pipes.

Backing Nate were no fewer than EIGHT musicians of various stripes: guitar, bass, vocals and drums, sure, but also shakers and keyboards and trombones. Come on. Sheer pop goodness. Sometimes it sounds like a circus, and sometimes they channel Queen a bit, but there is no denying the well-crafted nature of their songs, the creative lyricism, and the downright danceability and quality rock ‘n’ roll.

Although they are in completely different veins, my sister remarked that the vibe at the show was like fellow Arizonans Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers in concert, if you’ve heard me rave about them. It was the same electric sensation throughout the crowd that uplifts and unites and (at the risk of sounding like a cornball) reaffirms your faith in the power of a fantastic live music experience.

I agree with blog buddy Nathaniel when he says, “I’ve seen a lot of shows, and The Format rank up there with the very best of them.” Very very best indeed.

TOUR DATES:
Here are your remaining chances to see them live on this tour. If you’ve ever said to yourself, “Hey, Heather has made some decent musical recommendations,” then TRUST ME ON THIS, lay down the twelve kopecks or whatever and GO SEE THEM. You absolutely will not be disappointed:

Aug 23 – Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue
Aug 25 - Seattle, WA – Neumo’s
Aug 26 – Portland, OR – Loveland
Aug 27 – Orangevale, CA – Boardwalk
Aug 28 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
Aug 29 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
Aug 31 – Hollywood, CA – Avalon
Sep 1 – San Diego, CA – Soma
Sep 2 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues/Courtyard
Sep 22 – Birmingham – Carling Academy
Sep 23 – Manchester – Apollo
Sep 24 – Leeds – Leeds University Union
Sep 26 – Cambridge – Corn Exchange
Sep 27 – Southampton – Southampton Guildhall
Sep 29 – London – Carling Academy Brixton

AUDIO:
(Note: Does anyone know where I can find a good quality live/electric set from The Format? Here! Right here! Highly recommended: 2006 Western Tread Showcase set)

Tune Out (Interventions + Lullabies)
One of the first few songs, and everyone (including me) sang along at the top of their lungs when the chorus broke. It was a great moment.

She Doesn’t Get It (off the new A+ album, Dog Problems)
Introduced as being a song about casual sex and Duran Duran.

Give It Up (Interventions + Lullabies)
They nailed this one last night. This is the first song I heard by The Format, and still one of my favorites.

The First Single (from the EP)
The final song, anthemic and sweaty and once again, everyone sang along. (Who names their first single “The First Single”? These guys do.)

TWO BONUS COVERS, just because:
The Lottery Song (Harry Nilsson cover, since some say they share a vibe)

For You (Bruce Springsteen cover from the Light of Day tribute CD)

VISUAL:
For the quantity of Format videos on YouTube, the good quality ones are quite hard to find.

“Tie The Rope” (officially shot video):

If you want to get a sense of The Format from where I was standing last night (in the roiling, churning, 15-year-old crowd), check out this girl’s video clips from the Hartford, CT show. I wanted to embed the one of “She Doesn’t Get It,” but darn YouTube won’t let me. It demonstrates Nate’s patented microphone toss, the clapping and some of the fantastic crowd chemistry.

This one is of a poorer quality, but totally watchable, and I am including it because you can get a sense of how well the crowd knows the songs and sings along:
“Tune Out“ video (7/14/06)

And because I forgot my camera, the lovely pictures above come from Taylor’s post.

I had a strong sense watching these guys that they definitely have “IT” — that star quality and superb music that could take them all the way to the top. Why are they not all over the radio and on everybody’s iPod? I have a feeling that they will be soon.

The lovely intersection of literature and listening

This week’s Contrast Podcast is such a lovely topic, combining two of my favorite things in this life: music and books. The topic for the podcast this time around was to pick a favorite book and a song to soundtrack that book. I know, cool, right?

Once you start thinking about this topic, you realize that there are endless options if you love to read as much as I do (you know, growing up, if you ever read The Babysitters’ Club? I was Mary Ann – total bookworm. Yet somehow also effortlessly cool — or so my mom told me as she trimmed my hair into a modified feathered mullet).

Anyways, the book & song I finally ended up with is Nick Hornby’s Songbook (also called 31 Songs in the UK edition), which you eagle-eyes will recognize from the quote over there —> on stage right. The song is The Beach Boys’ “Add Some Music To Your Day” from their Sunflower album — an absolutely wonderful gem of a song celebrating all the music in the world and how once you start listening, you hear it everywhere.

There’s no way that I could call Songbook my favorite book, but it is one that I greatly enjoy and it lent itself so well to the song choice. If I were to sit myself down by my tall shelves there in the living room and go through all my books, I would surely find about 20 more favorites and with enough thought would greatly enjoy soundtracking them as well.

LISTEN: The easiest way to listen to it is to head over to Tim’s Contrast Podcast page and click the little play button to stream it in a seamless burst of loveliness.

You can also download the podcast as one big ole mp3 here, so you can listen to it later on your iPod or whatever.

And if you are in a commenting mood today, I’d love to talk more about what songs complement your favorite book. Comment link at the very bottom of this post.

PLAYLIST

(00:00) The Smiths – William It Was Really Nothing
Book: Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse

Tim from The Face of Today

(02:37) The Buff Medways – Troubled Mind
Book: Notebooks of a Naked Youth by Billy Childish

FiL from Pogoagogo

(06:09) The Beach Boys – Add Some Music To Your Day
Book: 31 Songs/Songbook by Nick Hornby

Heather from I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS

(10:38) Van Halen – I Am The One
Book: Crazy from the Heat by David Lee Roth

Chris from Culturebully

(14:52) d_rradio – Never Slept Better
Book: Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Mike from Nothing But Green Lights

(19:27) LN – It Don’t Matter If You Bleed
Book: Vârt behov av tröst by Stig Dagerman

ZB from So The Wind Won’t Blow It All Away

(24:40) Spaceman 3 – Revolution
Book: Karl Marx: Selected Writings edited by David McLellan

Colin from Let’s Kiss and Make Up

(31:29) Serge Gainsbourg – Sorry Angel
Book: Les liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos

Marianne Dissard

(35:35) The Cure – Killing an Arab
Book: L’Etranger by Albert Camus

Simon from You Can Call Me Betty

(38:36) Golden Smog – Fear of Falling
Book: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Natalie from Mini-Obs

(42:44) The Decemberists – Los Angeles, I’m Yours
Book: The Replacements “Let It Be” (33 1/3 Series) by Colin Meloy

Bethanne from CTASLS

(47:53) Susan Cagle – Shakespere
Book: Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde

Jamie from Squirrelfood.net

(52:35) Manic Street Preachers – The Intense Humming of Evil
Book: The work of Primo Levi

Jamie from The Run Out Groove

(58:24) Mr Bungle – Squeeze Me Macaroni
Book: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Brian from The Rant

(01:04:15) Leonard Cohen – Came So Far For Beauty
Book: The Favourite Game by Leonard Cohen

Charlie from Nerdlitter

Don’t it make you wanna head to the library?

“Bullets don’t have no eyes”

You know, every day I learn something new. For instance, today I watched the Live With Regis and Kelly from last week where Chris Isaak filled in for Reeg as guest co-host, and I came away with a valuable piece of knowledge to remember if I am being shot at: “Bullets don’t have no eyes.“

Join me as we learn from Chris Isaak the ins and outs of being caught in the crossfire as he recounts some very funny stories of his run-ins with the long arm of the law while riding his bike in Cleveland the other day. Unfortunately I can only find part of it online, but let’s just reaffirm what you already know if you’ve ever seen Isaak live or watched his TV show: The man is funny. No, like seriously funny. It’s the reason that I like him so much (well and maybe his edible good looks & suave musical stylings).

Wait, Cleveland?

On a bike?

WATCH THE VIDEO

If you ever get a chance to see the rest of it, he continued this story with one about how he pulled over to aid a motorist — who turned out the be an officer of the law and sent Chris off on official police business in Golden Gate Park. Isaak says that he is such a do-gooder that him and Tom Cruise are going to start a club where they drive around and help civilians all day. I’d cop to that.

Monday Music Roundup

Oh, my good heavens. I’ve found your new favorite website: The Museum of Kitschy Stitches. It is a collection of unspeakably awful sweaters knitted during the height of bad, bad, bad fashion in the ’70s and ’80s, combined with snarky commentary. You will marvel at what passed as acceptable to wear outside the home (PS – There’s a book too).

My dear sweet lord, it’s handicrafts gone wrong.

You could imagine yourself snuggling into one of these bad boy confections while you listen to these great songs for the week:

Long Day
The Bittersweets
I have been singing this all weekend. It feels somehow instantly familiar when you hear it, warm and rich and lovely. Fronted by confidently honey-voiced Hannah Prater, this track has a rolling alt-country feel with the wistful slide guitar. The Bittersweets hail from Oakland, California, and have found that elusive perfect band name that captures the mood of their music. If their name sounds familiar, I had also mentioned them last week in conjunction with the show they played in San Francisco with Ryan Auffenberg (who, judging from the emails I received, you guys LOVED). The Bittersweets guest in several places on Auffenberg’s new CD, so if you liked him (of course you did) check out The Bittersweets’ disc The Life You Always Wanted (2006, Virt Records). They’ve got a few California shows coming up, including one opening for Roseanne Cash.

Key Of C
Jim Noir
This song is found on the same Tower of Love album as that catchy “Eanie Meany” song used in the World Cup Adidas commercials. Jim Noir is from Manchester (UK) and I think I am going to seek out the album (which was just released on Barsuk in the US), as I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. This song blends a pleasant ’60s pop sound with a slightly distorted melody and some electronica elements. Plus, you’ve gotta give some props to the fact that this is basically a love ballad to a musical note (the aforementioned C). Quirky, feel-good tune.

She Falls Away
Andy Mac
This is a MySpace discovery for me; the piano intro starts out slow, but when the beat kicks in, the channeling of John Davis from Superdrag immediately begins as well. This is a very good thing. Andy Mac is from Buffalo, New York and has been a musician all his life. After sharing stage time with Duncan Sheik and other artists, he struck out on his own with his Music For A Bright Moon Sky album in 2005 (More mp3s are on the Not Lame Records website). It’s an album full of well-crafted pop, catchy arrangements, and lush harmonies.

Distortions (Clinic cover)
Chris Walla
Stereogum has had a bunch of good songs up on their site lately, including this new tune from Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, recorded two weeks ago at his house. It’s a cover of a Clinic song, and since I am not familiar with the original, I think I will go find it. Some people familiar with the Clinic version say that this sucks. But I actually like it with its slow build, driving beat, and double-tracked harmonies. Read about Walla’s new solo efforts here, forthcoming from Barsuk, and suggest a band name for his endeavors. Right now the front runners seem to be “Dishwalla” (yuk, yuk, yuk) and, my favorite, “Walla Walla Bing Bang” (someone call the witch doctor).

The Perfect Crime
The Decemberists
So basically the whole new Decemberists album The Crane Wife is floating out there in advance of the October release date. I’ve only heard a few songs, but I really like this one. Upbeat, almost danceable, but still agreeably idiosyncratic due to the warble of Colin Meloy’s voice and the creative range of instruments that the Decemberists like to bust out.

Now I feel like knitting something for some inexplicable reason.

I got a brand new pair of roller skates . . .

I don’t know how it is possible to have more fun than one can experience while roller skating, as I did last night with all my gals to kick off my birthday festivities with mad style. Although we were clearly and by far the oldest people actually circling the rink, we had more fun than we’ve had since the early teen years (or whenever it was we last tied on a pair of roller skates).

The only way that it could have potentially been *any* better would be if I could have been the DJ for the blessed event (instead of the Justin Timberlake-Eiffel 65 “Blue”-Ciara mix).

I think we can all agree that these songs are much better roller-skating music:

HEATHER’S ROLLER SKATING MIX EP:

“Brand New Key” – Melanie
(love, love, love this song in the summer)

“A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays’” – De La Soul

“Summer ’79” – The Ataris
(a song about the season and year I was born, *and* that mentions roller skating? Come on!)

“Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll” – Mason Vaughan & Crew

“Roller Rink” – The Waves

If you haven’t been skating in years (and if you still remember how), I highly recommend going again. There’s still all the same things you remember (the speed skating contests, the girl-taller-than-the-boy handholding, the weird older guy who skate-dances really fast in and out between people and wears hardcore wrist guards and sweatbands), even if you’ve aged a little bit. The rink remains the same.

I’m likin’ the Rosewood Thieves

So what’s with all these 20-somethings that sound like the Beatles or Bob Dylan? A veritable renaissance among the younguns. I am enjoying the resurgence of older sounds in the new bands of today (The Redwalls, Nic Armstrong, etc) because good music never goes out of style, does it?

The Rosewood Thieves are a five-piece rock/blues/alt-country band (bio) that have a raw, straightforward six-song debut EP out on V2 Records: From The Decker House. It was recorded at said Decker House, which is a decrepit old clapboard farmhouse in the boonies of New York where the tunes were laid down with artists such as Mike Daly (Whiskeytown) and -get this- Bob Dorough, who you love but don’t even know it because he wrote most of the Schoolhouse Rock songs. Here’s a visual, old cars and all:

Their sound is nostalgic & rocking — not simply a rehashing of those old sounds, but a fresh spin that combines the best of late-era Beatles and Johnny Cash with some Americana/alt-country spice and bluesy pathos. The ragged vocals of lead singer Erick Jordan crack beautifully in all the right places, lending this nice ‘lil collection of songs a Lennonesque, burnished feel that belies the modern age. They have several shows coming up in the NJ/NY/PA region, and hopefully a larger tour is in the works for later this year.

If this is just a taste of what these boys are capable of, I think we should all stay tuned to hear a lot more buzz about them when they drop a full-length album. Airtight listening.

Los Angeles – The Rosewood Thieves (*highly* recommended)

Diamond Ring – The Rosewood Thieves

One more little OK Go tidbit

I should have added this to yesterday’s post (so much OK Go at once!) but this is the funniest pickin’ thing I’ve seen recently. It’s a compilation of videos sent in by fans imitating the dance for the “A Million Ways” video.

It’s civilians! Dancing! And it’s awesome.

You’ve got everything from Catholic schoolgirls in the Philippines or something, to several late-night shots that have an air of “Dude, you know what would be funny right now?” (one illuminated by the headlights of a car). There’s also a funny one of a group trying to dance in the middle of Hollywood & Vine in California (their backyard) and several school talent shows. All this spliced together into 3:31 seconds of fabulousness.

It’s great. Let the dance spread everywhere. There should seriously be more things synchronized in everyday life.

That new OK Go video

Alright, so I would be completely remiss (because I have a penchant for posting about them) if I didn’t even mention the new fantastic OK Go video for their song “Here It Goes Again.” It is just right-at-the-edge of wearing out their lame dance routine welcome, but somehow therein lies the brilliance. This one is arguably almost better than their first one (for “A Million Ways“) because it involves the most fun you will ever have at the gym. If you haven’t already, peep the speed skating moves and the over-under-the-legs majesty:

Their low-budget YouTube success is putting their lovable mugs all over the media as well. The local news in New York City ran this little piece on their success and they were also on the national ABC World News (at the very end). Apparently in the first week of the release of the video for “Here It Goes Again,” it was downloaded TWO MILLION TIMES. Now that’s just crazy talk.

I own and recommend both of their albums, OK Go (2002) and Oh No (2005). The only danger in putting out all of these gimmicky dance videos is that people may discount their music itself as being any good. But au contraire – both of their albums are quality releases with clever pop music that is catchy as all get out. Plus, frontman Damian Kulash majored in semiotics in college (language, communication, semantics, etc.), so he uses big intelligent words, which is hot.

And P.S. – they do dance at their concerts. Worth the price of admission alone.

“Here It Goes Again” – OK Go

“This Will Be Our Year” (Zombies cover) – OK Go

“Letterbox” (They Might Be Giants cover) – OK Go
(from new TMBG tribute album on Bar None Records)

Stream FOUR NEW Lemonheads songs!

I am so happy right now. Just hearing Evan Dando sounding this good makes everything rosy in my world.

Head on over to The Lemonheads‘ updated website to stream four of the new songs from their upcoming album (previous post/details here). The songs you can listen to are:

“Become The Enemy”
“No Backbone” (hear the original here)
“Poughkeepsie”
“Let’s Just Laugh”

And I think that they sound absolutely fantastic – rocking, melodic & interesting. As good as I would have hoped.

Featuring Ryan Adams

Willie Nelson Teams With Ryan Adams For New CD
August 16, 2006, 10:25 AM ET (Billboard)

Seventy-three-year-old music icon Willie Nelson collaborates with 31-year-old singer/songwriter Ryan Adams on his new album, Songbird. Due Oct. 31 via Lost Highway, the 11-track set was produced by Adams, whose band the Cardinals back Nelson throughout. Veteran harmonica player Mickey Raphael also appears.

The track list features covers of Gram Parsons’ “$1000 Wedding,” Christine McVie’s “Songbird,” the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter favorite “Stella Blue” and Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”In addition, Nelson reworks his own “Rainy Day Blues” (which opens the album), “Sad Songs & Waltzes” and “We Don’t Run,” as well as tackling the traditional “Amazing Grace.”

Nelson is in the midst of a tour with John Fogerty and also has headlining dates on tap through a Sept. 15 appearance at the Austin City Limits festival. On Sept. 30 in Camden, N.J., he will join Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews and Jerry Lee Lewis for Farm Aid in Camden, N.J.

Here is the track list for “Songbird”:
“Rainy Day Blues”
“Songbird”
“Blue Hotel”
“Back to Earth”
“Stella Blue”
“Hallelujah”
“$1000 Wedding”
“We Don’t Run”
“Yours Love”
“Sad Songs & Waltzes”
“Amazing Grace”
_________________________________________________________

That sounds really interesting to me. Ryan has been a busy boy, also reuniting with ex-flame Leona Naess to lay down some vocals on her new upcoming album Thirteens. According to her MySpace, “Old East Village comrade, Ryan Adams, crashed a Manhattan studio and contributed his distinctive vocals (and new lyrics) to the reprise of ‘Leave Your Boyfriend’ in one take. Cello and piano were added in Woodstock over a long weekend.” Interesting choice of songs to collaborate on; that’s another release that I am looking forward to hearing.