… and, really, there won’t be many words today. But last night was an evening spent with Jack Johnson and Matt Costa, when they performed at the Brisbane Riverstage.
So tomorrow, there will be plenty, plenty more words. It’s going to take a while to marshall my thoughts about the night, so make sure you tune in tomorrow.
It was definitely awesome though.
On Friday night, I achieved one of my life’s goals (dramatic, perhaps… but nonetheless true), and saw State Radio perform live, at the Tivoli in Brisbane.
I almost cried, I was so happy.
Some background: Perhaps my favourite band of all time, was (and is) Dispatch. Darlings of the indie scene, who never caved to pressure, and always stayed true to their principles. They never signed to a major label, but despite (or, sometimes, I think because of this) their music reached around the globe and touched hundreds of thousands of people.
I won’t go into too much detail here; if you’re after more of a story regarding the trio of Pete Francis, Braddigan and Chad, AKA “Dispatch”, then I strongly recommend you take a look at the DVD, “Last Dispatch
There are some regrets that you could not have done anything to prevent; some people regret that they were born too late to see Hendrix live. One of my regrets, was that I was never able to see Dispatch perform live. And, when they broke up, I thought that I had lost my chance forever. The chance to see Chad Urmston play live, with State Radio, was something of a reprieve for that terrible regret.
Enough background, let’s talk about the show in question.
Roger That
The night was opened by a band from the Gold Coast of Australia, called “Roger That“. I was surprised I hadn’t heard of these guys before, seeing as I used to live on the GC. Turns out I was certainly missing something. Roger That describe themselves as a “reggae/psychedelia/rock influenced band”, and there’s definitely something about them. A few times during their set, I was reminded of Red Hot Chili Peppers during their bloodsugarsexmagik days.
Listening to their recorded stuff, there is an amazing energy that they display on stage that is unfortunately not really captured on their tracks… so if you get a chance to see these guys live, grab it with both hands. You’ll be impressed.
That said, here’s one of those recorded tracks:
Listen: Roger That – Jefferson Lane
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/rogerthatofficial
State Radio
After Roger That, it was on to the second opening act (but the obvious highlight for me), State Radio.
State Radio came on, and blew me away. I wish I could give you a track by track breakdown, but I think I entered this entirely new state of bliss from their first chords. At the end of it, I was exhausted, deliriously happy, and finding myself thinking, “What the hell just happened?“.
However, what I can tell you is that Chad and the boys performed like gods up there that night. From their (extremely) fast and energetic version of “People to People“, to their hard-hitting rendition of Camilo, I think they shocked everyone in the audience. I say this, because unfortunately I think a lot of people there weren’t aware of State Radio (or perhaps even Dispatch) before that night; however, after the second song the boys were getting appreciative screams after every song.
It would be impossible for me to pick highlights from the set; State Radio played pretty much every song I wished they had that night (with the unfortunate exceptions of “Right Me Up“, and “Keepsake“), but if I had to choose my favourite performances of the night, it would have to be “Riddle in Londontown“, “Waitress“, or “Man in the Hall” (which was performed with far more anger than I have heard out of Chad in a long time).
If you’re after State Radio Material, I would probably suggest checking out their “Us Against the Crown
All in all? Possibly the best live set I have ever seen, tied with Ryan Adams & The Cardinals. One day I hope to get to explain to the lads what they did for me that night.
Listen. Love. Support.
Listen: State Radio – Gunship Politico
Website: http://www.stateradio.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/stateradio
The Beautiful Girls
After State Radio, it was on to the main act for the night, The Beautiful Girls. The Beautiful Girls came on to the loudest cheer I’d heard all night, and opened up their set with the beautiful “Learn Yourself“. Unfortunately you’ll have to visit another blog to get a full write-up of the Beautiful Girls set. I was still riding on a high from the State Radio set, and can’t relate too much of their set here. I can tell you though that they killed it that night, the horns and sax enticing everyone, and the reggaed-up version of “Music” going down extremely well with the reggae-loving Brisbane Crowd.
Their latest album, “Ziggurats
Listen: The Beautiful Girls – Learn Yourself
Website: http://www.thebeautifulgirls.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thebeautifulgirls
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Update: It’s just occured to me that this will be my last post until after Christmas. So, best wishes to you and yours over the festive season. Keep on keepin’ on, and catch you on the other side.
On Saturday I was lucky enough to see gods in action; Crosby, Stills & Nash, performing in Brisbane at the Riverstage.
It’s been about 10 years since I last saw these guys live. The last time was in South Africa, on a night where a sudden downpour in an open arena had the sound washed away in a wall of water. Luckily, the weather cooperated with us this time, and CSN were treated to the conditions they deserve.
After the originally scheduled concert date of February was postponed, the breathless anticipation of the crowd was tangible for hours before, waiting in queue… so when the troupe walked on stage at 8.30pm, the roar that greeted them was solid.
With that said, the trio didn’t really hit full song for me in the first half. Even with the opener of “Carry On“, there was a discordant feel to the music, something which was shocking and jarring for a band renowned for their crisp harmonies and meldings.
For the men themselves, not much appears to have changed: Stills, still the cantankerous old devil, flamboyantly wrestling with the guitar as if it was a beast he needed to tame; Nash, the consummate buffer between the two titans, someone who tries to invite you into the music; and Crosby, a space-traveller who has retreated into the world of music in his head, a place that always leaves a smile on his face… however, it seems a struggle to persuade him to return to the real world.
Highlight of the first half, for me anyway, was Marrakesh Express. There was a glimpse there of time-past, and a hint that the second-half would deliver. We were not disappointed.
The band that returned after the intermission was the band we all know and love. From the beginning Nash-penned song of “Military Madness“, there was a synergy there that only the band of CSN can attain. Not only a synergy, but a renewed vigour and youth seemed to find them in the song. From there, the night was a amalgam of powerhouse rock and entrancing melodies, none of which were finer than on the song “Helplessly Hoping“.
I was surprised at the amount of Crosby-Nash material that was played, but unfortunately I think this might have something to do with the state of Stills; although he put on a stellar performace, he does not look a well man… whenever Crosby and Nash performed, he rushed to the edge of the stage, and in the darkness you could see him collapsing on a stool, seemingly exhausted.
Stills, however, was undoubtedly the cause for my highlight of the night; against all expectation, CSN performed Stills’ tune, “For What It’s Worth“, penned during his Buffalo Springfield days. I never thought I would be lucky enough to hear that performed live. It was everything I had hoped for.
Another unexpected song for the night was Stills’ solo performance of “4+20“, a song he reminded us was, “simply a passing childish phase. Don’t read too much into a fleeting phase“.
Crosby’s performance of his “Almost Cut My Hair” was a wonderful highlight as well, his voice leaping and soaring as if he was still a young man, belting out the lines:
“I feel like letting my freak flag fly
Cause I feel like I owe it to someone”
as if he was trying to tell us all, “You too can do this. Just believe”.
Rather than go through the wealth of material performed that night (around 2 and a half hours!), suffice to quote Graham Nash, responding to a request for a song from one of the front rows:
“We’ll play all the fucking songs we can remember man… all four of them. Or, in Crosby’s case, two“.
Their interplay with the audience was wonderful; introducing the song “Our House“, Crosby stated, “University studies have shown, that in the years between 1969 to 1974, 40% of all women who gave up their virginity, did so to this song…“, to which Stills wryly replied, “Yeah. And boy was I tired“.
The reality of the humour was forced home when a member of the audience threw a bra up onto the stage during one of the final songs. The boys looked at it for a while, and then Nash placed it up on his microphone stand, saying, “Wow. It’s been a loooong time since we had one of these thrown up at us“.
There was a magic there that night. Although the first half started off slowly, it was almost as if an energy built up and built up in the venue… eventually bursting the dams and possessing each and every person there, showing them the way of the music. So, naturally, when the band retired, there was a resounding encore call; to which the boys replied (of course), with stunning renditions of both “Teach Your Children” and “Woodstock“.
I grew up listening to CSN(Y); with both my mother and father avid fans, I really had no choice. So they had a lot to live up to that night.
They blew away each and every expectation I had.
Thanks boys.
Listen. Love. Support.
Listen: Crosby, Stills & Nash – 4+20 (live at Woodstock)
Listen: Crosby, Stills & Nash – Almost Cut My Hair
Listen: Crosby, Stills & Nash – Helplessly Hoping
Website: http://www.crosbystillsnash.com/
Update 20 Dec:
I’ve just learned via Rolling Stone that Stephen Stills has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. According to the column:
Last night on Larry King Live, Graham Nash revealed that Stephen Stills, his bandmate in Crosby, Stills and Nash, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The revelation followed a discussion between King and Nash about the death of singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, who suffered from prostate cancer for three years before passing last Sunday. According to Nash, Stills — unlike Fogelberg — caught his at an early stage, and will be operated on January 3rd, which also happens to be Stills’ birthday.
Best wishes Stephen. We need you.
So on Sunday, I managed to score tickets to Xavier Rudd’s “White Moth
However, this post is not about Xavier Rudd; everyone already knows how talented he is, and if you don’t, you really should check out his site, or listen at his myspace. Instead, I wanted to write a quick post about his opening act, Jeremy Fisher.
Fisher has already become a mini-celebrity on Youtube, thanks to the music video (which he made himself), for his song, “Cigarette”. Take a look at this superb video, bearing in mind that each frame is an individual photo (talk about painstaking!) below:
Fisher is no stranger to putting in a lot of effort to getting his music out there though; in 2002, he biked across the entire width of Canada, from Seattle to Halifax, Nova Scotia to promote his first album, Back Porch Spirituals
Despite all of this, it’s only now that the music of Jeremy Fisher is finally beginning to reach a larger audience. Now, onto the performance in question…
He opened up the night to a crowd that was still trickling in. His first words were, “I thought I’d start now, before too many people come in… you know, and spoil the whole intimacy that we have right now”. I knew right there that this guy was going to be fun.
His first song was the beautiful “Left Behind”, which was the perfect way to begin the night. This song reminded me of a young Paul Simon, with his dexterous fingerpicking and boyish voice. That influence was confirmed later in the night, when Fisher performed a cover of Simon’s “The Boxer” (how could I not love this kid?).
Throughout the night though, Fisher showed his other influences; Dylan was an obvious one, especially in the “Hurricane Carter-ish” opening chords of “Lay Down (Ballad of Rigoberto Alpizar)”. It became clear that Jeremy Fisher believes that music needs to say something… in fact, he’s said previously that both his song “American Girls” (dealing with the mistreatment of Iraqui prisoners at Abu Ghraib), and “The Ballad of Rigoberto Alpizar” “are both about events that are monumental but not nearly as important as the fact that a certain superstar wasn’t wearing underwear when she got out of a limo. This is a very weird culture we live in.”
I also noticed a bit of Hawksley Workman in there; not a big surprise, when I found out that Hawksley was actually the producer on his latest album, “Goodbye Blue Monday
Enough about influences; let’s get down to the real stuff. He’s a fantastically fun performer, sparring with the audience the entire way through his set. There’s something about this guy.
He’s obviously seen a lot, but there’s still this innocence and optimism that he projects, that eventually drags you in. It really is impossible to resist. He gives you hope. He gives you strength. And you know that things are going to be ok, as long as we join him in his stand.
I ran down to the merch table to get the CD. A couple of guys were running up as I got there. We all just looked at each other and smiled. And that’s the gift that Jeremy Fisher gives to us.
Here are a few songs below. Listen. Love. Support.
Listen: Jeremy Fisher – Left Behind
Listen: Jeremy Fisher – Lay Down (Ballad of Rigoberto Alpizar)
Website: http://www.jeremyfishermusic.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/jeremyfisher
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Holy. Crap.
State Radio are coming out to Australia.
Some of you may know my… well… slight obsession with the band Dispatch. Seeing as I wasn’t able to make it to their “reunion” Zimbabwe benefit-gig, I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I would have to travel State-side to see either Pete Francis, Braddigan, or Chad play in their new projects; but, on a whim today, I was cruising around the State Radio site and noticed the news.
State Radio will be supporting Australia’s “The Beautiful Girls” on their “Under a Southern Sky” tour.
I’m glowing. I’m such a fanboy. But to see Chad live, after all these years… man, it’s going to be awesome.
Here’s a little taster…
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